The corporate training landscape presents two major topographies: instructor-led training (ILT) and self-paced eLearning. The training industry is moving away from the debate of which of the two is the best, to the adoption of blended learning. In this article, we will focus on how the synergy of asynchronous and synchronous training can create the maximum impact on the organization.
As per a report by Business Research Insights, the global corporate blended learning market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.4% between 2023 and 2031. The market size was USD 50570 million in 2022. Let’s consider the advantages of ILT and eLearning in blended learning.
In ILT, a human instructor takes a training session for an individual learner or a group in person or online. It is a traditional method of learning that is interactive and personalized. The offline ILTs can include activities and hands-on practices. The online ILT, also called VILT or virtual instructor-led training, has come up in keeping with the current training trends. Some of these trends include corporate learners being spread across geographical boundaries.
Whether face-to-face or virtual, ILTs involve a guide to help the learners move through the zone of proximal development. This is a zone where employees require guidance to learn a skill set.
eLearning, on the other hand, is digital, self-paced learning that allows the learners to access the courses online anytime and from anywhere. It is not dependent on the instructor.
ILT provides real-time interaction and relationship building as well as hands-on practice.
On the other hand, eLearning offers learners flexibility, convenience, unlimited access, scalability, and control. It provides a personalized learning experience for a large workforce.
ILT is not scalable and is constrained by fixed schedules. Thus, we see that the advantages of each makeup for the limitations of the other. Therefore, having a customized blend of ILT and eLearning is best suited for optimum results. The proportion of the mix may differ for different industries and roles. For example, the workforce on the shop floor will require more hands-on training. They can also learn with the help of virtual reality, which provides a simulated environment to practice in. eLearning modules can be used to explain the concepts, reiterate the safety measures, list the SOPs, assess the workers, and so on.
The winning duo of ILT and eLearning will lead a triumph trail for any organization in the training domain. Here are some aspects of blended learning.
One of the key features of the eLearning component of blended learning is the learning management system (LMS). It primarily helps to manage course delivery, track performance, and manage the scheduling of eLearning courses. However, fast learning management systems like KREDO do much more. Some of these are course creation, scheduling VILT sessions, and scheduling coaching sessions both online and offline.
Blended learning supports social learning both online and offline. Learners can gain knowledge and real-time feedback from ILT instructors as well as through VILT webinars, and discussion forums.
After instructor-led sessions, the workforce can go through assigned and open eLearning courses and learning pathways at a convenient time to gain more insights. They can enroll in paid eLearning courses to better understand the skills. Interactive eLearning templates and branching scenarios also contribute to learner engagement.
While ILT has workshops, eLearning also allows learning in a fun way through gamification, interactive eLearning templates, gamified assessments, and more.
Blended learning provides the best of both ILT and eLearning and we have captured a few for you. It weaves an amalgamation of self-paced and guided learning, personal and social learning, physical and online classrooms, fixed and convenient timings, offline workshops and gamified online courses, and so on. It brings the best of both worlds. The eLearning component helps to scale the training program and gives a better return on investment.
Tesseract Learning offers training solutions that help organizations adopt blended learning.
Our expert team of instructional designers, designers, and developers sculpt bespoke eLearning courses for skills training. Additionally, the learning management system KREDO, supports both eLearning and ILT. You can schedule VILT sessions as KREDO has video integrations. Its Classrooms allow you to schedule online and offline training sessions. Instructions and feedback from the instructors or peers are possible through discussion forums. Manage both ILT and eLearning on a single platform, KREDO.
The ILT webinars, Classrooms eLearning courses, resources, etc. can be dragged and dropped into customized learning pathways.
To know more about how we can help your organization develop effective blended learning and training solutions, contact us or write to us at <suresh@tesseractlearning.com>