Expertise Distractors That Destroy On-line Coaching
Discussion about technology distractors in online training
There’s a popular meme that shows a room full of people, except everyone is staring at their phones. The “moral” is how technology keeps us from human interaction and connection. This condemnation is usually countered logically – you don’t speak to the people around you, but you still speak to people. It’s just that they’re “on your phone”. And more recently, the meme is answered with an old-fashioned black and white picture of a train carriage. It’s full of people and all of their noses are buried in newspapers. It seems the phenomenon isn’t new – just the tools. How does this apply to interrupted learning? Here are the top five technology distractors in eLearning vying for your employees’ attention.
5 Top Tech Distractions To Avoid
1. Video sharing platforms
There is a joke about old cat worship. Egyptians had cat gods. We have cat videos that you can lose yourself in for hours. The Catsu incident shows how serious people are about their online pet habit. But it doesn’t stop with cute and cuddly pets. You use video sharing platforms to provide support to your employees when they need it. For example, recommending online training tutorials or demo videos for product knowledge. But things can get out of hand quickly. Establish some ground rules for your employees or include videos (with permission) in your online training course so they are not tempted. They are more likely to migrate to viral video if they have full access to YouTube and other online platforms.
2. Messaging apps
Parents and grandparents often accuse teens of being antisocial because their eyes are glued to their screens. Yet in many ways they are more social than ever. Most of the time online is spent in chat rooms and groups. They look at what others are saying and then speak back. You pay attention to your answer to your answer. It goes on and on. SMS is the biggest culprit of technology distractors because of its immediacy. In addition, users are often talking to many people at the same time, both individually and in groups. It’s top notch multitasking and it takes time for online training. You can prevent this from happening by making most of your online training course accessible offline.
This minimizes the temptation to log in and lose track. There are even LMSs that support downloadable online training content and offline mobile devices. If the activity involves social interaction, create guidelines for employees to follow and initiate the discussion in a closed group. They are less likely to get lost in the IM if the entire team works together and shares tips in the private group.
3. Memes and gifs
Social media is generally one of the repeat offenders when it comes to technology distractors. It can suck hours out of your week. The continuous scrolling features of blogs and social media feeds keep you there forever. You won’t even realize how much time has passed. However, there are certain aspects that will grab your attention. When someone shares a meme or GIF, they get drawn into it. They’ll share it too, then keep updating to see how others react. Some online training course developers have even incorporated these engaging (but distracting) graphics into their online training design. However, with a few notable exceptions, memes and gifs will only clutter your online training course and diminish its value. Not to mention his professionalism.
4. Audio clutter
Many people use headphones and earphones as a shield. This often happens with introverted employees. When they feel insecure, overwhelmed, or socially anxious, their blocked ears psychologically keep people from talking to them. They may not even play music. At the other end, we use music as a pacifier to calm nerves or create “white noise” that helps us focus. It blocks other sounds and helps us focus. However, research shows that instrumental music does this better.
If your music choices include lyrics, you can sing along and break your attention span. You will think about your emotional connection to the song. Soon you will googling the artist, open his Wikipedia page, look up the lyrics or view the video. Thanks to the technical distractions, the next five hours of your day will go away. #LateralNavigation. If you want to incorporate immersive audio into online training, choose something inconspicuous that is tied to the theme or tracks that create the mood you want.
5. Self-guided exploration
I know self-directed exploration is a good thing for the most part. It gives employees the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and pursue their own online training passions. In the technical area, however, you can deviate from the online training course by exploring independently. Instead of investigating a compliance issue or researching products, venture into pop culture’s rabbit hole or check their Facebook page to see the latest posts. Because of this, it’s important to emphasize the importance of sticking to the plan and providing pointers to staff about technical distractions. Provide them with a list of appropriate online training resources, and then conduct activities to ensure they absorb the information.
You can even turn it into an eLearning project for group companies so that everyone holds their employees accountable. They have to research the topic autonomously and then share their ideas with their colleagues in order to come to a solution. They are less likely to be distracted from personal interests online when they know their team is counting on them.
Conclusion
Online training removes geographic boundaries and improves employee immersion. But you also open your employees to a network of technology distractors. This can make your class unnecessarily long and inconvenient. If your reps are knee deep on viral videos and memes, they are less likely to connect to the online training content. Use wordless music as a learning soundtrack and stay away from wikis with no rules.
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