What to do about e-dropouts: what if it's not the e-learning but the e-learner?

T+D, June, 2003 by Allison Rossett, Lisa Schafer

There is a lot of literature about e-learning, but little attention on the e-learner. That's ironic, because the success of e-learning depends on good choices by the learners.

A frequently touted benefit of e-learning is that it shifts control from the bureaucracy and instructor to the learner. Should learning and performance professionals be enthusiastic about that movement? The answer rests, in large part, on what e-learners will do with their opportunity. Much depends on their eagerness and ability to learn independently and online.

Let's start by looking at learners' eagerness. Will they choose e-learning? Will they do what needs to be done diligently, on their own? Will they use the rich resources provided online? Or head for the refrigerator? Will they return online repeatedly to review models, reflect on exercises, take tests, practice on cases, refer to tools, search out examples, and contribute to communities?

An internal study in a large government agency found little enthusiasm for e-learning among employees. A 2001 ASTD/Masie Center study reported grim participation statistics, with only 69 percent of employees electing to begin compulsory online courses and 32 percent starting voluntary courses. Even organizations with a financial interest in the success of e-learning are admitting lukewarm acceptance within their ranks. Karen Frankola, e-learning solutions manager for NYU Online, reported in 2001 that Sun Microsystems's studies found that only 25 percent of its employees completed online self-study courses. Study after study has found that despite organizations' good intentions, e-learning initiatives are failing to capture and sustain the interest of learners.

"Many students given control over their own learning choose to terminate the experience before mastering the training task," says Ken Brown, a University of Iowa assistant professor specializing in business management and psychology.

Such lack of interest and dismal completion rates from employees would appear to point to a problem with the courseware or its implementation. Accordingly, those aspects receive the most attention and finger pointing. For some e-learning experts, it's a cur-and-dry argument: Learners don't complete learning because they're nor engaged. But what if the courseware is sound? What if the problem isn't with e-learning but with the e-learner?

The fact is that many employees don't know how to be effective self-learners. They're just not aware of or in control of independent learning strategies. Though many learners can establish goals, assess progress, earmark time, and exert continuous effort to work-related projects, when it comes to e-learning they're more likely to go for a cup of coffee.

What is the problem? Are e-learners just plain ornery? Are. they angling to return to the comforting embrace of instructors?

We see no plot afoot. Instead, we see unprepared people with habits cultivated in classrooms dominated by instructors. It should be no surprise that learners often experience confusion and failure when they go it alone online.

Because so many learners resist e-learning, should we abandon all hope, wash the whiteboards, and return to the classrooms? Of course not. What we must do is recognize the threats to e-learners' success and take steps to build their enthusiasm and strengthen their commitment to e-learning. Our focus here will be on two critical links: the e-learning and e-learners.

E-levating the e-learning It's essential that we focus first on the learning programs. They have the greatest potential to influence whether e-learners succeed or fail. Here's what you can do to ensure a successful program. Provide meaningful content. E-learners crave content that helps them work better and faster. For example, PeopleSoft sales consultants want to understand new product features to prepare outstanding client presentations. Customer service representatives at Sprint want to know how to order an international toll-free number for a new account. For John Speicher, a systems engineer at Cisco Systems, it's simple: "I'm more likely to pay attention when I know it's going to affect a client in an hour."

Content must be ruled by the priorities of users, not the passions of subject matter experts. Talk to the potential audience. Provide what they say they need. Frame resources in light of learners' questions, concerns, and priorities. And whenever possible, lead them directly to an example of how to handle a particularly troublesome problem.

During development and prototyping, test the content with potential users. Ask if the program will help today, tomorrow, and two months from now. Make certain that the e-learning transcends the obvious. As one e-learner remarks, she often finds herself "waiting for the good part. Her patience is the exception; most learners won't wait.

Provide my content. Although meaningful content is good, tailored content is better. Land's End is an excellent example. Parkas, boots, flannel shirts, turtlenecks, and monogramming--the content is there, as is the information to support it. But the company takes it a step further. It tries to match its products to customers by creating an online model, or avatar, that is unique to you. Weight? Height? Hair? Body shape? Land's End even lets you craft a model that is more or less "mature." (You get to decide what that means.) Land's End then recommends clothing. How will you look in that jacket? Those pajamas? The online experience is tailored to your needs.