double take

The old style of computer-based training was content-centric, taking into consideration only the information-based definition of content (below), and giving less attention to all the resources that could be used in order to transform the learning process into a meaningful, enjoyable and interesting experience.

With all the changes from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 and all the buzz about collaboration, participation and social networking, the Educational sphere could not remain deaf. When even new businesses and marketing channels were able to create educational materials more engaging and effective than traditional educational models, educators needed to pay attention.

However, the whole theory of engaging learners, putting them at the center of the learning process is not recent, many educationalists have been discussing student-centered pedagogical models over the past 50 years. At times it seems as if marketers and designers have been paying more attention to educational theories than educators.

E-learning had to adapt. Learner-centric programs create opportunities to intrigue learners stimulating them to unfold the content, promoting a dynamic interaction between task, instructor and learner, praising collaboration instead of competition, transforming learning in an iterative process.

Adults want to know the value of what they are learning, how the new knowledge relates to their life, and how it will help them to develop important abilities. They want to be challenged with surprising information and effort-saving insights. They do not have time to waste studying things that they already know or having to do things without understanding why.

Good learning experiences pay attention to the learner’s background and cause him to think and seek for new solutions. It is not a matter of presenting the content from simple to complex concepts, it is to hear our learner and let him unfold the content as he needs, creating ways to help him abstract, synthesize and integrate the new information, giving opportunities to practice for later performance, promoting self-awareness of competencies and needs.

“The main thing you need to know about instructions is that no one is going to read them – at least not until after repeated attempts at ‘muddling through’ have failed”

Steve Krug, Don’t Make me Think

Michael Allen corroborates Krug saying that “with an intuitive interface, fewer instructions are needed and learners can engage in interactivity more readily”. Every interface should be self-explanatory. Instructions should be cut to the bare minimum and used only if really necessary. It does not matter which e-learning platform we choose to use (Eedo, Moodle etc.), it is our job to minimize learner’s memory burden, errors, learner’s effort to navigate and just promote the design features and content. The interface is good when it contributes to an effective learning experience.

We keep hearing about the importance of usability. Why is it so important? The answer is: to make your learner comfortable, confident and productive! We are challenged to develop a clear, easy to use and understandable interface. We must speak the learner’s language and be consistent.

Learners should not waste their time wondering…

• Where should I go?
• How should I start?
• Where is this chapter or content?
• Where to begin? What is important?
• Under each section did they put references and resources?

The course interface should be easy to scan, navigate, with clear defined areas, links, diminishing as much noise as you can. Do not make the learner frustrated with unimportant aspects, wondering and guessing where to go, muddling through, this part of the process should be effortless and pass unnoticed. Create a clear visual hierarchy, follow the Web conventions and standards. Leave to learners time to learn the content, not waste their attention and minutes teaching how to use your application.

References: Steve Krug, Don’t Make me Think;
Michael Allen, Guide to e-learning.

We need to feel that we are doing something important. All learning experiences should be meaningful and memorable. Although content and technology are of concern, it is essential to stimulate interest, point out benefits and confirm progress.

A problem with obligatory participation in forums is that threaded discussions are not used to create something together, a final unified project. In an online course with a fixed schedule, the discussions are too rigid and seem to have an expiration date. As if last week’s discussion is not connected with the following discussions. There is no sense of continuity, unless learners go back to past forums and read them again.

Identified challenges

When the student is being evaluated by his participation in the weekly online forums, sometimes he feels forced to participated in “limp and lifeless” discussion. The factor of being required to say something has some challenges in the online environment, where the student may:

• Feel afraid of saying something stupid
• Feel that someone else has already mentioned his idea and there is nothing more to add
• Quickly agree with something someone said without adding additional thought
• Quickly give a weak tweak of support
• Glean, recycle and post

More than that, from classmates reading the answers, it may seem dry or meaningless when:

• The questions are inadequate, uninspiring or irrelevant;
• The questions that are too narrow for divergent thought;
• The familiarity/similarity of answers lulls the reader into mental lethargy;
• The questions and answers show lack of preparation and motivation.

Questions, threads and Beyond!

My suggestion would be to incorporate the discussion into a social notebook, where everybody can add a page, a graph, a drawing, a stick-note, a comment in pink ink! The notebook would have a different structure, more anarchic, flexible and with space for real collaboration. As if all students engaged in that class were authors of a final online social notebook that could be used for future references.

“To children, experience is something
that happens to them; to adults, their
experience is who they are.”
Malcolm Knowles

We expect adults to act differently than children in all aspects of life other than education! Why? It is fundamental to acknowledge that adult learning differs considerably from children learning and this changes both the expectations that we set for students and how we set about meeting those expectations. There are many possibilities and techniques to present the information for adults, guide and let them practice and assessing their learning. Our job is to deliver content that are always engaging and meaningful, providing the best learning experience possible for our audience.

Adults learn best when…

• The material is relevant to something in their life or work;
• They face real-life problems needing real-life solutions that are considered essential for progress or improvement;
• The teaching is learner-centered.

Some characteristics of Adult Learning…

• Internally motivated: Adults are motivated by information or tasks that they find meaningful.
• Self-directed: Adults are decision-makers and self-directed learners.
• Tend to be problem-centered (rather than content-centered);
• Learning is two-ways (the “teacher” often learns from the “student”);
• Their life experience is acknowledged: Adults bring a great deal of experience and knowledge to any learning situation;
• There is a safe, accepting, and interactive approach to learning;
• Adults have many responsibilities and can be impatient when their time is wasted;
• Adults feel anxious if participating in a group makes them look weak, either professionally or personally.

When we talk about work, it is common sense to discuss the importance of incentives and guidance for achieving our best performance. Now, substitute work for learning. For a great learning experience, it is essential to provide encouragement and nurture the desire for discovering new horizons. People with support feel more confident and do a better job than ones that are ignored or isolated.

Learning Motivation

• Energizes learner attention
• Creates circumstances for learning
• Revitalizes persistence
• Stimulates participation in activities
• Encourages exchanges of information
• Creates opportunities for teaming up
• Creates ways to find missing pieces
• Engages learners for long hours
• Puts learners at the top of their abilities
• Makes learners willing to contribute with great ideas
• Helps to filter out irrelevant stimuli that can hamper the learning
• Fosters recall of knowledge
• Encourages synthesis of new information
• Causes potential relationships to be considered and evaluated
• Builds and reinforces meaningful new relationships that will be stored in long-term memory

Source: Michael Allen’s Guide to e-learning

Blended solutions are ideal for learning attitudinal skills (change of opinion, behavior). In these cases, we may have to use of simulations, conduct discussions and other methods for attitudinal skills training. For instance, let us consider a community program about risk behavior, prevention and health. It is uncertain that the computer-based training will work and provoke awareness and behavior change on issues such as risk behavior, stigma, prejudice etc.

How is it possible to create individualized instruction using different kind of learning styles, when there is a determined curriculum and schedule? This issue caught my interest because it is one of the biggest challenges that I see with online courses. Pretests are only used to evaluate students’ learning in comparison with the post-test and are not used to present students with the opportunity either to tell, or share, or choose a different teaching approach.