Chapter 2
Plain Talk
Success is getting people to do the right thing at the right time!
Did I shout loudly enough? e-Learning is about success, both individual and organizational. It is about behavioral change—again, both individual and organizational. It's also about inspiration, competency, and even fun with technology. It's where I've lived for well over 45 years, and I invite you to join me in reviewing the state of e-learning from a very personal perspective.
I'd like to show you the often untapped potential I see in e-learning and share with you some lessons I've learned about how to make e-learning a valuable competitive investment for any organization striving to be more successful.
There are many reasons for the prevalence of e-learning, ranging from practical to idealistic. Pundits note that in our information-based economy and society, e-learning may be the component needed most to improve lives dramatically. It will allow us to learn what we want to learn where and when we want to learn it. It will provide choices in how we learn. It will make hard things easy and boring things fun. It will wrestle our intellectual laziness to the ground while helping each of us use more of our untapped capabilities. And, with knowledge and skills readily acquired when the spirit moves us, we will blissfully pursue alternate careers on a whim. Life will be grand.
Sure.
But wait. Let's not dismiss these possibilities just because they seem idealistic and therefore unrealistic. Is it possible e-learning could provide equal access to learning and information? Regardless of socioeconomic status and geographical location, is it possible everyone could have similar if not identical opportunities to build valuable skills, enjoy economic prosperity, become leaders, inventors, artists? Is it possible corporations will take training seriously not just from altruistic motivations but also because there's no better way to attract and retain a competitive workforce while improving business results?
I think so. But it won't happen with the type of e-learning that's dominating the scene today.
The e-Learning Dream
When organizations sit down to study their primary goals and performance needs, they look at the products and services they want to provide; the fidelity of service or manufacturing that will be competitive, marketable, and profitable; and their current abilities to provide them. If they are not already performing at a sufficient level, they review staffing, process, leadership, and management.
Often, it is necessary to put a strategic program into place, which likely includes training as one of its components. Because they have systematically achieved excellent results, those responsible for creating training take an honored seat at the executive table to help plan the next strategic advancement. (See Figure 2.1.)
Figure 2.1 Circle 1— the success cycle.
Right. Please don't wake me; I'm enjoying the dream. While this does happen in some organizations, of course, it is the exception rather than the rule despite overwhelming statistics regarding the financial rewards of investing in training and the strategic advantages it brings.
Who's Kidding Whom?
To this long-term (many would simply say old) proponent, researcher, observer, and developer of technology-based learning applications, it's hard to reconcile the impressive benefits possible from impactful e-learning with the fact that training budgets are often reduced to the extent those benefits can't be realized. There seems to be so little concern for impact and return on investment. In many cases, e-learning programs are launched to address business objectives that, if met, could improve the bottom line. But those objectives won't be met just because the training is now delivered via technology. Benefits have a critical dependency primarily on the design of the instruction itself and secondarily on the technology on which it was delivered.
It doesn't seem to matter how much technologies for the delivery of effective interactive instruction evolve or how much we have learned about effective instructional design; training is considered by many to be an annoying cost rather than a strategic investment. Business leaders ask, How much can we reduce our training costs? You can always reduce them as long as they are greater than zero. The better question to ask is, What's the smart investment?
At the very low end of investment, there's no value and the entire expense is wasted (see Figure 2.2). Above this, value returns at an increasing rate for a while and then flattens out. It's important to note this isn't an argument to put needless amounts of money into training programs. It's important not to overspend. It doesn't help anyone to have fancy spinning logos and other needless adornments that sap funds and return no benefit. I've seen plenty of pretty projects that have little instructional impact but cost a lot.
Figure 2.2 Optimal training project budget.
Effective versus Boring—Choose One
Boring instruction is not effective instruction. Minds wander, attention wanes, learners muddle through, maybe. When learners push through, they're through—relieved it is over and ready to escape to something else as quickly as possible. As they distance themselves from a painful experience, they aren't mentally reviewing helpful information, nor practicing their new skills. Rich associations aren't being created to help remember key points. They are retaining nothing of what they just saw and heard. Needed behaviors have not been established. It's a waste. Little comes from boring instruction. It's bad.
A lot of boring material is being produced today, even while learner expectations are rising from exposure to the many great interactive apps and games available. User interface continues to become more facile and, at times, amazing. We expect to see the same thing in e-learning: new, inventive capabilities used to make learning more efficient and effective.
In contrast, simplistic, boring instruction is being developed for electronic distribution in ever-increasing quantities. It is assaulting more and more people every day. The courseware may have been designed following structures validated by research on human learning (although probably not), and it may be totally correct from a content accuracy point of view. It may be totally proper in terms of graphic design, typography, and grammar. But it's boring. Boring is bad. And it obscures the real opportunities e-learning brings.
Stop Boring Me
“Oh,” you're thinking, “everyone knows boring instruction is bad!”
Do they? Would people deliberately put out bad instruction? No, but they would and do put out boring instruction. It seems that while bad instruction isn't acceptable, boring is. So either designers don't realize their products are boring (I think this is often the case), or they're willing to accept boring as an unavoidable attribute of their “good” work.
When budgets are tight (and when aren't they?), an unwitting experiment ensues. Training has to get by on less. Learning experiences aren't likely to become less boring when produced on a reduced budget. So, if any development is done, more boring courseware is produced.
“Guess what?” one executive says to another. “Training did just fine with their reduced budget and prerecorded webinars. I don't see any performance differences, really. Of course, the training team is complaining they didn't have enough resources to do it right, but it seems we're doing just as well as before. Maybe we can cut training a little more! It doesn't seem to matter.”
Entertaining Doesn't Equate to Good
Of course, avoiding boredom doesn't mean you're providing good instruction. We know many instructor-led training events get outstanding smile sheet ratings because, perhaps, trainees have a great time. They enjoy laughs, treats, and time away from usual responsibilities. Who knows what smile sheets measure, anyway? As Will Thalheimer (2016) notes while risking outrage from disciples of Kirkpatrick's four-level model of training evaluation, traditional evaluations are pretty much useless, especially as indicators of learning.
Providing a lively experience is a worthy and important goal, to be sure. But many entertaining programs are nearly as bad as boring ones in terms of learner outcomes. Learners may take home some previously unknown facts that are great for image enhancement, but when the focus is primarily on fun, we easily lose out on improved performance and processes, as well as fail to achieve the instructional objectives.
Justifications and excuses for poor instruction abound as do stockpiles of boring e-learning courses. So let's explore this a little further. How can it be so? I'll tell you the reasons next.
Rationale for Reduced Quality
Nobody consciously opts for Circle 2, the failure cycle (Figure 2.3), but if sincere efforts at e-learning produce no recognized, meaningful results, it's easy to conclude there are no good options here—that Circle 1 and that success cycle (Figure 2.1) are hyperbole and just don't happen. With this perspective, Circle 2 becomes the functional road map and an entrapment that is difficult to break from. All too often I see organizations churning out courseware using the same templates over and over again—templates that continue to fail to provide the essential components of effective learning experiences.
Figure 2.3 Circle 2— failure cycle.
The failure of so many e-learning applications to produce recognized results (beyond the rapture of their developers) has led to some very wrong conclusions about e-learning. Some popular but misleading conclusions include:
- e-Learning is boring by nature. The only interesting e-learning is that developed by a few rare and creative people with generous funding and open time lines.
- Effective e-learning can't be developed quickly enough to meet our needs.
- Effective e-learning can't be cost justified.
- Just presenting information is just as effective and good enough.
Boring Is Expensive
What's the most expensive form of training? Regardless of whether training is delivered in a dedicated building by full time trainers to employees who have flown in from remote parts of the globe or through the convenience of e-learning, the most expensive training is training that doesn't work.
The business cost of ineffective e-learning goes far beyond simply losing all the money spent on it. (See Figure 2.4.) A proper accounting has to include the salaries of learners who were not productive during training hours. It has to include the residual decline in motivation that boring experiences produce. It has to include the damages poor performance causes. When all is taken into account, the total cost of boring instruction can be many, many times greater than the direct cost of e-learning development and delivery, and may easily soar to multiples of the combined costs of the poor e-learning when we consider also the hidden costs of providing on-the-job training to fix the damage done by the e-learning. This is a cost which is often overlooked as well. The final bill becomes a sizable sum comprising tangible costs, plus probably the cost of missed opportunities. Boring instruction is incredibly expensive.
Figure 2.4 Boring instruction is too expensive.
This Just In: Effective e-Learning Is Practical
Even if you haven't yet witnessed it personally, you need to know that e-learning can provide extraordinary performance enhancements. It can be the least expensive training and the most popular among learners. “The return-on-investment for e-learning can be 50 to 60 percent greater than for traditional training, which itself can have a 4x ROI, if done properly” (Boggs, 2015).
e-Learning can address some of the innumerable performance problems organizations face, while it can work at an individual level to help us all achieve more of our potential and a better quality of life. It doesn't do this often enough, of course, but it's possible.
Some of the things we've realized with good e-learning are impressive, including a wide range of benefits, as noted in Table 2.1. But, of course, not all e-learning is alike and too little delivers these desirable attributes. But look again at the list of attainable e-learning attributes and benefits. It's an honest and impressive list.
Table 2.1 Good e-Learning
| Attribute | Benefit |
| Shorter learning time, often much shorter | Less time away from productive work. Lower training costs. |
| Adapts to learner needs (i.e., learning mastery is fixed but individual learning times may vary) | Minimized time away from productive work (people return to work as quickly as individually able). No waiting for those needing extra time. Extra attention for those needing more help. |
| Actively involves learners; frequent activity | In-depth learning experiences for each learner, not just for selected learners or those volunteering. |
| Ensures learning | No sliding by. Each learner must achieve and demonstrate competency. |
| Generates positive learner attitudes (When done well, learners often rate e-learning activities as preferable to alternatives.) | More enthusiastic participation. More receptivity. Greater likelihood learning will be applied to on-the-job performance. |
| Provides consistent quality | e-Learning doesn't have bad hair days, headaches, or late nights out. |
| Allows instant, worldwide updates | Through networked services, corrections, improvements, and new information can be made available to all learners instantly. |
| Is available 24/7/365 | Learning can start any day employees are hired or immediately upon assignment to new responsibilities. Learning can be worked in and around higher-priority activities. Learner-managed schedules—learners can work late into the night, in short sessions distributed throughout the day, or in long blocks of time; whatever works best for them. |
| Is patient and treats all learners objectively and fairly | Same options and same performance criteria for all learners. Blind to racial, cultural, and sexual differences. Offers no more or less learning support to any individual. |
| Is highly amenable to systematic improvement | Easily provides data necessary for the evaluation of each and every component. |
| Saves money through low-cost delivery (no or minimized travel; fewer or no instructors; automated administration; no classrooms, supplies, whiteboards, etc.) | Big savings have resulted from many applications of e-learning. Even taking full account of development costs, e-learning has a big advantage in cost savings. |
| Allows options for more in-depth study or review whenever needed | Support for learners with special interests or needs to go beyond the bounds of classes. Material used for instruction can be accessed for later use as reference material in a well-designed application. |
While there is an undeniable upfront investment, the positive return on a sufficient investment can make e-learning one of the least expensive means of accomplishing critical organizational performance. With the right people, process, tools, and models, it can even be developed with amazing speed.
Want Proof?
Good Training Is Possible
e-Learning can work. e-Learning delivers handsomely for many organizations every day. When well designed, e-learning is extraordinarily effective, efficient with time, and pays for itself over and over again. It can put your organization in a more competitive position by:
- Improving customer service
- Getting new processes up and running faster
- Reducing employee turnover
- Improving morale
- Increasing production
- Decreasing errors
- Improving product quality
- Improving efficiency
Study after study has demonstrated the effectiveness of e-learning when done well. David Boggs has compiled the documented list that appears as Table 2.2. It should, even for the most skeptical, be a compelling argument for building effective web-based training.
Table 2.2 Documented Benefits of e-Learning
| Strategic Advantages | |
| Creating a global workforce | Web-based training is a powerful instrument for developing a global labor force. Web-based training can deliver custom, sophisticated instruction to employees all around the planet. (Driscoll, 2002) |
| Reacting to abbreviated product development cycles | Companies that create today's best-of-breed products and services are now introducing their wares more quickly into the marketplace. The use of web-based learning management systems allows your organization's training function to keep pace with the market. Web-based training can be used to provide needed instruction without taking workers away from their daily responsibilities. (Driscoll, 2002) |
| Managing flat organizations | Down- and right-sized organizations have now become the norm in today's business landscape. As a result, line managers have multiple responsibilities and are severely time impoverished. e-Learning can help by delivering training to those areas for which line managers are normally responsible, such as desktop application training and product training. Managers are then freed up to tackle other pressing priorities. (Driscoll, 2002) |
| Adjusting to employee wants and needs | Economic and demographic shifts have fueled the growth of telecommuting, virtual offices, job sharing, and flextime. Delivering training via the Internet overcomes the obstacles imposed by the exigencies of a transient workforce. (Driscoll, 2002) |
| Facilitating a contingent labor force | Contingent workers, such as temporaries, consultants, retirees who work part time, and the self-employed, have increased dramatically over the last decade. Companies and organizations have become more reliant on contingent workforces to deal with peak labor demands. e-Learning solutions and web-based learning management systems are invaluable tools to train and manage this unique labor force. (Driscoll, 2002) |
| Retaining valued workers | Education has become a critical linchpin in a company or organization's worker benefits portfolio. Workers in today's new economy are not as afraid to move to a new position if they feel their interests and career welfare are better provided for in a different environment. Web-based training programs that offer certifications, college and graduate school education, and important job skills become powerful incentives for an employee to stay. (Driscoll, 2002) |
| Increasing productivity and profitability | Training of all kinds, including e-Learning programs, increase employee knowledge and skill levels. As they become better at their jobs, they sell more products, reduce waste, and are more productive and efficient. An educated, well-trained workforce is the main driver to profitability for today's businesses. (Driscoll, 2002) |
| Tactical Advantages | |
| Flexibility to learn anytime, anywhere | Learners can access courses and content from their office, home, or hotel room from any spot around the globe. (Kruse, 2004) |
| Reduce travel and related costs | Save on hotels, airfare, meals, and other travel expenses associated with traditional on-site training. (Kitchen & Ryan, 2004) |
| Tools for tracking, updating, and managing training | Web-based learning management systems make it easy to track, to update, and to manage online learners. Learning management systems facilitate reporting, succession planning, and workforce development from one centralized, web-based source. (Kruse, 2004) |
| Affordable per-student costs | Almost every computer today has continual wireless access to the Internet, so setup costs are relatively low. (Kruse, 2004) |
| Just-in-time learning | Online learners can take training just before they need it rather than enrolling in a course weeks or months before they need the training or a refresher class. (Driscoll, 2002) |
| Making updates easy | Web-based training can be updated quickly and easily, so there is no time lag or extra reprinting cost. (Driscoll, 2002) |
| Administer competency and compliance management | A centralized, web-based learning management system aggregates all the data into one location so anyone with appropriate credentials can access the information when they need it. (Kitchen & Ryan, 2004) |
| Training Delivery Advantages | |
| Consistent delivery | Web-based training is delivered uniformly in a consistent framework, which increases uniformity of knowledge and skills. (Kitchen & Ryan, 2004) |
| “Learning object” architecture supports on-demand, personalized learning | Web-based training is designed and developed so content can be chunked into discrete knowledge objects to provide greater flexibility. Students can access these objects through preset learning paths, use skills assessments to create individualized study plans, or use search engines to locate exact topics. (Kruse, 2004) |
| Interactive content, graphics, and animations | Interactive content, graphics, and animations make lessons stand out and help imprint the material on the student's mind. (Kitchen & Ryan, 2004) |
| Customized material | Content can be customized to meet the training objectives of a specific program quickly and easily. (Kitchen & Ryan, 2004) |
| Self-paced programs | Students can learn at a pace that works for their individual learning preferences and life circumstances. (Kitchen & Ryan, 2004) |
| Infrastructure Advantages | |
| Leverage existing infrastructure | Web-based training makes use of already-existing infrastructure, such as computers, servers, intranets, etc. There is no addition outlay for hardware or capital assets. (Driscoll, 2002) |
| Controllable and secure access | Web-based learning management systems can be easily configured to secure and monitor access. (Kurtus, 2004) |
Source: SyberWorks, Inc., www.syberworks.com. Used with permission.