It's Online, But is it Learning? - Part 1

Most companies are involved in online learning in some way. But just because content is available online, it doesn't mean that it's e-learning... This two-part article looks at three key aspects of sound e-learning. You might like to think about a particular e-learning module from your organisation as we explore the key aspects of Instructional Design, Navigation and Structure, and Screen Design. Instructional Design Instructional design is the key to the creation of an effective learning module. The purpose of instructional design is to assist the learner to achieve the specified outcomes as effectively as possible. All of the established instructional design principles are relevant to e-learning, however there are two principles which deserve special mention. The first is a fundamental instructional design principle; every learning module must have objectives. Objectives set out specifically what learners must achieve by the end of that module (and these should be available to learners so that they are clear about required performance and standard). Every piece of content and every learning activity within the module itself must then be designed to assist learners towards the achievement of those objectives. Further, for module assessment to be valid, it must allow for achievement against each and every objective to be proved. For online content to be classified as e-learning there must be a set of learner-centred objectives, with associated assessment. Are objectives the foundation of your selected piece of e-learning? To what degree do objectives determine the design of learning and of assessment? Another key principle for e-learning is that of interaction. This is just a variation on the principle of participation. In relation to e-learning, a learner must be able to interact on every page (over and above page-turning). Interacting with the information, rather than just reading, gives learners the opportunity to absorb, understand and recall what they are learning. One basic technique is to give learners the control to reveal information on the screen (through rollovers or clicks) ideally using an exploratory rather than linear style. Using this technique also reminds the designer to keep textual chunks small and, where possible, to use visual methods to get the message across instead. Online learning provides for many and varied forms of interaction, even though in reality there are only a few true interaction techniques - rollover, click, drag, type text. It is the presentation and layout that adds variety and interest. For example, rather than a series of textual True / False questions, two large coloured buzzers can be presented which learners press to respond to each question. This activity can be further enhanced with sound effects if permissible. The learner is still clicking for the answer, but it feels very different. As well as creating interactions for the delivery of information, review activities must be built into each section. In general, a review is their final preparation before assessment. Reviews use the same interaction techniques as the learning interactions, however the purpose is to assist learners to integrate, recall and apply their learning from the whole section or module. How interactive is your selected module? How well do the activities assist towards learning and achievement of objectives? Media can be used to either detract from or to enhance learning. Graphics and animation can be of great value if they assist in the learning process and reduce the amount of text required. Some graphics or animation may be included to add interest or to reward achievement. This is acceptable as long as they are bound to their purpose (not merely gratuitous) and do not steal resource from learning efficacy. Voice and sound effects are rarely allowed in workplace learning but, when appropriate, voice is an excellent way to give instructions, explain visuals or expand upon key text points - as a facilitator or coach might do. In contrast, using a voice to talk through a page of text does little to enhance learning and often frustrates learners. So the two most important things about instructional design for online learning is that the module and its assessment must be based on objectives, and the module must be interactive. In Part 2 of this article, we will look at Navigation and Structure, and Screen Design.