Common eLearning Pitfalls To Avoid
Being in the business of developing custom learning programs, we at Obsidian Learning work with a lot of clients and face a huge variety of challenges. We have learned to tailor our approaches to respond to different audiences and to overcome any potential obstacles. A big part of what we have learned over the years is what not to do.
In our eClip "Destructional Design", we took a lighthearted approach to exposing some of the difficulties associated with eLearning design. Here, I want to further elaborate on some of the things to avoid when your goal is to develop an effective eLearning course. I’m sure that many of you have first-hand experience with various forms of less than stellar eLearning, and have thoughts on why good eLearning is not easy to come by; others of you might have a couple of eLearning-related pet peeves, and I image one or two of you out there have written impressive tomes on "what not to do when developing an eLearning course". Across that spectrum, we would love for you to share your experiences. Here are a few pointers that we find useful in our day-to-day work:
1. Do Not Skip The Kick-Off Meeting
Project kick-off, stakeholder meeting, first project meeting – no matter the name, that first meeting with your client, once the sales process is out of the way, is critical to the success of the project. Yes, you could get started more quickly on project deliverables if you didn’t have to have an actual meeting, but those deliverables might not be exactly what the client was looking for. This meeting allows the team to meet and greet, get a handle on each other’s personalities, dot those "i"s and cross those "t"s. It may cost you a few hours of your time, but not having a kick-off meeting may cost you a client relationship.
2. Do Not Skip The Stakeholder Analysis
The project may look simple. The client may tell you they need an awareness course, provide you with the content, and tell you who the target audience is. But what about the audience’s level of experience, or their environment? How do they get their information? Is mobile learning appropriate? All of these questions need to be answered before the project starts gathering steam. Sometimes clients think they have all the answers, but until you talk to your audience, your approach strategy should never be set in stone. Stakeholder analysis may be more typically associated with communication projects, but we believe that effective learning is communication. Knowledge communication.
3. Do Not Forget The Final Goal
Learning objectives are critical, and using them as your guideline throughout the entire project design is equally as critical. Too often we spend our time designing brilliant learning objectives based on the content provided, but we forget to ask the most important question of all: What do you want the learners to do differently after taking this class? The answer can change not just the learning objectives, but the entire approach toward the course. Once you have the right behavioral objectives and you begin development, make it a habit to stop and think about the overarching aim of the course. Ask yourself: Am I truly fulfilling these objectives? If I saw this course for the first time, would I be able to reach the training goals?
4. Do Not Disregard Existing Preconceptions And Ideas
Chances are your project is not the first learning project the client or the audience has experienced. They have previous experiences, successes, and failures. Ask them what they would like to see. Ask them what worked and didn’t work in the past. Reinventing the failure wheel is not really an effective way to use your time, or to leave a client with a positive impression.
5. Do Not Think That eLearning Has To Migrate Learners To The Cloud
If you create an eLearning course, know that it should be just one part of a comprehensive blended learning approach. This is probably not the only training the audience gets. The course should be designed to complement and improve the delivery, assessment, and business of education. The best eLearning courses provide an integrated experience, connecting the dots between other training, instructors, and learners.
