Can You Integrate eLearning With Your Current Program?
eLearning programs are helping businesses of all kinds fill the training gaps that come with traditional training.
Such advantages include:
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Affordability
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Accessibility - cloud-based and mobile
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Personalized and self-paced
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Immersive and situational
However, if you already have an existing training program, you may be wondering if you can integrate eLearning into it effectively.
While the process of finding the right online educating program, convincing the relevant stakeholders to buy-in, and finally getting the rest of the company on board with new processes can be an undertaking, integrating an eLearning system with your current program can indeed improve your business, as demonstrated in the aforementioned advantages.
In this blog, we delve into how to integrate eLearning into your program and whether it is the best option for you.
What are the main areas of need for learners?
When determining whether to integrate virtual learning with your training program, you first need to understand if it is the best option for your organization and learners. You will need to look at the issue your organization is trying to solve and who your learners are. In some cases, your training program may not be the best solution, but a work aid or a process change would be more appropriate.
Having an open dialogue with your team to help you determine the correct solution is a direct way to get to the heart of the issue. Once you have decided where your training program needs an adjustment, it is beneficial to have a learner-centered approach where you will look at the needs of your learners and conduct a needs analysis.
When you have an understanding of what drives your learners, and look beyond a learner’s subject knowledge and ability, you’ll find a much richer and more rewarding context in which you can develop your training program. By having a learner-centered program and involving your learners in the creation process, it will most likely result in positive results as learners will feel more empowered by their involvement in their own learning.
What content do you have?
Once you’ve identified your learners’ needs, assess the learning content that you currently have available. This will help you understand what content you need to develop, and how you will deliver this change, whether in a classroom, via learning online or on the job, without having to start from scratch. This will also help you determine the best format in which to deliver the content. Content can be delivered in a range of formats, so it’s important to consider how often the content will need to be updated.
Moving your entire program over to eLearning straight away may be a big leap for your learners, so employing a blended learning approach such as using the classroom or webinar sessions alongside elements of eLearning programs may be the best option for your organization.
There are many tools available that are easy to use allowing you to rapidly convert the content you already have into engaging course content. But doing this with a proper assessment of your content will enable you to create content that takes into account your learner’s needs, avoids cognitive overload, and decreases the amount of time and cost you would need to set the training program up in the first place.
What are your learners attitudes towards eLearning and technology?
Changes to an organization’s culture takes time, and moving from in-person training to a blended or even fully online eLearning program can be jarring unless implemented with careful consideration. To experience the eLearning benefits such as flexibility and lower costs, online courses have to be embedded into the culture of your organization requiring effort from both your organization's leader’s and your learners.
Without full buy-in, it will be especially hard not only to integrate, but to also foster and maintain eLearning in the organization. A learner-centered approach will help gain acceptance from your learners. While looking to gain purchase from your organization's leader’s, educate them on the benefits and positive business outcomes such as quick ROI, the amount of time saved with its use and the increased employee retention that results.
Integrating eLearning cyber-school into your current learning program may seem challenging, but it is well worth the effort in the long run. Ensure success by taking the time to consider the needs of your organization and more importantly, your learners. By understanding your learner's needs, you will be able to create more robust and relevant content, therefore a more engaging course for your learners and a better outcome overall for your organization.
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