2-Minute Tuesday Let's CFI faster Issue 37

Electronic Learning (e-Learning) FI.I.C.K6

Source AIH Chapter 5Sent Read time 2 min read

Why This Matters

Your student can finish an online ground school without ever talking to you. It's useful, but that convenience is exactly why instructors (and students) can over-rely on it.

E-learning is a powerful supplement, but it’s in no way a CFI substitute (even with AI). Knowing what it does well, what it can't do, and where you have to stay in the loop is the whole task.

What E-Learning Is

An umbrella term for any education involving an electronic component, from a standalone program that runs lecture through exam, to an interactive web course, to a full-motion simulator.

Advantages:

  • Time flexible and accessible anywhere

  • Cost competitive and easily updated

  • Learner-centered: Students control pace, explore areas of interest, and often reach higher mastery and retention in less time

  • Enables distance learning

Limitations:

  • Lack of peer interaction and personal feedback

  • Harder for the CFI to maintain control of the learning situation

  • Good programs don't exist for every subject

  • Equipment, software, and facility costs

  • Instructors and students may not know the software well enough to use it fully

The devices span the industry: BATDs and AATDs at flight schools, FTDs, and full flight simulators at the airlines and military. The full sims are realistic enough that transitioning airline crews qualify entirely in the simulator, and military pilots train for aircraft with no two-seat version.

Computer Assisted Learning (CAL)

CAL couples a computer with multimedia software to create a training device (aircraft systems courses, maintenance procedures, FAA test prep, BSP FOI Study Tool, etc.)

What it does well:

  • Students progress at their own rate, on their own schedule

  • Real interactivity - the program responds to their input, so they can review, jump ahead, and get instant feedback

  • Advanced tracking can test achievement, compare to past performance, and flag weak areas

  • Handles the repetitive teaching (freeing you for more one-on-one instruction)

The instructor's job doesn't go away. The AIH is blunt: the computer has no way of knowing when a learner is having difficulty, so monitoring and oversight remain yours. Stay involved with close supervision, questions, quizzes, or guided discussion to assess actual progress, and confirm they're tracking with the syllabus.

Simulation, Role-Playing, and Video Gaming

Simulation (the appearance of real life), role-playing (playing a role inside a real-world situation), and gaming have pushed e-learning in new directions.

  • Puts the learner in a character's shoes with a real-world scenario to overcome. They have a stake in the outcome

  • Learning comes from interacting with the scenario, and these tools tend to build critical thinking skills

Not every objective can be taught this way, but it's a real tool in the box.

How I Think About It

Integrating E-Learning E-learning works best when integrated strategically with your instruction—not as a replacement, but as a force multiplier. The CFI Integration Strategy Before lessons — Assign CAL for systems, regulations, procedures, etc. Let the computer handle repetitive content so you can use face time for discussion and application. During training — Use sim time for emergencies, instrument work, unusual attitudes—things impractical or unsafe in the aircraft. After e-learning — Always follow up in person. Verify understanding, fill gaps, answer questions. The computer can't read confusion. CFI Tip: The key is integration. Assign the ground school module, then use your face-to-face time for what only you can do: read confusion, answer questions, and adapt.
This slide is from Lesson I.C.5 on backseatpilot.app

What This Looks Like

Teaching your student the aircraft's electrical system.

  • Before: You assign the CAL module. They work through it at their own pace, repeat the sections that don't click, and arrive having seen the whole system. They build a foundation.

  • In the brief: You don't re-teach it, you check it. "Walk me through what happens if the alternator fails in flight." Their answer tells you what the software actually delivered (the guided discussion method from a couple weeks ago)

  • The gap: They can recite the load-shedding sequence but can't find the ammeter or the alternator circuit breaker on the actual panel. That's the limit of a screen.

  • In the airplane: You point out the real components, run the actual checklist, and switch the alternator off so they watch the ammeter and annunciator respond.

The CAL did the heavy lifting in the background. You did the part it couldn't.

E-Learning Now

The AIH's picture of CAL predates today's tools - namely, AI. Its core caution, "the computer has no way of knowing when a learner is having difficulty," is now only partly true.

Take backseatpilot.app's FOI study tools, for example:

  • The AI evaluates your answers when you teach a lesson back or run the orals, and can dig deeper where they run thin

  • It tracks readiness and shows your weak areas

That said, the bottom line still hasn't moved. These tools build a foundation (now stronger than before), but the instruction still ends with your instructor, in person, refining what you learned.

Checkride Q&A

DPE Might Ask

"How would you use e-learning in your training program?”

Weak Answer

"I'd assign online ground school so students can learn the material on their own time. It's efficient, it saves them money, and it frees me up to focus on flight training."

Why this fails

Names the advantages but shows no awareness of the limits, and it treats e-learning as a handoff rather than a supplement. The AIH specifically warns against relying on a software program for ground instruction and then expecting performance in the airplane.

Strong Answer

"I'd use it as a supplement, not a replacement. Before lessons, I'd assign CAL so students arrive with a foundation of knowledge. It's self-paced, so they can focus on weaknesses and repeat what doesn't click. During training, I'd use simulators for things that are impractical or unsafe to do in the airplane, like emergency procedures. But the software can't necessarily tell when a student is struggling, so I stay involved. I'd follow up in person with questions or a guided discussion to clean up knowledge gaps and verify they actually understood it, not just completed it. The AIH is direct that you can't rely on software for the ground instruction and then expect the student to perform in the airplane.”

The mock checkride on backseatpilot.app asks questions like this across every element in Task I.C.

Nate is a CFI, CFII, and MEI, former USAF C-17 Instructor Pilot, and current airline pilot with 8,500+ flight hours. He writes 2-Minute Tuesday to make CFI checkride prep clearer, simpler, and more logical, one ACS element at a time.

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