DOES YOUR E-LEARNING REALLY WORK?

April 29, 2015

More and more is being written about the growing importance of e-Learning. And, in terms of future potential, those opinions are essentially correct.

At this moment in training’s continuum, however, much that passes for e-Learning has little actual training value. That is because the majority of e-Learning today is either PowerPoint adaptations or written procedure adaptations – neither of which teaches anyone much of anything. At best they are examples of e-Information!

The future of e-Learning is very bright. Those producers today that are using the developmental techniques associated with multiple media (full motion video, graphic animations and optional full audio) are producing powerful e-Learning programs.

We should be looking for six underlying traits when committing to our e-Learning initiatives: content accuracy, full optional-audio, animations and video at all times, instructional quality, programming reliability, administrative capabilities, and network reliability.

Complete with pre- and post-tests, easy-to-follow menus, short teaching segments that are based on performance objectives, simulations, practice exercises — e-Learning can help define the best in training.

Another way to look at these same issues is clearly expressed in “The Five eLearning Components” (from the website InstructionalDesignExpert.com):

Audience

From concept to implementation, the audience is a critical factor in the process of developing online courses. Everything designed and developed should be done with the audience in mind. . . .

Course Structure

Course structure refers to how a course is designed for elearning. The structure of a course plays a critical role in how your audience learns the material. . . .

Page Design

Like the importance of charm and charisma of the classroom instructor, the page design of an online course is critical to the learning process. . . .

Content Engagement

Because e-learning is a self-study medium, interacting with the learner becomes more important than most types of training forums. Content engagement refers to how the learner interacts with content of the course. . . .

Usability

Many creative ideas are discarded because they do not work. Likewise, a well organized elearning course can be ill-received if it does not function properly. . . .

(As I have only quoted the introductory statements to the five issues, it will behoove you to read the article as each of the five steps is fully explained and examples are referenced.)

E-Learning is certainly the future. We all just need to have a better understanding of what truly works and what does not —- because, our trainees deserve better than what we are currently labeling e-Learning.