As a workforce it seems we are more overwhelmed than ever before. We have less time and more distractions, making it difficult to squeeze anything that isn’t absolutely critical into our workdays. Your association members are no exception, which can make finding time to focus on professional development and credentialing nearly impossible.
According to a report on the modern learner by Deloitte, employees today are able to spend only 1% of their time focusing on training and development. In a typical 40-hour workweek that equates to a mere 24 minutes a week or 4.8 minutes each day.
At Management HQ (MHQ), we’ve found e-learning opportunities make it possible to overcome some of the most common challenges our clients face when providing training to their members. Solutions such as live and archived webinars, individual online courses, and series of online courses for licensing and credentialing can make professional development more accessible to busy association members.
“Individuals tend to prefer the flexibility of e-learning courses they can take, as well as start and stop, based on their availability,” said Jim Murphy, managing director of MHQ.
The website elearning.com reports a Brandon Hall study concluded that it takes 40-60% less time to complete e-learning training compared to traditional classroom training.
Think Small
With less time available to us, we tend to consume information in smaller bites – such as catching up on news headlines on our phones between meetings rather than watching an hour-long evening news program. Educational material is no exception.
According to elogiclearning.com, 67% of people now use mobile devices to access learning. Developing a short 3-minute video on a single topic or breaking content up into smaller interactive learning modules makes it easier for learners to access material on their mobile devices when it’s convenient for them.
Make It Engaging
The gamification of educational material makes learning more fun, and works well for people who are used to playing games on phones and other devices. Gamification doesn’t always mean turning training material into an actual game, but can mean employing elements of gaming to make the curriculum more engaging. This could be as simple as incorporating quizzes, trivia questions, interactive elements or simulations.
Gamification may also play into the social aspect of e-learning by giving users the ability to earn badges as they pass milestones, which they can share and discuss on social media.
Tailor Training to User Needs
Adaptive learning is a more time intensive form of e-learning that is competency based. As users interact with training modules online, computers analyze how the learner engages with the material and what they already know and adapts the training to their unique needs. For instance, conducting testing prior to training enables users to test out of specific areas in which they can demonstrate prior knowledge – saving organizations time and resources in the long run.
Virtual Reality
As an e-learning solution, virtual reality can increase accessibility to experiences that would otherwise be out of reach for learners.
“We’re seeing some exciting developments in the area of virtual reality in the arts and humanities realm,” said Tara Orlowski, Manager of Instructional Development for the Florida Center for Interactive Media at Florida State University. “It also can increase accessibility and get people to museums and other art venues who may not otherwise attend due to logistics. With virtual reality, people can stand in front of or go inside of paintings to experience it.”
Virtual reality could be used as a training tool in building construction or other trades where actual equipment, like forklifts, might be expensive and you would want a student to practice before using the real equipment. However, because virtual reality technology itself is still rather new to the e-learning industry, the cost of virtual reality glasses can be prohibitive for many organizations.
Make E-Learning Work For Your Members
Whether you need solutions to provide distance learning to members spread out geographically, or options for credentialing that take into account significant time constraints so members can learn at their own pace, e-learning can prove to be both flexible and cost effective.
“MHQ has robust knowledge and experience delivering distance education including speaker coordination from practice sessions, live presentation support and post event evaluation sharing,” said Ashley Driste, events manager for MHQ. “We manage webinar platform logistics including event set up, trial run, live presentation and recording archives. In addition, we provide budget management, registration support, accreditation coordination and compliance; and evaluation creation, execution and summary.”
Contact us today to learn more about how MHQ can help you provide e-learning options to your membership.
