Your phone is smart. Is your e-learning smart too?

With a “smart” phone in almost every corporate hand; it’s time we make our learning modules smarter too!

Here are 5 things that you can do to make the e-learning experience truly sMart (with a dash of “M” to it)!

1. Make it social!

• Mobile devises are powerful modes of social communication. They open up a completely new dimension to social learning. (you are seeing this post on the LI blog!...truly e-social; aren't we? ) 

2. Break the course into byte sized modules

• Most people will engage with your course “on-the-go” using a mobile devise. You don't want to leave them hanging!

3. Build a “suspense” or curiosity element at the end of each module

• More curious the learner, more the desire to learn. 

4. Use gamification elements to induce competition and collaboration

• We play mobile games with a lot of passion. Gamifying an m-learning course will give us a chance to learn something good while at play! 

5. Make it responsive

• Have an option to shift from a computer to a mobile and vice-versa. Remember-technology should be an enabler and not a disabler!

Why “should” I learn using my mobile devise?

Why “should” I learn using my mobile devise?

Choose the most appropriate answer (in your mind only! No clicking required)

1. It is the most enjoyable thing to do at the time
2. Use my free time productively
3. Mobiles are easy to distribute content with
4. Our company has started M-Learning

                          Curious to know the correct answer? Read on….

 All of us do things we love to do using our mobile devices like talking, chatting, playing games, listening to music and shopping.

 Now, when learning has to jostle for the same space, it has to compete with all these interesting things by becoming more interesting and engaging (read: enjoyable).

 So, when you take a learning course like “Time Management” or “Information Security ”, and want your learner to “learn” using a mobile devise- it better be “the most enjoyable thing to do at that time” - for learning to actually happen.

                                      There! You got your answer!!

 One simple way to do this is to see what exactly you-yourself enjoy doing most with on your mobile?

 Once you identify the apps and sites that have successfully found their pride of place in your list, give a second thought to each one of them to understand- what is it that makes you like it- love it- engage with it.

 The answers you get are the elements you need to explore imbibing in your m-learning modules.

 Here is a quick example:

 A very interesting experience of mine that is directly related to m-learning is Duolingo- the language learning app----they got it right!

 Learning Spanish has been on my wish list for a very long time and was a part of many new year resolutions which eventually turned into 5 year plans powered by procrastination- during which I picked up few books, few CDs few movies….but not much progress done.

 And one day Bingo! I chanced upon Duolingo.

 Result: Learning Spanish is not on my New Year Resolution list of 2016!

 The difference,

1. Highly interactive : tap- type-listen-speak
2. Changes difficulty levels as per my learning pace
3. “Talks” to me and nudges me to achieve my goals
4. Most importantly- I am enjoying the experience and not “learning like a chore”

 I also realized that, when stuck in traffic or at the airport, all of us usually reach out for the mobile devise and the tool that we find most engaging is the one that gets engaged.

 In my case Duolingo beat all others hands down!

                         So I am full-on to start learning another language now!

 The takeaway:

A good learning objective + Gamification + Mobile Devise = Bingo! you enjoy the experience; learning happens automatically.

Your E-Learning chain is only as strong as the weakest link

As the e-learning champion of your organization, you can have the best of e-learning resources like LMS, E-Learning modules, M-Learning modules etc., but usually there is one element that is not directly in your control and more-often-than-not turns up to be the weakest link!

 Any guesses?

            It is the learner’s “desire” to learn and use the learning productively.

 While quite a few parameters of e-learning rest with the organization, the learner’s intrinsic motivation to engage proactively rests with the learner and this is one area if kindled well, can lead to a course becoming a roaring success an if neglected could lead to a lot of dropouts after subscription.

 Interestingly, a person dropping out of from a MOOC after attending a few sessions can be compared with a person buying a book to learn a subject and then keeping it on the display-shelf after going through few pages. Seems familiar?

 When we register for a MOOC or any other online course, our personal desire to learn the subject is high. However, once the initial euphoria reduces and the course catches momentum, that is when the true level of the desire to learn starts showing up and for some learners, slowly the involvement fades away due to aspects like unable to cope up, bored, etc.

 While content being taken to an electronic media might meet the basic requirements like “on demand learning” and “learning across geographies”, for the courses to be truly effective there needs to be a “proactive engagement” from the learner wherein the wish to engage with the course should increase as the learner goes deeper into it.

 How is it achieved? Well, it’s actually quite simple.

 Rather than forcing the learner to find interest, the e-learning course can be designed in a manner to involve specific elements that make people engage with things and like doing them, in general.

 Two such things are:

1. Social Interactions
2. Gamification

 When an online course has a strong peer-to-peer social interaction built into it, the social engagement increases the level of involvement and further can help certain individual learners overcome a weak moment to quit!

 With gamification, more the competition and collaboration, more fun and more the engagement.

 I shall be writing more about social interactions and gamification in context to e-learning in my forthcoming blog posts, but before that a simple word of caution:

 There is no “magic formula” when it comes to using either social interactions or gamification for learning. You need to understand these elements, involve them in your courses and with consistent “course corrections” you will be able to achieve the desired results.

So if you are tempted to directly add PBL (Points, badges or leaderboards) or add a Social Media API to your course remember one thing: you cannot turn a horse into a zebra by branding stripes on it!

Legacy E-Learning Courses: RIP Vs Recycling

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Recently I chanced upon meeting a gentleman who had spent over 15 years developing e-learning courses. When I casually asked him about his outlook on the future of e-learning, surprisingly he seemed to be totally lost!

On probing a little, I came to know from him that he had spent many years developing e-learning courses using Flash. He was having a good time till a couple of years ago when the wind went off his sails due to active proliferation of Rapid Authoring tools like Articulate Storyline, Adobe Captivate etc. coupled with the “mobile revolution” and the incompatibility of flash files with mobile devises.

 As rapid authoring tools are easy to learn, I was wondering what actually could have gone wrong with this person?

 Some of the answers I could identify are:

1. Living in denial: not able to accept change
2. Living in a comfort zone : I will still have enough to do
3. Resistance to learning something new; I am good at this but I am not sure if I can do well with that

 When I look at these points, I find that they are equally true for both organizations and individuals.

 If you have an e-learning course developed a few years ago, and there seems to be no problem (at-least on the face of it), the usual tendency is to let it continue as is.

 However, with changing lifestyles, the learning styles are changing very fast too.

 If you don’t constantly adapt to the latest happenings; one small step at a time, you will be left far behind and will have to rely on a “giant leap of faith” to cope up, which may not always land you on terra firma.

So if you have legacy e-learning courses running in your organization, it is time for you to UPDATE them with the latest contexts and UPGRADE them to be compatible with the latest technology being used by the learners to achieve the desired results.

                       What is good today; may be obsolete tomorrow!

 When it comes to upgrading and updating legacy e-learning courses, the common tendency is to dump the courses on to the e-learning department (or vendor) and ask them to revive them.

While this may seem to be an easy solution, it may not always yield the best results.

 For every course, it is important to gauge

1. How much of the content has changed in today’s context?
2. How well can some of the newer technologies be used to provide a better learning experience of the topic (eg. Simulation, gamification etc.) ?
3. Cost Vs Benefit Analysis (of modifying Vs creating new)

 Once answers to these three questions are in place, you are ready to make the decision to refurbish an old course or create a brand new one (many times, cost and benefits of creating a new course far outweigh modifying an old one)

 As we race forward year on year, its time to take a quick look at our courses and decide which of them are “future proof”  and which of them need to RIP  and be replaced with new wonderful Responsive Learning modules to last the next few years!

The Habit of E-Learning : It Works!

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Most of us diligently made resolutions this new year (like all the previous years) and most of those resolutions of most of us have already vanished and probably we are all set to make new resolutions to make those resolutions work!...that’s quite a lot of resolutions!

 If I am not already sounding like Jack Sparrow by now, a curious question that comes to my mind is why do we so diligently make resolutions; when we are almost certain we will break them!

 A wise friend of mine (after a lot of spirit had enlightened him) came up with a very wise answer: HABIT

 Suddenly I realized that the only things we do consistently (whether good or bad) are the things we are habituated to!

 They also happen to be the things we make lesser mistakes in doing and do them with a lot of “Subconscious Competence”.

 And…everything seemed so simple.

                                      Make it a habit; you will do it well.!

1. If you like doing something; you will keep doing it and bingo! Habit formed. Improvement seen (Cricket/Football/Juggling bottles at a bar)
2. If you don’t like something very much, but are made to do it constantly (apparently because it’s good for you), habits are still formed. Improvement seen-although not sure about how much! (Don't litter the road/Clean your room etc. ) 

Incidentally, habit (through consistent rigorous practice) is an important ingredient in all forms of training -ranging from Sports to Military. 

How about E-Learning? 

Is it possible to form a “Habit” of E-Learning? 

It definitely is! 

Then what’s missing?.....apparently “Practice” is!

While in most organizations, most of us are working hard to make e-learning courses work (with gamification, responsive design, social learning etc.), It’s time we make a little effort to turn “e-learning” into a “habit” and see it work! 

Wondering what to do? Here are a couple of starters to begin with:

1. Think beyond the course

Rather than thinking of only one course (or a set of mandated courses), focus on what all aspects the learners can learn effectively through e-learning (yes-this includes guitar, chess and Scuba diving!)

2. Help the learner to make an e-learning calendar

If e-learning is used for learning the good things, the fine things and the “you must learn” things, whatever the learner learns - s/he will surely form a habit of learning the e-way! 

Sounds simple? So does E= MC2 (Ask Einstein, it’s quite simple) 

Consistent practice is the only way to form a habit, whether it comes naturally or with an “extrinsic motivation”

The Spirit of Learning (or is it a ghost by now?)

We all know that learning is a journey and a wonderful one at that.

Unfortunately, most of us have little time to spare for it; as we do for all the other wonderful things in life.

 As clichéd as it might sound, the things (and people) which matter most are the ones we tend to neglect most or take them for granted.

 So what can be done to overcome this?

                                                Just kindle the Spirit!

 Remember the time you learned to ride a bicycle? I am sure with all the falls and bruises it was a spirited learning experience.

 When was the last time we learned something with the SAME Spirit?.....suddenly it seems like a very long time ago!

 I guess as Human Beings continue to grow, “responsibilities” tend to pile up and……you know the rest….

 So what can be done to kindle this Spirit?

 Here are three things I believe can put the spirit of learning back in action!

1. The journey is the destination!..Experience it!!…Live it!!!

Destinations are important but not always: Did we learn riding a bicycle because we had to reach somewhere? Or did we learn because we wanted to “ride” it? There… you have the answer!

2. Love it? Do it!

If you feel like learning something, just do it!

Do it because you enjoy doing and not because you want to showoff how good you are at it!

3. Don't get Conscious!

What if people laugh at you? Good! at-least you could make them laugh!

Philosophically speaking, Failures are the stepping-stones to success. Practically speaking, any one who has achieved something worth achieving knows that s/he has reached there only after many falls and failures.

The very people who laugh at you when you fall will be awed at you (may be even jealous) when you ride! 

In today’s world, the good old saying “you can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink” seems more like “You can give a person a computer, a tab or a mobile with internet…..but you can’t make him click to learn!” 

With all the technology and e-learning around us we are as good as the horse next to the water if we don't have the “Spirit to learn”, which comes from within us!

If you have the spirit to learn something……anything; all you have to do is....

 Just feel it and click it!