“E-Learning Pitfalls”

It’s a pretty safe bet that most of you have moved at least some of your training initiatives into an E-Learning environment. An equally likely assumption is that most of you have been experiencing some disappointing results with those initiatives.

Let’s look at the typical hurdles that must be overcome if your E-Learning initiatives are going to provide the positive returns your organization expects.

First, and foremost, for E-Learning ultimately to prove successful it must have top management “buy-in.” No initiative is going to be very successful if it is not wholeheartedly endorsed by the leaders within your organization. If, on the other hand, your management regards E-Learning as a “something to do only if there’s sufficient time” activity, chances are it will fail.

Secondly, are the E-Learning initiatives you are contemplating designed for the modern learner?

Today’s learner expects multiple-media instruction. They have grown up watching television and playing games on a computer device — and they expect the same media-rich experiences in their media instruction. Above all, is the E-Learning you are using based on a “full-motion video and optional word-for-word audio” design — a design that will prove absolutely necessary for the more than 40% of the workforce that do not read above a 4th Grade level?

Thirdly, have you checked the E-Learning content you’re using with a subject matter expert in your organization? Does the content promote the necessary skills for the tasks to be assigned? If not, it’s a waste of time and money.

E-Learning is both the present and the future. But, only the E-Learning initiatives that meet the three above mentioned criteria will give you the payback your organization expects.

You’ll be well served to re-examine the E-Learning initiatives you already have in place in order to pinpoint why the results have been somewhat disappointing. You’ll find one, or more, of the answers you seek in the “Big Three for Modern Learning”: a) top management buy-in; b) multiple-media instruction; and/or, c) content-appropriate.