There's a lot of online training being developed these days, but I find most of it is not very engaging. So how do we design online training that stimulates us and holds our attention?
Keeping the basics in mind
To me, one of the basic building blocks of a well designed training program is Kolb's Learning Wheel. Training programs that engage all of the learning styles reach the broadest audience and give learners the best chance of success, because people don't just have one clear-cut learning style. There is usually a close correlation with a second style as well. For example, I am an Active Experimenter (AE) with a close correlation to the Concrete Experience (CE) style.
So, how do the learning styles play out in an online environment?
Disclosure
I am new to Kolb's work and am still trying to get the basic concepts to register in my cranium concretus. Because I am both an AE and CE, I have an innate understanding of these styles. The Reflective Observer (RO) and Abstract Conceptual (AC) styles are a stretch for me to know how to engage. If you, my colleagues, can help me understand how to engage these learners online and off, I would appreciate it.
Based on your technical backgrounds, I would suspect that Michael and Aaron are Abstract Conceptual learners, although Aaron is attending law school and lawyers, in general, tend towards the Reflective Observer style. Do you guys know what your styles are?
Bev, I don't recall from our Principles of Training & Development class what your style is either.
What is effective for learning styles in an online environment?
For me, as an AE to be engaged online, I need to be doing something. For example, if I were to be learning about a new kind of software, it would be beneficial to have either a separate screen for me to actually do the step by step instructions myself or to be able to do the exercises on the same screen as the tutorial. I need to physically do whatever is being taught or I'm not going to learn it very well.
The other thing that keeps me engaged online is a video or screencast that has constantly changing imagery. Michael mentioned his post, Blogging in Plain English, a video done by CommonCraft which is a good example of an engaging video.
A small disclosure here: I'm not sure if this point has to do with learning styles or whether it can be attributed to something else like ADD. In any case this might be good for you to keep in mind as a way to engage the AE's and/or the ADD's. Kind of related to my way of thinking.
Notice how the images are never still for very long.
The online environment is not ideally suited for CE learners. The ability to interact with people is important to these learners. One useful method would be to do the online learning in a classroom setting where the learning could be discussed. This option is not always available when the learning is being done individually in separate locations. This teaching method could be helped by setting up discussion forums where people could interact in real time.
Probably the best solution in situations where a live classroom is not possible would be to have video conferencing set up for Concrete Experience learners. The technology as well as availability, in terms of being economically viable, is not quite there yet, but we're not far off from this possibility.
The Reflective Observers might be served by the fact that they can take the time they need to read and re-read the subject matter as well as write about it. Not sure if this is exactly what these learners need from an online environment.
The Abstract Conceptual learners would definitely have to have the course work set up in a way that is logical and systematic. There is greater flexibility in an online environment to lay out the theoretical framework so that these learners can make sense of what they are doing.
Other thoughts
One thing that is very effective for me as an online learner is when there are visuals that go along with the words. For example, when I need to do something on my shopping cart that I am not familiar with, the tutorials that have screen shots along with the words are the most effective. I need to see the visual aid and the words. Words alone are confusing.
Any thoughts about this post? Let me know in the comments box.
Frustration
17 years ago
10 comments:
I think some of the quadrants in Kolb's model are easier to address through online training than others. CE/RO divergers are tough to 'get at' using the medium. Often, these folks are best reached through immersive emotional things, like a movie in the theater (that really grabs you and sucks you in). That's much tougher to achieve on a 21-inch screen, I think.
"Think and watch" folks and "think and do" folks can often be comparatively easy, though.
While learning styles are important to learn about, like all other assessments the neat boxes fall apart (or certainly get frayed) in real life. Aaron is actually a great example. I doubt there is a box that could contain him. He has abilities that are all over the map, and is able to flip from one style to another in a heartbeat. He may have preferences, but it says nothing about competency.
The most objection I've seen to the learning style theory have been from the online learning designers. Perhaps because you don't really have the luxury of designing for one style at a time. You have to engage everyone, since a click is an easy way to disengage.
Having just completed the Principles of Training and Development class as well, this is an interesting discussion. My learning style is AE and obviously I find on-liine learning to suit my learning. Especially with assignments such as the one's Aaron's given us - to just jump in there and 'do it'. I can see tweaking materials and methods to reach each learning style except RO. I have a touch of RO in my learning style and using a computer for anything is annoying when I'm in that mode of thinking. Maybe other ROs don't feel that way but the internet moves too fast - there's always yet one more link to click on to get yet more information so by the time I'm off of the computer, my mind is on such overload, it's difficult to sort it all out. Maybe one key for ROs would be to make sure that each lesson is short, to the point and followed by an assignment offline that guides ROs reflections.
This is a great thread and I am looking forward to hearing, talking and thinking more about these questions. Thanks for starting it.
Hi ASTD-Cascadia Chapter
You make a good point about the RO's and video. Mini videos might be a good entry point for these learners.
Thanks
I am a CE/RO diverger. While it is tough to grab me with old style e-learning, I like the social learning tools that allow me to build relationships through conversations.
Hi Christine
So, I wonder what sort of online learning element could engage all or most of the learning styles in a single bound? What are the online pros doing or how are they thinking about this?
As you most aptly pointed out, a click is a simple solution to a learning environment that isn't working. I wonder if anyone has set up any sort of testing by putting up different types of online learning exercises and comparing how many people disengage from them by clicking off?
Thanks
Hi Bev
As an AE, I also find online learning to be generally fine. There are always exceptions. I mean boring is boring no matter in which format it's delivered.
I like your idea about keeping the lessons short and to the point. I experience the overload you mentioned when I start following links. There is no end.
I like Lynda.com. They do instructions for all sorts of different software. The thing I like most about their tutorials is that they are broken down into manageable pieces. I can pick and choose what part of the tutorial I want to see and when I want to see it.
Do short videos engage you?
Thanks
Christine
As a CE/RO diverger, do you think you are representative of this learning style in terms of liking social media to have conversations and build relationships?
Obviously social media is popular and is being utilized by a broad cross section of people, yet I wonder if it is appealing mostly to one learning style or, perhaps learning style is too narrow of a focus, some other indicator?
Any ideas?
Thanks
Good conversation here!
Christine, your point about needing to appeal to multiple styles within the context of a single e-learning module is a good one. That's a fairly intractable problem, though, I think.
It would seem that you really have only a couple of options -- be multimodal, in the sense that you over-design and implement redundantly. You craft examples, exercises, and approaches that may duplicate, but appeal to different styles of learner. Or you do some kind of branching based on approach ("Welcome to my e-learning! Take this styles inventory to see which path is right for you.").
Or, what's pragmatically more likely, you design for the biggest set of your learners, and largely ignore the rest. Not optimal, I grant you, but in practice, I wonder if the multimodal approach is really sustainable.
Your comment about the social learning tools being useful is an interesting one vis-a-vis this conversation. How do you see them crossing the bounds? Or are they just another way to reach a subset?
Aaron
Your multimodal comment is interesting and I agree that for a lot of people it doesn't seem practical to design this way. Budget/time constraints, etc.
I'm thinking about online training for VisualsSpeak. Our tools/techniques appeal primarily to AE and CE learners. (Perhaps my partner has another perspective.) So we might design the online training strictly geared for them. And we might design some videos and written materials for the others in an attempt to bridge those styles.
The interesting part to think about is that we need to teach people who are using our tools and techniques how to engage the AC's and RO's, because these learners/participants are going to show up in groups. And yet we might not be able to adequately address them in our online training.
A bit chicken and egg.
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