e-Learning in Your Business
Category: e-Learning
by Logan Smith
by Logan Smith
The tremendous cost savings that e-learning can provide might be considered a convincing argument on its own. Although basing your choice of tuition just on ticket price is not a good idea, it will always be a consideration. I want to delve into e-learning in a bit more detail though and examine some of the other benefits it can provide.
The first thing to look at is the question of quality. Now if you buy a $5 program to teach you something it’s pretty clear you’re going to get what you pay for – not a lot – but professional e-learning products have come a long way from initial attempts that were little more than recordings of live lectures transcribed onto CD. Today there’s a greater understanding of how people react to on-screen elements. It has resulted in interactive content – using rich media and aspects of game play – that people find stimulating, absorbing and actually enjoyable. The specialists who create the programs are frequently highly qualified (often the same people who deliver live classes are involved) and the results are just as effective as traditional teaching.
Of course from a business point of view e-learning isn’t just cheaper, it provides unrivaled flexibility. Personnel don’t have to be unavailable while attending class. They can access tuition as suits their schedule, or you can take a more disciplined approach if you prefer. Either way, a course can be stopped and started as suits the participants. Nobody likes to be disturbed in this way, but with e-learning all you need to do is go over the last section again to refresh your memory before carrying on. Once completed, the lessons remain a valuable resource whether for new members of staff or as reference material.
So there’s flexibility. There’s also the opportunity for remarkable precision. You can take an off-the-shelf course and add elements to it, or you can have content created for you. Incorporate a SCORM-compliant Learning Management System and you have a cost-effective tool that works with pre-set content and also follows a standard that is recognized by consultants world-wide. The money you invest will be a little more than for simple training DVDs but probably not what you would pay for off-site tuition – and you still retain both the “mix and match” flexibility for content and the ability to distribute learning anywhere, at any time.
The final element to look at today is security. It’s not always important, but sometimes your people need business-focused information that is confidential. E-learning gives you that opportunity because you conduct that training to your own timetable and only your personnel have access. Actually, with an advanced Learning Management System you can go beyond your people if you want to, sharing pertinent details with, for example, supply chain or retail. The beauty of a good LMS is that it’s all under your control.
As business becomes more competitive and regulations become stricter it’s clear that there will be an ever-greater need for training. E-learning and Learning Management Systems offer a flexible, scalable, cost-effective answer that provides a rapid return on investment. The alternatives are just going to cost you money.
Of course from a business point of view e-learning isn’t just cheaper, it provides unrivaled flexibility. Personnel don’t have to be unavailable while attending class. They can access tuition as suits their schedule, or you can take a more disciplined approach if you prefer. Either way, a course can be stopped and started as suits the participants. Nobody likes to be disturbed in this way, but with e-learning all you need to do is go over the last section again to refresh your memory before carrying on. Once completed, the lessons remain a valuable resource whether for new members of staff or as reference material.
So there’s flexibility. There’s also the opportunity for remarkable precision. You can take an off-the-shelf course and add elements to it, or you can have content created for you. Incorporate a SCORM-compliant Learning Management System and you have a cost-effective tool that works with pre-set content and also follows a standard that is recognized by consultants world-wide. The money you invest will be a little more than for simple training DVDs but probably not what you would pay for off-site tuition – and you still retain both the “mix and match” flexibility for content and the ability to distribute learning anywhere, at any time.
The final element to look at today is security. It’s not always important, but sometimes your people need business-focused information that is confidential. E-learning gives you that opportunity because you conduct that training to your own timetable and only your personnel have access. Actually, with an advanced Learning Management System you can go beyond your people if you want to, sharing pertinent details with, for example, supply chain or retail. The beauty of a good LMS is that it’s all under your control.
As business becomes more competitive and regulations become stricter it’s clear that there will be an ever-greater need for training. E-learning and Learning Management Systems offer a flexible, scalable, cost-effective answer that provides a rapid return on investment. The alternatives are just going to cost you money.
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