eLearn Magazine has a good article on making e-learning less boring and more memorable:

For teaching to be effective, cognition and emotion must work together,” says Norman. He says four elements must be present for an e-learning experience to be successful:

• Strong motivation: The material is structured around a problem the student really cares about.
• Positive encouragement: Efforts to explore and understand the material are rewarded.
• The social factor: A strong social commitment is present, achieved either by having people work in teams or by establishment of a strong personal commitment to the teacher through continual feedback and interaction.
• Stress: Frequent assignments that impose deadlines on learners. A little stress is a great focus-booster.

...via elearningpost