Learnlight interviewed seasoned education professional Dan Evans on how to build effective digital learning experiences.

Digitalization of learning

Digitalization of learning is inevitable, and I think that’s a very good question: it’s obvious, at least it’s obvious to me. We live in a society today where digital is impacting everything we do. I don’t know how you can create a learning experience that isn’t digital, I really don’t know.

I don’t know how you can create a learning experience that isn’t digital

I think it would be a great challenge maybe, but how do you create something that is not digital? Whether it is, as I said, searching for the right training if you’re looking for training. “Buying” for training, investing the training, building the training I have yet to see something, I mean, yeah, okay we can go back to a chalkboard but, along that service provision chain there is going to be some impact of digital.

Face-to-face vs digital learning solution

Face-to-face education was considered the “model” – the standard. Distance based education was considered a second-best solution because if we couldn’t do the norm, well we’ll do it by  distance. This is a mistake! This is a very simple mistake that people make. Distance based education and digital based education can be the first best solution.

Distance based education and digital based education can be the first best solution

It’s not the fall back solution, it’s not cheap, okay? People think that digitalization of education is a way to save money, that’s no! It’s a factor to take in consideration: digital education allows us to do things better than it could be done in face-to-face mode.

Further reading

Learner engagement

Learner engagement is based on numerous things: Learner engagement is based on understanding the benefits to the learner of something. Engagement is also based on the learner being a stakeholder in the learning process. Digital tools allow and permit every learner to be more and more stakeholder. Again, If I am designing learning tool and I offer multiple ways to solve a problem and the learner can choose from a bunch of solutions: A video, a text, a self-test and whatnot – the learner is engaged, the learner is a stakeholder, they are making the choice.

Personalized learning

I can see the benefits but if the learner can see the benefits of something thanks to the personalization of the learning then we have a higher efficiency of learning. People can learn faster, people can learn in different modes, people can become more agile.

Microlearning and Mobile Learning

It’s linked to mobile because mobile is delivery tool for microlearning, okay. Microlearning is really fantastic because microlearning responds to the learners need for knowledge or understanding at the moment when they need that knowledge, okay. And this gets back to some of the errors or difficulties of classroom-based education.

If I say: “hey the education takes place Saturday at 5 o’clock, we finished at 6 o’clock or 7 o’clock, or the day after that education takes place may not be the exact moment when you want to apply it. And so, there is a gap between learning the content or learning the knowledge and the application.