In four simple steps we will show the benefits of synchronous elearning, the benefits of asynchronous elearning, the power of the two strategies combined, and how to obtain the best from the two strategies together using Docebo LMS and the Videoconference APP.
The benefit of synchronous elearning
Let’s imagine a real-life scenario for the purpose of this blog post: an organization launches its latest product on the market, let’s say a new mobile device. The firm could be a national or international company, but in either case the product would be available globally. We assume that sales and after sales take place all over the world. All employees directly involved in the process would need to be trained on the key selling points of the product. And most of them would need more detailed training on sales strategies, prices and discounts, technical issues etc.
This is the perfect scenario for a synchronous elearning project: the training department schedules webinar training sessions, creates small or medium groups of learners and invites people to join the webinars. The organization could use the videoconferencing system they already have in use, with no additional cost for training activities (and no additional technical support for final users). Within a month an entire sales and after sales team could be trained up on the new product.
The benefits of this strategy are as follows:
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speed to deliver quality and consistent training to all the people involved
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control over the participation of users
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savings in accommodation costs
“Synchronous elearning encourages interactions (engagement) between learners and instructors, and between the learners themselves. Increased engagement improves distance learning outcomes by bringing the best of face-to-face training to the online environment.”
The benefit of asynchronous elearning
When an organization launches an elearning project focused on a specific topic with a defined deadline for its conclusion, for example a new product training, it expects to obtain a high level of participation and achievement by allowing people to train themselves whenever they want and wherever they are. In certain situations even a scheduled webinar could be difficult to join, whilst an online course available 24/7 has a greater chance of being viewed/ attended.
However when an organization has a large number of users to enrol in a one-time (possibly urgent) course, it could be easier to have a single, massive enrolment of users in a course rather than scheduling webinars and proceeding with the enrolment of defined groups.
“The power of asynchronous elearning relies on the amount of control that an organization has over the communication of content. In the development of a course, its content is qualified by the subject matter experts (SMEs) and stakeholders involved, so an organization can be 100% sure that what is delivered to its workforce is the right message.”
The power of the two combined
In order to obtain maximum efficiency (and the highest ROI), an organization should run an elearning project where asynchronous and synchronous activities are mixed (or alternated).
If you don’t want to lose live interaction/ engagement but you still want to be sure that everyone will be trained you have to duplicate or double-share the information. Of course that does not mean double the work! There are different methodological strategies to obtain results in one effort. I will explain very briefly two of them: you can record the live webinar and then share the video within the elearning platform (video course) or you can structure a course within the elearning platform using all the training materials prepared for the live event (structured course).
How you can get the most out of both solutions
If you want to run one of the strategies described above you will need a modern LMS (learning management system) such as Docebo and a Videoconferencing system such as Adobe Connect, Webex, Big Blue Button, etc. And you will need to set up a simple integration between the two systems.
At Docebo we have developed a set of APPs to let you integrate your Docebo LMS with your Videoconferencing system in just one-click. Your final users will get the best of both learning environments and your company will achieve the desired training results.
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