organisation
To each his own
Working out how to make an e-learning module succeed with anyone regardless of age or other variables is a tricky issue
Vaughan Waller R
ecent reports have shown that technology is being adopted by different age groups often in surprising and unexpected ways. It
will not come as a surprise to many, of course, that six-year-olds have roughly the same understanding of technology, particularly mobile devices, as 45-year- olds. But it does seem out of character that the age group adopting tablet computers the most is the generation heading up to retirement – those between 45 and 65 years old. These are also the heaviest internet users as well as the heaviest users of printed media (Enders Analysis). The millennium generation of 14 and 15-year- olds are the most tech-savvy according to a recent Ofcom report but after this age our confidence in using technology apparently starts to wane. Younger people are becoming progressively indifferent towards TV, radio and printed media preferring digital devices. As a designer of learning programmes this sort of information is worrying since it would appear that different age groups require a slightly different approach that may not work so well for others. The same could be said for learning styles although some pundits have dismissed these theories as pure sophistry. It is unarguable that some people prefer hearing to reading and vice versa. Similarly some subjects are learnt better if you can get stuck in and work on it with some of your peers. Some years ago a European Union funded project developed a complex branching learning programme which had four different approaches based on the Honey and Mumford learning styles, although the subject matter was very basic (I think it was how to change a light bulb) but that was as far as it went. But doing the same for other subjects would be very difficult and costly and would inevitably be killed at birth. But
In a way, it no longer matters whether something is ‘aimed’ at one group of people or not. The only way that I know is to put you in a wide variety of learners’ shoes and think whether it would work for them
considering how to match learning to the learner doesn’t end there either. Frequently nowadays we are asked to create programmes in multiple languages. Sometimes the audio is in alternative languages but the on- screen text remains in English with the exception of transcripts of various specific passages – it can get really complicated. Also, particularly in the case of some compliance subjects, it is essential to provide scenarios which are relevant to different grades within the company. Nothing puts people off learning more than if it is outside of their experience or conversely is too generalised in an attempt to suit everyone. In assessments too, there are often different question banks for different grades and different pass marks too. Now all this is just grist to the mill nowadays but
it illustrates how potentially useless a bog-standard e-learning module can be. It is so true that for e-learning there never is and never was a one size fits all.
Even if there were an enormous budget (almost unheard of these days) or there was at least a year to create it using a team of dozens of subject matter experts, the end result would be unlikely to succeed as a course of instruction. This is simply because the subject matter is unlikely to stretch so many ways. Those of you who have written a multi-level branching scenario question will know exactly what I mean. So what should we, as learning professionals,
The age group adopting tablet computers the most is the generation heading up to retirement
e.learning age september 2014
do to make an e-learning module succeed with anyone regardless of age or any other variable? Although we may not be consciously thinking of it in these terms we are probably doing most of this already. Modules of e-learning have been made so that they work on both PC and iPads for years and it’s also now possible to port content onto mobile phones although this requires more than just saving it to a different format. Where there are audio sequences we can quite easily provide audio in different languages on demand together with transcripts on screen and if required on a PDF download as well. Videos are now cheap and easy to create since they can in some cases benefit from not being broadcast quality. Even the BBC, which has been the benchmark for international broadcasting standards for almost 100 years now, regularly screen Skype and viewer generated content. So using a handheld camera or even a mobile phone is now good enough as long as the content does the job. In a way, it no longer matters whether something is ‘aimed’ at one group of people or not. The only way that I know is to put you in a wide variety of learners’ shoes and think whether it would work for them. The last thing that we want is to make it appear that we are trying hard to reach a particular group since that will do more damage than good. The words fudge and compromise don’t enter into it either; it’s all about engaging the learner and the rest follows naturally.
Vaughan Waller is a regular contributor to e.learning age
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