In order to move from classroom to online training, it is necessary for the company to keep on upgrading the technology it uses. Surely, most businesses over the globe use computers to crunch in their data or to arrange video calls with the clients. But only a few use technology as a medium to teach their employees.
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Challenges in Classroom or In-House Training Programs
Most organizations still use the traditional in-house training programs to train their employees. But, these in-house training programs or classroom-based programs can open the door for several challenges. Following are some of them:
Distraction issues: It can distract the attendees with work issues; they might come late to the classes after a break or they might not be fully concentrating even when the program is taking place.
Additional costs for a trainer: Hiring a trainer every time would increase the costs and thus, such programs could be considered less cost-effective in comparison to the online learning courses. The accommodation of the trainer, travel expenses and other logistics would certainly increase the overall cost of the program.
Difficulty during the absence of a member: If a team member misses the training for a few days or joins the team later, might find it difficult to learn the same course.
Trainer related issues: The trainer might not give a consistent training every single time as changes may occur in his/her teaching style and emphasis from one training to another.
To steer clear of such challenges, several companies have opted to host eLearning courses on a learning portal online. A learning portal, or also known as a learning management system (LMS), can be called a gateway to all the resources and the courses that facilitate teaching and learning. It is a place where all the important documents, podcasts, videos, presentations and other modes of learning can be stored. [1]
Hosting eLearning Courses On a Learning Management System (LMS)
The Learning Management System development process can be very complicated. Thus, many experts recommend that if you want to host your eLearning courses on a learning portal, it is best to handle the technical aspects by choosing a right vendor. This is important as the vendor might help you get the best deals regarding technological competency, pricing and service.
While moving the training program digital, some companies have a tendency to be overly ambitious and they go overboard. Thus, it is important to set a realistic goal in relation to the budget. One should carefully evaluate the needs and the expected outcomes.
Before you host the eLearning courses, you should try to make sure that the content you upload is mostly reusable as this would be the most cost-effective way. By designing your content in a way that can be easily updated and used for multiple training sessions, you could save a lot of money and time among other resources. You should also consider converting a PowerPoint presentation to eLearning as it is very simple and popular these days.
Hosting eLearning Courses on an LMS will come with several benefits as it has additional features as well. Some of them include:
- Suitable for smartphones: The LMS has a fully responsive and smartphone ready interface. It is supported by most operating systems in mobiles.
- Easy AWS Cloud Setup: The LMS provides a good uptime and also has automated backups.
- Custom Branding: The LMS can be configured to suit your company’s learning branding by adding your own color scheme and logo.
- No Limit on Storage or Bandwidth: No hidden charges!
- Easy log-ins: Connect with LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Gmail
- Assets Management: With the LMS, it is easy to set up rules for enrollment and it is also easy to sequence the assets for each course.
- Media Support: You can even add PDFs, PPTs, word documents, reference URLs, videos, etc.
- Multi-Time zone support: Your courses are accessible over several time zones and the course schedules can be handled in such a way that you never miss out on any scheduled actions.
Transform Traditional Content into Online Courseware
The transformation process (for most types of training) can be conducted in 5 steps:
i) Identifying the format of the eLearning Course: Firstly, you should figure out an optimal eLearning course format. A traditional face to face course can be converted to three learning formats: Asynchronous (interaction between instructors and students occurs with a time delay), Synchronous (real-time virtual interaction between instructors and students) and Hybrid (combination of Asynchronous and Synchronous).
ii) Research the IDM (Instructional Design Models): There are various types of IDM and it is necessary to customize your IDM based on the learning style you prefer. IDM is crucial as it ensures that learning is taking place in a safe and certain manner.
iii) Interaction: Interaction is considered to be a vital part of an online course. You need to decide what type of interaction you want to include based on your achievement expectations. The types of interactions include learner to content, learner to instructor and learner to learner(s).
iv) Choice of apt educational technology: You also need to include relevant features that enhance the learning course such as lessons, quizzes, flashcards, forum, quick email etc.
v) Revision: It is also necessary to revise your course before offering it to your learners. You might want to ask for feedback from various sources and then work on those suggestions. [2]
Online learning has started to gain popularity among companies all around the world. It has an upper hand over traditional teaching in matters regarding cost, timing and flexibility. Moving from classroom to online learning can be a bit confusing, but with the right vendors, this task will be easy and will also help you save money in the long run.