The Benefits of Hosting a Blended Learning Webinar for Staff

With the world adjusting to the ‘new normal’ of COVID-19 and social distancing, it is imperative that organisations look to their future success and longevity. Maintaining your training is critical to business success, especially during times of economic uncertainty. Embracing e-learning technologies is essential. Training and development is one of the most important departments in any business and their number one secret weapon is an effective Learning Management System that allows you to deliver both regular online learning and instructor-led training (ILT). Well-trained employees display better performance which leads to better profits.

The advantages of the blended learning approach are far more important than one might think, as they affect not only the trainees but also the trainer and the learning process itself.

 

Accommodate different learning styles

Every learner absorbs information differently. With the addition of webinars, or blended learning, to an organisation’s Learning programme, a variety of learning styles can be accommodated –

• Reduced training time: Online training reduces the amount of time required to complete training, especially when compared to traditional onsite training methods. Blended learning, through webinars, offers the same delivery of skills development with reduced time away from learners performing the jobs. Additionally, those learners that might require more time to absorb new knowledge, can be accommodated. Blended learning allows learners to re-visit training materials as much as they want and take the time to absorb information without the pressure of keeping up with the rest of the class.
• Increased engagement between learners and instructors: The webinar feature on a learning management system allows learners and instructors to interact with each other with regards to the training offered. Learners are able to complete assessments and revisit the training material in their own time, allowing instructors the opportunity to spend and increased amount of time during a webinar ensuring that learners have understood the material being taught during the live interaction.

 

Increase learner engagement

While some organisations have returned to offices, many organisations are still working remotely. Having a remote workforce means it is even more important that organisations have the ability to provide well-targeted content and learning experiences. Webinars, or blended learning, ensures that learners are exposed to live interactions with instructors and the online training material. This variety in training delivery guarantees that learners are stimulated and engaged by the various types of learning. The use of various training content types helps to make sure that all material is easily understood – something that is not always the case in the fast-paced environment of a physical classroom.

Some of FUEL’s content methodologies include videos, PDFs, gamified nuggets, infographics, quizzes, podcasts, whiteboard animations, scenario/simulation/game-based assessments, as well as webinars for a blended learning experience.

 

Monitor learner progress and engagement

With a remote team, organisations won’t have the same level of visibility of employees as they would if they were in a physical office setting. It’s therefore easy to lose communication with learners for extended periods of time, resulting in learner disengagement and poor performance.

Online training, and LMS’ like FUEL Learn, offers organisations the opportunity to view reports where they can view learners progress through their training pathway; this is where the benefits of blended learning can be seen clearly. The same reporting functionality also allows organisations to track individual learner development to monitor compliance and training progress. Instructors can experiment with assessments, and different types of training content, in order to determine what is more appealing to learners. With this information, organisations are able to determine how much importance is placed on traditional training material in e-learning (such as text and video), and how much should be diversified using other content types or assessment methods.

The ability to monitor learners could be considered one of the most useful benefits of blended learning, as tracking and reporting make training more meaningful with instructors adjusting e-learning material according to learners’ progress and performance.