As an organization leader or teacher for distance learning programs, it is critical to know a few things about your learners. Understanding demographics, psychographics, and their motivation for enrolling is key to achieving learner engagement and designing a successful online course.
- Demographics – so, first off, when we consider demographics, for example, it’s important to know what age group your students fall into. The way you’re going to design learning for an adult learner is completely different than if you are working with a younger learner still in high school.
- Geographics– what area of the world are learners connecting to you from? Because if they are living in a remote region such as the northern Yukon or Alaska, there will definitely be some significant differences in the types of technologies they have available to them. They may not be able to even reliably stream a 1-hour Zoom session.
- Learner Motivation– it’s also really important to know,—what is a learner’s primary motivation for taking your course? Are they enrolled to gain certification in a specific area, or are they trying to upgrade their professional skills for a job or career change? Or maybe they’re just taking it out of personal interest. Knowing this information can help you adapt your course content and teaching methods so that they are relevant to your learners’ needs and goals.
- Prior Learning Experiences– another question I commonly ask is if a learner has had any prior learning or work experiences related to the course they are enrolling in. If they don’t have the pre-requisite knowledge they need, they’ll probably struggle to keep up, lose their motivation, and then ultimately drop out of your course. On the other side of that coin, if they have had a great deal of prior experience, and knowledge, let’s say they’ve been working in a field related to your course for many years, they are going to need to be challenged with relevant activities to grow on their current knowledge base, or they will not feel engaged in the course and again lose interest and motivation to complete it. Also, with regards to prior experience, It’s good to check on their prior tech experience. Have they taken an online course before? Have they taken an online course before at your school using the same learning management system? If they haven’t, they will need some time at the beginning of your course to learn the system and processes before you, as a teacher, kick things into high gear.
- Life Workloads – what are your learners’ schedules and potential time constraints? Are they available 24/7, or are they working adults with a gazillion responsibilities on their plates? Knowing their availability in advance is going to help you plan course meetings and activities that are both realistic and manageable for them to attend.
So, hopefully, this video has got you brainstorming about what types of learner information will help you better tailor your content, discussions, and activities for your online courses. As an instructor, knowing this information is going to increase learner satisfaction and engagement in your course, resulting in higher completion rates (vs. having students drop off the map midway through the year and you only hear crickets when you repeatedly try to contact them).
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