I Can't Do eLearning!

Nothing could be more disengaging that watching your instructor/teacher/facilitator standing in front of a whiteboard talking to a camera. It was hard enough to see the information in person much less through a 15-inch screen! Welcome to the new reality. How quickly our world has changed, and it has meant being hurled into virtual channels of communication for work, home and school. We have stumbled our way through Zoom, Skype and Google Meet that put many of us outside our comfort zones. No context has been tested more than learning organizations who have warp sped into full online instruction, but with the fear of operating under an imposter’s syndrome.

So how are we doing? Perceptions are often overly generous in terms of how we are managing and meeting our learners’ eLearning needs. A recent survey estimated that close to 50% of educators are simply mirroring their face-to-face syllabus and less than 25% have completely transformed their online teaching approach (O’Donnell, 2021). 

Take an active people-centric approach.

The fact is learning happens all day long. People are ‘actively’ learning. They are constantly interacting, commenting, posting, sharing, uploading, liking and disliking with a quick comment or click on an emoji. People need to engage, connect and share their ‘experiences’ with others 24/7.  Today’s eLearners crave attention, and like a Pavlovian dog, are addicted to the ‘ting’ notification when someone has reacted. This is the very essence of eLearning that creates experiences!

Experience-based eLearning is a different way of communicating and information transfer, and it is how today's eLearners engage… in smaller bites or 'experience chunks'. So, make it digestible. People’s plates are overflowing now more than ever. If they see an article that is a 15-minute read, they may already disengage. Videos of +10 minutes may be saved, but never viewed. You want to get your information across before the dog needs to be walked, the child starts crying or dinner has to be started… so let it be a 'snackable experience'!

Taking lessons from how we already engage with each other online, here are five fundamentals to integrate into experiential eLearning :

1.    Learner-centric. Lessons and activities need to be relevant for the learner. What’s in it for me? … captures the heart of the eLearner.

2.    Social collaboration. We are a people-driven culture and connection is key to knowledge transfer. Learning is sharing.

3.    Feedback opportunities. Get the conversation going so that you encourage other perspectives and experiences.  Sharing enriches and involves others.

4.    Active learning. It’s not just about being a receiver of knowledge. It’s about self-direction.  Learning is doing.

5.    Diversity is key. Online channels access a global audience. Different people learn differently so ‘do differently’ to increase your reach.