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Online vs Instructor led training
Training & Organizational Development
Online vs Instructor led training
A forum for exchanging ideas about skills training, leadership training, management training, compliance training, e-learning, as well as organizational development and effectiveness.
I'm a big believer in blended learning and not cutting instructor led training from the curriculum. I believe we can save money on our instructor led programs by cutting back, but my VP wants to cut t
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Forums » Topic Forums » Training & Organizational Development » Online vs Instructor led training
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Online vs Instructor led training
posted at 1/15/2009 9:49 AM EST
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Posts: 1
First: 1/15/2009 Last: 1/15/2009 |
I'm a big believer in blended learning and not cutting instructor led training from the curriculum. I believe we can save money on our instructor led programs by cutting back, but my VP wants to cut them alltogether. I would be interested in hearing feedback on:
1 - What others have experienced when going to completely online learning. Was there anything lost in knowledge transfer? Did learners complete the classes? 2 - How have your blended learning approaches compared? |
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Online vs Instructor led training
posted at 1/16/2009 10:27 AM EST
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Posts: 544
First: 9/27/2004 Last: 9/13/2011 |
Training content should be determined by organizational need and should support strategic direction. Training format should be based on the best method of delivery - otherwise you are wasting time and resources.
I think a lot depends on the type of skill, there is benefit in teaching interpersonal skills and leadership skills live because interaction and mutual support are important components. But if the content is largely informational and is not subject to change, on-line delivery might be a better choice. |
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Online vs Instructor led training
posted at 1/16/2009 12:33 PM EST
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Posts: 108
First: 4/15/2007 Last: 8/17/2009 |
I go along with everything deltac says. Every organizational situation is different, so it is impossible to apply one or two peoples experiences across the board. However, many e-learning providers themselves say that for many kinds of learning, a blended approach gives you the best ROI. At AXA, in training our Business Analysts, I used an e-learning course for one aspect of the training and a highly interactive instructor led class for another. The e-learning course, sourced from an international e-learning supplier, was of such low quality that I did not recommend it again.
The general lesson for me then was that pushing e-learning content over a wire is OK for priming trainees with pre-requisite knowledge before they go into more interactive classes. Or for getting knowledge grabs in between instructor led classes. But then again, what is e-learning today. E-learning today encompasses highly interactive and life-like simulations, webinars in which trainers and trainees interact face-to-face and forums and chat rooms where trainees can interact and work on common problems. But heres the rub. These kinds of e-learning are much more effective overall than pushing page turners over a network. However, they are very, very expensive to develop and the infrastructure requirements can be costly. And there you have lost your cost savings in doing away with instructors. At the end of the day, cheap e-learning will give you a brain dump. Professional trainers will tell you that effective learning is about gaining new skills for application on the job. Information dumps dont work because trainees need to process the information and get real practice and real feedback on their progress. E-learning that does that is expensive to produce and maintain. I can suggest that you do a search in Google for white papers on the effectiveness of e-learning vs traditional or ILT or face-to-face learning. Showing those to your VP may have more impact than a couple of other peoples experiences that he could be easily dismissive about application to his/her company. Im not diminishing other peoples experiences. Im just wondering what will have the most impact on your VP. Les Allan Author: From Training to Enhanced Workplace Performance www.businessperform.com/html/effective_training_tools.html |
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Online vs Instructor led training
posted at 1/21/2009 5:30 AM EST
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Posts: 1
First: 1/21/2009 Last: 1/21/2009 |
I'd like to tackle this question with an example. Say, for instance, you are given a book to read and from this learn about XYZ topic. The average learner will not be as engaged in the learneing. Sure, he will begin with eagerness (perhaps) but will soon begin skipping around, reading less and less until the book is put down to become another paper heap.
Now E-Learning: It can be the same scenario depending on how engaging the learning is, for one. Also, the effectiveness can be controlled somewhat by requiring passage of some assesment questionaire at the conclusion or during the learning event. However, even in this case, all students are heaped into one category. Their particular skills, background, job function, relative to particular job categories, personal interests and learning styles aren't addressed in E-Learning, since the learning is not dynamic enough to "bend" to particular students' learning styles as instructor lead training can "bend". Hence, ILT can be much more effective with excellent instructors creating a learning environmment that is more prone to retention and application after the course is completed. Essentially, ILT takes into account the human element in learning whereas E-Learning takes a more mechanical approach without regard to distinct learning styles. James Garcia Expert Trainer, Writer, Software Engineer |
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Online vs Instructor led training
posted at 1/28/2009 3:05 AM EST
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Posts: 1
First: 1/28/2009 Last: 1/28/2009 |
I work for a relatively small company (just under 1000 employees) in 32 different countries at last count. Onsite instructor-led training has a huge cost in travel and time.
This year we had great results with "virtual" classroom training. We used low end video cameras through Skype to project the instructor to the site classroom and visa-versa. We used Webex to display content, use white boards, etc. We trained a site-based process facilitator to assist with dynamics. Training was conducted synchronously, but many sessions were recorded so that learners could review the sessions. We have had great results and great feedback from our business leaders. This is not to say having the primary facilitator onsite isn't sometimes the optimal, but given our constraints it worked very well. Plus I'd rather get up at 3 am to host a virtual session in Kuala Lumpur than flying 30 hours in coach! Marianne Mayer Smith Global Leader of Learning and Development Technology Industry |
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Online vs Instructor led training
posted at 2/18/2009 11:03 AM EST
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Posts: 3
First: 2/18/2009 Last: 2/18/2009 |
Blended learning in this economic condition is by far the best way to improve your ROI within training. We cant cut training out completely, yet we have to get the best value for our dollar spent and provide the key elements to reach our goals of increased productivity in the work place.
QuicKnowledge.com has been able to provide us with the best-blended learning courses that we have found out there for the cost and robust training. We have been able to meet our goals with reducing costs as well as a continued training program to enhance productivity. |
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Online vs Instructor led training
posted at 2/18/2009 11:13 AM EST
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Posts: 3
First: 2/18/2009 Last: 2/18/2009 |
Blended learning in this economic condition is by far the best way to improve your ROI within training. We cant cut training out completely, yet we have to get the best value for our dollar spent and provide the key elements to reach our goals of increased productivity in the work place.
QuicKnowledge.com has been able to provide us with the best-blended learning courses that we have found out there for the cost and robust training. We have been able to meet our goals with reducing costs as well as a continued training program to enhance productivity. We have found that we have a great completion rate, which is 92% of the courses taken, since they are only 30-45 min long. Then our training facilitator follows up with a brief face-to-face training. This has helped improve that portion of training too, because the attendees come to the training on the same page and ready to progress. |
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Online vs Instructor led training
posted at 4/7/2009 5:50 AM EDT
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Posts: 1
First: 4/7/2009 Last: 4/7/2009 |
I agree that ROI and support of the business need are important to learning, but just as important is the fact that your employees will have different preferred learning styles (read David Kolb's literature). If you don't have opportunities for your employees to learn using their preferred style, you'll lessen the impact of your training programs. |
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