Interview with an Expert: Susan Boyd

How to Make Learning Stick in Online Courses

T/D: Susan, why is there the perception that e-learning doesn't stick and what can we do about it?

Boyd: I think there are a variety of challenges that can cause an e-learning program to fail.  One in particular would be technology barriers which result in the trainee/learner not having the proper access to get to the course. Often a trainee/learner gets to the course only to find the content is really not pertinent to their job needs or find they have to go through 100 page turning screens just to find a small nugget of content that is pertinent.  It’s quite possible  the training will not stick because it's almost as though we're hiding the forest with the trees.  Trainees are not getting the overall picture.

Some trainees/learners really just want to get through the content thinking the ultimate purpose to e-learning is to get to the end. Many are only looking to find the “next” button and continue to push it until it’s at the end of the session.

T/D: What are some tips that can make this better?  Are your tips coming from the perspective of instructional designers who are the ones who create the training or are there tips for us as learners?

Boyd: Most of my tips have to do with content - I think that's the instructor and designer.  How to break up the content into chunks of learning, how to make it as job specific as possible.  Try to give the learner control of the content, make it interactive - those are things that instructional designers can do.

Preparing the learners and preparing the managers are also really key.  Many managers thought e-learning was just this magic button people push on their computer and, through osmosis, people would instantly learn the topic.  Managers don’t often invest enough time in following through:  Did people do it?  Do they understand it?  And are they applying it?

The key thing for the learners is to ensure, they can access it.  We have a generation of learners today that are more internet savvy - so that's wonderful.  But their computers at home are typically better than their computers in the office.

We need to make sure we're preparing them by whatever wizards they need to test their system.  Whether it's a webinar they're going to attend or it's how to get to the learning management system to enroll in the online course.  It needs to be made as easy as possible.  Maybe some frequently asked questions, or getting started guides are helpful.

T/D:    That’s not  as much making the learning stick as making the environment more accessible for the learning to stick.

Boyd: Right. Learning can't stick if you can't get to the course. Good point.  I look at this as a multi-faceted problem.  Part of it is the content design with the instructional design; part is working with the learners; part is working with the managers - providing them the right support material for what they need to do.

In terms of making learning stick, it’s important to make it real world.  People can relate to it and find the information in the course, but can also find it outside the course.  If there's a reference card or frequently asked question which can only be found in the course, that becomes the challenge because these are the types of things people need to access outside the course.  So there ought to be a way that they know where to find those same types of online references.

T/D: What tips do we have for training designers then?

Boyd: I think it's engaging and having the learning relate to something - hopefully it's a real world example.  Making some connection ia key part of it.  Using graphics and pictures - for example in safety courses - I worked with one client and the pictures we use are pictures of people on the factory line.  This particular client is a manufacturing company and there are examples of them where something is unsafe.  Maybe they're not wearing the proper protective equipment or there's a tripping hazard.  You're taking these real pictures and saying, what's wrong?

T/D: That's fun!

Boyd: Or saying, there are six things wrong with this picture, can you define them or click them.  In that case defining them sometimes is actually click in the area where you think there's a problem.  So it is forcing the learner to do something – we want the learners to do more than click on the “next” button.

TD: What I hear you saying, is in order to make e-learning stick, you have to understand how the learner is  going to use the content and support them through the process.  It's about managing the manager's expectations on how the learning will  be used or what the end result of the learning is.  Then designing it so that it's mentally stimulating and engaging for the  participants, which is a design process. It's pulling the learning from the participants which is what we normally do in the classroom, but we don't think it can be done online in my estimation.

Boyd: That's the challenge. E-learning was supposed to be able to get the right content to the right person at the right time.  They were equations that we had trouble with in the classroom - we could never deal with the right place and time - e-learning kind of takes away that barrier.  But we're still struggling with the content.

The design of the content has to understand the environment in which the content is going to be used.

T/D: Thank you Susan, The most powerful thing you said to me today was that when we take the learners out of the equation, we design bad e-learning.  That's really powerful because I think too often we think of e-learning as the 'e' part and we have to start thinking about it as the 'learning' part.

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Susan Boyd has over 30 years' experience in training and computer education, with extensive experience in planning and managing computer training projects. She has directed and participated in all phases of the projects including needs analysis, course development, train the trainers, course delivery and follow-up.  Susan has developed and delivered training in a variety of formats including instructor-led classroom, virtual training sessions using a webinar, and online asynchronous e-learning courses. You can learn more about Susan and contact her at www.susan-boyd.com