5 Things That Make You Lose Your eLearners
eLearning is one of the most popular forms of education today. From high school students, stay-at-home moms to busy executives and retirees, there is no shortage of potential learners wanting to pick up a new skill. The beauty of eLearning is that students can learn at their own pace and on their own schedule. Some might zip through 4 lessons in the middle of the night while others might make a single lesson a standing weekly appointment.
This popularity is also the reason behind a great deal of competition. Courses must be both comprehensive and engaging to keep students coming back for more. If you find yourself losing students mid-course, here are 5 common reasons why:
1. Lack Of Engagement
Engagement has become a buzzword that’s used in every aspect of a business, be it HR or marketing. Everyone is aware of its importance, but not all know how to create it. Often times, lectures aren’t successful just because they aren’t engaging enough—this can be because you didn’t use the right fonts, colors, it’s hard to read or follow the lecture, navigation is confusing, you only use your email for communication, the lecture is going too fast, you aren’t responding to questions…
Remember that engaging and interactive learning is becoming a norm. Students don’t want to just listen to you, no matter how good of a speaker you are. They will want to chime in, ask questions, be a part of a community, voice their opinions, so give them the opportunity to do so.
2. Ignoring Marketing
Long is the list of failed businesses that thought they had a product so great it would literally "sell itself." It just doesn't matter how great your product is if no one knows about it. The good news is, thanks to social media, marketing your eLearning course is easier than ever, and it doesn't cost a small fortune to do it.
Once you get to know your audience and set up the right channels to market your course, you don’t really have to spend too much time doing this. You can set up an automated system to do everything from regular newsletters to welcome emails, reminders, and more.
3. No Interaction And Feedback
Interaction and feedback logically follow engagement. There will be no engagement if you don’t have the former two. While most high-school and college students would love the thought of a class with no homework, no tests, and no grades, would you really pay to take such a class?
Remember that eLearning is voluntary, which means your students want to learn. But how do they know if they are really making genuine progress—or actually learning—if there is no interaction or feedback?
Whether you offer online quizzes, a Q&A forum, or short one-on-one sessions, giving your students the opportunity to voice their opinion and give you feedback is critical. Employing new tech solutions can even help you with determining whether there are any issues within the course that might otherwise slip unnoticed.
For instance, the right tech lets you track the progress of your students in real time and notice whether they tend to slow down at certain points during lectures. Asking for their feedback at these points will help you determine whether there’s something that needs to be fixed.
4. Not Following The Trends Of The eLearning Industry
Every industry has certain trends that you either must set, defy, or keep up with. Being a trendsetter is hard and often takes years of laboring in anonymity before it pays off. Establishing yourself as someone that defies trends is also a huge gamble that only pays off for a rare few.
The majority of successful businesses get that way by becoming early adopters of new trends rather than trendsetters. Remember that eLearning courses are a business and to be successful you have to follow the same rules.
5. No Updates Or Revision To Material
One thing that makes eLearning so popular is the ability to learn about the most up-to-date programs or information available. If a student gets partially through an eLearning course only to realize the instructor is teaching the out-of-date material, they will most likely drop the class and find one that is current. While there may be little to no difference between a version of something you are teaching in an eLearning course and the most current version, your students do not know that.
In many cases, they, themselves, are expected to know the most up-to-date software, programs, or procedures, so they don't want to waste their time on something that seems out-of-date. Remember that as an instructor you are establishing yourself as an expert. By failing to show that you are up-to-date with the latest materials, you also damage your credibility as a trusted authority.
Listen to their feedback, and do revisions where necessary. If they spot an error or issue that can be solved, and you do not react to this, this might be an indicator that there might be more issues with the course, and they might drop it.
Wrapping Up
Creating an eLearning course or series of courses can be either a lucrative career or just a great source of side income. Anything that generates income is by nature a business and like all businesses, it needs careful tending to achieve maximum profitability. Whether you just enjoy passing on your hard-earned knowledge and wisdom or hope to turn eLearning courses into a full-time career, you will still need students to take your courses. Designing high-quality courses that are marketed well will set you on the path to creating an engaging eLearning experience that will keep students coming back for more.
