Companies around the world all choose eLearning for various reasons; some need to train a wide range of employees on various topics, others need to train employees all over the world “Many companies look into eLearning as a way to reduce costs and address the needs of a geographically dispersed workforce. It’s only after they implement a program that they realize the benefits go much deeper." Many companies are surprised at how easy eLearning is to use and the advantages it brings. Some advantages include social learning, creative content, and simplicity.
1. Social learning: New business eLearning systems are beginning to have an informal aspect to the system where employees can create profiles and comment on the eLearning resources. Businesses are surrounded by their best critics, their employees, and often do not take advantage of the opportunities available through socializing with them. "You’re surrounding expert information with the knowledge and expertise of your own employees," says Ogilvie." These comments can be valuable information for future eLearning development and encourages employees to interact with each other for a stronger work relationship.
2. Creative content: “Content can be delivered with surgical precision,” says Ogilvie. “You’re getting the right training to the right person when they need it.” By tailoring eLearning to employee's likes, companies are finding more effective methods of eLearning. For example, the article gave an example of a smoothie company that needed to teach their employees the new recipe. Instead of requiring each employee to watch a PowerPoint about the ingredient order, they created a video game that was a race to see how fast the ingredients could be put in the correct order. Companies have also found that by providing eLearning resources in many forms like videos, video games, articles, and summaries right at employee's desks, employees are becoming more engaged. By keeping the eLearning content lengths to an hour or less, employees absorb the information better and learn when they have time. "ELearning also provides a convenient library of information in case someone needs an answer to a specific question."
3. Simplicity:
Many companies worry about the logistics of eLearning. They worry about things like cost, time to get it running, and if the company needs eLearning. Most companies are surprised by how easy eLearning is to implement. "When companies select an eLearning partner that offers Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), a solution can be up and running in as little as four weeks." Companies have also reached globally with eLearning by creating courses in different languages tailored to the culture.
Question #1 of Week 4:
Could you see yourself learning more effectively through creative contents of eLearning such as educational video games? or do you prefer a more formal/traditional way of learning?
Source:
http://www.skillsoft.com/infocenter/whitepapers/documents/Taking_eLearning_Leap.pdf
Could you see yourself learning more effectively through creative contents of eLearning such as educational video games? or do you prefer a more formal/traditional way of learning?
Source:
http://www.skillsoft.com/infocenter/whitepapers/documents/Taking_eLearning_Leap.pdf
I think that learning from a 'video game' is effective if you are part of the younger generation. Now, before anyone goes and blasts an age thing here, I am 52 years old and do not have a PS3 or WII or any gaming console. I was always taught in a more traditional setting with more traditional methods. I can see its place in today's business environment, as in the case of the new recipe, etc. But it may not be the answer if a skill actually requires a hands on approach. No amount of e learning can substitute for actual trial and error.
ReplyDeleteI feel like this is a great point, but there are many situations where the hands-on approach just isn't feasible. Even in a place such as simple as a sandwich shop, training can cause a lot of waste. With the use of elarning through a video game, you eliminate the waste, and also incorporate fun into the mix. There are many people who do not love what they do for a living, and adding a video game as not only a training tool, but possibly as a competition offering an award to the top player or score at the end of each week may be something to help motivate such employees.
ReplyDeleteI think eLearning and training opens the doors to many possiblities around the world. It can give employers the chance to hire and train employers from all around the world diminishing any distance barriers between the employer and employee. If a company wants to outsource some of the work to another country, eLearning can be used to train those employees and introduce them to the company way of doing things. I think eLearning will continue to grow and become a bigger part of the workforce over time.
ReplyDeleteI could definitely benefit from eLearning using video games. I am a very selective when it comes to my own learning. I must be interested in a subject in order to pay attention and absorb the information. I try to force myself, in college, to learn stuff that I may not be interested in but this usually ends up just becoming a task of memorization instead of learning. I catch myself memorizing the material for the test and then forgetting everything immediately after. However if the material is taught in a fun and exciting way then I would definitely retain the information better, because it becomes something that I am interested in at that point. Another point is that when it comes to learning, I am a "do-er." I can't just be told (listen to a lecture) or be shown (watching the teacher do it), I must, myself, get hand's on and actually DO the problem/exercise/task ect. So the idea of eLearning via something creative like video games, is an idea that would very much appeal to me. It would both make the subject interesting to me and at the same time allow me to do it. This would be a very successful approach for me.
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