The e-learning beginner's FAQ

There are some questions I get asked all the time by workplace learning professionals who have had little in the way of exposure to e-learning, in all its forms. This FAQ answers those questions.


Why is e-learning so unpopular?
Will e-learning put me out of a job?
Is e-learning effective?
What is e-learning good for?
What specifically is e-learning good for?
Is e-learning something I can do?


Like any good FAQ I will be adding to this in time. If you have a question, why not use the Comments facility to ask it here?

Is e-learning something I can do?

In what will probably be the final post in my series of questions most frequently asked by learning professionals, I tackle the question �Is e-learning something I can do?� As has been the case with all of these posts, the answer very much depends on what type of e-learning you are talking about:

Facilitating virtual classroom sessions

Generally speaking, if you�re confident facilitating in a physical classroom then there�s no reason whatsoever, other than fear of the unknown, why you should�t do the same in an online environment. There are differences, of course, not least the lack of feedback in terms of  body language from participants, but you do get used to this. In my experience, most classroom facilitators benefit from some coaching to help them get used to teaching online, but this should not take too long. My answer would be somewhat different if you had no classroom experience, because clearly you would first have to become comfortable with facilitation as a general skill, quite separately from any issues related to the technology. Onlignment publish a free virtual classroom facilitator�s guide.

Creating e-learning tutorials

This is a tough one. Hard experience has taught me that only career specialists (in other words those who do this for a living) should go near the development of high-end e-learning content. By 'high end' I mean very professional-looking, multimedia-rich or interactively-complex materials. To develop this stuff you typically need a variety of specialities, including project management, learning design, graphics and, on occasions, audio-visual specialists and software engineers. If you want to do this for a living, you�re going to have to choose your speciality and really work at building your craft skills over many years.

On the other hand, most of the e-learning content that is needed in an organisation does not need to be high-end - it just needs to be good enough to do the job. This quick and simple �rapid e-learning� can be designed and developed by some generalist learning professionals. Which ones? Well, I�d say those who (1) like making things, (2) can write clearly, (3) are well organised and (4) can devote serious blocks of time. If that doesn�t sound like you, keep clear and concentrate instead on working productively with those who are better suited to the job than you are.

Creating other forms of digital online content

My standard position on this is that every learning professional should have at least some content creation skills, although I do waver on this from time to time. What I mean is being able to put together a slide show (perhaps even add a narration), create a quick demo of a piece of software, create and edit still images, write a simple how-to guide, put together a quiz, perhaps shoot a simple video. In fact, many of these tasks are becoming life skills and most children take to them easily. For a guide to creating rapid e-learning and all forms of digital content, see Onlignment�s Digital learning content: A designer�s guide.

Facilitating collaborative online learning

More modern, informal learning approaches put the trainer as the �guide on the side� rather than the �sage on the stage�. These days a great deal of that guiding is going to be online, using web sites, forums, wikis, blogs and all sorts of communities of practice. You may find yourself called upon to be a coach, moderator, curator, champion and, like everyone else, a contributor. If you�re used to being the centre of attention you may find this hard, but I reckon most learning people adapt to this role without too much difficulty.

So, I think that makes my answer a qualified �yes�, at least for most people. You can do e-learning, but you have to be prepared to put the effort in. You could just stick your head in the sand and hope it goes away, but in one form or another online learning (like online everything else) is here to stay.

What specifically is e-learning good for?

Last week I attempted to answer the question 'what is e-learning good for?' and came up with a very simple answer:

E-learning, in its many and varied forms, is suitable for any learning activity which does not have to be conducted face-to-face.

I went on to explain what the circumstances would be in which a face-to-face solution would be needed, but I probably didn't go far enough to satisfy most learning professionals. The reason is that you can't generalise about e-learning because it comes in so many forms. Computers and networks provide so many opportunities to enhance learning in the workplace, but the opportunities are dependent on the use you are making of these tools. So, here's a more specific response to the question, categorised by type of e-learning:

Type of e-learning	Some possible applications
Interactive self-study tutorials	Short lessons which help the learner to acquire knowledge against specific objectives, typically as a precursor to using this knowledge to perform tasks in the workplace or to engage in other, more practical, learning activities such as workshops. Tutorials which develop problem-solving and decision-making skills, using case studies, scenarios and other forms of interactivity.
Live online events using web conferencing tools	Formal instructional sessions, similar to those conducted in a physical classroom. As a component in a formal blended solution, e.g. to introduce a new course, to explore key topics, to review progress.  As an informal developmental activity, e.g. webinars including presentations and discussions. As a tool to allow groups of learners to collaborate on projects and assignments. As a means for learners to present the outcomes of projects and assignments.
Games and simulations	As a form of guided discovery learning, allowing learners to gain insights into problem-solving and decision-making principles, e.g. project management, business strategy, marketing. As a way for learners to explore complex principles and processes, e.g. economics, physics.   As a safe way for learners to practise complex psychomotor skills, e.g. driving a car, flying a plane. In a multi-player context, as a life-like and immersive way for learners to practise collaborative tasks such as handling emergencies.
Digital online content, including web articles, videos, screencasts, podcasts, slide shows	Performance support material for access on-demand. As a component in a formal blended solution, e.g. to stimulate a discussion or in preparation for a workshop. As a developmental activity initiated by the learner. As an output of learning activities carried out by learners working individually or in groups.
Social media tools, including forums, wikis, blogs, social networks	To facilitate group collaboration within a formal blended solution. As performance support tools, i.e. making it easier to seek out and provide expertise. As tools for sharing best practice, links and information. As tools for problem-solving and reflection.
E-assessments	To check knowledge, understanding and, to a more limited extent, problem-solving and decision-making skills, against specific objectives. Of limited reliability when the assessment takes place immediately after the delivery of learning content. E-assessments are not capable of assessing all types of learning objectives.

If I've missed anything important, please let me know.

Life beyond the course

Last month I spoke at a conference called Beyond the Course - Rethinking Corporate Learning, which was organised by BSkyB and e-learning developer Brightwave. The event was held at the spectacular Edinburgh International Climbing Arena, and attracted nearly 50 separate organisations, mostly from the private sector. The inimitable Don Taylor did a great job of chairing, and as Nigel Paine attests in his own review, you got the distinct impression that this was an audience looking to ring the changes. Hats off to Brightwave, which has historically made most of its money when clients chose not to move 'beyond the course', for being prepared to challenge the orthodoxies of corporate l&d.

In my session, I shared the model that I developed in my book The New Learning Architect, which shows 'the course' as being just one of four important contexts in which learning takes place at work:

1. So yes, there is formal learning, typically packaged up as courses. No-one was suggesting that the course - with its defined objectives, curriculum, professional content and tuition and formal assessment - was dead or dying, just that it plays an increasingly small part in the mix.
2. Much of the learning we do to develop our skills and knowledge in our current jobs or in preparation for future responsibilities is non-formal. This includes one-to-one learning through on-job instruction, coaching and mentoring; social interaction from conferences, webinars and communities of practice; as well as the stimulation we receive individually through reading, listening to podcasts and watching videos.  
3. Much was made at the conference of the shift from courses to resources, from just-in-case learning to just-in-time. There is no doubt that expectations are shifting as we make increasing use of on-demand resources, whether these are packaged as content or involve interaction with peers and experts. An on-demand learning strategy will include the provision of formal reference materials, increasingly through mobile devices, but will also support bottom-up approaches using search tools, forums and wikis.
4. And then, of course, such a great proportion of our learning at work is experiential - it occurs not by 'learning to' do something but by 'learning from' our own experiences and those of our colleagues. Experiential learning will occur whether or not it is formally acknowledged and supported by employers, but can be accelerated and enhanced by policies and practices that encourage job rotation and enrichment, action learning, formal and informal feedback systems and a culture that encourages risk and accepts mistakes as inevitable.  

Moving 'beyond the course' is a challenge for l&d departments which have restricted their role (or been restricted) to formal learning, but a challenge that has to be faced. Courses are too ponderous and inflexible to meet the majority of the requirements of the modern workplace. Learning professionals have to choose whether to spread their wings and lead their organisations into an exciting new era or find themselves confined to the compliance ghetto.

What is e-learning good for?

Continuing my series of posts that answer the questions I most get asked by learning professionals, I turn to one that's always difficult to answer: what is e-learning good for?

There's nearly always an agenda behind this question or at least a great deal of scepticism about the potential of e-learning. What people really want to know is whether e-learning has any relevance beyond the obviously restricted domain of regulatory/compliance training. In particular they want to know whether it has the potential to challenge what they are currently doing in the classroom.

As with all of these posts, the question is complicated by the fact that the questioner very rarely states what type of e-learning they are thinking about. Every type of e-learning - self-study tutorials, games and simulations, virtual classrooms, digital online content, collaborative distance learning - has its own unique advantages and disadvantages and therefore very different potential applications. However, it is possible to answer the question without qualifying further:

E-learning, in its many and varied forms, is suitable for any learning activity which does not have to be conducted face-to-face (or, more rarely, using an alternative medium such as print).

This is a bold statement but not over-stating the case. E-learning provides an equivalent to all learning activities that would previously have been conducted by other means. It also provides opportunities that have no precedent in traditional media. It cannot be used in any situation, however, because of some obvious limitations:

• Without sophisticated add-ons, computers work with only two senses - sight and sound - and can only display so much on a screen at one time (even with a retina display!).
• Access to fast networks is still not ubiquitous, particularly on the move.
• Not everyone has the necessary hardware and software, or the ability to use them.

So what do these limitations preclude? Assuming that access to the right computers and the right networks is not an issue, then you can definitely rule out all those learning activities that demand a rich sensory experience, i.e. the ability to clearly see body language (i.e. more than you can with a webcam), to touch or manipulate equipment and other objects, or to physically interact with other people or the wider environment. In these scenarios (which only constitute a minority of the situations with which most learning professionals are confronted) e-learning can still usually play a minority role as part of a blend, even if it cannot do the whole job.

I suspect that this answer is not going to satisfy most questioners, so next time I'll be more specific about the potential applications for each of the main types of e-learning.