According to an article by Josh Bersin, more than 200 billion dollars is spent by businesses on workplace training. More and more content is being designed for training courses to be “in the flow of work” meaning that employees can learn when they have the time, from their office space and when it is necessary i.e. when it is identified that they need to upskill in a certain area.
Often there is a perception of isolated learning that surrounds elearning but we have seen Totara Learn and Moodle Workplace enable companies to build customised collaborative training programs that keep employees engaged, empowered and up to date with the necessary skills and knowledge. At Enovation we have found that digitised courses can increase the effectiveness of a number of traditional group learning practices such as:
Group Activities:
Research supports a number of benefits of collaborative online group activities. Collaborative group activities form a collaborative online community and support. This can be easily achieved through introductory activities that require learners to get to know one another. Therefore, later, more complex collaborative activities can be presented to learners without them feeling overwhelmed or anxious because the collaborative community support has already been established.
Group Discussions:
The use of online discussion activities within online learning continues to grow. It gives participants the courage to be open and engaging without the fear of being judged by a teacher or peers. A number of researchers have conducted investigations into online collaborative discussion groups, focusing on the ways in which discussion activities move learners from beginner to expert.
Feedback and Assessment Activities:
Online peer assessments can support a student-centred approach. The ability to provide constructive feedback (often anonymously) can help learners to process new information. Learners who participate in collaborative assessments and peer-to-peer feedback activities become better prepared for face-to-face performance appraisals and reviews.
Nothing creates a learning culture more than groups of people activated to learn together and e-Learning platforms enable this in a comfortable setting for the learner who has the choice to collaborate on their schedule without forced face-to-face classroom activity.