INTRODUCTION TO THE E-LEARNING

While the term “e-learning” has been thrown around quite a lot in recent years, many

are still unaware of what it actually means and how it can help them achieve success

in both their professional and personal lives. This short e-book aims to provide an

introductory level overview of the e-learning field for those people.

This e-book is divided into five main topics. The first topic sets the case for e-learning

by dealing with subjects such as its history, its advantages and any drawbacks, and

whether it can actually lead to learning. The second topic describes important types

of learning tools that are available today. The third topic deals with the

characteristics of online courses and how one can create successful learning

communities. The fourth topic is about emerging learning trends. Here we explain

themes such as micro-learning and gamification. And the final topic describes the

application of e-learning in different industries.

WHAT IS E-LEARNING? IS IT IMPORTANT IN EDUCATION?

When it comes to online learning in education, the model has been pretty

straightforward – up until the early 2000s education was in a classroom of students

with a teacher who led the process. Physical presence was a no-brainer, and any

other type of learning was questionable at best. Then the internet happened, and the

rest is history.

E-learning is a rapidly growing industry, the effects of which we can trace back to the

1980s and even well before that (in the form of distance learning and televised

courses) – these will be discussed later.

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Now that affordable e-learning solutions exist for both computers and internet, it only

takes a good e-learning tool for education to be facilitated from virtually anywhere.

Technology has advanced so much that the geographical gap is bridged with the use of

tools that make you feel as if you are inside the classroom. E-learning offers the

ability to share material in all kinds of formats such as videos, slideshows, word

documents, and PDFs. Conducting webinars (live online classes) and communicating

with professors via chat and message forums is also an option available to users.

There is a plethora of different e-learning systems (otherwise known as Learning

Management Systems, or LMSs for short) and methods, which allow for courses to be

delivered. With the right tool, various processes can be automated such as a course

with set materials and automatically marked tests. E-learning is an affordable (and

often free) solution which provides the learners with the ability to fit learning around

their lifestyles, effectively allowing even the busiest person to further a career and

gain new qualifications.

Some of the most important developments in education have happened since the

launch of the internet. These days learners are well versed in the use of smartphones,

text messaging and using the internet so participating in and running an online course

has become a simple affair. Message boards, social media and various other means of

online communication allow learners to keep in touch and discuss course-related

matters, whilst providing for a sense of community.

In the fast-paced world of e-learning, the available technologies to make a course

new and exciting are always changing, and course content can and should be updated

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quickly to give students the very latest information. This is especially important if the

e-learning training is being given to employees in a sector where keeping up-to-date

on industry developments is of the utmost importance. This is one of the reasons why

many businesses are now offering training via e-learning – other reasons include low

costs and the ability for employees to study in their own time and place.

Overall, traditional learning is expensive, takes a long time and the results can

vary. The importance of e-learning is now a given fact and it can offer an alternative

that is much faster, cheaper and potentially better.

THE HISTORY OF E-LEARNING

The term “e-learning” has only been in existence since 1999 when the word was first

utilized at a CBT systems seminar. Other words also began to spring up in search of an

accurate description such as “online learning” and “virtual learning”. However, the

principles behind e-learning have been well documented throughout history, and

there is even evidence which suggests that early forms of e-learning existed as far

back as the 19th century.

THE BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS OF ONLINE LEARNING

Whether you’re a high-school teacher looking to engage your students in a more

interactive way, or a corporate trainer hired by a large company to design training

curricula, e-learning packs a punch when it comes to benefits that make the creation

and delivery processes easier and hassle-free. Important benefits are outlined below.

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 NO BOUNDARIES, NO RESTRICTIONS

Along with locational restrictions, time is one of the issues that learners and teachers

both have to face in learning. In the case of face-to-face learning, the location limits

attendance to a group of learners who have the ability to participate in the area, and

in the case of time, it limits the crowd to those who can attend at a specific time. E-

learning, on the other hand, facilitates learning without having to organize when and

where everyone who is interested in a course can be present.

MORE FUN

Designing a course in a way that makes it interactive and fun through the use of

multimedia or the more recently developed methods of gamification (further

discussed in later chapters) enhances not only your engagement factor but also the

relative lifetime of the course material in question.

COST EFFECTIVE

This is directed to both learners and teachers, but there is a good chance that

whatever your role you had to pay exorbitant amounts of money at some point to

acquire updated versions of textbooks for school or college. While textbooks often

become obsolete after a certain period of time, the need to constantly acquire new

editions is not present in e-learning.

Whatever the goals, the quality of the learning will rely largely on the quality of the

training, and so the role of trainer is very important as it can have a huge effect on

the outcome of a course for the learner.

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Let’s look at the characteristics of each, and see what makes an e-learning

environment work.

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNING

As mentioned above, learning is the process of absorbing information and retaining it

with the goal of increasing skills and abilities in order to achieve goals – but it’s more

than that. Learning is what we go through when we want to be equipped for non-

specific and unexpected situations and the two are not mutually exclusive. While you

do learn to do something specific, you are also inadvertently equipped with the

knowledge and/or skills to face future challenges. In essence, learning is all about

equipping a person to tackle not just today’s issues, but preparing him/her to

creatively come up with ways to tackle tomorrow’s issues.

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF TRAINING

Training, on the other hand, focuses more on the development of new skills or skill

sets that will be used. Training is the process each new employee goes through when

joining a company to learn how to carry out the day-to-day operations, know how

their department works and how job-specific tools operate in order to carry out their

responsibilities. In essence, through training, we are not looking to reshape the

behavior of an individual rather the point is to teach the employee or learner how

things are done so that they can then carry out a process on their own.

Ideally, an e-learning environment will utilize both learning and training

principles throughout its curriculum. This allows instructors/trainers to provide their

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learners with the tools to tackle current issues, develop life-long skills, improve on

their problem-solving skills and utilize resources to the best of their ability.

CORPORATE E-LEARNING AND E-LEARNING IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR

E-learning allows both students and business executives to learn anywhere and at any

time. You can learn from virtually any place with a computer or mobile device and

internet connection, meaning you can study from home, on vacation or in your break.

But e-learning is more than about convenience and there are fundamental differences

between e-learning in the corporate sector and in education.

WHAT HAPPENS IN THE CORPORATE ENVIRONMENT?

The role of corporate training is to ensure an employee has the knowledge and skills

to undertake a specific operation to enable an organization to continue to

operate. Fundamentally, corporate training is centered on knowledge transfer. For

example, conferences and workshops are an essential yet expensive part of business

and e-learning makes it affordable and efficient – salespeople, for instance, can

receive their training on new products and sales strategies online. E-learning can be

translated to lower costs to deliver training in a shorter period of time, especially

when employees are spread worldwide.

Corporate education, however, adds another dimension and depth to training by

involving learners as participants in generating new knowledge that assists an

organization to develop and evolve.

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 THE MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF CORPORATE LEARNING ARE:

Fast-paced: Enterprise learning is mostly “fast-paced” because “time is money” in

the corporate world. Training needs to be delivered in as short a time frame as

possible with maximum results.

Career-related: Enterprise learning helps employees gain new skills to advance their

careers inside the company. Corporate Learning Management Systems have additional

modules to facilitate that process.

Benefits organization: Enterprise learning focuses mainly on pragmatic issues with

immediate benefits for the organization rather than just individual benefit.

Ultimately training is required for the organization to function correctly, and

corporate education in order for it to evolve and develop.

Training and Education: Enterprise is mostly focused on training, while education is

mostly about learning through “igniting curiosity”. Training usually means the act of

being prepared for something, of being taught or learning a particular skill and

practicing it until the required standard is reached. This has obvious practical

implications for the workplace.

Return on investment: An enterprise needs to be able to calculate the ROI of its

learning investment. In an educational context this ROI is difficult to calculate and

usually, the effects of learning take years to show.

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 WHAT HAPPENS IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTES?

In comparison with corporate e-learning, learning in the education sector focuses

primarily on knowledge transfer and not on training i.e. in education we mainly strive

to learn things with global scope (e.g. a subject such as mathematics) whilst

corporate e-learning is more focused on business needs (e.g. new recruit induction).

The word education means to gain general theoretical knowledge and this may or may

not involve learning how to do any specific practical work, tasks or skills. Please note

that there is some overlap and that the word ‘education’ can also refer to a process

of training or receiving tuition. For example, basic training in a field such as health

services is usually a combination of theoretical, educational and practical learning

skills.

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF E-LEARNING?

E-learning is here to stay. As computer ownership grows across the globe e-learning

becomes increasingly viable and accessible. Internet connection speeds are

increasing, and with that, opportunities for more multimedia training methods arise.

With the immense improvement of mobile networks in the past few years and the

increase in telecommuting, taking all the awesome features of e-learning on the road

is a reality with smartphones and other portable devices. Technologies such as social

media are also transforming education constantly.

Generally speaking, learning is expensive, takes a long time and the results can vary.

E-learning has been trying for years now to complement the way we learn to make it

more effective and measurable. The result now is that there are a number of tools

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that help create interactive training courses, standardize the learning process and/or

inject informal elements to otherwise formal learning processes. Several e-learning

trends can give us a clear view of the future of e-learning and how learning tools will

be shaped:

Micro-learning focuses on the design of micro-learning activities through micro-steps

in digital media environments, which already is a daily reality for today’s knowledge

workers. These activities can be incorporated into a learner’s daily routines. Unlike

“traditional” e-learning approaches, micro-learning often tends towards push

technology through push media, which reduces the cognitive load on the learners.

Therefore, the selection of micro-learning objects and also pace and timing of micro-

learning activities are of importance for didactical designs. Micro-learning is an

important paradigm shift that avoids the need to have separate learning sessions

since the learning process is embedded in the daily routine of the end-user. It is also

perfectly suited for mobile devices where long courses can be overkill.

The Distant Future of E-Learning: Automatic learning

In a well-known scene from the movie The Matrix, Neo lies down in a high-tech

dentist’s chair and straps on a wild array of electrodes, downloading a series of

martial arts training programs into his brain. Afterward, he opens his eyes and speaks

the words geeks have been quoting ever since: “I know Kung Fu.”

This type of automatic learning might sound like a dystopian future for many but it is

where we are heading. And despite the ethical questions that may arise, the benefits

could be substantial at multiple levels if used properly. Here’s how it works: you pick

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a task that requires high performance from your visual cortex such as catching a ball.

Then you go find someone who’s a pro at catching a ball, place them in an fMRI

machine and record what’s going on in their brain whilst they visualize catching a

ball. Then you’ve got your ball-catching program, and you’re ready to learn. Next

step: put yourself into the fMRI machine, and rig it to induce that pro-ball-catching

imagery that you recorded earlier in your brain using neurofeedback. You don’t even

have to be paying attention while this is going on. Your brain, though, becomes

familiar with that pattern – which is essentially what learning is: the brain becoming

familiar with new patterns.

Research has shown that this fMRI pattern playback can cause long-lasting

improvement in tasks that require visual performance. In theory, a type of automated

learning is a potential outcome and what e-learning in the distant future may look

like.

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 WHAT IS A LMS?

LMS stands for Learning Management System and it’s a global term for a computer

system specifically developed for managing online courses, distributing course

materials and allowing collaboration between students and teachers.

An LMS will allow you to manage every aspect of a course, from the registration of

students to the storing of test results, as well as allowing you to accept assignments

digitally and keep in touch with your students.

LMSs are built on various platforms, commonly PHP, .Net or Java and they will hook

up to a database such as PostgreSQL, MySQL or SQL Server. There are many LMSs out

there, both commercial and open source.

In a corporate environment, such a system can be used to monitor staff, and keep

records of appraisals and training. Whether your course is run for a few learners over

a long period of time, or for many over a shorter period, a Learning Management

System makes your life easier and helps your course run smoothly. A good LMS will

also have a reporting system so you can access information that would be tricky to

gather yourself.

LMSs do vary in the features they offer, but most systems are likely to have some or

all of the following features:

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Easy GUI

GUI stands for Graphical User Interface. Most LMSs offer customization options for the

interface to allow the user to give a unique flavor to his learning platform. Although

the GUI is there to make the environment more aesthetically pleasing, it’s also meant

to be functional.

Customization

Aside from the GUI an LMS will oftentimes offer several different options for

customization to tailor the system to your needs. Language options, notification

settings and other important features can be changed to suit the way you want your

LMS to work for you. This is great because one LMS can be used by many different

types of users, each with unique preferences.

WHAT IS SYNCHRONOUS LEARNING?

Examples of synchronous e-learning are online chat and videoconferencing. Any

learning tool that is in real-time, such as instant messaging that allows students and

teachers to ask and answer questions immediately, is synchronous. Rather than

learning on their own, students who participate in synchronous learning courses are

able to interact with other students and their teachers during the lesson.

The main benefit of synchronous learning is that it enables students to avoid feelings

of isolation since they are in communication with others throughout the learning

process. However synchronous learning is not as flexible in terms of time as students

would have to set aside a specific time slot in order to attend a live teaching session

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or online course in real-time. So it may not be ideal for those who already have busy

schedules.

WHAT IS ASYNCHRONOUS LEARNING?

Asynchronous learning, on the other hand, can be carried out even when the student

or teacher is offline. Coursework and communications delivered via web, email, and

messages posted on community forums are perfect examples of asynchronous e-

learning. In these instances, students will typically complete the lessons on their own

and merely use the internet as a support tool rather than venturing online solely for

interactive classes.

A student is able to follow the curriculum at their own pace without having to worry

about scheduling conflicts. This may be a perfect option for users who enjoy taking

their time with each lesson plan in the curriculum and would prefer to research topics

on their own. However, those who lack the motivation to do the coursework on their

own may find that they do not receive significant benefit from asynchronous learning.

Asynchronous learning can also lead to feelings of isolation, as there is no real

interactive educational environment.

Ideally, effective e-learning courses should include both asynchronous and

synchronous learning activities. This allows students and teachers to benefit from the

different delivery formats regardless of their schedules or preferred learning

methods. This approach provides students with access to immediate help if needed,

while still giving them the ability to learn at their own pace.

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What is SCORM & xApi?

SCORM, or Shareable Content Object Reference Model, defines a specific way of

constructing Learning Management Systems and training content so that they work

well with other SCORM conformant systems.

Basically, the different versions of SCORM all govern the same two things: packaging

content and exchanging data at run-time.

Packaging content determines how a piece of content should be delivered in a

physical sense. At the core of SCORM packaging is a document entitled the

“imsmanifest”. This file contains every piece of information required by the LMS to

import and launch content without human intervention. This file contains XML that

describes the structure of a course both from a learner’s perspective and from a

physical file system perspective. Questions such as: “Which document should be

launched?” and “What is the name of this content?” are answered by this document.

Run-time communication, or data exchange, specifies how the content “talks” to the

LMS while the content is actually playing. This is the part of the equation we describe

as delivery and tracking. There are two major components to this communication.

First, the content has to “find” the LMS. Once the content has found it, it can then

communicate through a series of “get” and “set” calls and an associated vocabulary.

Conceptually, these are things like “request the learner’s name” and “tell the LMS

that the learner scored 95% on this test.” Based on the available SCORM vocabulary,

many rich interactive experiences can be communicated to the LMS.

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SCORM is a really powerful tool for anyone involved in online training. With a SCORM

LMS, content can be created one time and used in many different systems and

situations without modification. This plug-and-play functionality can be powerful

within an organization but even more so across organizations. Content can be sold and

delivered to the user more quickly, more efficiently, and at a lower price.

SCORM is widely adopted by huge organizations. It has the critical momentum and is

the de facto industry standard. The US Department of Defense has specified that all

of its content must be delivered via SCORM. All of it! Industry is following suit, and

the standard appears in a vast majority of RFPs to procure both training content and

Learning Management Systems.

What is xAPI?

SCORM was developed over a decade ago now. Times have changed and the

requirements of educators have changed, and so xAPI was developed. xAPI (formerly

known as Tin Can) is an open source API that adds some needed extra functionality to

SCORM and lifts many restrictions of older specifications.

The extra features provided by xAPI include simplicity, extra security measures, the

ability to run courses outside the LMS, better support for offline and mobile learning

and (potentially) more detailed reporting.

The development of xAPI is an ongoing project so we should expect more from it in

the future.

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 E-LEARNING TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES USED IN ONLINE TRAINING

E-learning makes use of many technologies – some of which have been developed

specifically for it, whilst others conveniently complemented the learning process, for

example, computer games.

Communication technologies are also widely used in e-learning. Starting with the use

of email and instant messaging, message forums and social networks, we see a

plethora of tools that any internet user would use in any case.

There are also some technologies that work in a complementary manner to other

software and enable new features, for example software that adds a whiteboard on

your video conferencing tool to allow you or your peers to make changes on other

people’s work for review, or screen-sharing which allows someone to make a

presentation while still making comments and giving input using the microphone.

E-learning makes good use of database and CMS (Content Management System)

technologies. These two work hand in hand to store your course content, test results

and student records. The data is stored in the database and the CMS provides a user

interface for you to add, update and delete data. A good LMS will often provide

reporting tools to generate and store progress reports.

Elearning tools and technologies used to improve the quality of content are

manifold. Software like Flash and PowerPoint will help you make your presentations

slick and interesting, with high quality, graphically rich content. There are word

processing packages and HTML editors available these days that make formatting your

text or web pages a breeze, removing a lot of the complexity. There are also lots of

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online services available that you can use to create interactive elements for your

courses such as quizzes and games.

THE IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF ONLINE LEARNING COURSES

When creating an online course, a number of criteria must be met to ensure that

students receive the benefits they signed up for. Below is a list of important ones.

Consistent Instructor Presence: the value of feedback

The role of the instructor is very important in the e-learning process because it’s in

his hands to encourage, inspire and ensure students don’t feel like they have

embarked on the learning trip alone, and also because it will ensure that students will

be tracked and given proper feedback which is very important throughout the learning

process. To facilitate such a relationship, Learning Management Systems offer options

like instant messaging between peers, email and other tools that ensure learner and

professor are but a click away from each other.

How rapid e-learning can benefit learners

Until quite recently rapid e-learning was only used to refer to the actual design of

online courses. However, today it can also be used to describe a method of learning.

For example, if a course can be completed in a shorter amount of time than is typical

for that particular subject, then it may be considered a “rapid e-learning course”.

The term micro-learning is sometimes used interchangeably with rapid e-learning.

Students can greatly benefit from rapid e-learning, given that their learning is broken

down into smaller units. This can enable them to absorb information quickly and while

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they are on-the-go or even at work, so that they can still get the data that they need

to solve a problem or further their education.

Due to the fact that students must learn in a short period of time with rapid e-

learning techniques, the key to any successful rapid online education course is

to engage the user. This will raise the likelihood of knowledge absorption and ensure

that one gets the most out of the experience.

Continuous learning

On a personal level, continuous learning is about the constant expansion of skills and

skill-sets through learning and increasing knowledge. As life changes the need to

adapt both professionally and personally is as real as the changes themselves.

On a professional level, continuous learning is about further expanding our skill-set in

response to a changing environment and new developments. This is very important

because we are called to respond to changes daily: for example, the introduction of

computers in the workplace created a need for people to train on computers to

complete tasks more efficiently.

On a personal level, the introduction of computers made us rethink how we

communicate with people and allowed us to keep in touch with people across the

globe with just the click of a button.

Continuous learning for Individuals and Groups

On an individual level, continuous learning is defined by the practices the individual

carries out daily in order to continue increasing knowledge. For example:

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 Asking for help when something is not understood
 Observing more experienced employees at work
 Trying new ways of doing things and exploring alternative methods
 Practicing what has been learned already
 Finding ways to improve such as taking up training programs or online seminars
outside of work

In the organization, continuous learning has to do with shaping a team to adapt to

changes in the business environment. This is very important because the ever-

changing economic climate demands that any team be up to date with the latest

knowledge and also be flexible and easily adaptable to any changes that may be

required.

Business Sustainability and Continuous Learning

Embracing a culture of “investing in people” has played a major role in companies

training their employees rather than hiring new people which can be much more

costly on different levels. Most companies nowadays want to invest in retaining their

talent – and developing that pool of talent – so they keep employees well trained and

up-to-date so that they can respond to the company’s ever-changing needs. This also

develops a sense of trust and keeps employees engaged and interested since new

skills are constantly added to their ‘arsenal’. Apart from saving money, continuous

learning is a means for a company to show its employees they are worth investing in.

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Social Learning and Continuous Learning

Social learning and continuous learning are inextricably linked. Individual

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn news feeds and work-related groups play a major role in

what we learn and how we communicate and share knowledge. Inevitably, spending

all day between social media and work-related material exposes us to learning new

things.

For example a Wall Street trader or anyone working in finance has to keep up to date

with new trends, movements in the market and changes in the environment that may

affect his portfolio. A way to keep “learning” without using a separate learning

platform is to be exposed to the social web with its constant stream of news and

trends.

Our trader, for example, may like to take part in Finance and Markets groups on

LinkedIn in order to stay up to date with the latest information and be informed by his

peers on what to pay attention to. This may contribute to Constant Learning.

Giving the best Customer service training by using eLearning

Customer service training is, in fact, the blueprint for a company’s entire support

process. A solid training program ensures that a team operates to consistently deliver

good service to customers, with or without a game plan.

Whilst a variety of elements go into creating a successful business, customer service is

center-stage and every interaction the company has with a customer can affect its

bottom line.

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In today’s competitive marketplace, companies are perpetually searching for business

practices that will set them apart and often customer service is what separates

companies that thrive from those that fail. Offering customer service training to

employees has been shown to drive sales and give businesses a strong competitive

advantage. This is why it is imperative that businesses invest in quality programs.

Broadly defined, customer service training refers to teaching employees competencies

the required knowledge, to skills, increase and customer satisfaction. E-learning

provides employees with those skills and competencies without taking too large of a

bite out of the company’s HR budget. As far as learners are concerned, a main

advantage of e-learning in customer service training is that participants can be

scheduled for training in a staggered fashion, and can also work at their own pace.

Training programs yield several benefits for the organization, employees and
customers:

1. Increased Engagement: employee providing motivation training & allows

employees to better understand the impact their role has on the organization.
Investing in employees also demonstrates that the company cares about their
continual development and progress – they feel more valued and this improves
motivation and engagement. Employee efficiency is thereby increased and they
are better equipped to deal effectively with customers.
2. Improved customer service skills: through customer service training,
employees improve their knowledge, skills, and competencies and/or acquire
new ones. Specific customer service training programs communication focus
(such as on improving questioning to understand the customer’s need or
problem, listening, confirming understanding, responding with value, using
positive language), problem- solving and organizational skills.Training
employees on the same set of competencies gives them a standard process to
deal with customers – which in the end gives customers a more consistent and
professional experience. Through effective training, customer service
representatives increase their ability to resolve issues and decrease the number
of return calls. Often, trained employees are able to address the concern at
the first point of contact, which greatly increases customer satisfaction (see

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 benefit (3) below). The increased motivation and engagement coupled with the
new skills creates improved customer service in the company.
3. Increased customer satisfaction: the improved manner in which employees
interact with customers leads to consumers feeling appreciated and respected.
This is critical to any company’s continued success. According to Wikipedia,
employees who are properly trained and who demonstrate professional
customer service skills can and do improve customer satisfaction and customer
loyalty. This, in turn, helps the business retain customers and improve profits
as it costs less to retain a customer than to acquire a new one.
4. Increased profit: increased customer satisfaction means pleased customers
who are more open to additional sales messages and more likely to refer others
as potential customers. Basically, what quality customer service training
achieves is higher customer retention, the acquisition of new customers,
reduced employee turnover and increased sales. Training has a great impact on
employee motivation and morale, leading to increased productivity. It’s a
simple equation: improved customer service + increased customer satisfaction
+ increased customer loyalty = an increase in profit.
Benefits of using e-Learning tools in Sales training

There are lots of benefits to training your sales representatives. Effective sales

training develops the individual’s skills and builds on existing abilities to ultimately

improve business performance through increased productivity and profitability. Good

sales training courses can lead to an increase in activity levels, sales volumes and

order size.

There are also additional benefits to training such as improved sales force

retention (since recruitment is costly), improved employee motivation and

engagement, and greater receptiveness to change. Online sales training also presents

a very low-risk investment – you only require a 0.5% improvement in performance in

order to profit from sales training and anything above that is additional profit.

Online sales training offers a wide range of benefits to salespeople looking to sharpen

their capabilities and build new skill sets. Good online sales training will

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thoroughly prepare employees for sales success by enabling them to gain expertise

and practical knowledge about successful selling, give confidence to the learner, and

provide them with the skills necessary to succeed.

Beyond the obvious advantages (for example, employees being able to complete

training courses and modules at their own pace, on the go, and within management-

set time frames) the best online sales training uses powerful interactive tools which

engage learners and allow both trainers and trainees to track progress. The most

effective online training programs have comprehensive tracking and reporting tools,

allowing management to see how their employees are progressing at a glance.

Some benefits of online sales training:

1. Ease of use: any salesperson, no matter what their level of experience, can
learn from an online sales training program
2. Interactivity: questions can be asked and answered in real time. With online
sales training programs anyone can be trained at any location, in most any
language.
3. Instant access: training programs are available to learners all day, every day,
throughout the year. Employees can log in and start learning whenever they
have the time and from wherever they are located!
4. Customization of training process: online sales training programs allow for
material to be created and added to customize training for the individual,
particular company branches, localities and/or specific requirements etc.
5. Flexibility: online sales training programs should be accessible from a variety
of devices wherever and whenever employees want to learn on the go. They
should be able to log in and learn at any time.
6. Accountability: the most effective online training programs have
comprehensive tracking and reporting tools, allowing management to see how
their employees are progressing at a glance. General statistics can also be
viewed and broken down.

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Sales training is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve business performance,

and conducting that training online makes it even more of a cost saver. If

implemented properly, good sales training will be repaid many times over.

Effective Online Customer Training

You can reduce support costs, acquire new customers and build loyalty with existing

customers by offering them training online!

Since your customers are already in the cloud, it only makes sense to provide them

with customer training where they are already located and interacting.

Sharing and engaging with content online has become the norm and customers expect

companies to provide them with modern support and training on the cloud, they can

then do in their own time, at their own pace, and on the go!

Supporting and servicing customers can be expensive and providing online training can

cut these costs and at the same time increase customer satisfaction, loyalty and

retention.

What’s more, online customer training is a great way to gain product/service

feedback! Customer training might also be used as a selling point to acquire potential

consumers. A buyer may feel more secure about a purchase knowing they will receive

free online training.

Of course, if this content is also freely available online it can be leveraged by sales or

marketing departments – customers can, for example, take a look at the training

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before they buy the product or service to get a better overview of the features and

functionality.

Oftentimes online courses are more user-friendly and much less cumbersome than

reading a manual or guide so online customer training courses certainly have the

advantage.

E-Learning solutions for Safety training

The main benefit of online training when it comes to safety and compliance is that

employees can be reached everywhere, all over the world, at any time.

One cannot take shortcuts when it comes to safety training and federal mandates,

and face-to-face training just won’t cut it when you have employees scattered all

over the country, or world for that matter. Safety and compliance training needs to

be quickly updated and disseminated to employees quickly and easily – with the

minimum of fuss. Online training is the only way a large number of employees in

different locations can be reached at once without costing a fortune.

Types of safety training offered by e-learning organizations

The subjects covered in safety training programs online varies greatly, depending

upon the company and industry. For example, a moving company might want to

inform their employees about proper lifting procedures to avoid back injuries, while a

medical facility may opt for a bloodborne pathogen safety training course.

Generally, online courses offer multimedia presentations of specific safety risk

situations or hazards, and can accurately illustrate the proper response.

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What are the benefits of safety training online?

The most significant benefit of virtual safety training is the decreased risk of on-the-

job injury and accidents. Not only can this lower the risk of costs associated with

injury, illness, death, damage to equipment, higher insurance premiums, staff

turnover, and also delayed deliveries of products and service – but it can ensure that

worker productivity levels remain high.

A safety training program protects your company and shows you have adequately

trained employees in workplace safety. An insurance company, for example, can

examine the safety training program you have made employees complete, and

understand whether requirements have been met to protect employees and ensure

workplace safety. Safety training also gives employees the confidence they need to

work without fear of safety and boosts efficiency and productivity.

Safety training can have beneficial impact on any business, no matter how large or
small:

1. Best practice: this stresses the importance of the best work methods and
procedures to employees, and communicates the commitment the company has
to high-performance standards.
2. Compliance: training ensures employees are compliant with all industrial and
enterprise awards and agreements.
3. Increase productivity: training increases the quality of work produced and
efficiency in which tasks are completed.
4. Reduction of costs: fewer work-related injuries or accidents will occur,
reducing overall costs (associated with injury, illness, insurance claims etc.).
5. Risk management: training contributes to the process of identifying,
understanding and eliminating risks within the workplace.
6. Why IT training is a perfect fit for e-Learning

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7. The Information Technology (IT) industry moves at a fast pace characterized by

continual innovation, this leads to a need for ongoing training.

8. IT is a necessary part of operations for businesses and organizations alike and

introduces the latest industry standard practices and emerging trends and

technologies.

9. Employees with outdated IT skills are of little value to any business and this

makes IT training is one of the most popular online courses being offered

today. With online training employees can be kept on the cutting edge – an

absolute necessity for any business’s survival in today’s marketplace.

10. IT training programs respond to learners’ needs taking into account the desired

knowledge and ability. Integrated online learning may include virtual classroom

interaction, individual assessment, online video, and multimedia that make

learning more effective.

11. Blended learning may also integrate face to face sessions and class interaction.

Such training covers a wide spectrum of subjects from basic courses on

Microsoft Office to very advanced topics on programming languages and IT

security. Due to its nature, an IT course can easily capture detailed information

about the training subject via screen video capture or interactive programming

tests. Such courses are often also very effective very quickly.

12. IT training can benefit a variety of people in the organization at all levels from

C-suite executives to administration. As a first point of call, organizations must

reconsider the way training is delivered and look to offering IT programs that

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 reflect the current roles and career objectives of staff. Online IT training offers

benefits to both employees and employers alike:

13. Convenience and flexibility mean time savings and increased productivity for

employees. As with any online training, employees can complete training on

multiple devices, at their own pace and in their own time (or within time

constraints set by management).

14. Performance can be measured and tracked, and work roles adjusted

accordingly! Employee performance can be measured easily through tracking

and reporting tools, allowing management to see how their employees are

progressing at a glance. Management can then assign courses accordingly, have

employees re-do courses if necessary, and/or assign different work

responsibilities according to updated and/or new knowledge and skills!

15. Companies also benefit from the increased productivity and efficiency that

comes with bolstered skills and cost savings. There is, for example, no need to

recruit new employees, pay for employee training off-site or pay for a trainer.

Overall it’s a win-win for both employee and employer.

Utilizing e-Learning tools in Healthcare training

Continuous medical training is deemed compulsory for all healthcare professionals, to

ensure knowledge, skills and competencies are not only maintained but also regularly

updated and upgraded.

Training is important for most professions but especially in healthcare it can mean the

difference between life and death.

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The current medical training system has many unresolved problems and issues such as

the high cost of establishing and maintaining physical training centers, difficulty in

meeting changing demands due to demographics and ever-changing trends in disease,

medical technologies and drugs.

In the busy world of healthcare, finding time to train staff can prove to be

difficult. Their roles are often invaluable and it can be hard to find a convenient time

to take them out of their work environment for training purposes.

Online learning brings important benefits to healthcare professionals including the

ability to receive training at any time, from anywhere, on any device, and on the go –

reducing lost time and less productivity. In medical training, meaning derives from

interaction – videos can be used to impart basic knowledge and face-to-face time can

be reserved for more engaging activities. Refresher courses can be taken at any time

by learners, and learning can be easily monitored.

Do More with Less Using Online Training

As medical technology and pharmaceutical companies continue to launch new

equipment and products aimed at improving patient care and treating illnesses,

effective training for any new device or drug is essential for physicians, nurses,

clinicians, and technicians. When it comes to online device and drug training, a

blended learning environment that includes online training makes a great deal of

sense for the industry. E-learning can complement or even replace in-person training

in many cases.

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The benefits of e-learning are numerous:

1. Cost: Training is decreased as a company expense.

2. Speed: Customers can begin to use products faster without waiting for a
training representative.
3. Feedback: Customers can provide feedback on training immediately.
4. Compliance & tracking: For risk management and audit purposes, organizations
can maintain records of everyone who has completed training.

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