E-learning started as a way to get information to a large audience, and it proved to be a useful method for tracking course completion. In the early days, e-learning came in the form of a CD-ROM, which was especially useful for learners who couldn’t always have access to an instructor.

But early courses were modeled after textbooks. The courses followed the paradigm that the “next” button was synonymous with turning the page. The learner opened the course, started with a table of contents, worked their way through the material, and when they hit the index they understood American history, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, or the importance of corporate compliance.

That textbook-based linear model is still how some companies approach e-learning today. If information is your primary goal, there are benefits to this approach. Compliance training, for instance, frequently fits this model, and providing it through e-learning is a comfortable way to convey required information in a verifiable way.

Through time, e-learning moved from those simple “page turner” modules to interactive screens and that began to involve the learner in the experience—to a point. Everything focused around the concept of interaction. If the learners were interacting with the content, they must be learning, and for many years, the industry seemed to settle into this idea. Today, we’ve found that interactive learning doesn’t always translate into actual learning.

The Evolution of E-Learning for Customer Need

E-learning has evolved and expanded in response to customer need. Learners want shorter courses? Present the information in bite-sized chunks. Learners want communities where they can discuss the learning? Deliver an online experience complete with conversations in discussion boards.

Instructional designers are addressing these needs and expanding our designs to answer questions like:

• How do we create an effective learning experience for different moments in a learner’s journey, such as when information is new or when it needs to be applied in the flow of work?

• How do we make learning portable and effective?

• How can learning be combined and recombined to create new experiences?

One of our customers, for example, thinks of learning like individual LEGO blocks: different, reusable, pieces of content brought together in various combinations to form customized overall experiences.

E-learning must be designed and delivered to meet the diverse requirements of the learner. Learners today expect to receive information in easily digestible, just-in-time methods to meet their needs.

E-Learning for the Modern Learner’s Variety of Needs

Today’s e-learning has shifted some of the responsibility onto learners, who demand relevant experiences. Just as they rely on the internet for more and more information, learners want to control how, when, and where they access the learning needed for their jobs. This brings up the concept of accessibility for all learners. As we learn more about the evolving needs of the workforce, e-learning must evolve to keep pace, and we must bring learning to everyone who needs it.

In response to ever-evolving learner demands, learning professionals are taking a page from other areas such as their marketing or technology partners and thinking more about modern strategies to help inform employees where and how to access learning content.

E-Learning Is No Longer a Closed System

It has always been the job of an instructional designer to know the learner and deliver what’s best. The growth of the learning field means that learning professionals must gain new skills, keep abreast of new technologies, and have a current understanding of their learners, including micro preferences, on-the-go mobility, accessibility, and more.

Instead of the old textbook model, consider learning experiences that are closer to a molecular structure, which can be recombined into something else, either through our broader design or by the learner themselves. Take a step back and think about breaking the boundaries and changing the way we traditionally view e-learning as a closed system.

Instructional designers need to think of ways to remove barriers to learning—whether that barrier is an LMS or the limit of our own belief in what is possible. The designer needs to consider ever-evolving goals. Today’s e-learning environment is less about conveying information and more about applying relevant, meaningful learning whenever, wherever, and however it is needed.