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How to Choose the Right Training Solution cont.
E-learning’s Core Challenges, or
Why Everyone Doesn't Use E-learning
When a really good instructor gives a live class, the presentation
is compelling and the participants are engaged by the teacher’s
presence; they are caught up in the momentum of the class. If that
same class was delivered via e-learning, all of the presence and
engagement and motivation that the teacher brings is lost. So the
first challenge for an e-learning course is to explicitly construct
the material so that it is compelling and challenging in and of
itself.
A simple restatement of the instructor-given material in an online
format will inevitably be insufficient. Therefore, for the online
version to be successful, the training must be consciously structured
to engage.
Motivation
Learning is a very personal act. If the reason for the learning
activity is clear, if the material is relevant and engaging, if
interesting interactions keep the participant focused, and if the
participant sees the experience as a means to gain a positive outcome,
then the participant will be motivated - the gold standard for
e-learning. Participants who are motivated have energy to pay attention,
analyze, create meaningful associations, synthesize, remember what
they learned, and apply it to their jobs. To create really successful
e-learning, motivation must be consciously and explicitly built
in; it is as important and sometimes more important than the presentation
of the content itself.
Control
The second problem is a simple logistical one. Once participants
are in a live class, most likely they are not simply going to get
up and leave! Yet when classes are taken online, participants are
self-directed and can do anything they want. The challenge therefore
is to explicitly construct the class so that participants are consciously
placed in control of their own learning experiences and inspired
to complete the entire class.
Since e-learning is self-directed, it should be designed to let
participants get a feel for the material up front. This is actually
part of the instructional power of the course: making explicit
what will be learned, what the activities will be, how much time
it will take, how hard it will be, and what is expected of them.
As though paging through a book, participants should be able to
browse the course structure and support materials to get the picture
of what’s coming and determine a personal strategy for absorbing
it.
E-learning is appropriate for a wide range of training solutions,
from simple operational learning to complex problem solving, and
has many cost benefits. But to truly make it shine, it must be
consciously structured both to engage and to put th learner in
control.
Now let's look at the Virtual Classroom,
an option that can offer some of both worlds.
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