3 Tips For Great eLearning On A Shoestring Budget

3 Tips For Great eLearning On A Shoestring Budget
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Summary: A small budget for eLearning must not stand in the way of creating effective and memorable content. Strong training programs require a thorough understanding of the need for the content, choice of the right technology, and investment in future-ready solutions.

3 Ways To Achieve Great eLearning On A Shoestring Budget

Unlimited budgets for eLearning (or anything else for that matter) is still a pipe dream for most companies. But of course, a small budget doesn't mean you cannot get the best of eLearning. It is not at all impossible to create effective and memorable online training programs with minimal resources.

Here are a few steps that you can follow to design great eLearning even on a shoestring budget:

1. Content Creation: Understand The Need For The Development

The first step toward designing great eLearning often begins with the content. However, when it comes to choosing options for 'creating' this training content, there is a lot out there on the market.

There is an array of responsive authoring tools in various versions, considering some have been around for a while (and have released upgrades) whereas some are comparatively newer. These tools can effectively produce eLearning that learners can access on multiple devices including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones without extensive time, cost, and effort invested by the content creators.

Then, of course, there is custom eLearning. This, as the name suggests, is custom-created eLearning in the form of videos, HTML/SCORM courses, and a host of other formats. These are materials created by a dedicated internal team or external consultants/outsourced team of Instructional Designers, Graphic Designers, Programmers etc. that focus on the unique learning needs of the organization.

In addition to this, there are off-the-shelf or OTS eLearning libraries of desktop specific or device agnostic ready-to-use courses/and videos on a wide range of topics ranging from Management, Finance, Sales & Negotiation to Soft Skills, IT Skills, and beyond.

The big question, especially when operating the eLearning vertical on a shoestring budget is, which one of these you should be choosing. The answer depends on why exactly is the training being developed? To pick up the right tool, you need to understand if it fits your specific business and learning needs. You need to evaluate the tool vis-a-vis your requirements and then make an informed choice. Choosing a tool randomly and expecting it to fit in the budget and satisfy learning needs is not a wise decision.

2. Choose The Right Technology For Its Functionality, Not Just Fancy Features

If you ask anyone in the fashion industry, they will tell you never to follow any fashion trends blindly and opt for what is comfortable for you. Why limit this to the fashion industry? This one applies to the eLearning industry as well! When working on a limited budget, the number one thing to remember is not to jump on the emerging tech bandwagon just like that. Investing in a cutting-edge learning solution with some of the most stellar features that are not even required by your learners is definitely not a good decision. Great eLearning is about thoughtful program design and delivery more than it is about the software jazz. So, careful consideration must be given to the must-haves and the good-to-haves in the learning tools and platforms (like an LMS) as to the content pieces.

3. Invest In Future-Ready Solutions

In an ever-evolving and competitive corporate world, businesses are under increasing pressure to future-proof Learning and Development strategies. With each passing year, established ideas fall out of fashion, and they are replaced by fresher concepts and paradigm shifts. So, L&D has to always ensure that training strategies cannot ever stand still. This is where strong, reliable learning solutions can prove helpful—to stay relevant even in the future. Especially when you have budget constraints, taking the time to explore and choose the right learning solution that suits your business needs is imperative. It is important to remember that you will not just be choosing the learning tool/solution for your business for today alone. What you decide on will need to grow with your business/needs, and maybe even with your industry and team. It has to have all the features that will make it remain useful even in the future. The idea is to pick a ‘future-forward’ as well as ‘future-proofed’ learning solution that proves to be a wise investment in the short as well as the long run.

Whatever may be the budget for learning projects, the ultimate goal is to provide a satisfying learning experience to the learner. What you need to consider is that having a limited budget does not mean that you will have to compromise on the quality of the learning. Do not let a shoestring eLearning budget stand in the way of creating a memorable eLearning experience!