Thinking beyond the page

It will come as no surprise that considerable amounts of training, learning and information dissemination are done electronically. Indeed, it has been suggested that our frequent use of the internet could be rewiring our brains. But while the structure is there to deliver a wealth of information in a bewildering array of formats at the click of a mouse or swipe of a finger, to what extent are we making good use of this facility?

Are our minds still set within the confining model of a textbook on the school table? Content producers need to break with the convention of the page, chapter and book. What does this mean for pharma companies? They have been surprisingly quick to embrace e-learning, however, it is important to ask whether they are choosing the right platforms and the right content providers to achieve the medium’s true potential and to gain full involvement and engagement with the end user.

The electronic textbook
Educational theory indicates that learning is more effective, worthwhile and efficient when learners are engaged fully in the learning tasks, when formats are chosen for their appropriateness to content and learners get feedback on progress and a chance to put new skills and knowledge into practice.

Web-based learning provides unique opportunities to meet these criteria since it can offer access to varied visual and auditory channels of learning and provide flexible responses to learners’ progress. Textbooks and information packs have a place, whether in electronic or paper format, but, primarily, they are about knowledge transference – the content is the focus, not the learners and the learning process.

E-learning holds the possibility of putting learners and the learning process in a much more central position. It can do this by providing:

• Learning that is tailored to meet the needs and characteristics of specified groups of learners
• Individualised feedback
• Varied formats to respond to different types of content opportunities for learners to practise in a way that will promote transfer of learning to the work place
• Built-in support mechanisms.

In other words, e-learning can provide the ways and means to develop truly personalised learning.

When e-learning is carried out successfully these are the sort of highly positive and engaged user reactions that can follow: “It is absolutely my preferred method of learning. It was easy to navigate, orderly with a nice flow. The context was relevant and allows one to move ahead at one’s own speed. While its main purpose is to provide certification it also provides reinforcement and feedback of information.”

Moving the focus
As discussed, the internet offers a tremendous opportunity to provide training and education to meet the bespoke needs of particular groups of learners and organisational settings, and also to make learning highly responsive to individual learning preferences.

E-learning gives us the chance to go beyond a textbook format to an approach more congruent with how our brains learn. Some content suppliers are stuck in a method of production that relates back to the textbook mode of information transmission. Indeed, the terminology often employed in e-learning betrays this adherence to old models, with its references to books, chapters  and pages. Often this training can be underpowered, lacking suitable measurement and feedback to fully understand if the training is successful.

The page on the screen has become a boundary to our vision. For e-learning to fulfil its true potential and succeed we must abandon such physical restrictions in both our thinking and production. The screen must become a window to an almost limitless environment: organic, not bounded; utilising and discarding tools; morphing to needs as they arise in an innovative, natural and approachable system.

Pharma companies are uniquely positioned to embrace this creative and potent approach. The great range of materials, information and key content within the industry are perfect for the development of a new, organic model.

Extending the E to embrace the S
Much of human learning is gained from contact with other people. Think, for instance, of the interaction between a baby and those close to it as the child starts to vocalise and adults respond to its noises so that, gradually, the language of the infant’s social group is learned.

Beliefs, values and attitudes too are significantly shaped by our social interactions, while information and skills are also gained from others, especially from those we respect or think of as experts. This socially shaped learning occurs from birth onwards, moulding adult as well as child behaviour. It is a dual process: we both learn from others and gain a sense of support from learning with others.

Educationalists refer to the role of the learning group and the importance of paying attention to group dynamics as well as content, when running group-based learning sessions, such as seminars and group tutorials, on or off the web. Social learning in all senses is a powerful tool. Despite this, or maybe because of this, pharma companies have traditionally shied away from social media channels, only really engaging on a corporate level and even then only under strict control.

On a product/disease level, pharma’s approach is much more stringent than that of many other organisations and fear of bad press or inappropriate behaviour has paralysed clients. There are ways to avoid the possible pitfalls. Closed-community sites offering all the functionality of the big social sites are a viable alternative. Here users are vetted and agree to T&Cs prior to access to the site. This ensures all users are appropriate to the site and comments/posts can be checked and removed if deemed inappropriate.

The flipside
There is another side to adopting social and e-learning. New technology requires technical skill – there is little point in producing fantastic systems if no-one but the developer can produce content for them, since this results in more time being taken to create, change and update content as well as increased production costs, especially if the agency has to employ third-party developers.

Therefore, it is vital that these platforms utilise innovative Content Management Systems (CMS) that allow non-technical users to create and deploy content, which can be enhanced further if these systems can use platforms or applications that are familiar and open to all users. PowerPoint, for example, can be great for generating initial content in a user-friendly format that most users can edit or comment on.

Better still, if the e-learning platform can take this content directly into the system without developer input. Decision points (questions) are generated automatically and resource positions marked, converted or linked automatically, all driven by simple tagging of a slide. Utilising a system based around this model allows anyone to create content  (eg, client, writer or external partner) without the need for assistance from the developers.

Systems like this can create content that moves away from the didactic and linear to create immersive, engaging and successful frameworks for learning. This content can then be delivered from one key site rendered to match exactly the platform of choice, whether that is web, tablet or mobile device. With workforces spread across the world, pharma must appreciate that users will be accessing content from all of these kinds of devices and that this access needs to be seamless and easy, whatever the device.

Climbing the mountain
So what does this all mean for the future of e-learning? Many pharma companies readily embrace e-learning and see it as essential and integral to their plans. The new technologies available in both browsers and platforms give content creators some powerful tools, but without vital understanding of how we learn, e-learning formats run the risk of being little more than shiny trinkets that will be discarded quickly as gimmicky toys. If we are sensitive to the end users’ needs, understand the principles of learning and are imaginative in embracing new approaches, we have the opportunity to create some truly inspiring systems that are simple, innovative and above all, will teach, educate and illuminate.

The author
Tim Millard is Creative and eMedia Director at Wells Healthcare Communications Ltd and can be contacted at timmillard@wellshealthcare.com
Reghu Venkatesan is Business Unit Head at Wells Healthcare Communications Ltd and can be contacted at reghuvenkatesan@wellshealthcare.com