Have you ever wondered why your training wasn’t as successful as expected? It’s probably due to small details you overlooked during planning. But don’t worry! We present to you the 10 most common mistakes you can avoid in e-learning.
Creating e-learnings is actually super easy, yet the same mistakes keep happening over and over again. Here are the following things to pay attention to in order to avoid the typical mistakes …
before the course begins
during the e-learning and
after the course.
Typical E-Learning Mistakes Before the Course Begins
1. Overestimating Technology (Prior Knowledge)
mistake: The course creator plans a perfect e-learning and uses various methods and tools for it. He assumes that all participants have the same level of technical knowledge as he does, after all, he has engaged extensively with it during development.
However, at the beginning of the course, it quickly becomes clear that not all participants are tech experts. And it’s precisely these individuals who often cause problems: Internet connections lag, the microphone crackles and fails, or the software is too complicated – all of this can halt your e-learning.
Solution: Provide your course participants with a short checklist of the technical requirements your course entails. If you use specific software or a tool, you can explain the most important functions in a short screencast. This alleviates participants' uncertainties and saves you from experiencing major initial difficulties.
Tip: Are your course participants rather skeptical about digital training? Then read now on how to convince them: Simply educate digitally and convince technology skeptics.
2. No Knowledge Assessment of Participants
mistake: The course leader has a pre-prepared course and starts at any point without considering the skills and knowledge gaps of the participants.
In many companies, there are mandatory training sessions that all employees must attend. Often it is forgotten that all participants have different knowledge or competencies. This is particularly noticeable in product and software training: Not all participants are equally skilled in dealing with technology, so take this quick test for digital competence!
Solution: To identify these differences in time, a brief quiz before the course begins is quite sufficient. Ask your participants for their personal assessment and then determine the competency level of your online course. Also adjust your content to the knowledge level of the learners, so the learning effect remains as high as possible and no one gets bored.
Typical E-Learning Mistakes During the Course
3. Lecture Style Instead of Interaction
mistake: The e-learning becomes a lecture, the course leader gives his presentation and does not allocate time for questions. As a result, the needs of the participants take a back seat because the course leader does not have them directly in front of him in the e-learning.
Especially in purely online formats, many course leaders tend to use this time primarily for input. However, in e-learning, active engagement of the learners is all the more important; otherwise, there is a risk that no one will listen to you anymore. After all, online courses can make people tired more quickly.
Info: Are you looking for ideas to make your online course really exciting? Then learn more now: 5 practical tips for trainers – make your course irresistible!
Solution: Use the valuable time for active learning measures. For pure input, your participants could also watch a video. This way, everyone can learn at their own pace, review content, or pause. This also has advantages for you as a course leader:
No Time Pressure: Each participant processes the content at their own pace
Flexibility: You can prepare content and don’t have to be present all the time
Benefit: You can reuse your content and save time and money
Efficiency: You use the time in presence more sensibly and can offload theoretical learning content
All these advantages can be summarized in the concept of blended learning.
4. Inappropriate Methods and Content
mistake: In e-learning, the course leader wants to cover as many topics as possible and tries to use the limited time as effectively as possible. He forgets that different content should be conveyed using different methods and media.
Whether it’s data protection training, software introduction, or team building measures. Often learning content is presented in the form of a classic presentation. Many course leaders forget that not every content is learned with the same method. For example, a software introduction may require a short example video, while a sales training requires an active implementation exercise.
Solution: Ask yourself during course design: What do I want to convey and what options do I have? This clarifies how you can best convey each content. Therefore, adapt your format to the goal! In an online course, in addition to live sessions, you can incorporate other media formats, so your course remains varied. You can always vary and offer your participants new impulses.
5. Unclear Training Objectives
mistake: The course leader does not specify a clear goal that is to be achieved with the e-learning. The learners therefore do not know what they should actually expect from the course and their thoughts drift away more quickly.
Some course leaders make the mistake of not giving their e-learnings a clear name. Consequently, the participants do not know what to expect from the course. Therefore, think of an interesting course title that piques curiosity while summarizing the content well!
Solution: Reflect on what your participants will learn in the course and try to summarize the goal in the course description. Also, define a clear goal, and ideally involve your participants in setting the objectives. Create a rough roadmap for your e-learning in advance. Before each new unit, you can refer to it and place the individual learning contents in the overall context.
A clear structure helps to keep the training objective in mind and the course becomes a visual highlight // Source: blink.it
6. No Consideration for Personal Preferences
mistake: The course leader plans an e-learning without adapting the learning content to the target group and their individual learning behaviors.
This problem particularly arises when a trainer from outside comes into a company. There are usually pre-prepared courses that are conducted repeatedly. Especially with e-learnings, however, you should pay attention to individual preferences. Particularly younger participants are comfortable with e-learnings, while older participants may desire other formats that you can also implement online.
Solution: Engage with your participants before the course begins and ask them directly about their learning behavior. Plan various learning methods from the start for a varied course.
Focus on different types of learning videos
Use the most successful quiz types in e-learning
Try these 3 exercises for collaborative e-learning.
7. Too Few Planned Breaks
mistake: The course leader implements his e-learning just like an in-person course and forgets the important breaks, especially during digital live sessions.
Digital learning is exhausting, and this also applies to e-learning. Phenomena like Zoom fatigue are becoming more frequent and should be considered, especially in the context of continuing education. After all, it doesn’t help anyone if the learners take nothing away from your online course.
Solution: Plan fixed breaks from the start and incorporate them into your schedule. This way your participants see how long a learning unit approximately lasts and can better concentrate on your content.
Typical E-Learning Mistakes in Course Follow-up
8. No Suitable Follow-up
mistake: The training measure as e-learning was a resounding success. But after the training day, the online course is concluded and the content is quickly forgotten.
Many course leaders originally offered in-person courses and quickly digitalized them. During this process, follow-up is often neglected and the participants do not receive any further tasks for implementation in their everyday work.
Solution: Think of a follow-up that you can provide to your participants in the e-learning. The format is secondary, but it should fit your course offerings. Suitable follow-ups include:
Small exercises that your participants can repeat at home
A summary of the key learning content as PDF
The video recording if it was a live webinar
A final task that your participants can upload in the online course
9. No Transfer to Everyday Life
mistake: Many exciting topics were covered in the e-learning, but they are very abstract. Many course leaders forget the goal of further education and do not help participants apply the learned content in everyday work. Here, companies are also required.
In mandatory training sessions, support in everyday life is particularly important, as motivation tends to be lower among some participants in such trainings.
Solution: Are you a human resources officer? Then you should make yourself available directly as a contact person if there are problems implementing what has been learned! As an external trainer, it's best to approach a manager to provide them with relevant materials to ensure the transfer of learning.
Tip: Integrate learning into everyday work, in the spirit of "Learning on Demand". Create a short learning library that your course participants can access during their work!
10. No Reflection on the Online Course
mistake: After the online course, participants have learned a lot and can evaluate the e-learning or its success. However, many course leaders forget to gather this very feedback on the training from the participants.
Solution: As a course leader, you are not only a knowledge transmitter; you can also learn something yourself. Ask your course participants how they liked your course and if they have any suggestions for improvement. Actively ask them what insights they gained and compare these with your set goals. This way, you can measure the success of your training and also learn a lot for future courses.
