New training methods offer personalized e-learning

In today's labor market, companies face high turnover rates, making it difficult to retain and attract skilled employees. And recruiting processes are often tedious and time-consuming, costing organizations a bundle. As such, training programs have become important corporate perks not only for employees, but for employers, too.

As a result, electronic learning or e-learning systems have caught on rapidly during the past few years. E-learning programs provide a training system that employees can log into from anywhere, at any time, a great advantage for workers who are constantly on the go.

E-learning programs continue to evolve as they grow out of infancy. The future direction of e-learning has been defined as "blended learning," according to many company executives. E-learning system providers, such as Centra and Mentergy, have found that their customers are blending multiple training practices to provide a fuller, more beneficial training experience for their employees. For example, a student may take a segment of a course through self-paced e-learning and then attend a classroom session for the latter part of the course.

Weighing learning methods

E-learning courses add value to traditional learning modes by offering self-paced or live, instructor-led classes. Specifically, self-paced courses can be taken at the student's leisure and are good for self-motivated students. Typically these types of courses have been well-suited for IT training and can be taken at anytime, anywhere, making them convenient for busy workers as well as for globally dispersed employees. Companies such as Digital Think and SmartForce provide a number of self-paced courses.

Live e-learning takes place in a virtual classroom at a scheduled time that students commit to attending, just as they would a traditional class, minus the travel. Students can collaborate, share information, and ask questions of one another and of the instructor in real time.

Live e-learning is good for sharing information. Soft skills such as management, leadership, or team building can be tackled in this environment. However, this type of training works best if the class size is limited to 25 people to allow for optimal group interaction.

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