Horses for Courses

eLearning

In the lead up to the ‘Race that stops a nation’ (the Melbourne Cup horse race in Australia) it seems a good time to consider horses for courses. No, not eLearning for equines, but making sure that your training tools suit your learners and your organisational requirements.

How do I know what tool to use?

Designing a training package must always start with the needs of the learner. Ask yourself:

  • Who are my learners
  • Why are they learning
  • What do they need to know
  • How do they learn?1

Answering these questions can help to determine the right tool for a successful outcome. The right tool may be classroom training, a practical demonstration, group discussion, mentoring, video, gamification or eLearning.

The benefits of eLearning

There are plenty of web articles on the benefits of eLearning in the workplace – about 6,680,000 Google results in 0.45 seconds to be precise. Some of these benefits include:

  • Saves money (no trainers to pay, no training room hire, no catering, no printing of materials, no travel costs)
  • Increased understanding (visual content is particularly helpful for those with literacy or language difficulties)
  • Better retention (due to interactive engagement and the ability to self-pace and revisit the topic as often as required)
  • Flexible access (available 24/7 anywhere in the world)
  • Consistent message (the same information can be presented to a single learner or hundreds of learners all at the same time, or at different times)
  • Results can be automatically reported in the organisation’s Learning Management System (LMS)
  • Less impact on the environment (various studies on eLearning courses cite a reduction of around 85% less CO2 emissions compared to traditional classroom based courses). 2, 3

There are many ways to learn. Understanding and applying this knowledge to your training is key to achieving positive outcomes for learners and the organisation.  And that is something you can bet on!

Want to see an example?

Click here to see an example of Pertrain’s eLearning.

Click here to purchase from the Pertrain Store.

Sources:

  1. Simpson, A. eLearning Industry, How To Choose The Right Tools For Your Learners, https://elearningindustry.com/right-tools-for-your-learners-choose
  2. Vanry, N. Edgepoint, 12 Absolutely Amazing Advantages Of eLearning For Your Employees, https://www.edgepointlearning.com/blog/advantages-of-elearning
  3. Gupta, S. 2017, eLearning Industry, 9 Benefits Of eLearning For Students, https://elearningindustry.com/9-benefits-of-elearning-for-students