Rapid eLearning is Revolutionizing Online Training
Posted on May 28, 2019A new eLearning technology is enabling quick creation of electronic tutorials and programs and changing the way eLearning material is created and who can create it.
Consider this scenario: Tina works in the communications department of a big organization. She is tasked with communicating new company policies to the entire workforce through an online program that will be mandatory for all employees. The project is on a strict timeline, and there is no budget to hire an external firm.
Rapid e-Learning is an ideal resource for people in Tina’s position. Electronic programs and tutorials with a directed educational purpose can be created in short segments and delivered online, without the usual investment of time, money and technical specialists.
Tina first needs to plan her timeline and curate all available information about the topic. She works with subject matter experts (SMEs) who provide more information and edit the content. Then she researches the many different Rapid eLearning authoring tools available and chooses the one best suited to her needs.
The eLearning program Tina creates will be engaging and interactive. It will have elements basic to responsive learning such as multiple-choice questions, puzzles, videos and quizzes. The authoring tool provides templates that have a built-in graphic user interface (GUI) and allows her to create advanced features without programming knowledge. Tina can choose from a variety of visual themes and colours in accordance with principles of communication design.
When Tina’s eLearning program is launched company-wide, employees are grateful that the information is presented in short segments that they can complete at their own pace and absorb easily. They can access it on multiple devices and pause and resume the program as needed.
After the employees complete the course, Tina collects and reports metrics from the quiz results and other data and gets feedback from users. If information has to be changed or updated in the future, Tina will be able to do that herself quickly and easily.
Rapid eLearning authoring tools are just the latest ever-evolving technology that is making communication materials easier and more effective and changing the face of organizational learning.
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The topic of this article is covered in the Schulich ExecEd program Masters Certificate in Adult Training and Development (starting Jan. 29, 2020). The program is designed to provide both leading-edge research and practical experience in teaching and training adults in the workplace.