This post discusses seven myths associated with e-learning and sheds light on how to debunk them.
Anything new is always resisted and e-learning is no exception. Though we live in an ultra modern era, some still assume that e-learning is not an effective method to impart learning. WR Hambrecht‘s research on corporate learning shows that e-learning is proven to increase knowledge retention by 25 to 60%. Lance Dublin, eminent management consultant in the US says, many enterprises don’t understand the impact e-learning can have on employees. Myths and misconceptions surround e-learning, even after decades of proven results.
Here are some myths about e-learning that hinder business enterprises from taking clear decisions on adopting it for their training interventions. This blog busts these myths.
1. It is too expensive
Some organizations think implementing e-learning requires huge capital. This is a half truth. Yes, initial investment is needed, but in the long term, e-learning is economical compared to Instructor Led Training (ILT).
For example, say your organization has 2000 employees dispersed across various regions and one trainer. In a classroom setup, you can train 20 employees per day at a time. To train all your employees, you will require 100 working days. Travel and boarding costs of employees are additional. This increases the cost of training and the entire process is to be repeated whenever new training is required.
With e-learning, you may have initial costs, but once it is setup, training your employees is much easy and you can avoid all other related costs. Studies show that organizations can save their training costs by 30% against ILT. By moving to online training, IBM cut its training costs by roughly $200 million, which was one-third of its previous training budget.
2. Bandwidth is a problem
It was the issue of the last decade. Now even remote places have uninterrupted access to the Internet due to wireless technology. Thanks to the latest technological developments, download, offline and sync options are available even in e-learning courses.
Learners can download the courses to their systems for offline reading when connectivity issues can be expected. They can sync their e-learning modules through an LMS, whenever their net connection is up. Technology and social media giants such as Google and Face book are spending exorbitantly for the cause of Internet connectivity across the globe. So this shouldn’t be an issue to adopt e-learning in your organization.
3. Using e-learning is very difficult
Technical illiteracy can be another major myth. E-learning courses are very user-friendly and accessing them is not a difficult task. Anyone who knows how to use a computer mouse, click the Play and Pause buttons, use the arrow keys to move through the slides, can go through an e-learning course.
4. Lack a dedicated team for e-learning development
This is not at an issue in the age of outsourcing. For e-learning, technical and content experts need to work together as a team. You need to find out the right e-learning vendor to partner with you. It is recommended to select learning design experts with an expertise in corporate training and development.
5. E-learning courses are not effective
Probably, this is because of improper design. Poorly designed e-learning courseware can have dropouts. Some assume that e-learning modules are nothing but converted PowerPoint Presentations. That’s not true. Effective e-learning courses are designed keeping in mind adult learning principles, learning theories, and the different learning styles. For this, organizations need to choose an experienced, customized e-learning solutions company.
6. Resistance from learners
Some employees feel only classroom training is effective and deny the benefits of e-learning. But when factors such as cost effectiveness, scalability, maximum reach, and better retention are considered, no one can deny the effectiveness of e-learning. In ILT, there is no standardized process for setting learning objectives, assessments, interactivities, and other attractive features. E-learning includes all these and provides effective learning.
7. E-learning is available only in English
To the contrary, e-learning courses developed in English can be translated into several languages. However, contacting vendors of various languages is a tedious task. But, this need not detract you. Contact a custom e-learning company, who can offer end-to-end translations services at one port.
Now that the myths have been busted and you’ve seen the solutions, go ahead and try e-learning for your training needs. You won’t be disappointed.
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