The document warns of various "Textbook Zombies" that can attack learners in online courses by including too much unnecessary text. It provides tips to avoid overloading learners with textbooks pages or long passages of text. Suggestions include breaking content into smaller pieces, adding variety through visual design and multimedia, and ensuring the reading level is appropriate for learners. The goal is to engage learners rather than attack their brains with masses of unedited text.

2. Public Alert:
Warning!
Dangerous Too-Much-Text Zombies
MAY be on the loose in your eCourse,
attacking the brains of your learners.
Pay attention to the following
Text Zombie warning signs!

5. Textbook Zombies
“Read pages 276 – 289 in the textbook”
is like shooting at a target with a scatter gun.
(Great for Zombie attacks, bad for learning).
Textbooks aren’t teachers.

6. Textbook Zombies
Textbook-delivered content is a sneaky way
of hiding massive amounts of text in your eCourse.
Online lessons may look lean
but are really stuffed full of reading
(you just hid it offline).

7. Textbook Zombies
• Screencast textbook pages
“night-night-book” style
• Find a digital resource
instead but screencap
specific sections
(Copyright appropriately)
• Try an embedded Prezi
Prezi.com Collage: lessoncast.org

9. Blah Blah Zombies
Wow. Are your lessons ever chock full of information.
The page scrolls on forever!

10. geronimostilton.com
Add variety to the layout
(and use visual design)
Creates callouts for
Difficult or unfamiliar
vocabulary.
behappy.me/

11. Blah Blah Zombies
• Break long passages up into “Hollywood Squares”
(using Pinterest-style tables)
• Use colour and font design to add an “eye-break”
• Be a relentless editor of your content
• Youtube, Hapyyak and … Infographics!
Piktochart.com visual.ly/ infogr.am

13. The Dreaded PDF Zombie
Zombies love PDFs.
Especially eCourses
entirely made up of
readings.

14. The Dreaded PDF Zombie
Guidestudents
through what’s
important.

15. The Dreaded PDF Zombie
• Present article as a podcast
through soundcloud.com
• Animoto.com video adding motion
to main ideas
• Deconstruct article into jpg chunks
and separate into “Book” pages.
• Break up using youtube videos,
infographics, etc.

17. Teaser Zombies
What is the compelling reason to learn it?
So What?

18. Teaser Zombies
State the learning outcome in plain language at the
beginning!
Begin with a story to draw an analogy
Reframe an outcome as a problem or issue
Create a sense of urgency

20. Smarty Pants Zombie
What is the
Reading Level
of your text?
Jill Entenman (Pinterest)

21. Smarty Pants Zombie
Interesting Facts:
“Comfort reading level” is
generally 2 years below grade level.
The average adult reads at a 9th grade level.
Newspaper articles vary in RL. Sports and
“personal” articles are lower than politics and world
events.
read-able.com- http://www.impact-information.com/impactinfo/literacy.htm
- Jerry L. Johns and Thomas E. Wheat - Journal of Reading

22. Smarty Pants Zombie
• Careful using source material on
the internet that is too wordy
• Test your RL using the numerous
online “readability” websites
• Use the glossary feature to
reinforce difficult vocabulary

23. Thanks! Want more tips?
Feel free to visit my website
And click on “resources”.
neelabell.com