Digital - WHY Training

Customized Blended Learning

Enable your learners to enjoy the best of both worlds; traditional learning approach with our innovative digital solutions aimed at reinforcing the learning in this new digital age.

The best of both worlds

Take the best parts of the face-to-face learning experience and complement this with the latest techniques in digital self-development and the result is blended learning. Simply put it provides learners with the opportunity to enjoy the best of both worlds.

The traditional instructor-led classroom approach certainly still has a place, but constraints on time, resources and budget make blended learning a viable and cost-effective option for many organisations.

One of the biggest advantages of blended learning is its flexibility, with programmes tailored to suit the needs of both the learner and organiser. But blended learning can tick plenty more employee development boxes.

It’s budget-friendly

There’s no escaping the fact that the traditional classroom approach to L&D has some inherent costs. Venue hire, hotel accommodation, travel and out of pocket expenses, materials and instructor cost are some of the more tangible considerations, but the loss of productivity due to employees being in the classroom for a day or more also need to be factored in. Blended learning can neatly address most, if not all, of these issues.

It saves time

Due to the online and self-managed nature of blended learning, sessions are delivered in bite-size pieces, negating the need to take an entire day out for training. Employees can easily integrate a learning module into their regular work routine and re-enforce their learning in their own time.

It’s fun!

The prospect of a traditional classroom training programme can fill some people with dread. Similarly, others thrive in a more collaborative environment. It may be difficult to develop training that all employees will embrace, but a blended learning approach certainly provides something that everyone can be comfortable with.

It’s effective

Because ideas can be explored online and then reinforced in a face-to-face (or face-to-screen) setting, challenging concepts can be more easily absorbed by employees. As blended learning uses a variety of tools and techniques it can be adapted to suit individual learning styles and preferences. Learning something in a more ‘personalised’ way is always going to triumph over the ‘one size fits all’ approach.

It’s self-managed

Not everyone learns at the same pace. Blended learning, by default, takes care of this. Employees can progress through the online elements of a programme at their own pace and reinforce their knowledge during group or one-to-one sessions. It’s a practical way to balance busy schedules, individual preferences and pace of learning.

It’s trackable

Employee activity and task completion measures can easily be incorporated into a blended learning programme. Feedback and insight are also much easier to gather and assimilate.

It’s relevant

Given the flexibility that blended learning offers, training can be provided that aligns exactly with where an individual is in terms of their knowledge and skill but also their journey within an organisation. A new employee will have very different learning needs and requirements to a seasoned veteran. Being able to easily adapt the message makes it more relevant and engaging for the learner.

It's flexible

Is an online session moving too fast? press pause. Is an employee not able to get to grips with one particular element of a module? Discuss it in the next one-to-one session or post a question in a virtual forum. Whatever your employee’s needs are blended learning is flexible enough to meet them.

Immersive VR & AR

If the terms virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) immediately bring to mind images of Keanu Reeves in a long black leather coat (ala The Matrix), or indeed any other sci-fi movie, you’re not alone. But the use of this technology has some far-reaching and innovative benefits in the more grounded realms of Learning & Development.

Virtual reality recreates a ‘virtual’ environment that’s accessed through the use of a headset or glasses. It can realistically replicate scenarios that allow learners to practice skills and ‘experience’ the outcome of their actions in a simulated but safe environment.

Augmented reality is similar but, takes the technology a step further by expanding the physical world and adding layers of digital information on to it. Unlike VR, AR does not re-create an entirely virtual environment but overlays, graphics, sounds and videos on to an existing one. This can, for example, allow learners to see and hear instructions while working on a piece of machinery.

Both VR and AR can be used to great effect in an L&D context, particularly in areas where cost and risk can be high, hazardous environments or compliance training for example.

If you’re looking to open up these exciting new worlds to your learners, our team of experts can guide and support you in your first steps towards a totally immersive approach to learning.

Technologies for mobile learning

It’s unusual these days for someone not to own or at least have access to, a mobile phone, iPad or laptop. As such we expect immediate access to knowledge and information anytime and anywhere. Mobile learning (or m-learning) takes advantage of the opportunities offered by portable technologies.

Content can be tailored to make the message fun, engaging and memorable, plus its collaborative nature makes it easy for participants based anywhere to quickly and easily interact with one another.

Mobile learning is super convenient in that it can be accessed from anywhere with an internet signal or downloaded in advance if that isn’t available. When learning can be incorporated into any part of a daily routine the possibilities are endless.

Why Training can help advise, create and incorporate meaningful mobile learning into your L&D portfolio.

Gamification

Gamification is all about incorporating some of the competitive elements and techniques usually found in online games into a learning scenario.

It’s a hugely popular approach. In a recent survey, 61% of CEO’s, CFO’s and senior execs admitted to taking daily game breaks at work. 80% of learners suggested that they would be more productive if their subject base was more ‘game-like’, and 89% said that introducing a leader board would significantly increase their level of engagement.

In short, gamification is:

Scenario-Based Learning

Scenario-based learning (or SBL) is an immersive digital training approach where learners tackle simulated, but real work challenges. Each decision made and route taken effects the learner’s progress through the scenario and reflects upon their understanding and general approach. Unlike many training methods where learners passively absorb information, with SBL the learner is front and centre throughout. Which is one of the main development opportunities that SBL presents

The practical applications for SBL are many and varied; how, for example asking the wrong questions during a sales negotiation can affect the outcome or the ramifications a particular style of communication can have on a coaching session.

Learning Platforms

With the recent unprecedented rise in distance learning comes a growing awareness of, and need for, content-driven learning platforms. A learning platform, or e-learning as it’s also known, is simply a website or portal that contains educational content on a particular subject.

In its most basic form e-learning can be fairly one dimensional, even lonely experience for the learner. Real-time interaction tends to be minimal, if available at all, and collaboration with other learners not possible. So how do you create a virtual learning experience that gives participants the feel and benefits of being in a training room surrounded by their colleagues or counterparts?

At Why Training our e-learning programmes are designed with engagement and interaction in mind. Quizzes, surveys, questions, virtual breakout rooms and activities can all be incorporated into a training session to make it a beneficial and memorable experience.

Simulated Experiences

It would be completely impractical for airline pilots to train for an emergency landing scenario in a real aircraft approaching a working airport. Enter therefore the simulated experience, or in this particular case, the flight simulator.

Simulated experiences can be applied to many learning and development opportunities and don’t always have to involve multi-million-dollar pieces of equipment that take up an entire room.

Practical applications in business can be in project management or customer service. In healthcare and medicine simulation training is already widely used, as with the other emergency services or in military scenarios. In fact, any time when particular conditions or circumstances need to be replicated to facilitate a ‘real’ learning experience simulation can be a viable and valuable tool.

Scenarios based on your company’s challenges

Think back to the good old days of the ‘role play’ where two, usually reluctant ‘volunteers’, were each given a photocopied piece of paper containing the scant details of a situation that they were then expected to act out in front of a jeering audience made up of their colleagues and peers.

Scroll forward a few years and role-play, has (thankfully), matured into Scenario Based Learning. Scenarios can be sophisticated with the use of professional actors and the learner unaware that they’re taking part in a training exercise. The basics may be similar but the approach very different, amateur dramatics have been replaced by highly relevant and relatable learning experiences.

Adding Scenario-based learning methods into a programme is a great way to validate learning. It can increase critical thinking, improve decision making and initiate behavioural change. The key though is it relevant. It addresses real challenges that you and your company may be facing and tackles them head-on.