Rapid eLearning: Reinventing Training For The 21st Century Learners

Rapid eLearning: Reinventing Training For The 21st Century Learners
StunningArt/Shutterstock.com
Summary: If organizations wish to see business results fast, they must invest in rapid eLearning solutions. Confining training to obsolete strategies, such as ILT alone or Flash-based courses, would mean that employees will lose out on productivity, which in turn will hurt the organization’s business.

Discussing Rapid eLearning And 5 Tips To Reinvent Training In The 21st Century

Once-and-done training such as the Instructor-Led Training (ILT) or old Flash-based courses are not enough for modern learners because these training programs come with their own limitations: inability to offer additional support outside the classroom, lack of hands-on knowledge or real-life situations, emergence of newer ways for accessing learning content, and the death of Flash among others.

In this age of deep talent gaps, today’s employers want to offer training that enables employees to learn on-the-go, can equip them with on-the-job support to solve everyday problems in their jobs, and more importantly, one that can be created and disseminated rapidly. In the last decade or so, new methods, which have been helping organizations replace the slow-to-adapt, defunct legacy training practices with a more rapid and effective solution, have arrived on the scene. Rapid eLearning.

Here are some ways rapid eLearning is overcoming the challenges of ILT/classroom training.

1. Build eLearning Programs In Short Time Using Existing Material

Any organization that has invested in delivering in-house training to train its employees is bound to have a repository of training material; classroom handouts, PDFs, case studies, PowerPoint presentations, etc. With rapid eLearning, convert these existing training content into online learning content, saving both time and money.

These ILT materials which act as supplements for an instructor within a classroom need much more refining before they can be “eLearning-ready”. This is where eLearning vendors with their years of expertise in rapid eLearning development and Instructional Design play a crucial role. These vendors analyze the available ILT material against the training requirements, fill the required gaps in the content, apply tried and tested instructional strategies, and use the latest rapid authoring tools for quick course development.

2. Bid Farewell To Flash-Based Courses. Create HTML5-Based eLearning

Training is no more created using Adobe Flash for its lack of compatibility with modern mobile browsers. This is a big deal-breaker for multinational corporate organizations with a millennial (or modern) workforce who prefer to read on-the-go and want access to training content “anytime-anywhere”. Because Flash-based courses hold little to no value anymore, the logical step for organizations is to opt for the alternative; HTML5.

HTML5-based eLearning improves upon Flash and offers multi-device mobile support which means learners can access learning on their smartphones and tablets. If an organization has a bulk of Flash-based courses, it is now easy to directly convert Flash to HTML5 using the myriad rapid authoring tools available in the market. Even in the absence of source files for legacy courses, vendors can still retrieve the related content and digital assets and publish the courses to the HTML5 format, with the latest authoring tools.

3. Convert ILT Content To Various Digital Formats For Modern Learners

Modern learners are no longer satisfied with once-and-done training or click-and-learn web-based courses. Learners today expect the training to accompany them through their jobs, always at their disposal, in ways that do not take much of their time. To achieve this, organizations partner with rapid eLearning vendors who render their ILT content more useful than just click-and-learn courses.

Using modern rapid authoring tools such as Articulate Storyline, Adobe Captivate, and Lectora Inspire, rapid eLearning vendors easily convert ILT content into effective digital assets such as eLearning videos, microlearning nuggets, eLearning assessments, PDFs and short videos for just-in-time performance support to make training more meaningful and effective.

4. Host Training Content Online For 24X7 Access With Moodle Platform

Most organizations are likely to have business verticals and Subject Matter Experts who are spread across different geographical locations in different parts of the world. As a result, delivering an eLearning program to the right employee, in the right location, at the right time becomes cumbersome, unless the mode of delivery is also rapid; in other words, a centralized platform that hosts all the training content.

NextGen Learning Management Systems (LMSs) offer a one-point interface for organizations (and learners) to host, monitor, and give access to the entire training program at the click of a button.

Some of the robust features LMSs offer to complement your rapid eLearning program are:

  • Learner management
  • Learner activity tracking and reporting
  • Assessment statistics
  • Feedback reports

5. Easily And Rapidly Translate Training Content For Your Global Audience

When eLearning translation is performed in-house, it is usually carried out by translators who lack the required experience as opposed to professional translators who not only are proficient in multiple languages but also have ample expertise in the subject matter. Also, their legacy processes and lack of special software renders translation time-consuming and ineffective.

For your rapid eLearning project, choose a rapid eLearning vendor who offers rapid eLearning translations, also one who has a pool of translators and language experts using the latest translation memory tools to save time, and ensure quality and consistency.

Rapid eLearning is the future that is already here. If organizations wish to see business results fast, they must invest in rapid eLearning solutions. Confining training to obsolete strategies (such as ILT alone or Flash-based courses) would mean that the employees will lose out on productivity, which in turn will hurt the organization’s business.