Elearning has become the standard mode of training for most large businesses. This trend has only accelerated over the last 15 months, against the backdrop of COVID19. Many have moved to vILT in a hurry as that was the only alternative left for them, even though it may not have been the best option, but that’s for another blog.
Learner pushback (learners complaining about bad eLearning or simply choosing not to take assigned learning) has existed for several years with learning engagement being its chief casualty. This suddenly increased focus on digital learning may be further lowering the learning engagement levels. And that’s a problem. A big problem.
The genesis of the learning engagement problem are twin:
- The belief that providing content in any shape is helpful for adult audiences (staff in the workplace) since they can learn themselves. This cannot be more flawed.
- ROI calculations have traditionally revolved around cost savings, and they essentially attempt to measure only the operational efficiency of L&D. 20% less costs for eLearning over earlier methods is an example of such a type of calculation. However, it also is flawed and over-reliance on such figures has an adverse impact on learning engagement.
Learning is not easy and needs effort from the learner. It is crucial to leverage and support learner motivation throughout their learning journey. Learning science research suggests several methods that can be leveraged to achieve the same.
Learning that engages the learner meaningfully, helps stronger learning and supports skills development. It has a much higher chance of having the learning transfer to real world performance, which is the ultimate objective in the workplace. And only if we achieve that should we consider our solutions as effective.
So I say engaging eLearning is effective learning. Rest is doing nothing more than ticking some boxes. I urge you to Go Beyond normal elearning and focus on Learning Engagement.
