Considering Converting ILT to eLearning?
Over the past decade, businesses have been replacing (or supplementing) Instructor-Led Training (ILT) with eLearning. And it’s no wonder: eLearning is fully digital and asynchronous, allowing learners more flexibility while saving massive amounts of time and money. If you’ve been exploring the process of converting instructor led training to online eLearning, there’s no better time than now. According to Business Wire, the value of the global corporate e-learning market will reach $49.87 billion by 2026.
Before we get into details about the process of going from traditional instructor led training to eLearning, it’s important to note that this isn’t an article about converting your ILT training into a virtual instructor-led training (VILT). With VILT, employees join a virtual classroom at a predetermined time to learn from an instructor remotely -- much like the Zoom conferences many of us came to know (and love?) in 2020.
While switching from ILT to VILT definitely has its merits, this article centers on converting ILT into their fully-digitized, asynchronous counterparts: eLearning courses.
Why Switch to eLearning?
The most significant and costly challenge with instructor led training is, arguably, time. Trainers only have a finite amount of time to lead lessons and interact with learners. Learning is restricted to a specific time slot when the training takes place (synchronously), and learners must attend at the predetermined time or miss the training.
Beyond that, ILT may not always cater to diverse learning styles, and it’s nearly impossible for an instructor to create an individualized experience for dozens of employees in a classroom.
As a consequence, switching from ILT to eLearning provides employees with a more efficient, personalized, and independent training alternative. Research shows that eLearning typically requires 40-60% less employee time than learning the same material in an ILT setting.
In other words, eLearning is a faster and more cost-effective way to teach employees new skills. It's also worth noting that with many enterprises switching to a work-from-home or flex model, it’s far easier to conduct training digitally than in-person.
What are the benefits of eLearning vs ILT?
If you’re a learning manager at your organization, you’re likely already aware of the benefits of eLearning in comparison to ILT. However, if you need to make the case to your manager to get buy-in, here are a few key points to bring up:
Increased efficiency - Learning independently in a virtual environment allows people to learn new skills at their own pace.
Flexible scheduling - People can learn on-demand no matter in the office or at home, so there's no need to plan a physical space.
Personalized learning - Personalized learning paths gives people control over what educational activities they complete, increasing engagement.
Easy to revisit content - People can retake the course as many times as they like to anchor and review the new information.
Cost-effective - eLearning done right can cut down significantly on business expenses and payroll costs.
Compliance at scale – When hosted in an LMS that tracks completion rates, eLearning can be a great solution for ensuring that employees remain compliant on key initiatives or trainings.
Strategies for Transitioning ILT to eLearning
Before you start implementing eLearning, take some time to think about how you’ll encourage user adoption and enhance your training outcomes. Transitioning to eLearning is about far more than reformatting your content: it also requires a high level of organizational readiness to ensure learners are equipped with the skills they need to use your eLearning delivery platform. Here are some strategies for before, during, and after eLearning implementation to help smooth out the process.
Before Implementation
Identify which training programs you’re going to convert. Will you do a mix of eLearning and VILT? If so, how will VILT complement eLearning? Consider recording ILT lessons using them as source material for your eLearning course.
Identify which technologies you’ll need to utilize. If you already have an LMS, does it have the capabilities you require? Can it host and deploy a SCORM package?
Use eLearning course design best practices to make your training engaging. Since you’re removing the conventional human element in ILT, explore new ways to make your course content interactive. There are a host of ways to increase learner engagement in your eLearning courses, but here are a few to start:
Focus on real-world stories. Create lessons based on real-life scenarios (particularly if you’re educating your audience about complex topics like regulatory compliance or onboarding new software).
Personalize training. Create personalized learning paths and use a variety of media, from videos to interactive graphics and activities to cater to different learning styles. Consider accessibility: will any learners have special needs in a digital learning environment?
Make it fun. eLearning affords you the ability to introduce concepts like gamification, video, microlearning, audio, and themed content. The more creative your materials, the better outcomes you’ll see.
During Implementation
Raise awareness. Notify your audience about new eLearning training resources and modules they need to complete and set concrete deadlines to complete training.
Select a user group for testing. Before launching your eLearning course, share your newly created training materials with a user group to gather their UAT feedback to see if the training helped them learn and ask about ways to improve the content and design of the course.
After Implementation
Revisit your feedback loop. Build a communication strategy to gather feedback from trainees via surveys, emails, and focus groups. Utilize the data available to you from your LMS to gauge the effectiveness of your eLearning programs.
When migrating from ILT to eLearning solutions, preparation is everything. Beyond everything mentioned above, you’re likely facing challenges unique to your industry or learners. Often, the best way to ensure a smooth transition is to enlist personalized help from eLearning industry experts like Prime 8 Consulting. To learn more about our services or request a free consultation, drop me a note at the Learning Team at Prime 8.
