Earlier, the question was whether e-learning could help your business or not. Today, the question is whether you can afford not to switch to e-learning. Over the years, e-learning has been more effective than traditional training. The problems that working professionals usually have with traditional education are its rigid structure, fixed class schedules, and mandatory physical attendance.
Whereas, learners get access to educational content at their convenience through e-learning. The traditional system of learning is time-consuming and does not guarantee results. But e-learning is result-oriented and needs 35% to 55% less employee time to learn the same material as in a traditional classroom setting, as mentioned by the Brandon-Hall study.
Technological advancement has changed the way people learn and develop, and it has become more of a virtual world because of the easy availability of the internet. In this situation, converting traditional training into e-learning has become a necessity.
Why Traditional Training is Failing You (and How eLearning Saves the Day)
The rapid advancement of technology has completely reshaped how we learn and how training is delivered. Traditional training formats simply can't keep up with the needs of today's learners.
We're now in an era of structured, context-based learning that focuses on improving engagement and retention. The aim is to create a personalized, supportive, and self-paced learning experience for each individual.
This transition offers learners greater flexibility and provides organizations with the opportunity to design more effective training programs. Let's delve into the benefits of eLearning, the reasons why traditional training fails, and the steps you can take to make the switch.
The Rise of eLearning: A Perfect Fit for the Digital Age
Flexibility: E-learning allows its learners to work through the learning material according to their own convenience and learn at their own pace. They can pick the time that is suitable for them. It could be while commuting or on the weekends.
Scalability: E-learning can be adapted easily and altered according to the requirements of the learners. With e-learning, you can make sure that everyone gets the same training, irrespective of their location. This makes eLearning a perfect solution for training a large workforce.
Interactive learning experiences: E-learning allows you to create virtual communities for learners to interact and exchange their learning experiences. Interactive and immersive learning experiences are crucial in digital education, as they seriously impact the learner's engagement and retention.
Is Your Training Falling Flat? The Pitfalls of Traditional Learning
Most people criticize traditional training methods because of their ineffectiveness in engaging employees in the learning process. The reason for this is the limitations of its outdated methods. The one-size-fits-all approach is the main limitation of the traditional training method. Every individual employee is different and has distinct learning styles and needs. And these methods usually fail to consider this. This leads to disengagement and a low retention rate of the knowledge being informed.
PPTs in Training: When They Work and When They Don't
Think about traditional training: how often are PowerPoint presentations the main event?
While common, they're not very effective. You can't expect people to remember much just from looking at slides. The problem is, there's no real chance to use what's being taught. Everyone learns differently, too.
Some people are auditory learners, some are visual, and others learn best by doing. Traditional training, with its lectures and passive learning, often misses the mark. It doesn't stimulate or engage learners. To truly grab their attention, you need interactive and collaborative experiences.
This way, they not only engage with the material but also apply it to their work. eLearning provides these interactive opportunities, leading to much better engagement.
eLearning is now a cornerstone of modern education and training. Its interactive and accessible nature, among other benefits, makes it a clear improvement over traditional paper-based learning.
But moving from paper to online isn't always a straightforward process. There are often hurdles to clear for a smooth and successful transition.
Let's take a look at some common challenges and how to tackle them effectively.
From Paper to Progress: Making the Smooth Transition to eLearning
Content Alteration:
Altering and translating text-heavy documents into digital format is a daunting task. Integration of multimedia, interactive elements, and engaging visuals is necessary to make things work, or else the translation may not go well into digital formats. The content designed for a paper-based format is different and changing that format into captivating and interactive e-learning modules needs proper planning and pondering. Content adaptation implies reformation of data, improving interactivity, and integrating multimedia elements to assure desired learning results in the digital environment.
Technical Barriers:
The success of e-learning initiatives heavily depends on technology. Though technological issues like obsolete hardware and restricted internet connectivity can obstruct the conversion process, it's always better to examine the technological infrastructure and take the necessary steps to provide the required support to allay these restraints. Besides, you can help learners with restricted technological access by offering them other access resources like offline learning materials or mobile accordant modules.
Engagement:
Information in the corporate world is changing at a rapid pace and the environment is also progressing. Maintaining relevance and keeping learners engaged is a big challenge. You must update the e-learning information regularly as it is the foundation for effective e-learning.
Building Top-Quality eLearning Courses: A Step-by-Step Guide
1) Content Audit: Identify the Gems in Your Existing Material
Examining the existing content is the first thing to do when converting traditional material into digital format. You must know what data is most relevant for online courses and important for reusing. You can do this by taking an inventory of the material; this way, you will know how much and what type of content you have. Furthermore, you can also consider the types of data, like video, text, or audio, to work out which materials can be reused online.
2) Choosing the Perfect eLearning Authoring Tool
Authoring tools play a significant part in the success of your e-learning program. So, you must pick the right one as various authoring tools are at hand in the market with some customary and sole features and abilities. Go for the one that is congenial with the Learning Management System (LMS) you use and has a variety of multimedia abilities.
Authoring Tools to Consider:
Articulate Storyline 360: This one is perfect for single users who like PowerPoint with personalization.
Adobe Captivate: Provides seasoned authors the strength to design top quality content.
Camtasia: This video editing suite can be used for product demos and screen recordings.
3) Craft a Cohesive Design & Storyboard
The design phase is all about creating a blueprint for how your e-learning course will be set up that aligns with your training plan. Create a distinguished outline of your course’s content. It's better to make a complete list of sections, modules, and units. According to the things you outline in the training program, like time, budget, and resources, there will be a possible output when the design phase ends.
Storyboard: A solidly built storyboard is crucial in the process of eLearning development. This document maps out everything that fits in your e-learning course, which includes text, narration and audio, images, navigation, animations and transitions, and so on. You can visualize the complete course through a storyboard and make sure that all the elements are placed in order before initiating the development of the module. And if you are handing off your storyboard to the course developer, you must include some detailed notes for them as well. At Kyteway we assess your existing PPT content and define clear learning objectives. And then, craft a structured storyboard to outline the course's flow and interactive elements
4) Develop Engaging Content
After creating the storyboard, you can start to develop the course content. Use the power of multimedia to improve understanding and engagement. By including animations, videos, audio elements, and infographics, you can present the data visually and audibly. To stir up learners' involvement and application of knowledge, you can develop interactive simulations, quizzes, and scenarios. This way, you can make sure that the content is interactive, interesting, and easy to digest.
5) Enhance Visual Appeal & Interactivity
The best thing about eLearning is that it lets you add a variety of visual design and interactive elements like images, audio, animation, and videos. These elements not only make the course interesting but also visually appealing. Although you must be careful while using these elements, don’t overload the course with excess visual stimulation. According to the complexity of your requirements, you can either add a visual design specialist to your team or outsource interactive content. Visual interactive content can have a positive impact on your learner's engagement and help them actively learn the material.
6) Prioritize Accessibility: Create Inclusive eLearning for All
You must adhere to accessibility standards and build a comprehensive and all-inclusive e-learning environment. Make sure you pick clear color schemes and fonts, produce transcripts for multimedia, and use alt text for images. And go for a responsive design so that you can impart a flawless experience across several devices to all learners.
7) Design Effective Assessments
Based on your learning objectives, create assessments by blending quiz question types like fill-in-the-blanks, drag-and-drop, and multiple choice. You can also use the built-in features of your learning management platform, like interactive games, flashcards, etc., to check the knowledge of your learners. This will help you assess the learning outcomes and make sure that the learners have comprehended the idea.
8) Pilot & Gather Feedback
It’s always better to conduct a pilot test with a few learners before you launch your e-learning course widely. Collect feedback from your learners on navigation, content, and the overall user experience. Add useful input to improve the course before you officially set it in motion.
9) Embrace Continuous Improvement
You can launch your course after making the necessary changes. But eLearning courses need continuous improvement as they are not fixed entities. You must update your course content periodically according to the learner's feedback and evolving industry trends. To single out the areas for improvement, look over metrics like learner performance data and engagement rates. This way, you can keep the content of your e-learning program current and relevant and enhance its overall effectiveness.
Do You Need Help Converting to eLearning? Assessing Your Needs and Options
Switching from traditional training to online learning looks easy, but there are hurdles. You might need some support.
Our guide offers helpful steps, but creating truly dynamic online courses can be tough for in-house teams. If you have the right skills and resources in-house, you can do it. Otherwise, resources like Kyteway are available.
Converting many courses with limited resources is difficult, as teams often lack multimedia and interactivity expertise. These challenges require more time and resources than you might have.
That's where professional eLearning designers, like us at Kyteway, can help create high-quality eLearning that delivers. Let's Talk!
Summing up:
By transitioning from traditional training to eLearning, organizations can effectively address the diverse learning needs of a digital-age audience. This transformation is key to building modern and impactful training programs.
Using the tips provided, you can convert your traditional training into engaging, interactive eLearning experiences that drive results.
As Jim Rohn wisely stated, "You cannot make progress without making decisions."
Don't wait! Start your eLearning transformation today. Contact us to learn how we can help.
