Get Your Digital Learning Act Together - Blending Virtual and eLearning for Best Results

​Recently, Knowledge Anywhere hosted a sold-out, joint webinar alongside InSync Training, with Charlie Gillette and Jennifer Hoffman. In case you didn’t get a chance to be there, don’t worry! We’ve created a post-webinar blog, so you can learn about how to leverage blended online training through virtual learning and eLearning. Keep reading for session highlights and resources to begin effectively blending virtual classroom events and eLearning components for seamless blends.

To see the full recording of the webinar for free, you can visit this website!

Summary

Transitioning from the traditional face-to-face classroom training model to a more dynamic, personalized digital model can seem overwhelming. To help clarify where to start with a training transition, Charlie and Jennifer focused on answering common questions like:

• How do I design blended learning programs?
• In what ways can I leverage digital learning?
• Which digital learning pitfalls should I avoid?
• What does good blended learning look like?

3 Session Highlights

1. “Bad training can make you stupid.”  

Have you ever had the misfortune of discovering after a class that you really did not understand the material? Jennifer points to that feeling as a consequence of ineffective learning design and claims it’s more dangerous than not having learned the information at all. In the workplace, employees should not invest time in a training event or blended program that provides false confidence. Rather, it should equip them with necessary skills and access to on-demand resources and job aids they can utilize on the job when faced with informal moments of need. 

2. “Blended learning allows us to apply information to real work.” 

If you come to a six-session virtual learning program, the facilitator can give learners something to do between sessions related to your real work. For example, in InSync’s Virtual Classroom Design Mastery Series, learners design exercises for their internal training programs between live online learning sessions. This real work element truly gives people the chance to do something instead of just listening passively. It moves the training beyond, “Oh! We might have some examples for you later” to “Go practice this skill, come back and share how it went, and we can provide feedback and direction.” This ability sets blended digital learning apart from other training options (in the best way!). 

3. “One of the most common pitfalls to avoid when creating a blend is duplicating content.” 

We’ve all been there – we receive an email detailing the pre-work required before attending a virtual session. You read the article, or watch the video, or complete the eLearning module. But when the live session starts, the facilitator spends the first thirty minutes re-explaining the information you learned in the pre-work! Why does this happen? This phenomenon boils down to uncertainty that learners won’t do the self-directed portions of a digital blend. When curating and designing a blend, make sure to use language about the components that defines the importance of each element and make the content easily accessible.

Next Steps

1. Watch the recording of Get Your Digital Learning Act Together. 

Benefit: The recording offers the next-best experience to having attended live. Listening to expert advice directly from the source provides not only information, but also context and a real-world example of how digital learning components can contribute to an engaging experience. 

2. Read the blog posts highlighted during the webinar. Posts include:

• Defining the Modern Learner Experience
• Comparison Guide: Find the Right Type of Course
• How to Select the Right LMS Provider for Your Organization
• LMS Pricing Guide: Which Model Works Best For Your Organization

Benefit: Creating great blends involves a thorough process, which a single one-hour session cannot completely define. Reading these posts allows you to more fully understand some of the conceptual material at a higher level. 
 

3. Download related complimentary toolkit. 

Benefit: Because all learning exists in a blend, Jennifer and Charlie created a robust toolkit that builds on the information included in the session. Inclusive of content like eBooks, tools, and more, the bundle helps you apply concepts from the session to your work.

A big thank you to InSync Training for their work with the webinar and for putting together the post-webinar resources! We look forward to more collaborations in the future.