Why It Is Import To Have An eLearning Product?
Not only is using eLearning popular and helpful, but it is both impactful and convenient. As today’s way of living commands, eLearning offers many benefits to both learners and organizations.
Regardless of one’s being an eLearning expert or just a beginner, the popularity and wide usage of the product has reached inconceivable heights in the last decade. One of its beneficial factors reflects in employers’ possibility to train employees in an affordable and time-efficient way. On the other hand, it proves productive for employees in terms of having a convenient training that enhances their skills and knowledge.
Moreover, an eLearning product is used by organizations to train their partners and customers to increase adoption, retention, and ultimately, revenue. In addition, the demand for eLearning solutions shows no signs of decreasing or fading, on the contrary, there is expectancy of this market reaching value of almost $300 billion by 2022. With certainty, it can be said that digital learning is the fastest-growing sector within the education industry. Therefore, educational institutions, businesses, non-profits, and professionals converge in this innovative sector to bring training in a wide variety of subjects to individuals and teams across the globe.
E-learning products focuses on both an individual or institution, not only to create and share valuable information, but also to curate from the abundance of information, and separate the relevant from the irrelevant through a precise knowledge of the target audience’s needs. Also, the mentorship offered in an online course makes the learning process dynamic and fun.
What is eLearning?
eLearning, or electronic learning, can be defined as a way of learning and training through digital resources. Regardless of being based on formalized learning, it is provided through electronic devices such as computers, tablets and, not so rare cases, through cellular phones that are connected to the internet. Anyway, it eases and enables users to learn anytime, anywhere, possibly some negligible restrictions. Simply said, eLearning is training, learning, or education delivered online through digital devices.
The History of eLearning
The first time the term “eLearning” came into use was when Elliott Maisie coined it in 1999. Ever since, it became a professional term for this kind of education and its reputation has been stronger and stronger. Now, let’s see the factors that have facilitated eLearning in turning into the most popular way to deliver training in today’s world? Here are some:
- The Internet– Before the internet has risen, both trainers and trainees relied on printed manuals, such as CD-ROMS and other restrictive methods for learning and training. With the internet expansion, organizations were given an opportunity to abandon the former way of learning and turn to a new and a more efficient one, especially for global companies.
- Development of Multimedia – The ability to integrate elements such as images, videos, audio and graphics proved to be a more reliable way of keeping learners engaged compared to traditional learning.
- Affordable Digital Devices– As soon as digital devices such as PCs, laptops, tablets and mobile phones became more and more affordable to the global audience regardless of their age and financial background, the popularity of eLearning rose over time.
- Well-Built Learning Management Systems – They have also become more sophisticated, moving from locally installed to cloud-based systems. Their organizations increasingly developed to enable the execution of many forms of training. When choosing an LMS, consider that it provides at least the functionality and support you need to meet your and the objectives of your learners.
- To help you decided which eLearning option are available, there is a list available here: The 15 Best Online Course Platforms
How to Deliver eLearning
Implementing eLearning into your organization is easy to do and beneficial in order to keep your employees up to date on company policies, or to help your customers better understand your product. Whatever you choose, there are a number of usable eLearning methods.
Using an LMS
Let’s consider LMS, to start with. A learning management system is a software application used to deliver online training. In case your LMS is great, it will be able you to go beyond this, providing you with the features and support you need to execute your eLearning strategy impeccably.
As daunting as selecting an LMS can be at first, by analyzing your training needs and defining your requirements, this process may be facilitated. Above all, it will significantly narrow your search. Several different types of Learning Management Systems are at your disposal, such as cloud-based, open source, commercial, and installation-based.
Since they allow an individual to quickly create courses, enroll users easily, and accurately report on learner progress, cloud-based learning systems have become the standard for online learning.
SCORM
SCORM defines a specific way of constructing Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and training content so that they work well with other SCORM conformant systems. In fact, SCORM is an acronym that stands for Shareable Content Object Reference Model and it indicate that SCORM is all about creating units of online training material that can be shared across systems.
Using this model provides your learner with a more interactive, engaging experience, and allows you greater control over the time spent on your courses. Moreover, it is a set of technical specifications that were developed to provide a common approach to how eLearning content is developed and used. Most SCORM courses are developed using popular authoring tools and therefore follow a similar structure and, it may add extra expense to eLearning delivery due to the cost of using an authoring tool. But, the investment is worth every penny.
Types of eLearning Training
A variety of reasons may be the cause of eLearning. From new skills development to learning remotely, the convenience and accessibility eLearning offers is immense, but there are the most significant four types of eLearning training.
Employee Training
The most frequent type of eLearning organizations use an LMS for is employee training, especially for onboarding new hires and improving employee performance. When compared to traditional training, training employees using an LMS formalizes training delivery and makes it more efficient. Especially in the future, your LMS should allow you to create exams, run reports and gather feedback so that you can continuously assess and improve training performance.
Compliance Training
A necessity for most organizations is compliance training. Its purpose is to inform employees on the laws or regulations applicable to their role and industry. Compliance training is mandatory and involves topics such as health, safety, and dignity in the workplace. The most common examples of compliance training include: Diversity Training, HR Law and Anti-Harassment Training.
Customer Training
As odd as it may sound, customer training programs help your customers use and understand your product or service. This type of training is very common with software providers.
Aside from raising the customer experience, customer training benefits the organizations that run them too. They obtain better customer onboarding, increase engagement with the product or services, and improve customer retention.
Partner Training
Reseller training or partner training provides your partners with the tools they need to be successful members of your network. Various types of training include product information training, sales training, support training, marketing guidance, etc. To become a partner, one often needs a certified training. The results may be seen in forms of engaging partners, reducing support costs, scale growth, and protecting your brand.
Diversify & Strengthen your Business
In case of having a service-based business, creating eLearning products can be a great way of growing revenue, diversify your offer, and strengthen your business by becoming a source of training.
In a way, eLearning products and content marketing have a similar effect on your brand. The purpose of creating educational content is to get users to spend more time with your brand. In fact, brands that educate their customers are seen as more reliable and customer caring. According to marketing strategy, this may be the reason why at least one of your courses available for free.
Grow And Automate your Business
Making a digital product international tends to be far less expensive and risky than expanding with a line of physical products. For example, Brandon Hall Group estimates that Asia-Pacific will become the fastest-growing market for Massive Open Online Courses in the next five years. Meanwhile, the German e-learning sector is growing at an 8.5% annual rate, whereas online courses in the UK have a completion rate of 70%-80%.
The main challenges that prevent service providers from growing their business is the issue of time-consuming. Therefore, two routes impose as solution to the problem－either raising prices or automating as much as possible.
Since online courses are not a service, but a product, they can be delivered to customers automatically, whether in a form of video courses on a platform or each lesson delivered through email. Numerous tools are at one’s disposal to automate all stages of an online course.
Educate your Customer Base
Some businesses dedicate exclusively to courses, but, as a service provider, you can use courses as a potential to inform your customers. That piece of information should include the basic principles of what you do, how it works, and educate them on the concepts that guide your professional practice. Consequently, your clients will have a deeper understanding of your role in their business, ask better questions, and develop profound and more ambitious working relationships with you.
How eLearning Products Can Go Wrong
A poorly translated course can prevent you from building a base of international students, which is not the only way an e-course can take the wrong course. For example, some businesses might launch an e-course without having an audience receptive to that sort of product, or even try to launch an eLearning product without having an audience at all.
What is very important to know is what needs you are going solve for your customers or students. Basically, you should know what problem is due to be solved, how much customers would be willing to pay for a solution, as well as what format might deliver the best learning experience.
While online courses can be delivered automatically, it is essential to obtain a communication channel for clients so they can ask instructors, relevant questions and get some extra resource about the course content.
It is necessary that you keep your course content updated as well. Regardless of how developing an online course might be less time-consuming than providing your usual services, it does not exclude the fact that your course should be taken care about further. If you want to nourish long-lasting and constructive relationships between clients and your brand, you are obliged to keep an eye on your content and on your students’ necessities.
