CultusE-learning that has gained popularity since the year 1999, has seen a tremendous growth. In the past decade, the education sector has seen an immense change in the way of learning. Today, the corporates are also bringing this technology to their employees in order to impart corporate learning within the organization.
Let us see how e-Learning has evolved and how has it made learning easy.
e-learning: A Brief Introduction
A short and simple definition of e-learning is the use of electronic media in the education. It is a broad category that includes technology-enhanced learning, computer based instructional learning, internet based learning, web based learning, online education and more. E-learning includes a number of media to deliver text, audio, video etc. The e-learning programs can happen out of classrooms, at home, in offices or directly from the computers. E-learning can be divided into three types: text driven, interactive and simulation.
E-learning is being widely used in the education system and now even the corporates use this concept to conduct training and learning sessions. The corporates are using e-learning training programs for their executives widely and have coined the term corporate e-leaning.
Now, let us understand the benefits of e-learning and how corporates are using it to train their employees.
Corporate E-learning
Corporate e-learning lets the business executives learn and become more productive in the task they are performing. Corporates trainings are not new with HR heads organizing a lot of trainings for its executives. What is new is the extensive use of e-learning in the corporate training structure. The role of corporate training is to ensure that an employee has the knowledge required to work for the organization and be productive in the role he fits in.
Why is e-learning is becoming popular?
E-Learning is has gained momentum because of the changing trends and scenarios in the education and technology sector. Technology today has solutions to almost every problem that one can face. Also the evolution of economy to a knowledge based economy where there is something new each day a four year degree is not enough to meet the requirements of the competition. Therefore learning programs have become an integral part of an organization for its smooth functioning. Listing few reasons why learning is becoming popular:
• Increasing complexity and velocity of work environment due to technological changes;
• Somewhere lack of skilled labor also increases the demand of learning;
• Strong competition in most industries;
• Globalization of business activities that lead in diverse challenges;
• Imparting flexibility in the workplace.
These reasons are the key points why organizations are adapting learning processes. One other reason that holds importance in the popularity of e-learning is the rise of internet. Let us take brief review and understand the growth of internet and its increased usage.
Internet and e-learning
The emergence of online learning is not limited to social and economic change, but also because it is easily accessible to every part of the world. The rapid increase in number of people of who use the internet makes the e-learning programs more easy, beneficial and accessible. In the last decade the number of internet users has gone up to 2937 million in March 2014 from a mere 16 million in 1995.
This increase in numbers show that the world is technologically moving very fast and hence an organization needs to work on its e-learning training programs.
Moving on, let us talk about the benefits of e-learning and how organizations can go strong on the basis of e-learning.
Benefits of corporate e-learning training sessions
E-learning has benefitted a lot of HR managers in the slow economic times where they have less staff and not enough resources to conduct trainings. E-learnings have been really successful in training the employees. There are some unmatched benefits of the program. If used effectively, corporate e-learning can even give numerous opportunities to recover from the slow-down. Some of the benefits are:
• cost effective;
• easy access;
• speed delivery;
• can help in improving employee productivity and quality of work;
• enhances self-paced learning;
• gives a better picture of the organization to the employees;
• it supports the most important asset of the company- its employees.
For a better understanding of how e-learning training programs work, let us understand how it can help in improving a training program – like the induction program that an organization does for new joiners.
Use of e-learning to improve the induction program of an organization
Induction program is an important training session for the new employees who join an organization feeling motivated, but due to lack of sufficient information about the company and its businesses, the focus starts shivering. If an employee can see what difference can he/she make, there will be a lack of confidence. Companies usually organize the induction programs, so that an employee becomes aware of the detailed working and understands his role in the company. A good induction program can help an organization in creating useful employees who will productively work towards growing the business.
An induction should be a process rather than being an event. The challenge here is that creating a consistent and engaging program that suits all the new beginners at a single time can be difficult. Hence e-learning brings to you some ways by which you can overcome the challenges and create a good induction program. Here is how an online induction course helps you in creating the right impression.
Step 1: Create an online induction program and time it right. E-learning courses do not have to wait for every new beginner to be free. This course can be accessible to anyone, anywhere and at any time. The course can be completed as per the learner’s convenience.
Step 2: Create an online time table for the new starter, so that it is easy for the manager and the employee to keep a track of the learning process.
Step 3: Make the e-learning program flexible, so that the new employee of any age, background and experience can easily adapt to the program.
Step 4: Design the program in such a way that it has detailed and interesting stuff about the organization and motivates the learner to know more.
Step 5: Make the program user friendly, so that an employee can return to the course whenever he needs to understand something which may have slipped out at the first go.
So all in all, these 5 steps can help you create an excellent induction program.
As a conclusion: In this technological advanced century, it is important to learn more and more each day. Therefore relying on classroom training is not enough. This is especially relevant for global organizations, since these trainings can be too costly and unmanageable. Therefore, there is an increase in the use of e-learning programs, as they are cost effective, flexible and easily accessible.
Author Bio: Akansha Arora is a professional writer and blogger. She is happy to pen down her views for various topics that include career advice, job search and more that interest on behalf of www.naukrigulf.com
