Designing e-learning that isn't boring
Step 1 / 2·Enemy number one: the 'electronic page-turner'
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Learning objectives — after this module you will:
- Recognize and avoid 'page-turner' e-learning
- Apply microlearning and interaction principles
- Keep andragogy principles when going digital
Enemy number one: the 'electronic page-turner'
Know why much e-learning fails and how to avoid it.
Bad e-learning vs good e-learning
Page-turner
“40 screens of dense text, a 'Next' button, read and click to the next page, ending with an easily-guessed quiz.”
No different from a PDF with buttons — violates every andragogy principle: passive, irrelevant, no practice. Learners click just to finish.
Interactive e-learning
“Open with a real situation to solve, decide among options and see the consequences, short bites interspersed with questions, close with an application scenario.”
Learners MUST DO it, see relevance, get immediate feedback — proper andragogy and active learning, just on a screen.
The principle doesn't change
Going digital does NOT change how adults learn — it only changes the medium. Everything you learned in the Adult Learning course (active, relevant, spacing, retrieval) still holds on e-learning. The worst technology is technology that makes people sit and listen passively for longer.
Key takeaway: Avoid page-turners; good e-learning has learners decide and practice — andragogy doesn't change on a digital medium.