E-learning has a long way to go to deliver good user experiences for learners, according to a range of practitioners involved in yesterday’s #twitter chat entitled ‘#elearning: what is it good for?’
The chat, organised by Chat2lrn, posed these seven questions to participants:
- As a learner, what has your experience of using eLearning been like?
- What has led to you to having a good eLearning experience?
- What has been the cause of you having any bad eLearning experiences?
- What do eLearning designers, developers and deliverers need to do better?
- What ‘compass points’ would you like to see to guide eLearning providers?
- What is the future of eLearning? Why?
- So what exactly is eLearning good for?
Below are some of the highlights from the conversation:
Storify of chat2lrn discussion on elearning
Storified by Martin Couzins · Fri, Sep 28 2012 01:58:53
30 mins to go! Smart folk, smart chat, smart topics chat2lrn. Today’s topic: e-learning – what is it good for? http://tinyurl.com/8ccscfechat2lrn
Q1 As a learner, what has your experience of using eLearning been like? #chat2lrnchat2lrn
unfortunately not so great… #chat2lrnzara King
Q1: Varies from torture to excitingly enlightening depending on the quality of the course. #chat2lrnlisa Goldstein
Q1) good & bad experiences, always better when I have control – or even can test out of the requirement #chat2lrnmeg Bertapelle
#chat2lrn q1) Pretty uninspiring to date…Niall Gavin
A1) eLearning has changed in meaning for me as a learner. Twitter and my PLN now empowers my self-directed learning. #chat2lrntom Spiglanin
Q1) It was better a long time ago, then gradually got a lot worse. #chat2lrnbrian Dusablon
Q1 Very off putting – treated like an idiot #chat2lrnnic Laycock
Q1) corp courses have been a bit dull, but some great performance support tools #chat2lrnholly MacDonald
A1) Bad PowerPoint presentation = horrific eLearning (with narration) #chat2lrnjd Dillon
Q1) Good stuff has been to support what I need to learn & has engaged me: both async and sync stuff #chat2lrnj Christian-Carter
#chat2lrn Q1…any learning that is electronic is….’elearning’.Rob Hubbard
A1) I hear "You’ve been assigned an elearning course" and I just grown. #chat2lrndavid Kelly
Q2 What has led to you to having a good eLearning experience? chat2lrnchat2lrn
#chat2lrn Q2: interacting with other people like me.Rob Hubbard
Q2 When I am truly involved and not just a responding monkey! Chat2lrnNic Laycock
A2) The best elearning experiences are those that emphasize design and experience over simply what the template asks for. chat2lrnDavid Kelly
q2) Engagement and interactivity. I hate webinars when there is no chat and you can’t see who attendees are #chat2lrnlesley Price
#chat2lrn Q2: When I get to chose what I do, when I do it and how.Rob Hubbard
A2) A good eLearning experience ends with "That was fun, and I learned!" as opposed to "Glad that’s over with…" chat2lrnTom Spiglanin
Q2) being in control, and interacting with other learners – just listening or reading, not so much…. chat2lrnMeg Bertapelle
Q2) Having some or even total control of what I learn and when. Where the delivery has been designed with me in mind! chat2lrnJ Christian-Carter
#chat2lrn Q2: When it’s fast. When I’m supported in implementing my learning.Rob Hubbard
Q3 What has been the cause of you having any bad eLearning experiences? chat2lrnchat2lrn
A3) Lack of interactivity, poor audio/video quality, inability to load from LMS, lengthy duration, etc. chat2lrnJD Dillon
#chat2lrn Q3: Not finding the answer I need.Rob Hubbard
A3) contributing to bad experience: don’t account for what I already know and try to "learn" me again. chat2lrnTom Spiglanin
Q3) Oh dear, where shall I start? All small text, page-turning, no interaction, little control, patronising "we will .." stuff chat2lrnJ Christian-Carter
3: traps me in a silo with nothing but my own ignorance and experiences #chat2lrnkelly Garber
#chat2lrn Q3: Poor source content = bad foundations. Everything built on it is flawed.Rob Hubbard
A3) More bad experience with eLearning: tell me or show me, don’t let me explore and try it on my own. chat2lrnTom Spiglanin
A3) Regulatory requirements such as "time before you can proceeed to the next slide". chat2lrnDavid Kelly
Q4 What do eLearning designers, developers and deliverers need to do better? chat2lrnchat2lrn
Q4) Constantly be reinspired instead of only following a rule book chat2lrnLisa Goldstein
A4) Design eLearning within the context of a greater performance improvement plan. Use technology for what it does well. chat2lrnJD Dillon
#chat2lrn Q4: Stop designing courses, start designing solutions to business problems.Rob Hubbard
Q4) focus on the LEARNER! what do they need to do, give them control, allow exploration, provide resources, give them access chat2lrnMeg Bertapelle
Q4) educate the stakeholders on good user experience. #chat2lrnandrea May
Q4 Work in an engaging way starting from a true understanding of the business process Chat2lrnNic Laycock
4: keep it simple …I mean really, it doesn’t need to be complicated or cost a fortune chat2lrnKelly Garber
A4) Raise your expectations. Bottom line is that we deliver what we do as a field because somehow, it’s deemed as acceptable. chat2lrnDavid Kelly
Q4) I hate to say this but most eL design, development & delivery needs to be done better. It’s like we’ve gone backwards! chat2lrnJ Christian-Carter
q4) Consider alternative roles; facilitation, creating the environment in which… remove the pedestal, become an enabler #chat2lrnolaug N Gardener
Q5 What ‘compass points’ would you like to see to guide eLearning providers? chat2lrnchat2lrn
Q5) the learner, the learner, the learner & the learner chat2lrnMeg Bertapelle
Q5) We need the best of the best designers in our industry to teach us. Who’s in? I need more inspiration. chat2lrnLisa Goldstein
A5) just because you know how to use a tool doesn’t mean it’s the right tool. chat2lrnTom Spiglanin
Q5) Consider more than just the "E". Focus on Learning. Blend, blend, blend. Think "program", not "event". #chat2lrnmark Sheppard
#chat2lrn Q5: user-centred design and rapid prototyping approaches.Rob Hubbard
Q5) Given how poor many webinars/virtual classroom eL is, we definitely need greater input in this area chat2lrnJ Christian-Carter
A5) Compass point: Challenge whether an eLearning course is even needed chat2lrnTom Spiglanin
Q6 What is the future of eLearning? Why? chat2lrnchat2lrn
Q6 Bright if it engages, is relevant and available at point of need – mobile likely to be a huge opportunity Chat2lrnNic Laycock
6: learning of all forms will need to be more elastic chat2lrnKelly Garber
A6) Shorter, more interaction, greater context, mobile, social … chat2lrnJD Dillon
#chat2lrn Q6: My learning, tailored to me, always available, in my pocket.Rob Hubbard
Q6) I hope the future is learner-centered, mobile, performance-based, and pull rather than push- otherwise ppl might go postal 😉 chat2lrnMeg Bertapelle
Q6) hate to say, but as rapid design tools become even easier, think we’ll see more bad elearning than good. Sigh chat2lrnAndrea May
A6) Learning that happens anywhere, recognizing accomplishments, not completion. Tin Can API http://tincanapi.com/ chat2lrnJD Dillon
#chat2lrn Q6: When learning is indistinguishable from just getting the job done.Rob Hubbard
Q6) In a technology-enabled world it should definitely have one but it has to up its game considerably chat2lrnJ Christian-Carter
WE all need to be sharing more best practice and quit re-inventing the wheel #chat2lrnfiona Quigley
Q7 So what exactly is eLearning good for? chat2lrnchat2lrn
7: good for creating a path for a learner to find the right information at the right time chat2lrnKelly Garber
Q7) Quite a lot. There’s nothing wrong with eLearning per se, what’s wrong is with a lot of its design and delivery. chat2lrnJ Christian-Carter
q7) good for engaging with peeps beyond your immediate circle of ‘local’ buddies..chat’s and webinars cross boundries chat2lrnLesley Price
Q7 Providing people with on demand access to info and skills development – provided it is done so they want to engage and have fun Chat2lrnNic Laycock
Q7) agreed, safe practice so can fail & learn & try again; on-demand access/JIT chat2lrnMeg Bertapelle
Q7) when well designed, it can bring consistent messages to learners across widely dispersed user populations. chat2lrnAndrea May
QWrap If wee do not get out of our rut and do things the learner needs we are dead in the water Chat2lrnNic Laycock
[Picture credit: Christian Ferrari]
