E-learning t.b.a.

Forget instructional design - it never really mattered anyway. After ten years of exploratory work at the boundaries of technology, cognitive science, learning theory I felt it was time for some research; research which would validate those years of effort and prove once and for all that interactive, multimedia, multi-modal learning really did make a difference. Actually, it doesn't - people learned just as much from text files as they did from the all-singing, all-dancing (highly expensive) multimedia solution. What matters is whether they want to learn - our participants saw it as a challenge, as a competition.

I should have seen it coming - after all I never remember much from the docu-drama things that delve deeply into ancient civilisations armed with a big budget. I don't really think that my degree results would have been that much better if philosophy and psychology had been available as e-learning courses rather than library books.

So it's all about appeal - that's right: the scientific jiggery pokery can work wonders for your course appeal (they loved the simulations) but strictly speaking if you are after appeal you would do well to devote as much time to the graphic design and acting ability as you would to the learning theory.

It was a mistake to under-estimate the learners - to assume that we (all the so-called learning 'gurus') could come up with a magic formula that would pump information into our learning subjects like something out of the Matrix. If they want to learn, they will. If they don't, they won't. Our mistake was not giving them reasons to learn - not challenging people.

So, so far, e-learning looks like a question about how we challenge people, and how we motivate them. Why did they stay in the classrooms? Because it's embarassing to leave, because questions will be asked... How many times have I not walked out, when - God knows - I wanted to?

When do they actually learn? When they have a problem. What do they do? They phone a friend. Or.... wait for it.... they look it up on the internet. Back to text again. Mostly they try to avoid learning at all costs. Who was it who said that? Ah yes, Piaget. Referenceware looks more like a way forward.

And by the way - blending never did have anything to do with 'best of both' - it's just an effective incentive mechanism: 'do the e-learning or you don't get to do the classroom training - and you all know what happens if you miss the classroom training....'.

Enough. Off to shoot some video.