If you are into e-learning, making custom-designed e-learning programs for global consumption can bring your organization a large bouquet of benefits, both in terms of speed with which it reaches the market and the cost of making them, besides also retaining and translating your training objectives into global training.

If you are experienced in this field, you know that if training is to be beneficial to the learner, you need to localize your training modules. Obviously, this means much more than getting a good translator on the job. There are other more important factors that come into play when you consider taking your e-learning packages worldwide. These are:

• Is English enough? Perhaps not: It is widely known that most of the developed workforces of the world necessarily speak and work in English. But just because they know English well enough to use it as a working language, does that mean that they understand it best?  Studies have pointed to the fact that learning in one’s first language is understood best and is most effective. So, if English is one’s second or third language, the learner is bound to face immense difficulty in understanding and retaining what he is exposed to. This therefore not just reduces understanding of the subject but could also lead to misinterpretation of the same.

• The learner’s culture gives him a vision of life: For a learner, his culture is his pair of eyes through which he sees the world. A part of this is one’s language and the values his society gives important to. Such factors have an impact on learning styles. For this reason, it is necessary that an e-learning module be adapted to one’s culture and country. If this is impractical, an option is to design Web-based modules especially targeted to multicultural audiences which could radically improve efficiency of training.

• Adapting to the learner’s market and culture: Which country are you writing for? Get a handle on that and identify common cultural pointers between countries that speak the same language. If a particular country has some unique needs, find an expert in that country who can give you the best inputs on this.

• Use country-specific text or neutralize it: If you’re writing region-specific text, take care not to make culturally inappropriate comparisons in writing, or use slang, metaphors or make any other ethnic-related references that could be hurtful.

• Translate and localize e-courses: In order to get the best out of your e-learning courses, you need to plan in advance the design and delivery mode so that content can be suitably created to suit the country in which it is to be taught. If the content that must be localized is identified much in advance, the e-learning course can be easily deployed. The translation and localization can be the most costly aspect to course development if not done right. After the content is neutralized or adapted to suit key markets, the technical and design models can be internationalized and the translation initiated.

Share your thoughts on the same.

A leading home appliance manufacturer refused to send its representative to demonstrate the working of a microwave oven purchased by my grandparents. Luckily, their neighbor taught them the basics of operating the microwave. Lack of training by the company unsettled my grandparents and they began regretting their big purchase.

What do you make of a company who sells products without offering training on how to use them? There could be some products which do not require training, but some products, even technology products, which require training to a certain extent. Lack of attention, training and poor post sales service are sure shot ways of losing customers, making it a competitor’s gain.

Not all vendors have access to SMEs plus training which require human interaction, thereby increasing their costs. Training sessions cannot be held every day or customers would have to wait for the next schedule of the training before making their purchase. Add to that travel expenses of both the customer and vendor, if the training is scheduled at new venue.

Finding a way out

Web-based training or certification through the vendor’s or company’s website can eliminate the pain of product training for customers. If the training requires human interaction, an online facilitator can fill the gap.

Web-based product training offering text and picture is the least-expensive way to train customers on the products. If need be, product training courses can have the interactivity and simulations coupled with various delivery formats. Further, vendors or companies can cut travel expenses associated with traditional offline training such as labor expenses, traveling expenses, etc.

The company or the vendor has to merely load the courseware on its learning management system and create a login and password for its customers to gain access to the course. Online training means that customers can learn at their own pace, spend more time on difficult aspects and repeat the lesson until they have understood it. This flexibility also extends to repeating or redoing various sections that need more understanding.

Traditional forms of training involve customers travelling to a venue at a certain time, increasing the expenses of both the customer and vendor. Web-based training makes learning easier, efficient and inexpensive.

Online product training is cost effective as it is aimed at a large group rather than traditional offline training for a small group. The product courseware is custom designed for a specific business and can be repeatedly used by many customers, whereas ILT would need to be repeated and paid on a regular basis as when the customer demands it.

Do you agree that by providing online product training, a vendor or company can ensure that its customers or employees can proficiently install, operate and/or supervise the product?

Thanks for reading my blog. Do share your thoughts on the same.

With busy work schedules and advanced technology such as internet, people want everything at a click of the mouse—whether it’s paying bills, communicating with people, shopping and now, even learning. When I think of learning, the first thing that comes to my mind is e-learning.

E-learning is witnessing a boom in every industry and field. With Web-based training, individuals and professional needn’t have to follow the hectic schedules of day-to-day classroom learning, but can work and learn at their own pace. People are beginning to appreciate this flexible, convenient and affordable mode of learning. In fact, there are innumerable reasons why Web-based training is more effective and efficient than the traditional instructor-led training.

E-Learning definitely yields additional benefits including flexible learning i.e., learning is self-paced, accessible anytime, anywhere, around the globe, apart from being highly interactive, available at an optimum cost, and most important, it provides quality learning. But what goes into designing a good e-learning course?

Let’s talk about the basics of designing a course.

Understand the target audience: Firstly, you need to understand the training needs and the nature of the target audience.

Informative content with interactive features: The key parameters for making a good e-learning course include informative content and interactive features such as Rich Streaming Media, simulations and online assessments.

Learner-centric: The design philosophy should always focus on the learner, i.e., it ought to be learner-centric. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and Instructional Designers (IDs) play a vital role in designing effective and engaging e-learning courses. SMEs provide the actual content required for a course that makes it informative and instructional designers make the course interesting and engaging.

Reduced process time: Instructional designers should be capable of reducing the process time and optimize utilization of various resources. They play a pivotal role in the smooth transition of the entire design and development process. A rich learning content and a visually engaging course make for the best pedagogy for increasing learners’ attention and motivating them to learn more.

Whether you’re a novice or an expert, off-the-shelf courses are a great way of enriching knowledge and addressing the training requirements of both individuals and employees. Today, thousands of companies across the globe are offering comprehensive range catalog courses.

CommLab India is a custom courseware solutions and learning technology services company. I am delighted to report that now it’s offering catalog courses on career-enhancing subjects like Lean Manufacturing, Legal & Work Compliance, Authoring Tools, Business Writing and many more.

From first hand experience, I can confidently state that this library of e-learning courses will definitely meet the online training requirements of individuals and organizations. They bring you the complete collection of engaging and interactive courses with features like assessments, case studies and media-rich simulations.

I will elaborate my views in the subsequent post.

Happy learning!

Asma Zaineb

Sr. Executive – Business Development