eLearning has the potential to make a great impact as long as it is crafted exclusively for a particular organization. Apart from conveying the learning objectives effectively, it can also maintain a brand’s tone. A successful custom eLearning development benefits in performance improvement and altering learning behaviours thereby making the entire experience memorable, meaningful, and motivating.
Even though customization of eLearning courses can be expensive at times, they are easy to update as and when required which offers decision-makers of a company a great return on their investments in the long run. Besides, without customization, a particular digital learning course will consist of irrelevant information for employees. It will not be engaging nor impactful to make the learners retain the knowledge. Hence it can defeat the purpose of online employee training in general. These scenarios can be avoided by customizing the courses via –
- Themes and backgrounds in the learning environment.
- Audio, video, text, graphics, etc.
- Interactive elements and social shareability in the course.
- Assessment and feedback components such as quizzes, games, etc.
- Additional elements like simulations, tutorials, discussion forums etc.
So, how can one create an online course which stands out? Here are some best practices to follow while developing a custom eLearning solutions.
- Define the needs of your employee training:
While creating a learner-centred online training programme, make sure that you define the target group of employees who need to be included in it and what kind of learning they require. Sometimes budget and time constraints may become a challenge to this process. However, training need analysis is an essential way to focus on learner needs while addressing the factors of motivation and engagement which in turn aids companies to achieve their business goals and employee expectations. Brainstorming with the project stakeholders and subject matter experts (SME) is the best way to analyze and define employee training needs.
- Implement the perfect eLearning approach:
After you have defined your training need, you need to make sure that it is created in such a way that it captures the learner’s attention. To achieve this objective, you should adopt the best principles of instructional and graphic designing to aid the employees retain the training information for a longer time and upskill themselves in the process. It is essential to implement the appropriate eLearning approach coupled with the right online course design techniques for custom eLearning course development. These approaches may consist of branching scenarios, storyboards, case studies, interactive multimedia elements, simulations, and gamification for creating an engaging learning experience.
- Adding relevant eLearning content:
The average attention span of human beings is less than 8 seconds hence it is essential to avoid irrelevant content in an online training programme. The information which is important and needed for a particular job designation should be presented in these programmes. Another important aspect to keep in mind should be to refrain training the employees what they already know and respect their prior knowledge. Instructional designers and subject matter experts need to work closely to ensure contextual eLearning content is presented in digital training programmes.
- Encourage collaborative learning:
In today’s socially connected world, collaborative training helps employees facilitate peer-based learning. Adding social shareability options allows them to interact with each other through discussion forums, knowledge portals, and social media groups. Additionally, simulations and real-life scenarios can help employees get a better understanding of the training topic. Hence from the standpoint of problem-solving in a group setting, collaborative eLearning experience creates a stronger training environment in an organization.
These practices increase the potency of your overall corporate training programme if executed in the right way. SMEs need to play a big role in the entire custom eLearning development process. These courses should be curated keeping in mind the company’s future and should allow updation based on industry knowledge from time to time. At the end of the day, knowledge fuels the employees to go the extra mile and improve your business outcomes.
