Blended learning is one of the most powerful learning strategies due to its amalgamation of the highly interactive eLearning courses and the traditional in-person classroom training. What it essentially does is, it combines both the training environments to provide an immersive learning experience.
Whether it is a tech-savvy new hire or an experienced employee who isn’t familiar with digital learning — both benefit equally from the blended learning approach. While in-person training includes social learning elements like group activities and Q&As with feedback, eLearning provides a host of multimedia elements to keep learners engaged.
To make eLearning more accessible, you can opt for eLearning software with mobile learning capabilities. For instance consider Adobe Connect which is accessible anywhere, anytime, on virtually any device and provides a high level of flexibility and security. Click here to find out more and compare Adobe Connect with the other available options to see which aligns best with your goals.
The following benefits show how blended learning is indeed the best of both worlds:
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Higher flexibility:
Blended learning provides high flexibility to your employees as they have access to learning materials at any time regardless of their location. This leads to more effective learning and increases employee learning satisfaction.
Employees can learn at their own pace and receive in-person support from the instructors in case they need any clarifications. These self-paced courses allow all kinds of learners to engage with the content at their own speed, reducing the stress to catch up with the course.
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Promises high level of engagement:
Integrating technology with in-person teaching in the classroom ensures a high level of engagement as employees get a chance to further discuss the content after going through the course material online.
Instructors can create engagement by making them participate in practical exercises based on the training material. This not only promotes collaborative work during projects, but also allows employees to gain personalized knowledge.
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Better information retention:
In a blended learning course, employees get access to some learning materials online such as videos, text notes or podcasts, which they can go through before a classroom training session where other topics based on this material are dealt with in detail.
Since this creates a highly comprehensive learning experience, it boosts information retention and ensures better information callback. Interacting through online discussion boards and chat rooms about learning material also leads to repetition and retention of learning material.
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Cost-effective:
Using eLearning along with classroom learning reduces the need for scheduling frequent in-person sessions as well the transit to the training location. It also eliminates venue costs as instructors can deliver sessions online.
The eLearning modules can be updated and repurposed which decreased the amount spent for repeated course creations. Overall, there is comparatively much less coordination required which significantly reduces the training costs and makes it a cost-effective option.
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Caters to all types of learners:
Most millennial employees are now familiar with digital learning and see it as highly convenient. The different formats of learning in the blended learning approach make training entertaining for them.
Since blended learning utilizes the benefits of both eLearning and classroom learning, it caters to all types of learners with the content customized for a wider reach. This ensures a healthy combination for the best delivery of the training content regardless of what kind of learning approach your employees prefer.
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Easy tracking:
Training without tracking employee progress is futile. Today, most eLearning softwares come with in-built tracking options. This helps instructors during in-person training to understand and address those who are struggling with certain topics.
It also helps instructors to judge individual employee progress within the program. This allows them to identify an employee struggling with a certain topic and they can act upon it accordingly.
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Saves time:
When arranging in-person training sessions, you need to take into account transit time, classroom setup time, and time spent waiting for everyone to join which leads to a lot of time being wasted.
Moving some part of your training online saves a lot of time which your employees can spend in learning more. Since blended learning platforms can be accessed at any time, learning becomes quick and convenient.
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Personalized learning:
The eLearning part of blended learning approach ensures training is available to everyone, no matter what their work location is. But at the same time, it provides personalized in-person training based on their level of understanding.
Blended learning creates a mixed approach where employees choose when they interact with the material and to what extent. Slow learners can take their time and those who have understood the concepts can go ahead without the need for someone else to catch up.
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Enhances soft skills:
The blended learning approach presents new avenues and ways for employees to engage and connect with their instructors. This automatically fosters soft skills like effective communication with instructors and better time management for effective learning.
It also allows them to engage with the learning content more favourably so they become more confident about actively discussing concepts with fellow learning employees and sharing their queries. This facilitates a co-learning environment and facilitates workplace collaboration.
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Allows better evaluation of employee capabilities:
Blended learning helps in evaluation of employee learning capabilities through a digital assessment platform. With the built-in grading system, it is possible to spot top performers who are consistent and excelling in their learning. This helps in identifying future leaders.
With the help of this information, instructors can provide employees feedback so they can focus on the important areas of improvement. It even allows employees to self-evaluate themselves with the help of immediate feedback.
Conclusion:
A good training program should be able to enrich the learner with information while making the process fun and engaging. Blended learning ensures this type of learning experience, which is why it is safe to say that it is here to stay. To deliver a successful blended learning experience, look for tools that are easy to use and offer adaptability.
