Expert: Leslie - 10/20/2008

Question
QUESTION: I am a recent M.Ed grad with not a great deal of experience in eLearning.  I have been tasked with critiquing the 50+ eCourses this company offers.  One area of concern is whether corporate training eCourses should be in 1st, 2nd or 3rd person format.  Do you have any insight or opinion in this issue? Most of the courses are simple presentations on steroids with no interaction.  They are only termed eCourses because they are accessed through the Internet.  Any words of advice or wisdom would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

ANSWER: Melanie,

What a great way to start a job: getting a crash course in elearning! Er um experiential course on elearning...

For the most part, all training is done with second person. In giving instruction, the wording gets awkward and confused when trying to use third person, and first person sounds silly.

Example: The instructions want the student to press a key.
First person: I will press the key.
Second person: Press the key.
Third person: He or she will press the key.

I have seen exceptions to the rule. When an expert is giving a knowledge dump, the person can change, but that form of elearning is more like viewing a video of a lecture.

Key to evaluating all learning is the behavioral objective. As in any instruction, the objective needs to be clear and addressed by the training. I have seen elearning courses that propose that the student will be able to complete a spreadsheet when done. In reality, the student could probably identify the components of the spreadsheet, but completing the spreadsheet is not practiced or tested. (knowledge vs. skill)

A second area to consider is level of the learner. I have noted that elearning courses are more accepted because the typical student cannot read well, and the presentation is spoken. The verbal presentation helps to reinforce any written text. Can the student (audience) quickly understand the materials.

Another part of the learner evaluation has to consider the amount of text on the screen, whether text is available for those who prefer text (or cannot hear), and the fog factor of the language. This audience-criteria is often the most critical factor because a great course for one level will be disastrous for another.

Another big consideration the amount and quality of the interaction. If the presentation simply asks the student to click to the next screen, the interaction is low and is more like turning a page in a book. More intense interaction may be engaging the learner in selecting answers, manipulating graphics, etc. Practice sessions with the material reinforce learning. Testing at the end reinforces learning. I am surprised by the audience's positive reaction to the simplest of interaction.

I wish I could offer you a book or guide to evaluating elearning. Your work in developing learning, however, can be a good guide. Using the standards that you used for classroom learning should be applicable to the elearning environment. Rob Foshay and Ken Silber put out a weighty tome on learning in general with an emphasis on alternate media. I just looked in my library to find the name, but I must have loaned the book out... These men were one of the first to use alternate media successfully in a commercial environment. Rob Foshay went on to modify and update the old Plato materials. ISPI offers the book, I think.

Hope my suggestions help. If I may ask, who is offering the training? Is it from a commercial training firm or an in-house project?

Leslie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Leslie,
Thank you (I think!) I will have to think on your responses to determine which, if any, are in line with our courses.  I am working for a medical insurance company that creates traditional and eCourses as in house employee training.There are presently over 50 eCourses that I am evaluating for content, evaluation, and design.  Hence the question regarding 1st person. This institution has bypassed true measurable objectives for simply passing the evaluation at the end of the module. Part of my evaluation includes whether the evaluation is in line and weighted appropriately to the objectives and the content (as miserably worded as the objectives might be). I will try to research the book you mention in hopes of a more definitive answer to my original question.  Any other enlightenment or direction you are willing to provide will be most appreciated!

Answer
Melanie,

The Dick and Carey is a classic in the field of instructional design. You can also call on the knowledge of Mager. You can readily get those books and use them to evaluate the courses for good instructional design, despite the delivery.

I worked with an insurance company once, and the company was not as interested in good learning as it was in due diligence. Your work in testing the test, sounds like something this other insurance company would do.

Your company may not be as interested in whether the medium is successful as whether its test is covers the material. The company I worked for did not want to hear that that its investment in trainning was not very good. It only wanted to know whether someone could sue the company. You may want to keep that idea in mind as you complete your task.

Sounds like a good gig.

Leslie