Building E-Learning That Works

Generally speaking, e-learning courses fall into two main categories: information-sharing or performance-changing. Within these, you’ll find three primary types of courses that go from information to decision-making activities.

The “FYI” course

This is your basic information dump. It’s pretty standard for our industry. Think of it like a “What’s New” feature tour. You’re not expecting people to do much with this info, just to be aware of it. If you are expecting them to do something with the information then you need to look at one of the other types of courses.

How to build the “FYI” course 

No instructions needed since this is the default for our industry. If anything, focus on relevant content and context for the learner. The more relevant, the more meaningful even if there’s little performance expectation as an outcome of the course.

The “How-To” course

This is your step-by-step guide. It has very clear, defined procedural steps. It’s all about teaching specific tasks that learners can replicate in their work. Like showing someone how to fill out a form or use a new software. There’s not a lot of deviation from the steps. The steps to follow and outcomes are all known.

How to build the “How-To” course

Clarity is key with these courses. Clear steps with clear outcomes. It is helpful to move towards specific rather than general in terms of context. Specific content is closely related to what they actually do. I like to determine common situations where they’d do those tasks rather than just present them with the tasks. When a person understands what they’re doing and why, they’re less apt to deviate from the outlined procedures. 

The “Problem-Solver” course

This is the tricky one. You’re not giving exact steps, but teaching principles that learners can apply in different situations. It’s like teaching someone to fish (an approach to solve problems) instead of giving them a fish (clearly defined steps). These types of courses are a bit nuanced and require a deep understanding of learners’ contexts and flexible application of principles. 

How to build the “Problem-Solver” course

There’s not always an obvious right and wrong way answer. You provide some guiding principles and then give them opportunities to practice. I like to build a series of quick scenarios for them to make decisions and get feedback. The more they do that, the better they can hone their application of the guiding principles.

The bottom line

Here’s what’s true to our industry and why many courses are linear, click-and-read information dumps. It’s easier to build those courses than to build decision-making scenarios. The latter are more complex, they take more time, and require more resources. 

The bottom line is that you get results from the types of courses you build. Build simple FYI courses and you probably won’t make any significant impact. On the flip side, building problem-solving scenarios aligned to the performance objectives usually means more success.

Each type of course has its purpose and each has a cost in terms of resources. By understanding your course’s purpose and type, you’ll make smarter decisions about resource allocation. This approach helps you create e-learning experiences that truly make a difference.