Thoughts on eLearning

I just finished reading a post by Marc Rosenberg entitled, "Why I Hate eLearning." Actually, Marc admits it's a love-hate relationship with eLearning and he explains why. It's an interesting read. I suggest you take a look.

As you may know, I'm an old guy who has been around to see training technologies advance from multi-layered overhead transparencies to virtual reality programs. I've moved with the trends and become skilled in several technologies and their enabling software apps. At one time or another, I could program in HTML, Flash, and even taught courses in designing eLearning with Storyline. So, I speak with 30+ years of experience, if not widely acclaimed expertise.

Here's my take on eLearning: It's cool, but not the end-all, be-all of training. It has its purposes and it can save money. But, it's simply a tool, one way of presenting information, that, if used properly, increases the likelihood of something being learned. It's primary shortcoming is in skills training. That's what the rest of this article is about.

Effective skills training requires breaking a task or knowledge into units ranging from simple to complex and then building a program that follows that process. For example, I teach kids how to hit a baseball (a physical skill). We talk first about feet, then legs, then hips, torso, and head. Then, we move to shoulders, arms, wrists, and hands. We practice getting each component right before moving to the next. After all that, we move to holding a bat correctly and swinging it with purpose.

In time, we add a stationary, big ball which is reduced in size until the child can basically hit the thing with a bat. There's several more steps before we move to things like hitting with a purpose and the thinking that goes with hitting a pitched ball from someone who is trying to prevent you from doing that. It's complicated and takes time, but most of the kids I teach end up being really good hitters.

That model of breaking things up from simple to complex and mastery before advancement allows for a lot of positive feedback from the coach for things done well. It also makes most of the physical components (eye-hand-body coordination) of the task automatic allowing the brain to work on the psychological aspects of hitting a ball.

So what does that have to do with eLearning. Absolutely nothing. And that's the point. Let's use another example... hitting a golf ball. I can show you slow-motion videos, have talented instructors explain how to do it, but it is nearly impossible for you to go out and hit a golf ball straight with distance after simply watching a video or completing a fantastic eLearning program. Ain't no way.

Some things have to be learned by doing. Let me rephrase that... All skills have to be learned by doing. Some of the best eLearning programs in the world are developed by the U.S. military. They include state-of-the-art virtual reality training, with simulations that include sounds, feelings, visuals and other senses that are so close to the real thing that you might swear they are. But they aren't. Military pilots (tanks, helicopters, jet fighters, submarines, etc.) still have to go out an actually drive or fly the thing and be coached before they are judged competent to operate it independently.

I love eLearning. I've been doing it for ages. However, I consider eLearning as just another tool. I believe that the more ways something is presented, the more opportunities to practice, and the more opportunities to get helpful coaching, the more likely something will stick.

I understand that eLearning saves money. I understand that it can speed up training. I understand that it is ubiquitous. But, eLearning alone does not produce expertise. People have to perform in real-life situations. They have to get and be open to corrective feedback and coaching.

This is nothing new to those of you in the training profession. This post isn't for you so much as for the leaders in the organization who expect miracles from training technology. Here's something to try, if you have the courage and time... Next time you are leading a retreat for execs, sort the participants into tennis players, golfers, and others. Show them instructional videos or eLearning programs for the sport which they are the most unfamiliar. Then, send them to the courts or driving range and see how many can perform skillfully after their eLearning experience. Maybe then, they will "get it" and you will have opportunities to design multi-modal, blended-learning programs instead of relying on a single way to "build skills." (Blended learning is especially valuable for teaching leadership skills. Coaching is great, but it has to be combined with actual practice in the real world.)