Learning Management Systems

I've been teaching college English and Humanities as an adjunct since 1991. When I started teaching online, I began questioning my "part-time profession."

The Great Education Debate

There's a continued debate about online versus instructor-led training. In the business world, where I live and breathe during the daylight hours, Human Resources and Training departments across globe bemoan the continued corporate push towards eLearning and Learning Management Systems. They've led workshops and in-class instruction, and they see this movement to online as a way to improve not the quality of the education, but the economics. And I'll admit that I felt this way too when I began teaching online. As I designed my courses for online delivery, I saw myself losing the opportunity to be in the classroom, to interact with my students to perhaps influence them, as I had been influenced. I suppose that led to my hiatus. I was drained. In order to try and replicate the very best of an in-class experience, my eLearning design took more and more time, with less and less perceived personal gratification.

Student-centric learning

Let's try to look at this debate dispassionately. What is the goal of the educational process? To expose the learner to some content, yes, but it's also to: provide access to a community of learning that encourages personal reflection and active engagement; to expose learners to alternate opinions and perspectives; and to encourage a love of learning that will prompt students to continue their study, even after the class is over. Can all this be accomplished, online?

Instructors and teachers are often natural performers. They enjoy being the center of attention. The best classes I've ever attended were more "performance" than they were instructional. And this is great. It's a critical component of education -- exposing learners to content and to someone with an enthusiastic love of learning. Do we need to lose that? eLearning is by definition more student-focused. It has to be. Often, there is no set class meeting time or day, and there may be no instructor at the front of the class. So how can we create powerful learning in a student-centric way? That's what your eLearning design must capture and your learning management system accommodate.

So here are my top ten tips to encourage student-centric learning:

1. Speak to me.

This doesn't just mean write second-person to the learner, but it means doing your homework as an eLearning designer to continually evaluate the content: "does the learner really need or want to know this?" If it doesn't meet that test, then it's not student-centric.

2. Keep it relevant.

This relates back to number 1, but warrants repetition. Continually make connections between the content and the learner. Why should I care? What does this have to do with me? If you are creating sales training, answer the question: "How will this increase my sales?" This is what the learner needs to know to keep the content relevant and engaging.

3. Tell the story

Most of us had a high school teacher who told the most interesting stories. I'll bet, looking back, that's what you remember, rather than what was on the test. Don't lose that. Use scenario-based instruction to create a story of context for the content. Think in terms of what situations would exist that would require the learner to remember the content. Create those situations in your eLearning.

4. Encourage exploration.

As an educator, your first inclination might be to teach everything, which leads to boring eLearning that features lots of "click next to continue" instruction. Instead, design a "streamline" version of your course, with peripheral content available through weblinks and resources. You'll be surprised how many learners will access these and retain more than they would otherwise.

5. Allow for practice.

The rule of thumb in eLearning design is meaningful interaction every five to eight screens. Even if these are only questions on the previous topic, make sure to create opportunities for the learner to practice applying the concepts.

6. Create community

This can be difficult in an online environment, but it is extremely helpful to provide forums, blogs and discussion boards that encourage learners to connect with others involved in the class. Allow them to relate their own stories or challenges to offer the other learners a chance to establish relevance from someone other than you.

7. Allow for reflection.

This is one of the most overlooked facets of eLearning. Reflection is the process by which the learner carefully considers the content and decides how it applies. This can be accomplished by crafting discussion board questions, rather than answers. Have your learning community come up with the answers,