Know Thy Learner: The Importance of Context in E-Learning Design

Know Thy Learner: The Importance of Context in E-Learning DesignBy Moises Sheinberg
The context in which an e-learning course is delivered should strongly affect all aspects of the course's design. Gathering information about the intended audience before designing and developing a course can greatly improve its chance for success.
Context may be the most important element that can help determine the success of an e-learning initiative. An in-depth analysis of the context should be the departure point of every e-learning design effort. To consider the context, take into account learner characteristics, including
physical features: age, gender, disabilities
education: fields of study, degrees earned, computer literacy
cultural background: language, place of origin, traditions, sensitive subjects
employment background: experience, time in current job, relationships with other participants
expectations: reasons for attending the course, expected results.
Those seemingly minor factors will help you determine or consider the following design points:
Language to use. Knowing your audience will help you understand how to talk to them. for example, engineers and psychologists require different vocabulary, as do senior citizens and generation Xers.
Ask yourself these questions:
Am I using technical words? Will my audience understand them?
Am I using slang?
Am I using inclusive gender (he and she)?
Can somebody be offended by the words I'm using?
Information to focus on. Knowing your participants' educational background and experience will help you avoid redundancies that could bore them. In turn, you'll be able to focus on what participants really need to learn.
Ask yourself:
Am I focusing on the important information?
Is any information repetitive?
Am I giving learners information that they already have or teaching something that they already know?
Learner preparation. You need to ensure that participants are ready for your course. Before starting, they may need to brush up on computer and communication skills, or take a prerequisite course before they can understand the content.
Ask yourself:
Do all the participants have the same level of knowledge of the course contents?
Do some or all participants need prerequisite training to understand the course material?
Are all participants familiar with the technology I'm using?
Course pace. You need to know how motivated and knowledgeable your audience is so you can set the course rhythm. Going too slow or too fast can be equally damaging to your program. You also need to know how much time the participants can and are willing to allocate to the course and how soon they expect to acquire skills and knowledge.
Ask yourself:
According to learners' previous knowledge, how much time should it take them to finish each unit?
Am I planning to slow down for more complex information and speed up for information that's simple or that participants already know?
Do learners have enough time to finish each unit?
Am I leaving "breathing room" in case a unit takes longer than planned?
Do I offer optional activities for fast learners who finish early?
How urgently do people need the skills or knowledge? (Usually, the answer is "for yesterday.")
Does the course's timeframe meet participants' expectations?
Use of peer learning. Participants with previous experience or knowledge can be disruptive or useful, depending on how you handle them. Locate your veterans and use their knowledge as a resource. Experienced participants will most likely be happy to help and to get involved in their peers' training if you encourage them.
Ask yourself:
Are planned breakout groups well balanced?
How can newer students get in touch with more experienced ones?
Do I have a way for more experienced participants to share their knowledge with others?
Amount of hand-holding. If you know your audience, you should be able to determine the amount and the kind of support they'll need. Try to put yourself in your participants' shoes and imagine the feelings they'll have towards the course; think about the moments when they might feel anxious or stressed and try to develop a support scheme to ease their apprehension.
Ask yourself:
Are all or some participants new to the company?
Are all or some participants new to the technology?
Do all or some participants feel unsure or insecure about using the technology or interacting online?
Amount and types of Interaction. A factor that makes a training course different (and, we hope, better) than reading a book is interaction. Knowing your learners will help you predict their preferred ways to interact. You should know whether the participants will feel more comfortable communicating by email, phone, fax, chats, and so forth.
Think about how the participants will interact with
the trainer. Will they be able to call him or her on the phone? Send email? Chat? How often and in what ways will they receive feedback?
each other. Will there be teamwork? How will learners communicate?
the course content. Will participants be able to view all of the information at once? Will they have to finish one item before moving to the next? Will they have to pass tests to get access to further information? Will there be any links to other resources?
support staff. Will they be able to call for technical help? Send email? Chat? How often and in what ways will they receive support? Whom can they call 24 hours a day, seven days a week?
Ask yourself:
Does my audience feel comfortable communicating solely by email (or other chosen methods)?
Do the participants need to feel in touch by hearing the facilitator's voice or looking at him or her?
How explicit will interactions be?
Will participants need only basic guidance or will they need step-by-step instructions?
Learner attitudes and motivations. In order to keep participants motivated, you should know their reasons for attending the course and courses that could have chosen.
Ask yourself:
Who sent the learners to the course?
Is the course a reward?
Are learners taking the course because they're occupying new positions, were given new responsibilities, or want new ways to work?
Are they taking the course because their performance needs improvement?
Did participants choose this course over others?
Are they happy that they're attending or do they feel that the course is a waste of time?
What can I do to make learners feel that the course is worth their while?
Do the learners like to be recognized? How?
Expected outcomes. To satisfy your audience, you need to know their expectations. You can develop the best course to accomplish what you think are your learners' objectives but you may be mistaken about them. Always center your course on stakeholders' needs and expectations by asking about them before you design and deliver the course.
Ask yourself:
What do participants expect to learn from the course?
What do they expect to improve as a result of the course?
Are results expected immediately or over the long haul?
Access issues. What access will participants have to the tools they need? Studying the context of your audience, you should ensure that learners have the necessary access to
hardware: computers, television sets, VCRs, fax machines, telephones, and so forth. Ensure that participants' hardware meets necessary specifications for the course.
software. Knowing your learners will help you decide which software to use and how much technical support they'll need. Don't assume that the most sophisticated packages are best--you must compromise between speed, content, available bandwidth, and cost.
communications. You should know which are the preferred means of communication for your learners and how accessible to them those means are.
Ask yourself:
Where will participants work on the course? At home? In the office? On the road?
What kind of access do learners need (intranet, Internet, phone lines, 800 numbers, fax machines, and so forth)?
Which means of communication make learners feel comfortable and which make them nervous?
What is the fastest, cheapest, and easiest way to get the software to the participants? At what point in the course will they need access to each piece of hardware and software?
Is the interface user-friendly?
Do learners need a course to teach them how to install or use the software?
Do they need to practice with the software before the course begins?
How far in advance should I tell participants what they need to buy, photocopy, or print for the course?
Teaching methods. These depend as much on the trainer as on the audience and the contents of the course. E-learning requires commitment and participation from learners, so be sure to integrate interaction and hands-on activities. When determining your teaching methods you should consider
course content and materials. The course materials can be delivered on paper via "snail mail," as PDF files, on Webpages, as files via email, on CD-ROMs, and so forth. Select the materials that best convey your message--books, simulations, interactive programs, multimedia programs--then choose an appropriate delivery method. (For more on matching content to delivery method, see E-Learning 1.0.
learning process. The learning process for e-learning and for F2F courses differs. E-learning participants must be fairly self-reliant, so plan to provide lots of support, very clear step-by-step instructions, and plenty of interaction.
practice. Think about how the participants will take what they learn to their respective jobs. Explain to them in detail how they should do it and how that will be assessed.
evaluation. The evaluations you used for face-to-face courses probably won't work for e-learning, which should focus more on actions than knowledge. That's because participants learning at a distance can access other sources for their answers. Thus, it's more useful to evaluate behavior. Choices for evaluation methods include monitoring discussion groups and evaluating participation, assigning papers that require opinions rather than basic information, and measuring on-the-job results.
Ask yourself:
How can training content best be delivered?
How involved and responsive do I expect my audience to be?
What learning activities can I design to get learners involved?
How can I evaluate the course's results in terms of the participants' expectations?
Staffing. When you deliver an e-learning course, your staffing needs are very different from a F2F course. Those needs depend on the context. Participants will need and expect different amounts of support (be it technical- or content-related) in different ways according to their characteristics. You must consider the following:
technical staff. People with technical knowledge and availability should guide participants on setting up equipment and software, using programs, and communicating in the online environment.
teaching functions. The exact functions the online instructor performs depend, again, on the participants. In general, the job of the instructor is to guide learners through the content, answer questions, facilitate access to resources, assess learners' work, and ensure that everyone participates.
Because instructors must perform so many roles in e-learning courses, it's common for them to rely on support staff. These people can act as tutors for the students, helping to monitor participation, respond to questions regarding technical problems, facilitate exercises, and so forth.
Ask yourself:
How much does my audience know about the course's subject?
How familiar is my audience with the technology?
Are participants used to independent work and study?
How much interaction will I need?
How many people will I be instructing?
Ethical issues. This important topic is rarely considered in e-learning and it can greatly affect the attitude of your audience. Always try to maintain communications at a professional level; set clear communication policies about sexist, racist, or aggressive remarks; and ensure that your content won't offend any of the participants. As the instructor, you also must set rules about confidentiality of discussions, prerequisite knowledge for the course, methods of assessment, and so forth. Everyone should agree with your rules before they begin the course--one way to ensure that is to ask them to sign a contract. Knowing your audience will help you determine what rules and policies to set.
Ask yourself:
Who will have access to the discussions, interactions, emails, papers and other materials that will be generated by the course?
Will participants' bosses be able to see them? Will their peers?
What will be the level of confidentiality?
Are participants especially sensitive to some issues?
Can people feel left out, attacked, or offended?
Group management. Every group of people is different, and as such, must be treated differently. Try to learn everything you can from your participants before the beginning of the course. You'll most likely have to make some adjustments to your group tactics once the course begins, but the better you plan, the fewer adjustments you'll have to make later. Knowing the group you'll be working with will help you determine how to manage communications between learners, how to assign them to teams, and how to motivate participation.
Ask yourself:
Are there any animosities between participants?
Are there any participants who should be kept separated?
Are there participants who will work better when teamed up with other specific participants?
Should information, communications, or results be shared throughout the group?
Who should be able to contact whom?
Should communications be moderated?
Never underestimate the importance of knowing your audience. Crucial information for the development and delivery of a course can be gathered from its context. If you disregard the context, your course will be just another generic endeavor with a high risk of failure. Personalize your courses as best you can for your participants and always make them feel that you're taking their needs into consideration. They will appreciate it and respond accordingly.
Published: October 2001

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Moises Sheinberg is the president of a consulting agency in Mexico City that specializes in the development and delivery of e-learning courses. He can be reached at moyshein@data.net.mx.
ref:http://www.learningcircuits.org/2001/oct2001/elearn.html