When was the last time you really enjoyed an online course? And more than just enjoy it, you actually learned something from it…and had the learning stick?
Lucky you if you’ve experienced this type of eLearning feast! At its worst, eLearning is like biting into cold leftovers…boring, non-stop, static slideshows with narration or outdated webinars with expired content that should be thrown away (or risk getting food poisoning). This type of training neither actively engages learners nor encourages them to explore…or learn.
Rather than feed adult learners (seated at the table of learning) one course at a time, offer them their entire meal at once, allowing them to choose how they consume it. This alone provides adult learners with…shall I say…a more appetizing learning experience. Children need to be spoon-fed, but adults like to explore at their own interest level and according to their own tastes.
At a more granular level, when designing a course, don’t force adults to choke down the entire thing from appetizer to dessert in linear order. Allow them to choose the order in which they consume information. Include interactive sections so that they can discover additional morsels of knowledge beyond just the basics if they chose. If there are prerequisites to the course, allow them to test out of those sections rather than forcing them to “regurgitate” what they already know.
This type of course design is sophisticated and requires more advanced instructional design skills than simply knowing how to use a development tool (Storyline, Captivate, etc.). Engaging an Instructional Designer trained with a clear understanding of how adults learn and creative ideas of how to “plate” this type of “course” is the first step to creating both an effective and palatable eLearning experience for your learners.
If you have a special menu of content you want to develop into a full-course training experience, consider engaging with professionals who specialize in designing training that meats…er, meets…the needs of your learners. Give learners the control and tools to willingly stuff themselves with knowledge from the training feast you provide.
An experienced, well-trained Instructional Designer will have the skillset with the development tools, and provide a course structure based on adult learning theory and instructional design concepts so that the content learners digest will stick with them. Just presenting a slide-full of content is not training any more than presenting a menu is considered consuming a meal. We’ll serve up more on adult learning theory and how it helps create a smorgasbord of learning in future posts.