As a corporate trainer teaching computer software programs, I quickly became a subject matter expert (SME) for the topics I taught. After teaching the same courses dozens of times, I was able to anticipate questions before they were asked and provide a variety of responses to satisfy any and all learners. I was also designing websites at the time; thus, it was only natural that in the early 2000s I would gravitate towards web-based training.
I became fascinated with the challenge to develop asynchronous online training that would be competitive to the personalized training I delivered in the classroom. Unfortunately, I was unable to create online courses with that same level of flexible interactivity found between instructor and learner. That all changed in 2012 when Articulate released Storyline. Two major factors dramatically changed the online learning landscape. Internet speeds increased and Storyline featured layered content.
The ability to put different content on separate layers and control when the layers would be visible was a breakthrough aha moment for me. I finally found the Holy Grail of online learning by creating a virtual classroom that simulated the instructor led learning experience. As the SME, I added all the questions and answers I delivered in the classroom to several layers. Next, I added controls for the user to select how much classroom interactivity he or she wanted to experience.
The learner could choose to hide all questions when the instruction was enough. The learner could also choose to see simple or more challenging questions and answers. There are two special features to this navigation. First, the course remembers the selection. Selecting the next or back button shows the same level of interactivity that the learner last selected. Second, the navigation is always available. This enables the learner to change the level of interactivity at any time and move fluidly through the course at their own pace.
The result was an online course that enabled the learner to control the learning experience, like the way student questions or responses elicit different responses from the instructor in a classroom. I call this design approach Learner Intelligence (LI). Learner Intelligence is all about designing online courses that empower the learner to direct their own learning experience.
Learner Intelligence is based on the principle that “learners will always choose the way he or she learns best.” That means selecting what the learner wants or needs for just-in-time learning. LI guides adaptive course design so that one course provides many diverse learners with personalized learning paths.
Since the first virtual classroom course much development work has been done on LI. Free templates are available for both Storyline and Lectora. Future blog posts will discuss the importance of LI, its relationship to AI, and LI’s role in the future of digital learning.