Why learning objectives matter

I think every e-learning course should start with learning objectives.
Let me explain.

I have a bit of a marketing background from my previous life.

And marketers don’t take it for granted that customers are interested in buying.

So, every marketing professional will tell you that the purchasing process starts with building interest.

The role of marketing is to explain to customers that they need a certain product or service and why they need it.

It’s the same with e-learning.

Users will be less interested in completing a course if they don’t understand the benefits the new knowledge will bring to them.

That’s why I find starting with learning objectives essential.

But there’s a caveat.

Perfectly crafted learning objectives, following the rules of Bloom’s Taxonomy, may be useful when we’re writing learning content, but are not really attractive to the users.

Good objectives for the users provide an answer to the question ‘What’s in it for me?’

Good objectives explain that by learning new things, users will do things faster, easier, with less risk…

That’s how I always want to start a learning course.

How about you?