OK, that’s a trick question. Or at least it’s not the first question you should ask when thinking about your training and communication needs. eLearning is just a means to an end — although when properly conceived and implemented it can be an engaging, powerful and cost-effective means. But unless you have clearly identified the ends you want to achieve, choosing eLearning – or any other content delivery approach – is premature at best.
On the other hand, if you change the question to “Do you need learning?” it sounds almost silly. Surely everyone in every organization could learn something that would allow them to give better customer service, work more efficiently, make more sales, solve more problems, or in some other way better help your organization to achieve its goals.
So, where do you start? Well, it’s back to the basics — who, what, when, where, why, and how. WHAT needs to be taught or communicated? WHO needs to learn or know? WHEN and WHERE will those individuals be able to engage in learning? WHEN do they need to know, and WHERE will they be at that time? WHY is this information important? HOW can you judge whether or not the training or communication been successfully accomplished?
You’d be surprised (or, perhaps, you wouldn’t) at how often “we’ve got a PowerPoint” is considered as both necessary and sufficient to launch an eLearning development initiative. In my experience, such projects are unlikely – very unlikely – to truly succeed.
Of course, whether or not an eLearning project is successful depends upon how you define “success.” I’ll share some of my thoughts in a future post, but I would really like to hear about your experiences.
How do you decide to start an eLearning initiative? How do you measure its success?
