Considering an elearning platform but not sure it’s an effective learning method? Amber Bovenmyer debunks a few common misconceptions.

Reading time: 4 minutes.

Your organisation is always exploring new projects to better meet the needs of its members. Often, that requires your team members to learn new skills. When your team participates in educational programs, they become more capable of developing new ideas, solving problems, and helping your organisation expand.

Elearning or learning management systems are efficient and effective methods of creating education and training programs for your organisation’s employees or team members. In a rapidly changing professional landscape, having a successful method for training team members is crucial.

But because online learning or elearning is relatively new compared with the traditional classroom setting, organisations are apprehensive about how elearning systems stack up against conventional learning methods. 

If your organisation is thinking about incorporating an elearning system into your educational program, it’s important to understand the capabilities and features of these systems so that you can use yours most effectively. Let’s debunk some of the most common misconceptions about elearning, such as:

• Elearning won’t engage my team.
• Elearning can’t provide a personalised learning experience.
• I won’t be able to assess my employees’ progress accurately.
• An elearning system won’t be able to grow with my organisation.

When you choose the right elearning system for your organisation and use it effectively, your team will benefit from the new skills they gain. Let’s begin by addressing a common criticism of these systems: that they’re not engaging for learners.

Misconception #1: elearning won’t engage my team

The belief that elearning systems can’t be engaging stems from the misconception that they are only capable of storing and displaying content. In reality, elearning systems present learning materials in a way that promotes involved learning. 

In a rapidly changing professional landscape, having a successful method for training team members is crucial.

Your learners are more likely to be engaged in their education when they have a clear understanding of the skills they need to learn and why. Your elearning system will let you develop custom courses that will meet your team members’ specific learning needs and clarify the learning objectives right off the bat.

Unlike conventional classroom learning, online learning systems make it easy for you to deliver interactive content. Once you know what presentation methods work best for your team members, you can stick to them and replicate them for future use. You can engage your learners with elearning systems in several ways, including: 

• Video tools. Multimedia elements address different learning styles and provide variation in the learning process that keeps your team members engaged throughout the process.
• Games and gamification tools. There is nothing wrong with having a little fun while you learn, and nothin inspires learners more than a friendly competition. Your elearning system’s gamification tools will let your team absorb the material better and keep them motivated to learn more.
• Drag-and-drop sections. Give your team members the opportunity to test themselves and take an active role in their learning by incorporating drag-and-drop sections into your modules.

The reality is that elearning systems are focused not just on content, but also on the learning process, and can provide each of your team members with a learning experience that addresses their individual needs.

Misconception #2: elearning can’t provide a personalised learning experience.

Your organisation already understands the value that each of your team members brings. You hired or selected them for their unique perspectives and skill sets, which allow them to offer unique contributions to your organisation on a daily basis. Contrary to what you may have heard about elearning systems, they’re capable of taking your team members’ individual learning needs and preferences into account.

If your team members have used your system before, the courses they’ve completed in the past and their performance within those courses are saved in your system. Your system can use this information to recommend available courses to your individual team members, ensuring that they’ll develop the skills you need for your organisation to develop.

A common misconception about elearning is that it presents material in a limited number of ways, making them ineffectual for learners who don’t respond as well to a single method of conveying information such as reading it from a computer screen. Actually, your organisation can choose an elearning system that offers a variety of learning methods including:

• Personalised assessments. Meet your learners where they are with quizzes that reflect their performance throughout the course. They’ll be able to focus on the skills they need more work on, making the course more helpful for them and for your organisation.
• Social learning. Many people learn better when they’re able to discuss the material with their peers. Discussion board and live chat features in your elearning system ensure that your team members won’t miss out on the conversations they would likely have in a traditional classroom setting.
• Supplementary in-person events. Your elearning system even extends to educational opportunities offline! Your learners can use the system to register for in-person events near them that provide new ways of interacting with the material being covered in their online courses.

As your team members progress through their courses, it’s important for your organisation to be able to measure their progress accurately to tailor subsequent material to their individual needs.

This piece will be concluded next week.

About the author

Amber Bovenmyer is director of sales and marketing at Web Courseworks