e-didactics

Although we at skillbest e-Learning are practitioners, we have to get a little theoretical at the beginning of this blog post. By definition, didactics is the science of teaching and learning. Or, to put it another way: didactics deals with how teaching or learning can and should be done successfully. Consequently, e-didactics (often used synonymously with “online didactics“) deals with teaching/learning processes that include the digital. e-Didactics provides answers to the question: How can digital media such as computers, smartphones, etc. be used to teach and learn in a way that creates added value for learners? This definition suggests that e-learning and e-didactics must go together. Ideally, this is also the case. For us, e-didactics is one of the central pillars in the design of our e-learning formats. However, our years of experience as an e-learning provider have shown us that this is far from always the case with other providers or in-house e-learning programs. In short: Where e-learning is written on it, e-didactics does not automatically have to be in it.

For some years now, there has been a real hype about e-learning. The Covid 19 pandemic and related policies such as home office and distance learning have fueled this trend. As an experienced e-learning provider, we can well understand this, as e-learning is an ideal way to impart knowledge accurately. However, it is precisely this hype that is causing e-learning offerings to proliferate on the market and in companies that have nothing whatsoever to do with e-didactics. Worst practice examples without a didactic concept, such as 100-page PowerPoint presentations or simple programs that are only about clicking on, are a dime a dozen. Examples like these reveal a widespread misunderstanding of e-learning or e-didactics: e-didactics does not mean simply hoisting learning content onto the computer or smartphone screen. At the beginning of the conception of e-learning offers on the basis of e-didactic considerations is not the medium or the digitization of content, but the respective learning objective. Only then will it be decided how and in what form learning content will be digitized. This is the only way to guarantee that e-learning adds value for learners.

Before we at skillbest start designing customized e-learning formats, we ask ourselves a crucial question: What should learners be able to do at the end of the e-learning process? As described above, the learning objective is the starting point for all further considerations. Next, we ask ourselves the question: Who are the learners and what special needs do they have? Depending on the answers to these questions, we then decide on the adequate preparation of the learning content on the basis of didactic concepts and theories. And this can vary greatly, as the range of our e-learning formats proves. For example, it’s about learners getting to know the company better as part of the e-learning process? Then we recommend our digital business management skilltour. The focus of the e-learning should be on the specific work steps and company values? Then our digital onboarding skillstart is the right choice for you. These examples make it very clear: How learning content is digitized depends on the respective learning objective and the needs of the learners. This is how e-didactics works, and it deserves its name. This is how e-learning works at skillbest.

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