More people start online courses than ever, but many of them fail!
This is usually because the instructor lacks the skills or knowledge to overcome common eLearning challenges that will rear their head, either during the course creation process or after they’ve launched.
Failing to address such challenges leads to dissatisfied learners and gradually fewer students signing up for your program due to poor reviews. Eventually, your eLearning program might fizzle into failure.
Don’t let that bring you down, though! The most important thing is to recognize and address these obstacles before they become issues, and this article is all about discussing common challenges of eLearning and how to overcome them.
In addition to being aware of common eLearning challenges, it’s important to utilize an eLearning platform that truly enables you to solve problems.
That’s why in this article, we discuss the major challenges that come up in eLearning scenarios and how you can solve them with Sensei LMS, an online course plugin that allows you to create stellar online course programs on your WordPress website.
Challenge 1: Creating dialogue in eLearning
eLearning offers flexibility and accessibility, which sets it apart from in-person learning. Learners can navigate through course materials at their own pace, anytime, anywhere.
Yet, this convenience comes with a drawback: the lack of meaningful dialogue. Without the traditional classroom setting, students may find themselves isolated, with limited interaction, such as seeking clarification from instructors or engaging in peer discussions.
Solution 1: Teacher-student interaction
Sensei LMS recognizes the importance of dialogue between students and instructors. With its user-friendly interface, Sensei makes it easy for students to reach out to their teachers. A Contact Teacher button within courses offers a direct line of communication, enabling students to get clarification, ask questions, or solicit feedback easily.
You can find Contact Teacher in the block section of Sensei.
Solution 2: Enable group learning for collaboration
Collaborative learning experiences are invaluable for dialogue and enhancing education. With Sensei, course creators have the unique ability to enable group learning environments where cohorts begin courses together. This means that groups of students can start learning at the same time, ensuring synchronized access to course materials.
A great feature that amplifies this collaborative nature is the Discussion Question lesson pattern. This pattern lets instructors pose thought-provoking questions within lessons, initiating threaded conversations among students.
These discussions not only encourage critical thinking but also promote knowledge sharing within the cohort. With Sensei’s Block Visibility settings, instructors can maintain focus within specific groups, fostering a sense of community and camaraderie among learners.
Solution 3: Create opportunities for face-to-face interactions
While virtual interactions predominantly shape eLearning, the value of face-to-face engagements in certain contexts cannot be ignored. While Sensei doesn’t offer direct support for live sessions, there are avenues to facilitate such interactions by extending Sensei/WordPress with additional tools.
It’s important to note that while live sessions may not be feasible in every eLearning context, especially when courses are marketed to the general public, they hold significant value, particularly in scenarios such as corporate training or educational institutions.
Integrating calendar plugins enables instructors to schedule one-on-one appointments or group sessions with students. Also, using email plugins like Mailpoet allows instructors to notify students about upcoming live sessions, ensuring widespread participation and engagement.
While live sessions may not be a core feature of Sensei, its compatibility with various plugins allows instructors to create dynamic learning environments that cater to diverse educational needs and preferences.
Challenge 2: Tracking and understanding student progress
Educators face a significant challenge in tracking and understanding student progress in eLearning. This comes from the limited reporting options in online platforms, complex data interpretation, and the need for diverse assessment methods.
Traditional grading systems may not fully capture online learning dynamics. Overcoming this challenge requires reporting tools, data literacy, and holistic assessment approaches.
Solution 1: Quizzes and assessments
Regular quizzes and assessments are invaluable tools for measuring learning outcomes and identifying areas where students may require more support.
Sensei LMS offers great quiz features that can be tailored to accommodate diverse learning styles. With various question types and interactive components, educators can create engaging assessments that effectively evaluate student comprehension.
To maximize the effectiveness of quizzes, educators should incorporate them into the course workflow at strategic points, such as at the end of each module, ensuring they serve both evaluative and educational functions.
Solution 2: Monitor completion rates
Monitoring completion rates provides a macro-level view of student engagement and course effectiveness. Sensei LMS allows educators to track individual and overall course completion rates, enabling them to identify trends and areas for improvement.
Interpreting data on completion rates offers valuable insights, including identifying drop-off points and evaluating the time taken to complete courses. Using this data, educators can make informed decisions to refine course content, pacing, and complexity, ultimately enhancing the eLearning experience.
By continuously monitoring and adapting course elements, educators can optimize student engagement and success.
Solution 3: Ask for feedback
Feedback is a powerful tool for instructors and students. Sensei LMS provides various feedback mechanisms, including the ability to implement course surveys and the aforementioned Contact Teacher button, allowing educators to gather qualitative insights into student experiences.
Establishing a systematic process for collecting, analyzing, and acting upon feedback is important for enhancing student progress in eLearning. To achieve this, educators can integrate qualitative feedback with quantitative insights gleaned from quizzes and completion rates. Here’s how:
- Use quizzes for insightful feedback: Pay attention to students’ quiz responses to identify areas where comprehension may be lacking. For instance, if a significant portion of students consistently answers a question incorrectly, it suggests that the corresponding lesson content may need clarification or further explanation.
- Analyze completion rates: Monitor completion rates of modules or lessons within your courses. A sudden drop-off in completion rates may indicate that certain sections are challenging or less engaging for students. By identifying these drop-off points, educators can pinpoint areas that may require revision or additional support.
- Combine qualitative and quantitative feedback: Integrate qualitative feedback obtained through surveys or the Contact Teacher feature of Sensei LMS with quantitative data from quizzes and completion rates. For example, if a student provides feedback expressing confusion about a particular topic, educators can cross-reference this with quiz results and completion rates to gauge the overall effectiveness of the lesson material.
Sensei’s integration with CRM tools further enhances feedback loops, enabling educators to gather actionable insights that inform course iterations and improvements. By soliciting and acting upon feedback, educators can create a dynamic learning environment that fosters continuous growth and improvement.
Challenge 3: Promoting knowledge retention
Promoting knowledge retention is a great goal in effective eLearning, and Sensei LMS really promotes this. With its innovative features and strategies, educators can create engaging learning experiences that stick with students for the long haul!
Solution 1: Using video formats
With 65% of the population being visual learners, it is no wonder that video content is so popular. This means it’s extremely important to make video a core part of your online lessons and Sensei LMS allows you to do this as it integrates with VideoPress along with various other media players.
Educators can use Sensei’s features to create bite-sized video modules that are easily digestible and conducive to memory retention. By incorporating high-quality visuals and clear audio, Sensei ensures smooth video playback across devices, enhancing the overall learning experience.
Solution 2: Include interactive elements
Interactive learning theory emphasizes the importance of active engagement in the learning process, which has been shown to facilitate better retention rates. Sensei LMS provides a diverse range of interactive elements, including quizzes, flashcards, and image hotspots, to make lessons more engaging and immersive.
Through Sensei Blocks, educators can build dynamic, interactive spaces within courses, promoting active participation and knowledge retention.
🤖 Pro tip: Why not try Artificial Intelligence as a way of promoting student interaction? A new feature, Tutor AI, is powered by artificial intelligence and is a valuable resource for guiding students to the right answers, further enhancing learning outcomes.
Solution 3: Include checkpoints
Regular checkpoints are essential in incrementally assessing knowledge acquisition and reinforcing learning objectives. Sensei LMS offers tools for implementing checkpoints, including assessment lists and task checklists, which provide natural breaks and consolidation points within courses.
Integrating Sensei’s modules lets educators establish clear and achievable learning milestones within their courses. When developing the course outline, instructors can present specific learning outcomes for each module. This allows for tailored checkpoints that align with the overarching goals of the course.
For instance, educators can design assessments to cover the most important learning objectives outlined in each module. By doing so, they ensure that checkpoints effectively gauge student understanding and progress toward mastery.
Incorporating checkpoints throughout the course design enables educators to monitor student progress systematically. By regularly assessing comprehension and skill acquisition, instructors can identify areas where additional support or clarification may be needed, thereby promoting optimal knowledge retention.
With Sensei LMS’s features and tools, educators can overcome the challenge of promoting knowledge retention in eLearning environments. By using video formats, interactive elements, and checkpoints, educators can create memorable and effective learning experiences that allow learners to retain and apply knowledge long after completing the course!
Challenge 4: Ensuring eLearning content is relevant for audiences
Ensuring that course content remains relevant is important when trying to keep students engaged and interested.
The needs of modern learners are ever-evolving, so stagnant or outdated content risks reducing engagement and making your course appear redundant. To address this challenge effectively, eLearning professionals should use strategies that prioritize practicality, timeliness, and alignment with learners’ goals and requirements.
Solution 1: Set clear goals and objectives
Establishing clear learning outcomes is foundational to crafting relevant eLearning content. By defining specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals, educators can provide learners with clear expectations and guide them toward success.
Sensei LMS offers integration for setting and displaying course objectives, ensuring learners remain focused and motivated throughout their learning journey. By making objectives visible in the course outline, educators can set a roadmap for learners, outlining what they will achieve in each lesson and module.
Solution 2: Enable learning paths
Personalized learning paths let students tailor their educational experience to their individual needs and interests. Sensei LMS supports the creation of branched courses, allowing students to self-direct their learning based on past performance and preferences.
For example, educators can design tiered skill development programs where learners progress through a structured course and curriculum guided by Sensei LMS’s course outline and prerequisite features.
Solution 3: Revise your course as needed
Course revision is important when you want to maintain relevance in eLearning. Incorporating the latest trends, technologies, and best practices ensures that content remains fresh and impactful. Sensei LMS streamlines the process of updating course material, enabling educators to make timely revisions that keep learners engaged and informed.
By implementing a schedule for periodic content audits using Sensei LMS’s reporting tools and analytics, educators can identify areas for improvement and ensure that their eLearning content remains current and relevant.
By embracing these solutions, eLearning professionals can effectively address the challenge of ensuring content relevance and providing learners with engaging, timely, and impactful educational experiences that help them achieve their goals.
With Sensei LMS’s features and easy-to-use interface, educators can create dynamic eLearning environments that resonate with their audience and drive meaningful learning outcomes!
Overcome eLearning challenges and engage students with Sensei
It might feel tempting to give up when you start to face challenges when setting up your online learning courses, but don’t be put off! By facing them head-on, you can ensure the success of your course and be a stronger educator for it.
With Sensei, setting clear goals, enabling personalized learning paths, and revising course material becomes effortless, ensuring that courses remain relevant and effective. By incorporating interactive elements, monitoring student progress, and facilitating dialogue, Sensei can help create a dynamic and immersive learning environment.
Discover the Sensei plans available and unlock the full potential of online education. Check out Sensei’s pricing plans to learn more and revolutionize eLearning today!
