5 Common Mistakes to Watch Out for in Your eLearning
By 03 Jul 2019
eLearning courses are quickly becoming recognised as one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to on-board, train and upskill staff within organisations, offering a range of additional benefits which traditional classroom learning cannot. However, as with any new technology there are always going to be mistakes made during the adoption process. This is no different with the transition from classroom to digital cooperate eLearning, with a couple of common mistakes beginning to arise as more and more organisations make the switch. In this post we look at some of the most common mistakes made when designing an eLearning course to help you ensure your learner gets the best possible education and your organisation gets the best possible return, from the program.
1. Information overload
The attention span of human being’s is on the decline and although it may seem beneficial to included as much information within the course as possible, this can often lead to a decrease in engagement and retention of the information – regardless of how well the information is presented. When deciding on the information to present within your course, always try to only include the most important pieces of information and be cautious not to waffle or go off topic.
2. Not knowing your target audience
If you don’t know who your target audience is, their level of expertise, what they expect from the course or even their educational qualifications, it is very difficult to create relevant course content, written and delivered in method that is best suited to maximise results. Before creating a new course, make sure you have a good understanding of who the end user will be and the reason they are completing the course in the first place. Then consider what language these people use, the platform they are most likely to be completing the course on and the type of information delivery method they will best connect with.
3. Lack of assessment tools
Without a final assessment within a learning module there is no way for a manager to gauge the learners understanding of the content. A final assessment ensures that the learner pays attention to the information delivered throughout the course and improves the retention of this information by making them reflect on it immediately after the completion of the course. The final assessment can also identify if a learner does not have enough of an understanding around a certain topic indicating that additional training is required.
4. Lack of Interactivity
Digital learning platforms offer countless new possibilities in the way information is packaged and delivered, yet it is not uncommon to see screen after screen of plain text just as you would in a paper back book. Displaying information in this form is almost guaranteed to disengage your learner, resulting in poor results from the course and therefor a poor return on your investment. Be sure to maximise the interactivity of your course by including a range of different information delivery method, such as:
- Audio
- Video
- Gamification
- Drag and drop
- Click to reveal
5. Ignoring learner feedback
One of the great things about eLearning is that, for the most part, it does not require the presence of a teacher – saving your organisation money and enabling learners to complete the training in their own time. However, it also means that there is no contact between those putting the course content together and the students completing the course. Additionally, while the final assessment will let the course manager know whether a student has passed, it does not provide any insight into how well the course was received and if potential changes could improve it for future learners. Therefore, including an opportunity for the learner to provide feedback is crucial. This enables them to give insight to the course manager about what they did and didn’t like about the course and how it can be improved. elearning mistakes