Supporting Trainees in Elearning

Support for elearners is an essential part of elearning design and development. Without taking to account the point of view of the learners or trainees, no curriculum will successfully achieve its goal of efficient training.

Pointers for Supporting Elearners

Have a complete view of the prospective learners. It is important to understand where the starting point is for the learner. For example, a learner who is completely computer illiterate would hardly understand a training program that concentrates on a specific software application like, say, MS Office.

In order to asses the learner or student, a questionnaire or an interview with the learners might help the developers in figuring out how to create an efficient curriculum based on the learner's abilities.

• Validation from the company. Experts suggest assigning an e-learning champion to lend support and assure employee trainees that the company cares about their training and appreciates their efforts. This way, the employee feels valued and would exert more effort in learning the new skills the company needs them to know.

• Orientation before training. In college, freshmen students undergo orientation to familiarize themselves with the new learning environment. In electronic learning, orientation plays a similar role for trainees. Pooling people with similar skills or for example, computer background and explaining the training objectives and expectations before starting the training program will greatly increase the level of success.

• Support from upper management. Aside from the e-learning champion, the manager or the boss should take the initiative to know how the trainees are doing. If management shows how much they appreciate the employees, it would boost their morale and increase motivation to learn.

• Schedule and time frame. The company should allot enough time for trainees to learn. They shouldn't expect their employees to use their free time for the training. The company and employee should be clear about the objective of the learning process and that is to increase the value of the employee's services thereby increasing the value of the company.

The success of elearning is dependent on many factors. A combination of initiatives from the company, the employees and the facilitator, if any, is needed to achieve optimal results from this kind of training.

Learning new skills usually require a teacher or a mentor to guide the learner during the process. Elearning technology seemingly rendered the teacher, mentor or trainer obsolete. This maybe true to simple tutorials where learners can learn at home but for more complex corporate training sessions, the presence of a trainer will still be a significant advantage.

Executives, always seeking to find new ways to increase profits while cutting costs, are realizing the potential of technology assisted learning to grow their business. Especially for corporations who have branches and locations in different parts or the world, new learning technologies like web-based software programs are the best fit for their business.

In order for online learning or technology enhanced learning to work, certain conditions need to be present. Independent self-motivated employees, supportive management, clear and concise curriculum, adequate technological platform, etc.