Applying E-Learning to Your Business

If your e-learning will have a global reach, you need to think long and hard about: Language Time zones Cultural differences (learning styles, humor) Tell Me More If your company is a global business, then you already know that communication within a global company is significantly different from communication within a company that operates within [...]

Teaching an e-learning course is, in fact, harder than teaching a classroom course. Instructors who have honed their skills toward the classroom experience will need to learn new “how to teach in an e-learning environment” skills. Tell Me More Teaching in an e-learning environment isn’t easier—it’s harder. For example, one challenge for an instructor in [...]

Learning is work, not entertainment. E-learning is even more work than learning in a class- room environment. Many people are accustomed to learning only in the traditional classroom environment and find it hard to learn “on their own.” Tell Me More Except for the fortunate few, learning is work, not fun. This means that, at [...]

E-learning will be a “different experience” for many of your employees. It will feel different. Some people enjoy trying things that feel different. Others don’t. You will have to deal with e-learning challenges such as unfamiliarity, lack of self-motivation, lack of time, and the perception that it’s contrary to company culture. Tell Me More Perhaps [...]

No. Use what you have in the short term. You can blend together classroom and e-learning in the medium term, and move exclusively to an e-learning approach in the long term. Tell Me More Classroom learning does not conflict with e-learning. They are really complementary approaches. One is not a bad approach with the other [...]

Using leading-edge technology is important but not critical. The bottom line is the soundness of the instructional design. Students can learn from a simple presentation if it’s instructionally sound. Students don’t learn from a jazzy-looking multimedia experience if it’s NOT instructionally sound. Tell Me More Using leading-edge technology is important but not critical. Sometimes it’s [...]

Employees take their cues from management. Managers will need to keep realistic expectations, pro- vide leadership, provide support, and manage the change that e-learning will bring to your company. Tell Me More Your company’s management needs to give e-learning what it gives everything else: leadership and support. The success of e- learning in your company [...]

If you have any experience at all with implementing and rolling out new things in a company, you know that there are always barriers and that it’s best to know about them up front. Barriers to e-learning range from people’s natural resistance to any kind of change, to new technology, to budget constraints. Tell Me [...]

An e-learning success has to be in business terms, not in training terms. The entire reason you’re involved with training is for business improvement. Tell Me More Some people think an e-learning success is lots of people attending the class. Others think that a success is getting students to learn a lot of stuff. In [...]