THE BEST e-LEARNING

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 much 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 continues to be 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, instructional quality, programming reliability, administrative capabilities, and network reliability.  (Plus, when appropriate, gaming is proven to increase retention.)

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.  .  .  .

(I would urge you to bookmark InstructionalDesignExpert.com as it has lots of good information about a number of instructional design issues.)

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

More on Monday  –  –  –

     — Bill Walton, co-Founder, ITC Learning

        May 30, 2018

      www.itclearning.com/blog/  (Mondays & Wednesdays)

“THE WORLD RELIES ON THE HANDS OF ITS MEN AND WOMEN”

 (This is a personal blog.  Any views or opinions represented in this blog are personal and belong solely to the blog owner, jhbillwalton@gmail.com, an independent consultant.  They do not represent those of people, institutions or organizations that the owner may or may not be associated with in a professional or personal capacity.)