With the rapid progress of digitalisation, e-learning has become the most successful form of knowledge transfer in recent years. As a result, many different e-learning methods have emerged that enable you to use the digitalised form of learning sustainably and profitably for your company.
In the following, we would like to show you the most important training forms and types within which you can efficiently use the various e-learning methods.
APPLYING E-LEARNING METHODS IN VARIOUS FORMS OF TRAINING
In order for the various e-learning methods to ensure optimal success and the highest efficiency, it must be clarified in which training form they are applied. Therefore, in the following you will first see which training forms and types play an important role in E-LEARNING.
These four types of training have proved particularly effective in the use of e-learning:t:
Blended Learning
Mobile Learning
Serious Games
User generated Content
But what exactly is it all about and how are these forms best used?
BLENDED LEARNING
This form of training combines the advantages of online learning with the success factors of classroom training. Ideally, when planning a particular training topic, it is already determined which areas can best be trained in presence and which online. Particular attention should be paid to the content to be taught: Soft skills, for example, are most effectively conveyed in a face-to-face training session.
The associated knowledge of certain facts, however, can also be covered beforehand and/or afterwards by one or more e-learnings. Your employees will thus be trained in the most sustainable way and can benefit from all the advantages of using digital media as well as from classroom training. The ideal combination of classroom training and e-learning thus enables the highest possible efficiency.
MOBILE LEARNING
In theory, almost any of the various e-learning methods can be mapped on a mobile device. The bottom line is that mobile learning is mainly about users being able to call up digital training content on a cell phone, tablet, or similar device. However, caution is advised here, because simply mirroring diverse content on a mobile device does not always make sense. Web-based training (WBT) - if it is intended for mobile learning - should always be adapted to the mobile view beforehand. What does that mean? It's actually quite simple: a cell phone, for example, always has a much smaller screen than a laptop. Accordingly, the font size must first be designed in such a way that texts can also be read there without any problems. In general, text passages for mobile content should always be as short as possible and limited to the most necessary. But that's not all: the quizzes and other tasks used must also be designed in such a way that they are easy to handle on a cell phone or tablet.
Simply making a WBT smaller in order to display the training content on a cell phone is not effective and can even lead to frustration on the part of the user (if he or she cannot read the texts well or cannot perform the intended tasks due to usability)!
SERIOUS GAMES
This type of e-learning is primarily characterized by GAMIFICATION. The training content is conveyed like in a "computer game" with its own storyline. The user then solves various tasks in which he applies his newly acquired knowledge in order to get to the next level and/or achieve a certain goal. This has been proven to create a particularly huge motivation, because ambition is awakened and - depending on the company - competitions can even be organized here among employees or teams, which are awarded a prize at the end of a certain period, for example.
USER GENERATED CONTENT
In this form of training, the employees themselves make the e-learning content available to other users. This content can include anything from experiences on a particular topic to tips and best practices. For example, a retail employee might record a video while unpacking a new product. He shows the product and perhaps gives tips on handling and selling points. Likewise, a highly experienced sales associate might summarize his best sales pitch tips in a video and share that with his colleagues.
This process of creating training content makes e-learning particularly authentic for other employees, as the content is conveyed at eye level and directly from everyday working life.
However, this form of training has a significant disadvantage: in order not to disseminate unwanted misinformation in this way, the content should be checked by a defined authority before it is passed on to the employees.
SUCCESSFUL E-LEARNING METHODS FOR ANY FORM OF TRAINING
Above we have now introduced you to four of the forms and types of training. But what are the e-learning methods that are used in the named forms of learning?
Die wichtigsten und mittlerweile meist eingesetzten Methoden sind folgende:
WBT (Web based Training)
Videos
Podcast
Micro Learning
Webinars
VR / AR
WEB BASED TRAINING - THE MOST COMMON E-LEARNING METHOD
This method enables particularly efficient and flexible learning and is now also increasingly used as the epitome of e-learning. A WBT usually consists of different parts (e.g. text, quizzes, video, audio, etc.) and thus brings the user closer to a specific topic in several individual parts. This is a multimedialearning program. The advantage is that the user can directly apply and try out his acquired knowledge there to ensure the anchoring of the knowledge. All that is needed to carry out a WBT is Internet access, so that the learning content can be accessed from anywhere and by all employees.
VIDEOS AS AN E-LEARNING METHOD TO CONVEY INFORMATION QUICKLY
VIDEO-LEARNING conveys training content with the help of audio and images. This variant is best suited, for example, to draw users' attention to a specific topic, to provide an overview, or to show situations that are close to everyday life. However, special attention should be paid to the length of the video: ideally, such a training video should only last a few minutes to take into account the attention span. If the content is longer, it is best to provide several short videos that are structured thematically.
And the quality also plays an important role: because if the quality is poor (e.g. hard to understand sound, inappropriate images, boring presentation, etc), the motivation of users to focus on the content is naturally correspondingly low.
However, this very important among e-learning methods is generally used very often, as most people absorb the content very well in this way and can usually concentrate well on what is shown. This method also offers a high degree of flexibility as well as knowledge acquisition independent of location and time.
PODCAST - AUDITIVE E-LEARNING METHODS
Last but not least, podcasts are an e-learning method. In general, podcasts are currently very trendy and are also an efficient and exciting way to impart knowledge. In a podcast, the content is conveyed auditorily. As with videos, attention must of course also be paid here to quality and time span in order to offer the highest possible efficiency. A well-made podcast offers great opportunities to gain insight into a wide variety of content. Depending on the current situation, it may be a welcome change for the user to gain knowledge in this way. As with the other e-learning methods, users are offered a high degree of flexibility and the opportunity to develop from anywhere.
MICRO LEARNING - THE SMALLEST AMONG E-LEARNING METHODS
You have already read from the previous sections that e-learning can only be successful if it is divided into "easily digestible morsels". Accordingly, micro learning means that knowledge is conveyed in small blocks of information. In other words: an efficient "training package" consists - depending on the scope - of a classroom training, or a webinar, and the associated e-learning. The latter in turn include the optimal division of the content into texts, quizzes, videos, etc.. These "individual parts" then correspond to micro learning, since ideally after each section (i.e. each text, quiz, video, ...) can be interrupted, or a break can be taken. The user can then return to exactly this point at any time and, if necessary, repeat one or the other part again.
This method makes e-learning much easier, especially with particularly complex content, as the knowledge is processed by the employee bit by bit and thus remains in the memory for a longer period of time.
WEBINAR - THE COMBINATION PACKAGE AMONG E-LEARNING METHODS
Webinars are now used in many companies and have proven to be very efficient and sustainable. No wonder: a webinar offers almost all the advantages of a classroom training in the form of an online training. This, very important among the e-learning methods, is therefore virtually the online variant of classroom training. In order to enable the users to participate in the training without being tied to a specific location, they are trained online via conference. One of the advantages of this method is that your employees do not have to travel, which makes it sustainable, while the participants can still exchange information live.
VR/AR - FUTURISTISCHE E-LEARNING METHOD
Virtual Reality (VR) and also Augmented Reality (AR) are hitting the nerve of the current times. Although the production and implementation is associated with increased technical effort, it can, depending on the area of application, also offer advantages that are not achieved with any other of the e-learning methods. Users are immersed in a world of their own and can experience situations and/or simulations that cannot be experienced in this way with any of the other e-learning methods. VR and AR are extremely exciting and interactive, and can take your training to a new level.
THE RIGHT E-LEARNING METHODS FOR YOUR EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT
If you look at the individual e-learning methods and types, it quickly becomes clear that - with the right interaction and use - all training content can be conveyed sustainably. We are the experts for successful knowledge transfer and will gladly help you to make YOUR training as efficient as possible.
Simply CONTACT US and together we will find the ideal methods to promote your employees in a targeted manner and make your company even more successful!!