Hi, I’m John, the Business Development Director with The Learning Rooms. I joined the team just over six months ago. I am really enjoying being part of the L&D and specifically working in eLearning. Having trained and coached both in professional and sporting environments, I wanted to share some of my early thoughts and excitement for the digital learning industry.
Why I’m excited about working in eLearning
Training and talent development has always been an area that has interested me. I have been lucky throughout my career to benefit from working with forward looking managers and companies that were prepared to invest in staff development. The Learning Rooms are specialists in a range of L&D services including face-to-face training, blended and digital learning solutions. Working in eLearning at The Learning Rooms has helped me understand talent development and the tools and approaches we can use.
Specifically, I want to tell you why I’m excited about working in the eLearning industry! Spending time with the team and seeing the solutions they create, I feel very passionate about digital learning and the potential it has!
The evolving workplace
eLearning is adapting quickly to suit the modern employee and the way we work. The workplace has evolved rapidly over the last decade with increasing numbers of contract staff, remote workforces and digital transformation affecting roles. This has changed the way we need to learn, on the job and now informs new approaches for staff development. If we need an answer we ask Google, watch YouTube instructional videos or use online communities. If our habit is to consume content in this way, then our workplace learning should enable this and allow us to get answers on the job.
The potential
eLearning shouldn’t be text on a screen with a next button. Effective eLearning should be designed to meet business goals and the skills gap between where staff are currently and what they need to be able to do. eLearning should deliver content in an interesting and engaging way. For example, our team use a range of techniques to design courses based on best-practice adult learning theory.
eLearning allows our clients to reach a geographically and demographically diverse workforces. It gives clients access to more impactful L&D in a cost effective and time efficient manner. In an age with Skype, Slack, Hangouts, Zoom, VR conferencing etc it seems archaic that we have down whole teams for training. This does not mean I am against classroom training, I believe it is an important and essential method of training. I feel however that we have moved on from a need to deliver all training exclusively this way. Blended learning allows managers to choose the best medium to deliver content maximising results and buy in from employees.
Through correctly implemented and well-designed eLearning an organisation will benefit from a higher performing and more confident team.
From the learner’s perspective
Typical excuses for not investing in our own self-development whether going to the gym or pursuing personal development are most commonly; time, access and convenience.
We all like having control, this is no different when we need to learn something. Using digital learning allows the learner to choose the day, the time and complete the course on their device of choice. I love the idea of a learner having a twenty minute window so they will finish a module of the online course they are enrolled in. Because that’s how I like to learn. I like taking small bursts, give my undivided attention, then move on. When we are forced into allotted times, we become anxious of that time, and have to rework our lives around the training.
The future
As you may have guessed I like technology and the ongoing evolution of digital services. One of the things I love about our team, is their use of technology. They utilise new techniques such as gamification elements in our courses to enhance the learner experience. I can only see an increase in this and similar techniques as more tools and tech come onto the market. Perhaps we will see more of an adaption and integration of IOT and wearable devices.
The emergence of artificial intelligence and machine learning will give us course content that can adapt and offer real-time feedback for learners. With the potential of virtual and augmented reality, there is a bright future for eLearning.
Every day we have conversations about how we can deliver better, more innovative and more engaging eLearning.
Would you like to be working in eLearning?
Contact us to discuss your career in eLearning.
