A Complete Guide on eLearning

Viren Kapadia May 15, 2020
A Complete Guide on eLearning

A Complete Guide on eLearning

There is no denying how effective and convenient eLearning is in this digital era, especially in these unprecedented difficult times. Everyone knows it has a powerful impact on both organizations and learners. But, have you ever thought about what exactly eLearning is and what makes it so impactful?

Whether you are a novice on eLearning or you have been using it for a long time and are an expert, you’ll agree that it has been continually scaling the online learning industry. eLearning has benefited both the employers and the employees. Employers find eLearning to be highly efficient from a time and money aspects in training their employees, whereas, for employees, it's a convenient method to boost their knowledge and skill set.

Besides training employees, entrepreneurs also use it to train their business partners to adopt new strategies, increase customer retention, and boost overall revenue.

Want to discover more about eLearning? Have a closer look and understand what eLearning is and how it can benefit your organization. 

What is eLearning?

A successful eLearning roadmap includes certain effective strategies and a clear goal. eLearning as a whole is very attractive, as it offers an inexpensive alternative to classroom training. When evaluating the effectiveness of eLearning, we must keep in mind exactly what we are trying to accomplish; then craft exceedingly mindful learning experiences to ensure the highest possible return on our investment.

When building eLearning it is necessary to consult people who teach and record their methodologies in making sure a message maintains its pertinence over time. Understanding the foundation of what makes instructional design so effective can go a long way in transitioning some of your organizational learnings over to a digital medium. The benefit of starting from a long time instruction-led situation is that these instructors know their target demographic well, what works for them, and what seems not to. Allowing an invaluable insight into developing content that may not just be convenient via technology, but possibly even more effective if properly delivered.

How is eLearning Training different from Classroom Training?

Since eLearning is an effective alternative to classroom training, it is becoming a more popular and preferred method among organizations. From cost difference to availability and flexibility to reporting and monitoring, eLearning is completely different from classroom training. However, there are also certain pros and cons of eLearning.

  • Learning Context:

One of the main differences between eLearning and classroom training is that classroom training allows learners to actively interact, engage with instructors and other fellow learners. In an eLearning environment, learners mostly work in isolation and are required to be self-driven. Virtual classroom training, video training, and other similar elements are used to bring the human element into the world of eLearning.

  • Cost Difference:

It is estimated that organizations save about 50% to 70% on training when they introduce eLearning over instructor-led training, due to reduced travel costs and non-requirement of logistics. Once developed eLearning can be used multiple times without any additional cost.

  • Availability and Flexibility:

eLearning can be accessible to the employees 24/7. Employees across the globe can take an eLearning course at their own pace, preferred time, and even place, which is not possible with physical classroom training. 

  • Reporting and Monitoring:

eLearning courses are mostly delivered on Learning Management Systems (LMS), which allows tracking and monitoring of learners’ progress, usage, and other parameters automatically in an efficient manner.

  • Content and Delivery Consistency:

With eLearning, the course content and delivery are the same each time. Whereas with in-classroom training, each instructor has his/her style of training and content delivery, hence consistency can be a concern with classroom content.

What are Current eLearning Trends?

Research states that the global eLearning industry is expected to experience growth of about 11% in 2020. With such a high growth rate, the businesses can dive into a pool of opportunities. The entrepreneurs looking forward to making the best out of these golden opportunities, need to follow the latest e-learning trends. Below mentioned are the trends that are going to redefine the industry standards.

  • Learning Experience Platform

A learning experience platform (LXP) provides a personalized, social, online learning experience for users, typically employees at large enterprises. Much like the LMS an LXP helps employees discover learning opportunities, offers ways to enhance them, and manages all their learning. The goal of this platform is to enable self-directed learning to comply with updated standards of the industry.

  • Tracking Learners Analytics

Tracking and keeping the report of learner analytics is used to improve eLearning training and review student performance. Most of the organizations are equipped with learning management systems and tutorial systems with the tracking feature. Analyzing and tracking student behavior is a simple task that does not require a high-end system or platform.

  • Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence can be constituted as one of the latest advanced eLearning Trends of 2020 and can play a pivotal role in the improvement of eLearning experience. The major benefit of an AI tutor is the 24x7 availability and ease of access, i.e., it can be accessed on any device. An existing LMS can easily comply with an AI-powered robot that can even teach the students in their homes. The ease of comfort is one of the major advantages of an AI tutor that can enhance the eLearning experience.

Things to Keep in Mind While Buying an eLearning content for LMS

However, the power of e-learning cannot be neglected, certain things need to be kept in mind while buying eLearning Content for an LMS. While buying eLearning content discuss the quality of the content, the experience of the content developer, the number of courses the provider has available for purchase, and references. Above all is the content SCORM Compliant or not.

  1. Pricing

  • Are you purchasing on a per-user basis?
  • Are you purchasing unlimited use?
  • Are you purchasing attempts?
  • Are their options available for bundling course topics and reducing costs?

Confirm you are purchasing content to reside within your LMS. It may be more expensive, but you will have the added benefit of all training records in one location.

  1. Demo

  • Does the provider give a demo on the content you are requesting?
  • Does the provider give access to demo content to test functionality in your LMS?
  • Will there be a dedicated support person to troubleshoot potential issues in your LMS?

Ask for the option to view an eLearning course start to finish so you may judge the quality. There are many more factors and questions to consider while buying an eLearning Content.

Best eLearning Practices to Follow

There are a lot of things that need to go right for your web-based content to be successful. Some of them are easy to see, such as when a learner launches a course and the video refuses to play. While others are harder to see, as when the internet connection that the learner is using gets bogged down and the course doesn’t show up. You need to make sure that your eLearning system is working properly. 

The Introduction of Scorm in eLearning

SCORM stands for Shareable Content Object Reference Model, it is a set of technical standards for eLearning software products. It governs how online learning content and Learning Management Systems (LMSs) communicate with each other. Allowing students to successfully launch, consume, and complete courses and activity is correctly recorded. Sometimes there is a problem with the content SCORM package and tracking may be incorrect, your vendor can help you test the SCORM package to see if there is a problem. There are several other things you can check out and figure out the problem.

So, this was a detailed analysis of eLearning and the benefits for your business. Gyrus has been a leading name in the online learning industry, providing users with LMS and eLearning solutions. Contact and plan your free trial with us today!