Employees take online courses, but will they remember what they learned? Three simple yet elemental principles for success will be explored in this informative presentation.
eLearning in the workplace takes on many shapes, and aims to achieve a diverse set of goals. Despite this diversity of implementation, successful employee eLearning programs share common elements that yield consistently positive results.
A close look at successful eLearning initiatives reveals a trio of key principles that are frequently present in virtually any workplace setting, regardless of an organization's size or type. These principles are simplicity, interactivity, and interoperability & publishing flexibility. Any eLearning program built around these three core principles can be highly effective yet simple to build and manage.
Presentation attendees will:
1. Learn more about the three key principles
2. Explore eLearning solutions that enable a rich learning experience with little-to-no technical expertise required
3. Leave with actionable knowledge of how to enrich eLearning within their organizations
eLearning is gaining traction in the workplace, however most programs are centered around one of two ends of a spectrum.
On one side, PowerPoint slides, PDFs, and Word docs are still commonplace, especially for trainers with limited resources. Videos are great for sharing training content, but are challenging to update and keep current. These approaches are easy for trainers to implement, customizable by business units, and convenient for employees to review, but lack interactivity to ensure retention.
On the other end of the spectrum, teams of training managers, content developers, instructional designers, and coders work together to deliver more sophisticated wide-scale programs. This yields engaging content and a successful eLearning experience, however keeping pace with rapidly changing products and business requirements is a daily challenge. And business unit leads can't update things on the fly. Employees face a steep learning curve when utilizing these tools.
Between these two ends of the spectrum is a massive opportunity. Trainers can make online learning accessible to a much broader range of professionals by following three core principles:
Principle #1: Simplicity
Keeping an eLearning program current involves frequent updates, therefore it's important to use an online publishing platform that doesn't require programmer or IT support. SaaS solutions are often the easiest. Empowering existing training staff to make adjustments on the fly eliminates the cost and inconvenience of bringing in outside resources to complete the task.
Principle #2: Interactivity
Interactivity is key when it comes to learner engagement and enthusiasm. It is also critical to retention. Learners who engage with instructional content are much more likely to retain that content, compared to learners who passively consume instructional content. Why invest time in building training programs if the learner doesn't really remember the material? Interactivity often introduces a level of complexity for administrators, so it's important to use a platform that includes built-in customizable interactivity that doesn't require programming skills to create or update content.
Principle #3: Interoperability and Publishing Flexibility
Many corporate training departments use learning management systems (LMSs) to deliver online training, as well as to automate record-keeping and employee registration, or deliver training via a company Intranet or internal blog. It is important to use an eLearning platform that integrates well with existing internal systems. This interoperability makes it easy to author and administer courses and other content across multiple platforms.
Close adherence to the principles outlined above ensures that trainers can easily develop and update compelling, interactive content, and courses can be easily customized by department heads and internal subject-matter experts. For companies without dedicated training professionals, managers can take the lead.
Using a blended mix of in-person and online learning, companies can reap the benefits of personalized training with scalable programs. By making interactive eLearning accessible to all, companies become more productive, save money, and keep employees and customers happy and engaged.
Presentation Format
This 45-minute "Education Session" will lean heavily on audience participation. The session will be broken equally into three segments:
0:00 - 00:15 mins: Presenter introduction; background on what attendees can expect from the session; explanation of key principles of successful eLearning programs; why they are important and how they are implemented
00:16 - 00:30 mins: Group discussion about the challenges facing individuals in attendance; explore how eLearning is being successfully utilized in their workplaces; explore ways that attendees' existing eLearning solutions may be falling short
00:31 - 00:45 mins: Final third of the presentation will focus on Q&A and live demonstrations of eLearning solutions discussed earlier, with focus on demos/examples that squarely address the challenges raised by attendees earlier in the presentation
Given the interactive nature of this presentation, it is expected that attendees have direct involvement in training, sales, professional development or some other function that requires eLearning. The richness of the presentation will rely heavily on attendee participation and the willingness of attendees to openly discuss the challenges they face.
Attendees are encouraged to bring their own laptop or tablet, and sign-up for a free Versal account (https://versal.com/register) prior to the presentation.