eLearning Benefits
Online training benefits, aka. eLearning, are countless. Everyone should be taking advantage of this, and most of you probably are already even if you don’t realize it.
Its evolution and the web has made education more accessible and gives everyone the opportunity to better themselves. Whether you’re looking to get ahead in your career or to start a new one, online training is a great way to do so.
Speaking personally, I believe I’ve learned more from online training than in my college career. It’s also been a cornerstone in helping me succeed at my job, as well as to learn other skills to make additional income.
Many have heard of Lynda.com, but eLearning has blossomed, and there are countless sites and services available. Employers that offer online training have found that it increases employee satisfaction and job performance.
10 Online Training Benefits:
1. Cost Effective:
Online training is cheaper than enrolling in a class at a university. Courses can be as cheap as a few dollars. Or, you can sign up for a subscription to a library of courses for cheaper than a semester for one course at a college. There are no expensive books to buy, and resources and material are usually provided free of charge. In fact, some services are entirely free to use.
2. 24/7 Access — Learn at Your Own Pace
Day jobs or just daily life makes it difficult to commit to a structured and scheduled curriculum. With eLearning, there’s no commute time, and you have the flexibility to learn “on-demand”. You can start a course and finish it in a day, week, or year.
3. Better Retention
Nobody retains all information presented to them at one time. Studies have shown that we absorb as little as 10% of the material presented to us when listening to a lecture. With eLearning, engaging and interactive courses can increase retention rates to as much as 70%. Furthermore, you have the ability to go back and review the material and each lesson at your leisure.
4. Stay Up To Date
Once you take an “in-person” course, it’s over. However, whether it’s psychology or software training, materials continue to evolve. Soon after you have finished your course, the material you studied can become dated. Lynda.com, for example, pushes out updates to courses as new information comes out. This allows the learner to stay current with the material they’re studying.
5. Track Progress
Many eLearning resources available will track your learning progress. Some offer, “learning paths”, where you can take a series of courses in order to become an expert on a topic. Some also offer certificates which you can use to showcase your expertise.
6. Expert Support
Although eLearning may seem to be a less personal experience, you often will have access to a community of experts. Many course creators are happy to connect with you directly and answer ongoing questions that you may have regarding the topic. Not only does this improve the learning experience, but it presents an opportunity to network.
7. Free
Many of these resources can be found for free. YouTube is a great example. How many of you have done a YouTube search in the past month for an informational video? I’m guessing a lot. Video streaming services account for 70% of internet traffic.
8. Greener
There’s no commute or travel time, no wasted paper on textbooks that are only good for one or two editions, no overhead in terms of conference rooms, infrastructure, documentation, etc. It’s all digital. All of this brings about an environmental benefit and a significant reduction in the bottom-line.
9. “Millennial” Friendly
Today’s workforce isn’t just in it for the money, but to continually learn. Typical classroom training is limited, and there are only a fixed number of training sessions an employee can make time to attend on a regular basis. Young professionals coming into the workplace have grown up in a digital age and are used to everything being on-demand. In order to retain top talent organizations must offer employees the opportunity to better themselves.
10. Customizable
With constantly changing technology and digital transformation, it’s important to be able to quickly shift gears when needed and to focus on learning what is necessary at the moment. Typical classroom style learning is not flexible, and it’s becoming less and less relevant in today’s workplace.
Conclusion:
Whether it be a dedicated training site like Lynda.com, a quick Google search or YouTube video, or a corporate learning/talent management system, we live in a world where online training benefits can’t be ignored—If so you’re going to quickly fall behind the pack. This applies to both individuals and corporations alike.
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