The Best Technologies For Your Learning Strategy

This was originally posted on eLearning Industry on August 30, 2019

Personalize Training With The Right Technology

One-size-fits-all works okay for hats and socks, but we’d run into some trouble if we tried that with pants; they’d end up fitting no one. It’s the same with corporate training. A desire for efficiency often leads to a “one-training-fits-all” mentality. On the other hand, you could develop hundreds of specialized trainings for your workforce, but would it be an effective use of resources if they’re all PowerPoint slides?

Using a variety of the technologies available will help you develop a learning strategy that engages learners.

Now that training technology allows L&D teams to accommodate a variety of learners, styles, and lengths, it’s much easier to design effective and versatile corporate training programs for any business need. It’s also why so many companies see the value in eLearning: unlocking the potential of combining technology with an effective learning strategy.

General Tools Of Training Technology

The best and first step to leveling-up your employee training is to make it more accessible. Most of your employees already have the tools they need to learn in their pockets. So, design training that takes advantage of smartphones and tablets. Mobile training is the perfect delivery platform for on-demand learning experiences.

This means employees can choose how, when, and in what order they learn based on their own needs. This may seem scary at first, considering you’re not in complete control of the learning experience. But, the benefit of using self-paced training is pretty clear: you increase employee engagement by meeting learners halfway. As long as the training is organized, accessible, and the personal application is clear, then your employees’ desire to seek out training content on their own will increase.

Specific Applications In Training Modules

Understanding and making use of a few of the current learning strategy trends can increase memory retention, make learning more personal, and promote engagement. However, you have to implement them with the right technology and accommodate a variety of learning styles to make your training program effective.

Here are a few best practices that you can make use of in your training strategy:

• Gamification
  Motivate your learners by reinforcing their engagement in a curriculum. You can also add a competitive nature to training through collaborative activities.
• Microlearning
  Break up large modules into smaller, bite-sized units that get to the point. Your employees will be able to use these micro-modules on the job when they need support completing a specific task.
• Mobile Applications
  Engage your learners with push notifications for the content they’re working through. You’ll see improvements to engagement. You can also push follow-up content and skills maintenance activities.
• Video Training
  Bring training to life with stories. Create realistic scenarios with videos to add relevance to your training content.

Information that isn’t absorbed makes the training a waste of everyone’s time. By considering one or more of these applications of technology in training, you’re pushing past the idea that training is about information alone. Instead, you’re looking for ways to engage and personalize learning through technology.

Lookout For New Tools

As time goes on, more of your company’s onboarding training will have to be designed for younger employees. Most of them will be spending the majority of their time online, so it’s important that your company stays up-to-date on new technology.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been the subject of sci-fi movies for decades, but have you considered its potential in training a workforce?

For example, eLearning is only starting to grasp the potential of Augmented-Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) in training. AR can pull information into the real world with digital help. Imagine being able to point a cell phone at the equipment in front of you and render digital labels, training tutorials, or animations. VR brings a learner into a 360-degree environment they can interact with but without the consequences of real-world failure.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been the subject of sci-fi movies for decades, but have you considered its potential in training a workforce? For example, AI can be used to tailor training to an individual learner’s rate of comprehension. If a learner is failing to grasp an aspect of training, AI can recognize that on the spot and emphasize more questions in that area without the need for any human intervention.

Conclusion

So much of training is pushed onto learners, but the ideal is focused on learners pulling training out when they want it. This isn’t the case in industries with mandated training. Learners are more interested when they want to learn. Using a variety of the technologies available will help you develop a learning strategy that engages learners, motivates them to learn more, and increases knowledge retention.