Top 8 e-learning fails that produce corporate learning zombies

Fog rises from the cool ground: Bats flutter through the darkness. From somewhere you hear eerie ghostly howls. Gloomy figures creep through the darkness. The prelude to a scary movie? Something like that - Halloween is just around the corner and scaring and creeping are expressly desired on this day.

It's a different story with scary ghosts and other frightening creatures in our everyday working lives. Don't you know them? I bet you do. They lurk in unexpected places and make our lives harder with their deeds. One example of this is poorly done e-learning that turns novice users into learning zombies in no time at all, with no knowledge stuck in their heads. Here are our top 8 How Not Tos:

Processing an e-learning is usually not high on the learners' priority list. Due to such an attitude, the learning activity may possibly be experienced as exhausting. Therefore, motivating elements such as storytelling, regular feedback on learning progress are essential, as well as answering the questions "1. Why should I complete the e-learning?" as early as possible. 2. what can I take away for myself after this training?" Accompanied by a contemporary and appealing presentation, even seemingly dry topics can generate enthusiasm.

Heavily text-heavy learning media are not only unaesthetic, but also overload the working memory. Extensive content should therefore be divided into smaller, self-contained units of information. The size of the units on the respective screen pages depends on the prior knowledge of the learners.

In e-learning, it is not only important to present content in a way that is varied in terms of media, but also to integrate interactive elements such as drag-and-drop or flip cards. This ensures that learners actively engage with the learning material and can therefore promote deep learning. In addition, this inclusiveness usually provides for a higher motivation of the learners.

Learners need an understanding of how a topic is relevant to them. After all, why else would they engage with the learning content available to them? For example, emotionally prepared content at the beginning of a learning unit can help e-learning users to access the topic and increase their attention. In addition, the imagery and practical examples should be adapted to the learners' everyday lives and work situations.

An e-learning that is particularly beneficial for beginners is not necessarily suitable for advanced learners and vice versa. There is a whole range of design features to consider depending on the characteristics of a target group. To take one example: Too much free space for learners with little prior knowledge can only irritate, because they need a certain orientation and structure when dealing with new topics.

Basically, the choice or the formulation of learning tasks depends on the learning objective. If a transfer of learning, i.e. the transfer of what has been learned to a new situation, is desired, this can only be achieved with the help of complex, case-based tasks, for example with simulations or interactions. This in turn means that quiz questions that test what has been learned merely promote the acquisition of facts instead of knowledge transfer. For these questions, too, it is important to choose a medium level of difficulty in the wording.

Our many years of experience as an e-learning producer in various subject areas have shown us how to increase the acceptance of e-learning: Content from subject matter experts must be staged while keeping in mind the media demands of the users. The training must work with the emotions of the user, because knowledge can only be sustainably anchored in memory with (positive) emotions. Like an appealing film or a good documentary, e-learning must have a storyline that is memorable. Only then can it fulfill its purpose of creating awareness and conveying learning content.

And even if the horror movie is a genre that has been popular for decades - learning horror certainly fails to achieve the desired effect.