Friday, June 08, 2012

Why is e-learning so unpopular?


Over the years I have spent many thousands of hours in conversations with l&d people. As you would expect, there is some commonality in the sorts of questions I get asked. Over the next few weeks, I am going to try and answer those questions in a series of posts, not because I have any problem with answering the questions directly, but for the benefit of all those l&d people whom I never get to meet.

The first is: Why is e-learning so unpopular?

In reality, this sentiment is not always expressed as a question. It’s just as likely to be phrased as ‘I don’t like it’. Either way, it deserves a response.

First of all, some clarification. What type of e-learning are you talking about? Virtual classrooms? MOOCs? Online video? Podcasts? Games and simulations? No, that’s not what people mean. They mean instruction delivered in the form of interactive tutorials for the individual learner to complete at their own pace. What once was called computer-based training (CBT).

Then we need to check whether it really is unpopular and with whom. Well, clearly there are lots of success stories with e-learning and not all because of huge cost savings. Some e-learning is very popular because it is very well conceived and executed, it’s engaging, relevant and easy to use; but, let’s be honest, not many people would put it top of their list of favourite ways to learn - and particularly not l&d people, as the annual CIPD surveys tend to show.

Now l&d people have lots of reasons not to like e-learning, so we have to be careful about taking their opinions too much to heart. After all, unless they are actively engaged in some aspect of learning technologies, they probably see it as one hell of a threat (a topic I’ll be taking up in a future post). There’s also a danger that they take it upon themselves to speak for others who actually have very different opinions.

But we need to answer the question. Given that some e-learning is unpopular with some people - and I think we can all agree on that - then why is that the case and what can we do about it?
  • Is it because it only works for people with some learning styles? No, I hear that all the time and it’s a rather feeble excuse. Even if we could agree on some reliable way to categorise people’s learning preferences, I doubt if it would help us to understand their reaction to e-learning. A much more useful indicator is prior knowledge, on the basis that those with a greater understanding of a topic will find the rigid format of structured instruction rather frustrating - they’d probably prefer just to get the information straight.
  • Is it because it requires people to do too much reading? Possibly, for some people, although e-learning doesn’t have to involve a lot of reading. If the learner is quite happy reading magazines or books, then the problem is unlikely to lie in too many words. To call e-learning a ‘page turner’ is derogatory; but a novel that’s a 'real page turner' is a hit. On the other hand, reading from a screen is more tiring, so very wordy e-learning might be to blame in some cases.
  • Is it because the process of self-study is isolating? I don’t think this is a problem in short bursts, i.e. an hour or two here or there, but protracted self-study is unlikely to be many people’s preference. Why? Because, we are social creatures, and we like to share, reflect, compare, clarify, discuss, dispute and gain feedback. Self-study in a blend is fine. Self-study as the sole medium has limited application.
  • Is it because the subject matter is not interesting or relevant? Now we’re talking. I don’t know what proportion of e-learning is mandatory, regulatory training of some sort, but it’s a lot. Unless this type of training is incredibly well designed and delivered it is going to be resisted or, at best, tolerated. If e-learning is associated closely with compliance, it will be unpopular.
  • Is it because of the way the subject is put across? Possibly; in some cases because it is unprofessionally presented, though this is not such a major factor; in some cases because of poor usability; much more likely is that it is presented in what Cathy Moore calls ‘corporate drone’ and is lifeless, abstract and devoid of meaningful context.
  • Is it unpopular because that’s the prevailing view? Perhaps. Peer opinion is powerful. It’s hard to say you really like something if the view of the crowd is that it’s naff.
The thirty year legacy of self-paced e-learning being more bad than good is hard to overcome. If we think the instructional tutorial is worth persisting with as a form, then we certainly need a new name. More importantly, we need many more great examples of highly engaging, adaptive and relevant materials that we can use as a model and an opinion shaper. As ever, I’m still optimistic.

5 comments:

  1. Hi Clive, thanks for the post and some great points. I would also like to add from my L&D experience that a lot of the resistance I have come across, is that a lot of elearning isn't 'fit for purpose', and in tune with the modern demands of learners and their organisations. 'Clunky' is a word I used to hear frequently, meaning it was too long, one-directional and structured in a way which made it hard to get at the knowledge nuggets. When combined with the structure of an LMS, leaners became frustrated by the complex process and barriers to entry. I think people want shorter objects that they can access quickly - like they would if they Googled a topic - and are relvant to the job or role they doing.
    I think the traditional design models of what consititutes elearning are also there to be challenged. Lets make the content more thought provoking, and tap into what changes people's behaviour. L&D purists and design methodologies aren't necessaily aligned to what the oprganisation wants or needs, which means the L&D team could be isolated and even bypassed entirely.
    Looking forward to future posts.
    Ray

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  2. Clive, great post. I'm interested in your future post as the threat it presents to people that are not engaged in learning technologies. I've seen that a lot as people that are "afraid" of technology are typically those with the loudest oppositions to eLearning.

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  3. Hi, I tend to agree with both the above. My experience of getting people to engage with learning technologies from within L&D has been mixed. I have noticed that the newer, younger staff are very keen to bring technologies into their mix of classroom training, yet more experienced trainers who have been in the job a while prefer the status quo, seeing it as a threat to what they do.

    On the other side, from the learners point of view, people have had enough of sitting through 60-90 minute courses. They want short, quick snippets of learning to solve what they wish to solve now.

    Elearning course design needs a shakeup if it is to see any place in the next 5 years as technology evolves.

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  4. Clive, great question and one we don’t confront often enough. There are two answers. First, we’ve just done this very badly in the past – nobody reads one book, doesn’t like and never touches a book again. Unfortunately because e-learning is new, the whole medium has been damned by some pretty poor material. But there’ s another reason which is one we seldom think about – people will put up with bad design, poor navigation and low production values if they see they are getting value out of something. All too often, e-learning has been produced for the people producing it and not to boost the performance of those using it. Everyone wants to do a good job at work- help them do it and e-learning will be popular.

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  5. I agree with all opinions above. Each time I implement a new e-course I see the same "problems" that are mentioned by people who are against e-learning.
    - IT infrastructure - mainly weak bandwidth
    - Newness - especially older people are afraid of changes
    - Lack of computer skills

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