E-learning's Genres

Give anybody a book. The idea behind the book is that they will read it. Provide e-learning to people, and the idea behind it is people will learn. But there's more to it than that. The book, although it will always be read, has many different genres: mysteries, romances, science fictions, historical fictions, non-fictions, biographies, etc. Likewise, e-learning has a number of genres, all with distinct benefits and drawbacks, and often these genres will combine to maximize the learning experience.

Give anybody a book. The idea behind the book is that they will read it. Provide e-learning to people, and the idea behind it is people will learn. But there’s more to it than that. The book, although it will always be read, has many different genres: mysteries, romances, science fictions, historical fictions, non-fictions, biographies, etc. Likewise, e-learning has a number of genres, all with distinct benefits and drawbacks, and often these genres will combine to maximize the learning experience.

Games are one of the most common types of e-learning, but often they are misunderstood, especially among adults who might consider a game to be trivial and/or elementary. Games, however, provide a reliable way to supplement and enhance learning. In fact, some learning theories suggest that they are a necessary element in childhood learning. They have the ability to relax learners as well as engage them. The backbone of an instructional game is to motivate a learner through a set of goals or competition. This can then be aligned to the objective of the main learning at hand.

There are also tutorials, which are perhaps the most commonly used among e-learning. Tutorials present the information linearly and before moving on make sure the learner has grasped the knowledge at hand. For example, an online course might walk you through the basic steps of managing a group successfully. The course will give you all the information necessary and then ask you to answer a number of questions to see if you’ve retained the information provided. If you answer the questions incorrectly, the tutorial may return to the initial information to review and refresh your memory before asking you to answer the same questions.

Once you do answer the questions correctly, the course may move on to another topic of management, such as how to manage and handle a group or staff problem. Tutorials often provide a sense of confidence. The learner feels he or she has achieved a goal and is competent to move on.

Tests are another genre of e-learning. Often tests will be given by a company or taken by an individual as a precursor to other forms of learning. The biggest benefit of a test—whether it be multiple-choice, true or false, fill-in-the-blank or something else—provides immediate results. People can see almost instantaneously where their knowledge level is.

Simulations are gaining ground. They are reenactments of real life or job situations. The more realistic the simulation is, the more effective it will be. Simulations are often used in occupational training. A customer service employee can practice how to respond to certain customer issues, comments or problems. A pilot can pretend he or she is actually flying. A doctor or nurse can simulate a surgery table. And a teacher can interact with students in a simulated classroom. This type of learning is beneficial because it allows for practice, and often if a learner makes a mistake, he or she can see what the repercussions of this mistake. They can then make a different or better decision to see what would happen.

Another common genre of e-learning is an electronic performance support system. Perhaps the most commonly known example is the small paperclip icon that shows up in the bottom corner of Microsoft Word offering help to the Word user. You can click on the paperclip if you have a question about how to use the program. For example, you might want to know how to change the font or size of the letters you are typing. You could click on the paper clip, and a screen will pop up asking you what your question is. Once you’ve entered your question, or perhaps found it within a list of questions, the system will provide you with an answer. The idea behind a support system is the complete opposite of that of a tutorial. A tutorial provides help before a learner performs. A support system lets learners perform and then decide when he or she might need help or assistance. Support systems are growing more popular. Often phone centers have in-depth support systems. If a customer service center employee is not sure how to answer a customer’s question, he or she can quickly revert to the support system and seek an appropriate answer. The support system, however, requires much research and planning as its being developed because it requires knowledge about what the average learner will have questions about.

These are a number of the common e-learning genres. But again, it’s important to mention that often these genres can be combined to provide a more effective learning experience.

Posted on January 28, 2006 at 4:45 PM

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