Digital learning has many advantages, as long as learners are involved in the training courses. Having the best content and the best tools is therefore one thing, but engaging all learners in digital learning is the key to the success of a training strategy. So how do you identify the most uncomfortable, understand the obstacles to the adoption of digital learning and overcome them? We give you a short guide with some explanations!
Step 1: Identify the obstacles to digital learning
As with all training and learning modalities, digital learning has great advantages, but also obstacles to overcome in order to get the most out of a digital learning strategy. So why are some learners uncomfortable with digital learning?
One of the first obstacles learners face in digital learning lies in the feeling of isolation that certain digital learning modalities provide. Accustomed for some to face-to-face, to learning in a group and in direct interaction, some learners have difficulty getting on board with digital learning tools, because they feel alone in front of their screen. The sensation of lack of human relationships that can characterize some 100% digital training courses can give learners the feeling of not being supervised. They may have difficulties in investing in their training, do not feel pressured to complete the modules and often give up along the way. Continually, the great autonomy that digital learning courses provide also has its negative counterpart: when you are not “captive” in a room, the distractions are innumerable, difficult to motivate yourself alone to stay focused until the end of the training.
-> What actions should be put in place?
1 - Ask learners about their obstacles to digital learning using a questionnaire
2 - Gathering feedback from learners at the end of the training course Blended Learning or digital learning
Step 2: Vary formats and supports
If this is true for face-to-face training, it is also true for digital learning. For a learner to engage in training, the content must speak to him. Whether we work in microlearning or in a virtual classroom, a central challenge in training lies in the variety of formats and supports used to provide knowledge and know-how. Learners don't all learn the same way, starting with how their brains process information. Visual, auditory, or even kinesthetic memory, the training course must use as many supports as there are learner profiles to ensure the understanding and retention of information: images, videos, videos, quizzes, audio... Likewise, the alternation of formats ensures the engagement and retention of information.
-> What actions should be put in place?
1- Evaluate the training content to determine the adequacy between the chosen format and the content to be assimilated
2 - Testing training courses with learners in real conditions allows you to gather constructive feedback.
Step 3: Strengthen the role of the trainer
Facilitating three days of face-to-face training is a job, facilitating the same training in elearning is another. With digital learning, the role of the trainer is changing. Providing training in the classroom, classroom, or amphitheater has nothing to do with facilitating an e-learning course. It is important to train the trainers themselves in e-learning, which requires very specific skills and teaching methods, in order to mobilize learners and keep them engaged.
E-learning courses take place over different timeframes, with fragmented training courses and an alternation of synchronous and asynchronous learning modules interspersed with test phases. In this context, The role of the trainer must go well beyond that of leading a class: he becomes a tutor and community manager and has the mission of keeping learners engaged. They are also the ones who initiate the Social learning and contribute to strengthening the human aspect in digital learning.
-> What actions should be put in place?
1 - Train trainers in digital learning.
2 - Invite trainers to adopt a facilitator posture
Step 4: Take advantage of social learning
Overcoming the obstacles to digital learning requires a collective dimension. The various existing social learning modalities aim to place the human and the interactivity specific to face-to-face learning in an e-learning context. In this dynamic, interactions between learners make it possible to find this collective and to create a dynamic ofpeer learning. In most contexts, social learning makes it possible to value each learner who has knowledge or know-how, by giving him the opportunity to share it in various formats: modules, videos, photos or even articles. Social learning makes it possible to create communities of learners around training, and to keep them engaged and motivated. Training courses that integrate social learning have the particularity of creating a plural learning dynamic, which gives great power to the learner. Information flows from the top down from the trainers to the learners and transversely, between the learners themselves.
-> What actions should be put in place?
1 - Implement solutions to promote interactions between learners during training (forum, LXP...)
2 - Open content creation to learners (user-generated content)
Step 5: Communicate, communicate, communicate
We can't say it enough, the key to removing the obstacles to digital learning also lies, and above all, in communication. Any digital learning strategy must be accompanied by a communication system for learners. First, it makes it possible to remove any obstacles to the adoption of digital training tools, by explaining in particular the contexts of use, but especially the benefits to be derived from them for the learner, such as greater freedom in the learning context, an opportunity to promote their know-how... In a second step, a communication strategy around training keeps learners engaged, whether they are reminder messages or newsletters to regularly present new content. Without communication, there is a greater chance that learners will leave the ship.
-> What actions should be put in place?
1 - Establish an internal communication strategy dedicated to training, which takes into account the different learning paths.
2 - Equip yourself with tools that will allow the automation of certain messages, such as training reminders
