Have you ever walked away from a training and immediately forgot most of what you thought you learned? 

For learners to apply information, they need time to process the information and practice the skills. That’s where eLearning can help.  

How can eLearning increase in-person engagement?

When your learners leave their in-person training, an eLearning component of the training can help reinforce the key concepts you want to express. 

This can be information in the form of a review video or an interactive and repeatable experience where learners can practice skills and concepts from the training. 

For example: A nonprofit organization can send volunteers home from a training with this eLearning scenario to help them practice navigating challenging conversations with potential prospects, or the nonprofit could provide learners access to this video so they can remind themselves how to prepare before speaking with a prospect. 

Consider what you want your learners to remember or what you want your learners to be able to do after your in-person training, and eLearning can provide the tools and resources to reinforce your key ideas long after your in-person training has ended.

Consider this: What do we love about in person training? 

Most people think of community, discussions, or interaction in face-to-face training. But how often do conversations veer off-topic? How often have you been in a training when there was time for discussion, but no one spoke up? 

Discussions and community are critical opportunities to extend your learner’s understanding and application of key ideas, and one way to enhance your in-person discussion is with eLearning.  

How can eLearning amplify social connections?

When you provide an online connection to your training community, you extend learning beyond the room and time in which your training took place. Let’s take a look at strategies you can use to extend learning both before and after your in-person training.  

How can I create dialogue and preface concepts BEFORE training?

Many discussions begin with an icebreaker. The tension among strangers in a room is decreased, and the hope is that people will be more comfortable and more likely to engage with each other. 

One way to break the ice is through an online discussion. 

Create a group in your eLearning platform or a social media platform. Your learners can chat with each other and build their profiles. 

To provide purpose and prepare learners for their in-person training, post a discussion and instruct learners to watch a video or read an article before responding both to the post and another learner. This way, you’re likely to get focused responses, and if there is hesitancy to talk during the in-person discussion, you can always refer back to responses you’ve read online.

How can I extend community and learning AFTER training?

The trouble with in-person training is that it often occurs at one point in time, so learners are likely to forget about it soon after. 

You can combat this with an online group or community from your training. 

Follow up with your community by posting focused discussion questions. You can create subgroups within your larger community for learners with specific interests or goals. You can even encourage learners to post videos or audios of their responses to key ideas from your in-person training. 

This will extend learning beyond the time of your training, and keep this information and your organization relevant in the minds of your learners.

Have you ever been to a meeting and thought: “This could have been an email”?

Have you ever been to a training and thought: “This could have been done remotely”?

We all understand that for an in-person meeting to be worthwhile, it must contribute something that an email wouldn’t. Much like in-person meetings, learners are reporting that they have new expectations for in-person training too.  

What has changed? 

While some people are eager to return to in-person training, others have become accustomed to the convenience of eLearning. The truth is that there is value in both. 

This year so many organizations have stepped up their game online. There are training break out discussions, participants raising their hands on Zoom, and resources available online for learners. 

Because of this, there is a growing expectation that learners can engage and participate in their training— whether it occurs virtually or in person. 

When we consider in-person learning, most people recall the human connection, the interaction, and the high-level discussions that are known to take place in person. 

But what happens when you arrive at a training and there isn’t this interaction that we’ve missed? 

How many trainings have you been to where the speaker lectures beside a screen on stage; you sit, and then the training is over? 

An in-person training that isn’t worthwhile can set you back because the commitment for an in-person training is often more than it is for virtual learning. 

Did you take time off work for this training? Did you have to travel? Pay for a hotel room? How much time (personal or professional) did you give up to attend this training? 

This DOESN’T mean that in person training is over; instead, this means that the expectations for in person training has changed. 

We must consider this: What are you doing in person that couldn’t be replicated online?

There’s little value in sitting in a room listening to a speaker read from a PowerPoint. For in-person training to be valuable, it must respect the learner’s time by having elements that are interactive, relevant, and extend to real-world application. 

To add value, extend learning, and create a worthwhile experience, we suggest including an online component to your in-person training experience. 

How can we create a “hybrid” learning experience? 

Rather than read from a PowerPoint, an eLearning component can guide and prompt speakers to engage in active learning with the audience as well as provide resources, references, and opportunities to practice the skills learned long after the in person training has ended. 

Take a look at the table below to explore some examples of how Dignified Learning used eLearning to support and enhance in-person training.

Are you ready for eLearning, but can’t afford an LMS? 

The world of the LMS can be a lot. There are countless options, a crowded market space, and it can get expensive. 

The GOOD NEWS is that you might not need an LMS after all. 

Have you considered an eLearning platform? 

An eLearning platform houses your eLearning, just like an LMS. The difference is that an LMS was created specifically to manage learning. 

But do you really need everything an LMS has to offer? Consider what YOU want from the home of your eLearning. 

What data do you need? 

Most people are drawn to an LMS because it tracks learner data. This means that you’ll know how each learner is performing and be able to track their progress. 

While an LMS tracks learner data, an eLearning platform tracks engagement data. 

This means that you can customize what data you need and what options you would like to offer your learners. 

With engagement data, you can track course completion, discussion boards, and activities. You can gamify activities using a point system and score and track assessments. When a course is complete or along the way, you can include badging and certificates for your learners. 

How do you want learners to access your eLearning? 

With an eLearning platform, your content will be protected and accessible to learners of your choice.

You can customize how your learners will access their eLearning – an access code, a log in, or you can keep the content open and available to anyone. 

Learners will also be able to access their eLearning anytime, from anywhere, and on any device, which makes eLearning flexible enough to work around any learner’s schedule. 

How many learners will you have? 

This is a big question when you’re looking at an LMS because the cost of an LMS will increase for each user you have. 

Are you expecting a lot of learners? Are you unsure how many learners you’ll have? 

The cost of eLearning platforms is untied to your learner count, which means you can have as many (or as few) learners as you need for each eLearning experience.

Have you ever been in training and wondered: “Why am I here?” or “How does this affect me?”  

It can be frustrating. And when this happens, it can feel disrespectful — like your time has been wasted. 

The REALITY is that to cultivate buy-in for eLearning, each eLearning experience must be CUSTOMIZED to directly meet the needs and goals of each learner. 

Rather than suffer through a generic online course, custom eLearning experiences are designed for specific learners.

How can you create customized eLearning experiences? 

Customized means that both the information and the way that the information is presented is specific, relevant, and accessible to the learner. It means that the presented information is meaningful and directly connects to the learners’ tasks and roles in an organization. 

So how can you ensure that an eLearning experience is customized at every level? 

To evaluate customized eLearning, Dignified Learning examines each eLearning experience through the five lenses of eLearning: platform, information, time, assessments, and feedback. 

Let’s take a closer look at customization through each lens.

Have you included platform features that specifically serve your organization? 

The platform is where a learner will access their eLearning experiences, and it is the first place where learners will experience customization. There are many opportunities to customize an eLearning platform, but what specific options do you have? What should you consider when determining what your learners need?

Consider your learning experiences. What factors have hindered your learning? 

Perhaps it was a disability, a challenge with technology, or maybe you simply didn’t have the time you needed to dedicate to eLearning. 

All of these factors and more are BARRIERS to learning. Accessible learning experiences break down each of these barriers to create a Dignified eLearning experience for EVERYONE. 

How can you create accessible eLearning experiences? 

When eLearning is accessible, it is available and approachable for EVERY learner. To determine how accessible an eLearning experience is, Dignified Learning examines accessibility through the five lenses of eLearning: platform, information, time, assessments, and feedback. 

 Let’s take a closer look at each of these lenses. 

How can I ensure that learners can navigate their eLearning? 

For learning experiences to be accessible, learners must be able to confidently navigate their online learning platform. There are many different eLearning platform options, but how do you determine which platform is most accessible for your learners?