Without a doubt the advent of pandemic has precipitated eLearning to become one of the more popular methodologies for organizational training. Despite having advantages like flexibility and cost-effectiveness, it also has its downsides, which learning designers and providers should take note of order to determine its effectiveness. Here are some tips:
1. Low learner engagement
One of the most apparent indications is low learner engagement. It is possible that the training content that you are providing does not fulfil the learners’ needs if they don’t take the time or a longer duration to complete the courses.
2. Poor performance on assessments
When learners show poor performance and are not able to score well on their assessments with many attempts, it is more likely that they are not able to retain the information they are learning.
3. No improvement in job performance
As mentioned earlier, eLearning is used to train employees so they may execute their jobs more effectively. Another evidence that the training is ineffective is when your staff show no signs of progress even after their training is completed.
4. Complaints from learners
This is another strong indicator that something is off. Complaints may range from arguing that the training is irrelevant to their needs to that the course is uninteresting or that the evaluations are too challenging.
5. Low completion rates
When there are complaints that the content is irrelevant or too basic, learners may opt to drop out of the courses or discontinue their enrolment.
If you are seeing any of the signs stated, then it’s crucial for you to take action in order improve your eLearning delivery. Here are some corrective action:
- Redesign the content: Examine the content and determine where modifications can be made using interactive media assets for clarity of understanding;
- Provide more support to learners: Learning designers and providers need to ensure that additional resources are available such as online forums, chatrooms, face-to-face tutoring and so on;
- Make the training more relevant to the needs of learners. It is crucial for learning designers and content providers to ensure the relevance of courses by using a robust training needs analysis to align the course objectives to their job roles and responsibilities.
There are a few other things you may take to evaluate the efficacy of your eLearning training in addition to the indicators mentioned earlier, which are:
- Conduct training needs analysis using surveys and focus groups with stakeholders.
- Track learner progress.
- Measure the impact of the training
By taking these steps, you can have a better understanding of how effective your eLearning is and make necessary improvements. This will ensure that your learners are reaping the most out of the training and your organization is maximizing the return on its investment.