As part of a training package, PRIMAL GLOW Communications developed an e-learning user guide. The client, a non-profit organization, wanted to explore e-learning as a way to conduct public education. Here is an excerpt from that user guide.
Thinking strategically about e-learning
Why create an e-learning?
- To inspire better understanding of a topic by a specific group of people
- To meet a knowledge/skill gap or learning need
- To connect learners in different locations and/or with varying schedules
- To make a process more efficient and effective
- To demonstrates an organization’s expertise on a topic
Is e-learning the right solution for your problem?
Could other tools, resources or activities meet your need more effectively and efficiently? Such as:
- Online content, without interaction, such as an article on a website, a series of blog posts, a downloadable document, an infographic
- Face to face event(s), such as a workshop or course
- Telephone conference call
- Print document, such as flyer, poster, workbook
- An app
Benefits of e-learning compared to other options
- Broad reach
- Connect with hard to reach populations (e.g. isolated people, rural and remote communities)
- Convenient (e.g. in comparison with traveling to a location, or having to join a call at a specific time)
- Can be a private/individual experience
- Increasing interaction with information increases learning (e.g. in comparison with simply reading articles on a website)
- Can satisfy various learning styles
- User can often adapt the learning process to meet her/his individual needs by selecting specific activities in a specific order
- When learners interact with one another (e.g. discussion forum, chat, survey), multiple perspectives can enhance understanding
- Can be engaging
- Often cheaper that in-person events and app development
- Can have a longer-term impact/reach more people that a single event
Challenges of e-learning compared to other options
- Expensive compared to some other formats
- Requires specific skills to develop and some skills for users to access
- Requires access to specific technologies on the part of the developer and, to a lesser degree, on the part of the user
- Must be accessible for users with various disabilities, users with low internet bandwidth, users with limited literacy and limited English/French
- Users may have expectations for specific look and feel
- Maintaining accuracy and accessibility over time as information, external links and technology change requires planning and resources