4 Tips to Overcoming e-Learning Challenges for the Working Adult

5/30/2017:  Our social environment has changed.  The 8-5 job is now 6-7, the office is now the home, and vacations are a place you bring your work with you.  Companies espouse work-life balance but with 40% of employees reporting they work more than 50 hours a week, the companies leave it to the employee to figure out how to fit in the “life”  part let alone figuring out how to further their education.  Compound this with studies that indicate the adult attention span is about 20 minutes with some psychologists claiming a student’s attention span can be as short as 10-15 minutes.  The short term response to any stimulus is reported to be 8 seconds (just watch any movie and count the seconds before the camera angle changes) and lapses in attention span can start 30 seconds into a lecture and reoccur every 2 minutes by the end of a normal 60-90 minute lecture. Our smartphones, designed to make our life easier, become a distraction because they’re always with us, always on, and always letting us know who else wants a piece of our time. Given all of this, it’s hard to justify spending time in a classroom lecture formatted around the classic movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off unless something changes.
     The good news is educators are listening.  Many educational formats are reducing time spent lecturing, adding more active learning, and incorporating technology.  Online content is ideally adaptable to solving these social challenges.  Courses can be viewed at the student’s leisure (commutes or lunchtime), stopped and resumed as attention span wanes or those interruptions come, are accessible from mobile devices, and can incorporate active learning.  Well-designed e-learning courses enhance your learning and keep your attention by interspersing videos and active interactive dialogues.  E-learning today is even evolving to use Virtual and Augmented Reality though since VR typically requires a headset, it is not as portable as AR.  Here are some tips to help select an e-learning environment.

1.  Know your needs.  Do you want to work towards a degree or just trying to plug some learning gaps?  Even Ivy league universities are now offering online courses, many that have adopted a more active learning style.  However, degrees or courses that count towards degrees, require college applications and acceptance, have specific start end times, are only offered at certain times of the year, and can be relatively expensive.  If you really just need some pinpoint training on some specific topics, a college course is probably not the best fit.  Rather, find a e-learning provider that has courses or webinar available online; viewable on your time.
2. Know your limitations. Make an honest self-assessment of that work-life balance and budget.  Take 15 minutes to map out your daily, evening, and weekend activities.  Can you fit is something on that morning or evening commute?  Is lunch really free or is it spent getting caught up on email? Assess your budget.  Online degrees and college courses can be 100 times more expensive than a short topic course centered around a pinpoint topic.  Make sure you know how much money can you afford to allocate towards this education.  After you have found what you think is a good fit, discuss what you’re thinking with your significant other.  If they aren’t buying into it, likely now is not the right time because no matter what educational format you choose, it will take a bite out of your time.
3. Research educational formats.  If you’re going with the formal college format, research their total costs, time required per week, time required to get your degree, graduation rates, and employment rates.  With over 23,000 accredited colleges providing online classes, the task can be daunting so consider using a site like http://www.guidetoonlineschools.com/online-schools to help.  If your time, needs, and budget are more aligned with filling a learning gap, check out courses or webinars offered by independent providers and business consultants. Often, you can find a business course,lesson, or webinar on the exact topic you are looking to learn.  You might even consider hiring a business consultant for some private tutoring.
4. Stick to the Plan.  Once you’ve selected a provider, be committed to meeting your goal.  LinkedIn reported that continuing to improve your skills is one of the top attributes companies search for when looking for new employees, and furthering your education provides long term benefits regardless of the type of work you currently are doing or your age.

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