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May 5, 2015

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Why massive online courses fail to connect

Foreign VIEWS

After the scurry of educational providers scrambling to be part of MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) mania, the hype has all but dissipated, primarily due to low traction rates and lackluster results.

Undoubtedly MOOCs have their place for disciplined and curious individuals with an iron will, available time and a natural predisposition to persevere. However, for time-stretched executives juggling high-pressure professional objectives and scarce personal time, MOOCs have not provided the hoped for panacea.

Expecting executive learners to stay the (online) course based on a cobbled together jumble of videos, articles and chat rooms is far-fetched. In such circumstances, expecting tangible results such as measurable business impact or observed behavioral change is delusional.

For virtual learning to work, providers should follow and executives should look for these seven guidelines:

1. Start at the end. In the creation of any learning experience, being crystal clear on participants’ learning objectives is the place to start. Switching on the studio lights or deploying the latest widget before learning objectives have been crisply defined ensures a mediocre mix of multimedia segments that simply will not lead to executive learning.

2. Treat executives like executives. When measuring progress, deploying a range of quizzes or multiple choice questionnaires may seem expedient. However, such a scholastic approach is not appreciated by executives and in many cases fails to provide meaningful data other than basic knowledge retention. The increasing trend toward the use of ever more powerful algorithms may debunk this current impasse, but clearly we are not yet there.

Recipe for disengagement

3. Change the channel. Far too many educational providers think that online learning is simply a virtual version of what works in the classroom. Wrong.

A copy-and-paste of PowerPoint slides with a few snippets of classroom footage is a recipe for disengaged executives, poor traction and massive dropout. The best online executive programs have a fresh learning design that is built around the virtual channel.

4. Successful virtual programs weave together three distinct elements: design, covering learning objectives, evaluations and the overall learning journey; the production of video and written content and online interaction mechanisms; and delivery via a platform and chosen “delivery agents” such as online coaches. Do any of these in isolation, and the program will fail. The most common error occurs when video production is outsourced with scant regard to the original pedagogical design. Watch out for slick videos where learning objectives have been “lost in translation,” leading to limited knowledge transfer and very little measurable impact.

5. Executives undertaking virtual programs expect and deserve fresh, cutting-edge content. If the material is stale, even an Oscar-winning on-screen performance or the latest technology won’t save the day.

6. Any proposed learning activity that does not have a direct impact on the executives’ business arena is a waste of their precious time.

7. In many online programs, for reasons of cost or poor design, the feedback participants receive is at best worthless and at worst erroneous. It ranges from unstructured comments from random participants with little or no relevant expertise, to enforced peer feedback as part of a point-scoring system to gain a virtual badge. Either way, such feedback can hardly be characterized as meaningful.

To sum up, MOOCs and executives are far from a marriage made in heaven. Yes, some steely individuals may be prepared to cut through reams of broadcast material to unearth their own learning nuggets. And maybe some professionals are willing to go “back to school” and be treated as participants rather than executives. But in most cases MOOCs will not provide the meaningful learning executives are looking for.

Paul Hunter is the Director of IMD’s Corporate Learning Network. He is also Vice-Chair of ELIG (European Learning Industry Group), and a steering committee member of EFMD’s CLIP (Corporate Learning Improvement Process).




 

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