Why eLearners Become Frustrated Infographic

Why eLearners Become Frustrated Infographic

Frustration is an emotion that can eventually lead to a lack of motivation and the abandonment of goals and projects. Frustration is, unfortunately, a very common emotion for those who are facing a new way of learning without the right tools and knowledge.

eLearning, as a fairly new way of learning, provides us with a multitude of new opportunities, but also presents difficulties that may discourage our online students and prevent them from meeting their learning objectives. The Why eLearners Become Frustrated Infographic presents the specific causes and agents of frustration in eLearning.

Reasons Why eLearners Become Frustrated

• Taking a course that does not correspond to the student’s objectives and level of expertise.
  If the learner doesn’t see the course as relevant and practical to their real-life challenges, he will become frustrated.To avoid this, eLearning professionals should avoid the one-size-fits-all approach.
• Having incorrect expectations. Online learning requires just as much effort as any other type learning. It even requires the student to have certain technological skills that enable them to press certain buttons and find what’s needed.
• Not enough time. People think that they can invest very little time in online courses and finish them quickly. This is wrong! When we are not very familiar with eLearning, we must consider that it will require time to learn to organize and manage our activities.

Why and How Instructional Designers Affect Learners’ Frustration

• Not taking an eLearning course themselves. It is essential that Instructional Designers authentically experience what being an online student means. This will help them understand the elements that are really involved in the learning process, the skills you should evaluate, and how to interact with the content.
• Giving unclear instructions. Don’t assume that just because learners have taken an online course before they don’t need clear instructions and information. Not knowing what to do or not understanding the steps they need to follow is overwhelming. If you give clear instructions to your students, their level of frustration will decrease considerably.
• Bombard students with information. Put yourself in your students’ shoes, consider their workload and think realistically about how much time they can actually dedicate to taking a course. eLearning courses aren’t supposed to be eBooks, and the learner's mind needs time and space to learn.
• No interaction or collaboration. Never forget that learning is a process of creating knowledge in which interacting with others to share information and different points of view is enriching. Make them feel like they are part of a community. By not promoting interaction, students feel isolated, unmotivated and frustrated.

Why and How The Company Affects their Learners’ Frustration

• Not making students aware of support channels. Making learners aware of this from the get-go can help resolve problems early. Minimally, the student must know: their account information, how to access the training and how to use it.
• Not taking into account the technological resources needed. It is necessary to take all these elements into account and for the company to provide students with any requirement that they don’t have. Lacking of any of these resources or requirements can be an insurmountable obstacle and can cause the student to feel frustrated and unmotivated.
• Not having an adequate technical support team. There needs to be a specialist that offers different support via email, phone, messages, etc. This tech savvy person or team should be friendly, patient and have enough knowledge of computer programs (duh!) to help the student tackle their problem.
• Not verifying the effectiveness of the resources. Before launching the materials, companies need to make sure that the materials will be read and displayed properly, that they have relevant content, that the format is appropriate and that the usability is intact.