Andy McKay, Digital Learning Developer at OnTrack International, discusses the stigma attached to e-learning.
E-learning is much maligned. Lacklustre presentations and dull design can create a feeling of “death by PowerPoint”. And when e-learning fails to engage, it’s likely that those taking the course or training will fail to learn.
But it doesn’t need to be this way. Creative and engaging e-learning can instead fuel curiosity and growth and enable employers to unlock individual, team and business potential.
What’s the issue?
While many of today’s online experiences are convenient and engaging, e-learning seems to buck the trend. Rather than being seen as a more flexible, creative and accessible way of learning, many employers and employees feel it is a less satisfactory version of the ‘in-person’ equivalent. It’s a ‘back-up’ when there is no other option.
So where has e-learning gone wrong? Is it really that ineffective, or is it simply suffering from some bad PR?
The answer, in my experience, is usually ‘both’. Historically, e-learning courses and tools have just not been good enough and because of this, it has a reputation problem. People expect e-learning to be boring and stilted because, too often, it has been.
A very short history of e-Learning
E-learning tools started to become established in the early 2000s, predominately for cost and convenience. In-person training can be expensive, which e-learning can offset. Firms can build it once and use it many times.
There is also a huge benefit in terms of accessibility – for people with hearing or sight impairments; disabilities that make it hard to travel to in-person courses; or anyone just trying to juggle work and home life. But employers and employees are being held back from fully realising these benefits by the limitations of what is widely on offer.
A major issue is that e-learning has not changed much since it was launched. Compared to the advancements in web or smartphone technology, e-learning has failed to keep pace.
How can we improve e-learning?
One of the biggest mistakes employers and consultants make when designing e-learning tools and courses is treating it like an ‘information dump’. Too often the approach has been: ‘we can’t get everyone in a room together so we will just put the content online and let them access it there’.
Similarly, much of today’s e-learning content is a simple PowerPoint presentation with a lot of text and a few images. There’s little interaction and it’s difficult to maintain engagement.
Because so many people have experienced e-learning of this nature, they think that this is all it can be. Therefore, part of the solution is thinking about how to foster engagement with the course or presentation.
Another major issue is the user experience and design aspects of e-learning resources. When we use online streaming services or smartphones the design is intuitive and natural.
But when it comes to e-leaning, many designers are expecting those being trained to use it like they are reading a book. And this stands out, especially to younger generations who are so familiar with intuitive technology. So, another way we can improve e-learning is by making it feel more intuitive and natural to use.
What good looks like
At OnTrack International, our ethos is to create something that is as far removed from this e-learning stereotype as possible.
By presenting something that looks different – often more like the websites or services employers and employees visit – we promote greater curiously and engagement, essential aspects of effective learning.
Similarly, we believe that good e-learning reinforces in-person training.
For instance, an international bank asked us to help train their relationship managers to better engage clients. We designed and delivered a two-day face-to-face workshop focused on conversational skills, using scenarios and case studies that explored how people interacted.
Alongside this, we created desktop simulations that mirrored what they were likely to see on a day-to-day basis. We brought case studies to life through dummy emails and websites that they could click through to, before having phone conversations with ‘clients’.
This blended approach would not have been possible without the interactive e-learning element – but this is so far removed from ‘death by PowerPoint’ that many would not consider it e-learning.
Unlearning what we know about e-learning
To really shift the way employers and employees use and think about e-learning, we need to first un-learn everything we think we know about it.
At OnTrack International, we are committed to designing e-learning that fuels curiosity, fosters growth and ultimately helps employees and their employers unlock potential.
Andy McKay is the Digital Learning Developer at OnTrack International
