Refreshing learning content ensures relevance, improves learner experience, and maintains instructional quality. Setting periodic review points, using clear evaluation criteria, and leveraging learner feedback can help identify areas for improvement. Quick fixes can be implemented immediately, while larger changes should be scheduled strategically to avoid disrupting current learners. Establishing a structured approach to content maintenance prevents the "set and forget" mentality and encourages ongoing refinement of learning materials.
Table of contents
- Why refreshing learning content matters
- Step 1: Set a periodic review point
- Step 2: Define your review criteria
- Step 3: Analyse learner feedback and engagement data
- Step 4: Identify quick fixes vs. major overhauls
- Step 5: Validate external links and embedded resources
- Benefits
- Risks
- Making the decision: refresh or overhaul?
- Implementing updates and setting the next review date
- Best practices for content review and refreshing
- One thing you can try today
- Related topics
Why refreshing learning content matters
Learning content should never be a static, one-time creation. As industries evolve, best practices shift, and technologies change, keeping learning materials up to date ensures relevance, accuracy, and engagement. By implementing a structured review and refresh process, learning designers can maintain high-quality content that continuously meets learner needs and organisational objectives.
Step 1: Set a periodic review point
When creating new learning content, establish a future review date. This could be a calendar reminder, a project management task, or a scheduled review cycle based on course duration. Setting this checkpoint ensures that outdated materials don’t go unnoticed. Consider aligning the review schedule with business cycles, academic terms, or annual compliance updates for maximum efficiency.
Step 2: Define your review criteria
Not all content requires the same level of scrutiny. Identify key aspects that are most likely to become outdated, such as industry regulations, software references, or case studies. Avoid excessive reviews of stable content, as this can lead to inefficiencies. The frequency of reviews should be proportional to how quickly a subject area evolves; for example, technology-based courses may need more frequent updates than history courses.
Step 3: Analyse learner feedback and engagement data
Leverage learner feedback and platform analytics to identify pain points and trends. Sentiment analysis from course surveys and discussion forums can highlight areas where learners express confusion or dissatisfaction. Meanwhile, retention data, completion rates, and time-on-task analytics can reveal engagement drop-offs, signalling content that may need improvement. By combining qualitative and quantitative insights, learning designers can focus on meaningful updates.
Step 4: Identify quick fixes vs. major overhauls
Once problem areas have been identified, determine whether they require minor updates or full-scale redesigns. Simple edits, such as fixing outdated links, clarifying confusing instructions, or updating terminology, can be addressed immediately. However, more significant content changes, such as adding new case studies or restructuring an entire module, may require collaboration with subject matter experts. Plan accordingly to ensure efficient turnaround times.
Step 5: Validate external links and embedded resources
Digital content often includes external references, videos, and embedded materials that can become outdated or broken over time. Regularly verifying these resources ensures learners don’t encounter errors or outdated information. If possible, use automated link-checking tools available within your LMS to streamline this process. Otherwise, schedule periodic manual reviews to confirm all external materials remain valid and functional.
Benefits
- Reducing learner frustration by eliminating outdated material
- Ensuring learners receive the latest, most relevant content
- Keeping activities aligned with evolving audience needs rather than outdated practices
- Encouraging dialogue between instructional designers and subject matter experts about course improvements
- Providing opportunities for peer collaboration, critical appraisal, and best practice sharing in course design
Risks
- Making unnecessary changes when simple updates would suffice
- Disrupting the learning flow for current learners
- Modifying content that was carefully aligned to outcomes and objectives
- Requiring expert or educator sign-off for changes that impact instructional integrity
Making the decision: refresh or overhaul?
If a course requires extensive changes, it may be more effective to create a new version rather than modifying an existing one. Significant changes can disrupt active learners, so unless updates are critical, it’s best to implement major revisions for the next cohort. Communicate any modifications clearly to learners and stakeholders to maintain consistency in expectations and course delivery.
Implementing updates and setting the next review date
Once revisions are finalised, merge the changes into the course and update any relevant design documentation. Clearly mark version updates in your learning design platform to track what has changed. Use your design notes to also state why it has been changed. Finally, set a new review point to maintain an ongoing cycle of content improvement.
Best practices for content review and refreshing
- Frequent but efficient reviews: Aim for light-touch updates where possible to maintain efficiency.
- Prioritise learner impact: Address the most pressing learner concerns first.
- Balance consistency with improvement: Avoid disrupting current learners unless necessary.
- Adopt a proactive mindset: Establishing a review cycle helps prevent content stagnation.
One thing you can try today
Select one piece of existing learning content and conduct a quick audit. Check for broken links, outdated references, or areas where learners have struggled based on feedback. Make small updates if needed and set a reminder to review the content again in the future. This simple habit builds a proactive approach to content maintenance.
Related topics
- How to conduct an eLearning content audit
- The role of analytics in improving course engagement
- Best practices for updating digital learning materials
- Balancing consistency and innovation in instructional design
- Strategies for managing version control in eLearning development
