eLearning is in hospice and on life support, yet we keep in alive. Is there hope?
My mom uses to say, "If common sense is so common, why don't more people have it?"
She was a very smart lady. And that question has guided me my career to discover what was keeping people from using their life experiences to guide their actions.
But what is Common Sense?
The term was made famous by Thomas Paine just before the American Revolution in his his pamphlet, "Common Sense," entreating the colonial population to consider independence from Great Britain. I think his last paragraph of note sums up our present situation as shepherds of the knowledge domain,
"These proceedings may at first appear strange and difficult; but, like all other
steps which we have already passed over, will in a little time become familiar and
agreeable; and, until an independence is declared, the Continent will feel itself like
a man who continues putting off some unpleasant business from day to day, yet
knows it must be done, hates to set about it, wishes it over, and is continually
haunted with the thoughts of its necessity."
The modern interpretation of the term is "good sense and sound judgment in practical matters." As difficult as it is sometimes to admit we were wrong, and to take another approach, and stop "putting off some unpleasant business," our dependence on eLearning to impart knowledge, foster mastery, and support success is doomed to failure.
Strong words, I know.
Why is eLearning doomed to fail those who invest shareholder money into developing a workforce that can compete against the rest in their industry? Why is eLearning failing to fire the imaginations and passions of students to deal with life's struggles as eloquently as Paine?
In my opinion, forged after 50 years of experience in the knowledge business, we've made common sense the enemy. We're putting off the unpleasant task of challenge and struggle after the learning event to reinforce what knowledge was acquired and to build the skills and confidence of the learner.
It's this missing component, and others, that make eLearning ineffective in fostering common sense. Janus's article* also completes the models and theories related to learning and eLearning in general.
I believe that those who lead the world of "Learning" have forgotten the Forgetfulness Curve. More on that soon.
Resources:
Paine, Thomas, Common Sense, Pamphlet, January 10, 1776
Fain, Paul, Takedown of Online Education, January 16, 2019, https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/01/16/online-learning-fails-deliver-finds-report-aimed-discouraging
*Janus, Steffen Soulejman, Capturing Solutions for Learning and Scaling Up: Documenting Operational Experiences for Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing, July 17, 2017, https://www.scribd.com/doc/354392168/Capturing-Solutions-for-Learning-and-Scaling-Up-Documenting-Operational-Experiences-for-Organizational-Learning-and-Knowledge-Sharing
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