eLearning: Expectations vs reality

eLearning is a cost-effective, engaging method to train employees. However, some may hesitate to invest in eLearning because of the falsehoods around what it cannot do. Therefore, in this blog we are going to explore some of the expectations vs realities of eLearning:

Expectation: You can never tell if learners have truly understood the content.

Reality: Learning Management Systems provide rich, real-time reporting.

Top LMS’s like Docebo offer advanced reporting options that allow you to analyse specific information about your courses. This can include how your employees are answering scenario questions or how quickly they  complete a module. This allows you to understand which components of your eLearning strategy are performing better than others.

Furthermore, through analytics you can identify which learners didn’t perform as well as others. This gives you a chance to tailor your training, and ensure every learner has a full and thorough understanding of the content. Suitable approaches, ranging from microlearning to extra training can then be put into place to improve competencies.

Expectation: Employees will not engage with online courses.

Reality: eLearning empowers learners.

Learners today are becoming increasingly independent which increases the need and appeal for eLearning. One of the many benefits of eLearning is flexibility, allowing learners to manage their own learning journey. With 24/7 access to course materials, learners are empowered to choose when, where and how they want to learn. This allows them to establish a rhythm that suits their individual needs, creating an engaged learning culture.

If your eLearning course comprises of relevant scenarios and information, the results can be as effective as they would be for a course taught by a trainer. Great eLearning ensures that the learners are interacting with the course at all times. This in turn increases knowledge retention. Learners are sure to engage better with eLearning if they see tangible returns on their efforts to learn.

Expectation: eLearning isn’t personal.

Reality: Every stage of the course can be personalised based on learner interactions.

Personalised eLearning is the process of customising the course so that it meets the specific needs of learners. There are several ways to personalise eLearning:

• Speak to your learners: Capture their name at the start, and recall them throughout the course by using text variables. Or, you can take this one step further, and allow learners to pick an avatar to represent themselves – and recall the avatar throughout the course.
• Customised learning paths – This can be achieved through a number of ways:
  – Role selection: Allowing learners to choose their own learning path depending on their role, rather than having them sit through the entire content.
  – Surveys: This will allow you to assess the learner’s abilities by identifying their current proficiency and offering them a customised learning journey.
  – Varied content types – Empower your learners by letting them choose the type of learning they access. Provide videos, blogs, eLearning courses and podcasts – giving the learners complete flexibility over their learning.

Expectation: eLearning development takes time and effort.

Reality: There are so many options when it comes to eLearning development – and it doesn’t need to take a long time.

The length of time a course will take to create depends on a number on factors. But, thanks to new learning technology, eLearning development is quicker to create than ever before.There are three main options:

• Outsourcing – This can save a lot of time and cost, allowing organisations to focus on their core business activities. Cursim, our learning services division, can assist you with all your learning needs. They not only help manage the process, but also work to build long-term skills in your organisation, so you can become self-sufficient for future projects.
• Off-the shelf content – This consists of pre-built training courses that are ready to be implemented in your eLearning strategy. Off the shelf content is created by experienced SMEs (subject matter experts) who are well versed on the topic to guarantee high knowledge retention.
• DIY – With authoring tools such as Rise 360 and Storyline 360 available on the market, creating eLearning courses is easier than ever before. You can build gorgeous interactive courses in Storyline 360 using the ever-growing library of customisable slide templates in Content Library 360. Or, you can also create responsive eLearning right in your web browser using blocks in Rise 360 – no software download is necessary.

Hopefully, this has cleared up some false expectations of eLearning.  Once you see past these, I truly believe you can exploit the scope of this powerful learning format.