E-Learning is like gardening

I bet you haven't heard that analogy before! But it's one that I've been thinking about for some time as I've been pottering about in my garden.

You see, I'm not at all an experienced gardener; I've managed to avoid it for most of my life, but last year I moved into a new house, with a small but manageable plot of garden. For most of last summer I put off getting to grips with the garden itself and stuck to planting odd bits and pieces in pots to see if that worked. Well it didn't turn out too badly - nothing died - so this year I have tried to be more ambitious. I've designed the layout of the garden, dug out the main bedding areas, and I've been been to the garden centre and selected lots of pretty plants that are expected to bloom beautifully.

So how is this all like e-learning? Well like most people inexperienced in e-learning they tinker around with a few safe tactical projects ("my container planting"), when these seem to work OK they expand into a more detailed learning plan/strategy ("my garden layout") and explore a variety of alluring options like multimedia courses, simulations, learning games ("my pretty plants").

So what is wrong with all that, you ask. It seems a very logical way of proceeding.

The trouble is, I know that in my gardening I am missing a big piece that at the end of the day is going to determine whether my gardening this year succeeds. That is I have plunged into buying plants without a good understanding of my garden plot. As the BBC's How to be a Gardener (an excellent example of e-learning as it happens) explains:

"Before you can grow anything, you need to know what sort of conditions you have. Then you can choose plants that are suited to them. There really is no need to waste money on plants that will hate your environment.You’ll need to know what sort of soil you have, how much light there is and the prevailing weather conditions. Is it a windy site, a particularly cold one, or is it sunny and sheltered?"

I know this is essential because it is just the same with e-learning. To re-phrase it in e-learning terms

"Before you can implement any e-learning, you need to know what sort of conditions you have. Then you can choose learning solutions that are suited to them. There really is no need to waste money on learning solutions that will hate your environment.You’ll need to know what the learning culture is in place, who the target audience is and how they best learn and fit learning into their daily working lives."

I know that I am going to have to spend some time understanding much more about about my garden before I waste any more money. I'm very happy to read up about it in books but nothing beats talking to an experienced gardener, who can advise me as I work on my garden and select the plants that are going to work best for my plot - even if they are not the flashy, blooming plants I would like.

So if you recognise this situation, and would like some help as you work on your learning design and selecting the right learning solutions for your organisation - whether it be a 1/2 day chat or a longer contract to help you over an extended period of time. - we are here to help.