An Ultimate Guide To e-learning In 2021

Today, e-learning is no longer a novelty - it has become a necessity! Anyone who has undertaken some form of e-learning will tell you just how convenient, engaging, and impactful it is, which are some of the reasons why its popularity has increased tremendously over the last decade. But what exactly does e-learning mean in the real-world context and why do so many people vouch for it? Read on to find out. 

This comprehensive guide to e-learning will take you through all there is to know.

What is E-Learning? 

So, what is e-learning? When people today say e-learning, they are, in fact, referring to any form of training or learning that is done through a digital device. Watching an educational video, taking an assessment online, or reading an interesting presentation can all be considered e-learning. 

In that sense, e-learning is similar to traditional learning. It’s just that the method through which the educational content is delivered is via an electronic device. While some people argue that e-learning may not be able to completely replace traditional education, it is still a great option to have, given that learning digitally can be a lot more accessible, convenient, and even cost-effective sometimes. 

E-learning is not that novel a concept anymore. Even if you have never undertaken a formal course online, it is likely that you’ve benefited from e-learning by reading articles online, watching videos on YouTube, playing mind-stimulating games on your smartphones, and more, which means you are likely already aware of the importance of e-learning. 

Types of E-Learning

E-learning is used for numerous reasons - corporates use it to train employees, businesses offer product training to customers and more. Here’s a look at the 4 key types of e-learning:

Employee training: Organizations offer employee training to train staff - this may be for numerous reasons. For instance, many organizations offer onboarding training to new hires. Similarly, existing employees may have to go through training from time to time to improve their performance. Training employees using e-learning platforms can make training delivery a lot more efficient, engaging, and convenient. Further, e-learning platforms also help organizations create assessments for trainees, run analytics, gather feedback, and assess training gaps. 

Compliance training: In today’s competitive business landscape, compliance training is a must for all organizations, given that it informs employees about laws and regulations that they need to keep in mind. In most organizations, compliance training covers topics such as diversity training, health and safety guidelines, anti-harassment rules, HR laws, and more. 

A company that is found to be non-compliant with laws and regulations may be heavily penalized, which is why it is important for organizations to offer an effective compliance training program online to minimize the chances of your reputation suffering. 

Customer training: The idea of a business offering training to its customers may seem like an odd concept, but it is far more common than one may assume and offers immense value. Customer training programs, especially ones that are well designed, help customers better understand your product or service and learn how to use it. This type of training is commonly offered by software providers, but a number of other businesses have begun to offer customer training as well. 

Why do you ask? Because customer training helps improve the user experience for your consumers. While the customer obviously benefits from this training, organizations that offer the training also stand to gain from it in terms of better customer onboarding, increased brand loyalty, improved engagement with the company’s offerings, and higher customer retention. 

Partner training: Partner training, which is sometimes also called reseller training, gives your partners (or co-workers) the tools that they need to be successful employees and contribute to your organization. A few different types of partner training include sales training, product information training, marketing training, and support training, among others. This type of training is usually a prerequisite for certain job roles. 

The benefits of e-learning courses for key partners are plenty; e-learning can help lower support costs, engage your partners in the most optimum way, protect your brand, and scale growth. 

How an LMS Can Help Deliver E-Learning

Now that you know what e-learning is and what the key types of e-learning are, you are likely wondering how e-learning programs are implemented. 

Whether you want to create an e-learning program to help educate your employees or offer product training to your customers, there are various ways to deliver the necessary training. But, the most popular option is to offer training programs via a learning management system or LMS. 

What is an LMS?

A learning management system or LMS is a tool that helps you deliver online training. Of course, a reputable LMS, like SeekLMS, will go way beyond this by offering you a number of in-built features and support that can help you design training modules that are effective and engaging. While selecting a learning management system may seem slightly tricky, it’s important to opt for one that meets your training needs. 

Among LMSs, there are various types of platforms that you can choose including open source and cloud-based. 

Cloud-based learning management systems have become the most popular choice for organizations and online learning institutes around the world, given that they are extremely secure, help you and your trainees access course material quickly, and accurately track learner progress. A good cloud-based learning management system helps you scale your training strategy and offers hands-on support at all times. 

Different Ways Through Which E-Learning Content Can Be Delivered

There’s no doubt that the efficacy of an online training program is closely associated with the training material and the mode through which the content is delivered. The more engaging and interactive the training program, the higher the engagement will be, which is why it’s important to try and deliver training modules using different forms of media.

Let’s take a look at the most common ways you can deliver e-learning content to your trainees:

1. Online courses: This is the most simple, yet effective, way to deliver online training. Digital courses can be presented in the form of slides with relevant information and some form of media like audio clips, videos, and images. Modern learning management systems, like SeekLMS, help make your content a lot more interactive using things like screencasts, quizzes, and simulations. Remember that to ensure the content is memorable, it’s important that you intersperse the content with different forms of media. 
2. Quizzes and assessment: It goes without saying that you cannot really test how effective your training programs have been unless you implement digital quizzes that your trainees can take. A good LMS should allow you to create quizzes that trainees can take through its platform. For added convenience, we recommend opting for a learning management system like SeekLMS that will help you score the assessments and deliver certifications through the platform. 
3. Webinar: A webinar is essentially a digital lecture. Typically, it is recorded using a webcam and the trainer gets to present videos and slides while delivering the webinar. In some scenarios, a webinar may work better than a recorded online course because, in the case of the former, the trainer has the ability to broadcast relevant information to many trainees at once, while also being able to receive questions from trainees and provide answers in real-time. 
4. Video training: Videos are engaging while also being informative, which is why they are a powerful medium to impart online education. Video courses do not have to be challenging to create. In fact, even a simple informative video may do a better job than slide after slide of text. 
5. eBooks and articles: Digital training can also be imparted via ebooks and online articles. Putting together a collection of ebooks and articles on particular topics can give your trainees access to a huge storehouse of knowledge that they can access at any time. 

Benefits of E-Learning

Aside from the fact that online learning has now become a necessity due to social distancing norms and changing workforce dynamics as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, e-learning offers a ton of other benefits. Of course, in some scenarios, training is most effective when online learning is combined with real-time on-the-job experience. But, most people tend to find online training more effective and convenient.

Here are some of the key benefits of e-learning:

1. Self-paced: One of the unique advantages of e-learning is that trainees have the unique advantage of completing courses at their own pace, especially if the online training program does not include any deadlines. They will, thus, not have to complete training programs during work hours or weekends, and can instead organize their learning schedule around the key responsibilities in their life, such that they don’t miss out on anything important. This further improves the time management skills of your trainees significantly, given that they can control their training schedule to a large extent. 
2. Lower costs: One of the major benefits of e-learning for businesses is that it is significantly less expensive to deliver in comparison to traditional training programs. When you use a cloud-based learning management system, all you need to do is create the content for the training program once and input it into the system. From there, you can manage enrollments automatically and have trainees take up the course. Conversely, if you were to deliver training via the traditional method, you would have to hire a trainer, have an allotted space for the training to be conducted, pay for the trainer’s travel expenses, and more. These are costs you simply do not have to worry about with online training. 
3. Reduces learning time: The benefits of e-learning for employees cannot be overstated. Just like how it helps you save money, making the switch to online learning can also result in a significant amount of saved time for your employees. In fact, studies have indicated that e-learning reduces learning time for your employees by as much as 60% in comparison to offline training - time that your employees would have otherwise spent starting and finishing up training sessions, traveling to and fro, meals, and break times, etc. 
4. More effective than offline training: When training programs are designed with interactive content, audio clips, videos, and gamified rewards, e-learning can substantially help increase employee engagement and ensure that the training material is retained in memory for a longer time. Also, since cloud-based learning management systems allow immediate access to training material from anywhere, and at any time, you can be assured that your trainees can revisit training material whenever needed. 
5. Support worldwide training: Say an organization has to deliver a training program to hundreds of employees located all around the globe. Implementing such a large-scale training program through traditional methods would take significant planning, manpower, and resources in the form of time, money, and effort. In comparison, with an e-learning LMS, the same organization can schedule a training program for all of its employees worldwide with ease - this is one of the biggest benefits of e-learning for large organizations. 
6. Ensures standardization: Once you create an online training program, you know for certain that all your employees will have access to the same training materials, no matter when they take the course or where they are located. While the presence of a physical trainer can sometimes help create a more engaging training environment, it’s important to note that not all trainers pay attention to the same details or focus on the same content. 
7. Scalable: As a business owner or trainer, you only have to create the training materials once. Post this, you can allocate the training to your trainees whenever needed, no matter how many trainees need to be enrolled. This is far more convenient than having to hire qualified trainers, finding the required space to conduct the training, and ensuring that all your trainees are physically present at the location, making this one of the most significant benefits of e-learning to an organization.

How to Start the E-Learning Process

Now that you know why e-learning is important, here are the steps we recommend you follow to launch an e-learning program:

1. Set your goals: Before you begin designing the course, you’ll need to think about why you are offering the training program and what you hope it will achieve - this is what will help you create relevant content. 
2. Choose an LMS: There are dozens of learning management solutions in the market. But, it goes without saying that choosing a good e-learning platform, like SeekLMS, will help you achieve your training goals easily. 
3. Create content: Once you have an LMS platform to work on, you can begin creating training material for your trainees. Along with that, you may want to consider designing assessments and using a reward system to keep your trainees engaged. 
4. Test out the course: When the learning management system and training program are ready, it’s a good idea to invite a few key stakeholders to take the course. The goal of this is so you get feedback, which can help you refine the course further before the launch. 
5. Begin training: Once the course has been finalized, all you need to do is invite your employees to begin their training program. E-learning companies, like SeekLMS, even offer analytics and reporting tools to help you gather data regarding the performance of your trainees. At this stage, you can simply monitor the progress of your trainees and step in whenever required. With time, if you decide to modify the training content, you can make the necessary changes through the learning management system. 

How to Choose the Best LMS

Choosing the best LMS can seem like a daunting task, given the number of options out there. While marketers will try to sell their product by advertising dozens of features and tools that come in-built in their LMS platform, we tell you what features you actually need to check for before you make a decision. Read on:

1. Free trial: While a product may appear great on paper, there’s no telling how it will really function unless you can test it out. That’s why SeekLMS offers you a 15-day free trial - no strings attached!
2. Quick and efficient support: No matter how great the learning platform is, there will be times when you reach out to Customer Support, which is why it is essential to evaluate if the LMS provider offers timely support to clients. With SeekLMS, this is not something you need to worry about, given that you can raise support tickets directly from within the LMS in a hassle-free manner. 
3. Increased automation: One of the key benefits of online learning is it is convenient. At SeekLMS, we take your convenience to the next level by helping you preconfigure a bulk of actions, helping reduce your administrative overheads. 
4. Customization: Regardless of how great the LMS appears to be, you should, ideally, customize it to reflect your brand’s style and design principles. This is something you can do with SeekLMS.

Apart from these factors, you should also make sure to check how many different types of media the platform supports, if it has the capability to manage enrollments and scheduling, offer reports and analytics, etc., before you make your decision.