Blog Story

Incorporating online learning as part of a programme of blended learning can save time and increase retained knowledge

Whether you’re a coach, a trainer or responsible for the personal development and growth of individuals and teams within your organisation, finding time to share important knowledge and learning content often requires planning and matching of diaries between yourself and those you intend to share information with – this invariably takes more of your time than delivering the actual learning experience itself.

How can Blended Learning Help?
Blended learning involves the bringing together of various training methodologies to provide the learner with a choice which suits them best when it comes to absorbing new ideas and processes. It is important because it breaks down the traditional walls of delivering knowledge that don’t always work for all students. Blended learning also offers flexible time frames that can be personalized to each person, offering them the ability to learn at their own pace.

The Importance of Online Learning
Online learning forms part of a blended learning approach and not only ensures that the knowledge you need to share is better absorbed but done so in a time efficient manner. Delivering learning in a time that suits you and fits with the busy schedule of your learner has significant appeal as well as advantages, including enabling the filling-in of any knowledge gaps, as you can share additional resources and knowledge online to support face-to-face learning or provide refresher training to allow the learner to continually be updated on any latest product, service or organisational developments.

Online, blended learning also enables you to be more responsive, answering the learner’s questions and queries in a way which avoids you or they playing telephone tag. Economically online learning is often more viable too – with online knowledge sharing there is no cost of travel to consider or overnight stays away for you or the learner. And talking of telephone tag, today’s modern technologies mean that Smartphones now play an integral part in your ability to share knowledge directly into the palm of your participant’s hands, as they watch a video whilst travelling to a meeting on the train or absorb the information you have shared over breakfast or at a break during their working day. What this means is that you are now delivering content in a way which suits the learner and is not restricted by the platform you have chosen to use.

Not only is engaging learners online more time efficient from your perspective and theirs, if applied to support previous training, you significantly reduce the risk of the “Forgetting Curve” happening. It’s well documented that up to 80% of most training content or knowledge shared is forgotten within the first 7 days and when you’re under pressure to deliver results then your ability to effectively apply online learning platforms as part of your approach could be the difference between you achieving the desired outcomes or not.

There are cost savings to consider also – no hiring of conference rooms, no lunches to cater for or travel costs to consider. Using an online learning platform, not only helps you deliver knowledge at scale, it is cheaper than face-to-face approaches and as previously mentioned, it enables you to re-enforce learning with participants, which ultimately helps ensure that knowledge turns into positive results back in the workplace and that business objectives are achieved often.

The Opportunity
Delivering high value resources to learners not only helps them be more efficient, it also strengthens your position and value within any organisation. Is it time for you to explore how you can enhance your knowledge sharing capacity by utilising online methodologies to support other face-to-face knowledge sharing approaches?

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