As an e-learning educator, you are serving as a bridge between the subject matter and the student.  While you may be an expert at creating effective training materials, failing to understand your student's needs and objectives can lead to an ineffective e-learning experience - no matter how polished the presentation.

 

One of the first steps you must take is to detemine and understand your audience.  Every decision you make, from the pacing of the delivery to the style of the presentation, must service the student's learning style and objectives. 

 

When you're researching your audience, consider the following:

 

 

The very first step to creating an effective e-learning course is to get inside your students' heads and understand what they're hoping to get from your course.

Knowing who your students are will shape the tone, style, and pacing of your e-learning course.

What do they want to achieve, and how do they want to apply their new found knowledge in the real world?

 

Every course will attract students with different learning objectives –some will take a course out of sheer interest in the subject matter, while others are required to take the course as part of educational or professional learning development. Some courses present general subject matter, while others focus on more task oriented subjects like software training or manufacturing techniques.

 

Understanding these learning objectives will help you shape the way you deliver your content. For demonstrative topics like how to safely operate a fork lift,  a video featuring experts may be ideal. For complex topics like customer relations, an interactive Adobe Captivate presentation may help you present if-then scenarios through which you guide the student into making the correct decisions.

 

Ultimately, you must be clear on the students expectations and objectives for taking the course, so you can deliver a product that will meet those expectations.

 

 

Determine how your students relate to the subject matter you are teaching. If your students are beginners who are unfamiliar with the subject matter and terminology, construct a slower, more methodical introduction to the curriculum.  Take time to explain terminology and present the material in a broader context so students understand not only what they're learning, but why they're learning learning it, and how this knowledge applies to their world view.

 

If your students are experienced, advanced learners who have extensive knowledge in the subject matter, develop a curriculum that builds on top of your students pre-existing knowledge.

 

One helpful technique is to assess your students current skill set, then determine the desired skills you want them to have by the end of your training. The difference between these two will influence the content of your e-learning course, delivery style, and pacing.

 

While understanding your students history from the course level is certainly important, is even more important as you are building the individual lessons that make up the course. Assess the content in each lesson to determine if it's audience is for beginners, intermediate, or advanced learners. Some lessons may be intended as overall introductions for beginning students, then as lessons progress in complexity the deeper and the subject matter you go. Your ability to mix and match lessons allows your to tailor each course to your students history and overall knowledge of the subject matter.

 

Remember, you want to present the subject matter in the pace and style that your students will absorb, understand, and retain. If you move too quickly with beginning students, you risk losing them; and if you progress to slowly for advanced students, they may view your e-learning course as overly simplistic and lose interest.

 

 

We've all taken classes in which we have wondered why we are being taught this material. Students who take your e-learning courses are no different. They will all be asking "how does course affect me?" "How does it impact my life?"  and "How does this apply to the real working world?" As an educator, it is your responsibility to not only teach what the subject is,  but why it matters, and how it applies to the real world. As soon as students understand the practical implications of the material, they will be more invested and motivated in learning.

 

Understand how much time and effort your students will dedicate to your online training is critical.  Employees required to complete professional training on company time can spend more time than a stay-at-home mom caring for two kids while trying to complete an online certification course. 

 

It may make sense to structure a few longer, more in-depth lessons if your learner matches the employee profile, and build more lessons that are designed as shorter lessons to accomodate the mom.  Additionally, younger learners may respond to shorter content, while established professionals may handle longer lessons.

 

Ultimately, know your audience and their learning styles.  The closer you can design your e-learning content to match their needs, the greater success you will find as an educator.