In the last few years, eLearning has taken over the entire world and has cast a shadow on almost every industry. The flexibility, availability, and convenience that eLearning offers make it a worthwhile investment. It’s a cost-effective way to train employees who can learn anytime and anywhere without stress.
The sudden shift to online training amid the COVID-19 pandemic has caused apprehensions in the corporate world. New myths are being created now and then which confuses organizations and deters them to adopt eLearning. Today, eLearning is shrouded in so many myths that organizations hesitate to accept it as an alternative to traditional classroom-based training.
In this article, we’ll discuss and debunk various myths surrounding eLearning.
Myth 1: eLearning is good only for gaining knowledge and not soft skills
It’s a widely held belief that eLearning is only good for knowledge acquisition and learning theories. For instance, employees can learn a coding language, computer skills, project management skills, etc easily through eLearning. However, many people are skeptical about whether eLearning can help impart soft skills like communication skills or leadership skills to employees.
No doubt that for soft skills training you’d need someone who can assist and assess you regularly, but this can be achieved in an eLearning setup as well. For instance, you can practice your sales pitch in the virtual environment using a VR (Virtual Reality) powered LMS. Also, employees can keep taking suggestions from eLearning professionals to improve their skills and knowledge. Employees can connect with their team members on a video call and learn to communicate.
Myth 2: eLearning distracts employees
This belief holds that laptops, phones, tablets, and the internet causes distractions. Though many employees might be present in the online training classroom, they’re busy doing unnecessary and unacceptable things. For instance, they play games and chat with their friends and colleagues.
However, generalising such statements can be misleading. Some employees take their online training seriously and leave no chance to learn from eLearning professionals. They interact with their colleagues and are engaged with their eLearning courses.
eLearning supports gamification and social learning that keeps employees focused. Game-based learning makes learning more fun and entertaining and keeps the motivation level of employees always higher.
Myth 3: eLearning is a cakewalk
This is the most common misconception that people have. They believe that eLearning is easy and convenient as you don’t have to travel or sit in one spot to learn. Also, eLearning is less of a burden and one can skip training classes anytime, which is what many people think.
However, as eLearning has altered the learning landscape, we cannot call eLearning a cakewalk for everyone. In fact, today, eLearning has gained so much popularity that it is in more demand than traditional courses. In online training, eLearning professionals assign eLearning assignments and projects to employees that need to be submitted in time. Online training assessments are held after the completion of the eLearning course to test how far and how well employees have understood the topics.
Hence, there is no scope for leniency in eLearning. Employees are expected to be attentive and engaged and learn with complete focus.
Myth 4: Online learning isolates employees
Man is a social animal and loves to connect and interact with people. Traditional classroom-based learning cultivates a learning community comprising of employees, eLearning professionals, team leaders, managers, and HR. This learning community could interact anytime on the office premises and discuss various topics and issues. Water cooler conversations during coffee breaks also allowed employees to socialize.
But since the advent of eLearning, many people have this misconception that online learning isolates employees and makes them feel bored. However, this is not true.
Online learning facilitates social learning through social interaction in virtual space. For instance, chat rooms, discussion forums, webinars, video calling, web conferences, etc, pave the way for social learning. Employees can interact with their peers and online instructors anytime and anywhere. Such dedicated community spaces bring employees together and make them feel like a family.
Myth 5: eLearning isn’t so engaging
When we call something engaging, we mean that it has the potential to draw the attention and interest of people. eLearning has been criticized for not being much engaging. People who hold this belief are not aware of the benefits and functions of eLearning.
In fact, eLearning is more engaging than any other form of learning. Employees have various ways to learn and grow. This is something that traditional classroom-based learning might not offer. For instance, in eLearning, professionals use a variety of teaching techniques that keep the employees engaged and focused. They provide employees with videos, podcasts, audio recordings, infographics, etc. that can be accessed anytime and anywhere.
Don’t you think a video lecture on sales training is better than text-based training? Reading and memorizing lengthy or bulky lecture notes can be tedious, but learning through a ten minutes video lecture is way easier.
Myth 6: eLearning platforms are hard to use and navigate
Unlike traditional lecture-based training where one had to simply sit and learn, eLearning has a completely different approach to building an employee training system.
eLearning or online training is facilitated through an LMS, which is a web-based tool or application. It’s a commonly held belief that LMS is hard to operate and navigate. Many employees face difficulties in accessing eLearning resources and often LMS that supports mobile learning doesn’t have an interactive user interface.
This is a misconception that often misleads employees and organizations. Using an LMS with a simple interface, organizations can provide intuitive learning to employees. eLearning professionals can deploy eLearning resources in the online digital library which can be accessed by the registered users.
You don’t need to learn new technical skills to operate the eLearning platform if you have already selected the right one.
Myth 7: eLearning costs a bomb
It’s a wrongly held belief that eLearning costs a bomb. In fact, it is the most cost-effective way to provide training to employees. Through online training, organizations can save a lot of money that otherwise would’ve been spent on transportation, the maintenance cost of infrastructure, hiring subject matter experts, stationary, etc. Also, there is no need for employees to purchase additional training materials.
Myth 8: eLearning is ineffective
Many people believe that eLearning is ineffective in training employees as there is no face-to-face interaction between employees and management.
This myth can easily be debunked. eLearning is the best and most effective way to train employees. It offers personalized learning and hence gives the freedom to employees to manage their style and pace of learning. Once an employee is onboarded, he can kickstart his training without wasting time.
Also, employees can be tested or evaluated frequently through online training assessments. These assessments can be in the form of multiple-choice questions, questionnaires, and even branching scenarios.
The eLearning professionals can constantly track and monitor the progress and performance of employees and assist them whenever they find them stuck.
Conclusions
The above-mentioned myths surrounding eLearning often deter organizations from embracing eLearning. It must be understood that eLearning offers a plethora of benefits like flexible learning, self-directed learning, social learning, and mobile learning, which makes it the perfect method to train employees. The myths around eLearning were there, are there, and will always be there, but it is your responsibility to see through the door of opportunity.
