Learning, as we all know, is ubiquitous. And this stands especially true for organizations aiming to flourish in today’s competitive market space – a space that requires employees to constantly enhance their skillset. This makes it essential for organizations to encapsulate learning solutions that not only cater to these evolving learning needs but are also affordable and efficient.
Enter Learning 4.0 aka Digitalization of Education. Thanks to its ability to deliver highly personalized and immersive experiences, Learning 4.0 yields quick yet impactful results every time, and online learning and training are pivotal to bring about these results.
What Are Learning 4.0 and Online Learning and Training All about?
To put it simply, Learning 4.0 is all about the transfer of knowledge, from anywhere in the world, to learners who want to learn a particular subject, through electronic technologies. It teaches an educational curriculum outside of a regular classroom through engaging audio-visuals, games, and much more. Not just this, the past few years have witnessed a magnanimous rise in the use of immersive and interactive education technologies like augmented and virtual reality in online learning and training, making them more dynamic than ever before.
But Why All the Buzz around It?
Though the virtual learning sector has been demonstrating an impressive trajectory over the last decade, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an exponential rise in the adoption of these systems. Be it employee training and development or new product launches, numerous organizations around the world – start-ups, corporates, and non-profits alike – are gradually unveiling the advantages of these learning models are replacing their traditional on-site models with them.
Why the Paradigm Shift?
Sure, there is a range of benefits that Learning 4.0 and of course, online learning and training offers over standard classroom training. But what has led to the massive shift from the latter to the former?
As mentioned earlier, professionals today, are a part of a highly volatile working environment and they must upskill through efficient learning experiences. Subsequently, they desire more than just standard academic certifications to broaden their career horizons. While the new-age workforce is eager to strengthen its skillset, the employers too, are keen on equipping employees with skills that deliver impactful results.
And this phenomenon is precisely what has made organizations around the world embrace Learning 4.0.
Okay. That sounds good. But what benefits do Learning 4.0 and online learning and training have to offer?
Here are a few to begin with!
Greater Flexibility
With virtual learning and training, learners have the freedom to learn anywhere, anytime they want. They can learn at a pace that works for them, repeat instructions wherever needed, and avoid unnecessary pressure. Moreover, the learning content can be delivered through personalized devices such as smartphones, computers, and tablets. The easy-to-access chunks of information enable learners to seek training on the go. Thus, the virtual learning environment equips learners with considerable flexibility.
Better Retention
Countless studies have propounded that online learning and training lead to better retention of content among learners as compared to traditional learning methods. Why? The answer is pretty simple – engaging content. Owing to features like interactivity and gamification, online learning models can sustain the learners’ interest, thereby making learning enjoyable for them. And the more enjoyable the content is, the better the learners retain information.
Cost-Effective
Online learning and training are extremely cost-effective. Greater the audience; the greater the cost-effectiveness.
It’s no secret that training costs are a matter of great concern for organizations. However, with online learning and training, the traditional costs associated with hiring trainers, travel, and infrastructure are eliminated. All that a learner needs are access to the program and a device supporting it.
Fun Fact: With corporate online learning, IBM managers were able to learn five times more content at one-third of the cost. As a result, IBM saved $200 million, which accounted for around 30% of their previous training budget.
Offer Scalability
These learning models are not constrained by numbers and offer a lot of scalabilities. Once the modules are developed, they can be scaled up to train different employees in the language they prefer. As a result, the marginal cost to train one more employee goes down over time. This means that the learning courses can be reused years ahead thereby increasing the ROI of each course. To reiterate, virtual education models can accommodate an impressively large number of learners at a given time.
Measurability
The overall effectiveness of the training program can be analysed as the system gathers data on course engagement and completion along with the assessment scores. Moreover, online learning and training systems can also map out how a particular program impacts business KPIs. All you need to do is review the KPIs before introducing the learning programs and then review them once again after the programs are completed. This way, any development in the KPIs can be traced back directly to online learning courses.
Instant Feedback
Often, traditional learning systems were synonymous with considerable waiting time for the employees to get their hands on feedback.
However, online learning models come with various assessments that provide instant feedback to learners at multiple points during the course. Owing to this, learners can identify their areas of improvement and work on them. Apart from providing instant feedback, online learning and training also enable employers to keep an active track of how employees are performing in a particular course.
There are many people offering online courses these days: freelancers and small business owners, as well as digital marketing companies and knowledge-based niche brands. Their goal is to build a network of people who enjoy digital material. Besides the subject matter, they focus on course-related technological issues.
Online course producers are looking for tools such as LearnWorlds to create and administer their courses on online learning sites. With the full website builder functionality, it debuted in 2020, LearnWorlds is also going closer to an “all-in-one” to sell video lessons online than other platforms in this category.
Learnwords offers craft learning experiences your customers will love. The users can boost usage, satisfaction and retention for professional and compliance training, continuing education, and employee/customer onboarding. More info about LearnWorlds can be found here.
So, to Conclude…
Organizational training was an integral albeit arduous process, not very long ago. But today, employers as well as employees, are reconceptualizing this process with technology-infused Learning 4.0 solutions. Organizations have now bid adieu to arduousness and embraced result-driven engagement and better employee performance post-training.
Instead of upholding the ‘one-size-fits-all’ belief, they are now aligning themselves with Learning 4.0, as it provides a range of engaging and personalized courses to meet the custom training needs of learners.
In other words, online learning systems are being rapidly incorporated into the training process for their ability to deliver the right type of content to the right learner. Learning 4.0 is undoubtedly catalysing the growth of today’s workforce.
If you are keen on reaping measurable benefits from your next employee upskilling session, then Learning 4.0 is the way for you to go!
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