Whilst online learning has been around for several years, the change to working habits that the covid-19 pandemic introduced has increased the level of reliance on this delivery method.
At the pandemic’s peak, millions of pupils and students worldwide exchanged their classrooms and offices for a virtual environment. Their daily commuting routine to a dedicated learning space was transformed into making a few steps from a bed towards the computer desk. Office employees from different fields were similarly impacted as remote working became the norm and professional training practices followed suit.
A blend between personal interaction and remote working
The period of strict covid restrictions placed a microscope on remote learning and highlighted the pros and cons for students and instructors on a previously unseen scale. In many parts of the world, normality has not been restored, and a hybrid working environment is now in place that is striving to find a blend between personal interaction and remote working.
In the field of learning services, we have seen people looking for a similar balance. Demand for onsite, live classes and conferences has increased, yet we still see a significant role in remote training delivery. As in many other lines of business, the hybrid model seems to be the preferred approach, with the benefits in productivity and cost reduction discovered during the lockdown becoming best practices that now form part of the standard delivery model.
»On the one hand, remote learning offers excellent flexibility location-wise and reduces cost. On the other, it may bring challenges related to motivation, participation and interaction,« observes Jaka Javornik, Flint’s experienced instructor.» I immensely enjoyed the interaction, debates and participation that I could promote in the classrooms all around the world,” continues Jaka. “Feedback from students was often invaluable in adjusting training to students’ needs.”
Back to the classroom
While some countries have been forced to keep quite a high level of covid restrictions, others have been slowly opening up. This is the case of Turkey, where Jaka is due to travel in the following weeks and from where Flint’s instructor Benjamim Gorjanc has just returned. »The students there seemed relieved that they finally got some in-person training again. Bringing students back to the classroom allowed them to interact with each other easily, which is a lot more limited in remote training delivery. They talked about business, best practices, and problems they face daily as engineers, and even exchanged a word or two about non-work related things during the lunch break. The interaction with them was lively and exciting,« says Benjamin, who has recently also performed face-to-face training in Kenya and Qatar.»The in-person teaching environment helped the students become more motivated.«
Goran Belinić, who has recently returned from Saudi Arabia, agrees. He also points out the importance of culture: »In some parts of the world, face-to-face meetings might carry more importance for business and educational relations than others. There, the back-to-normal arrangements are even more important.«
»In my recent live classroom delivery, the number of questions, general discussion and engagement with the students were significantly higher when compared with running the same course online. Some topics even sparked a lively debate, which was very rewarding. At the end of the day, an important part of our course materials are negotiating & sales techniques, where role-playing is an important part of learning. It is much easier and effective to perform in person than online.«
There are also personality differences to consider. Not everyone learns in the same way. »The educational science has established four main learning styles: visual, auditory, kinesthetic and reading/writing style, and in a live classroom environment it is much easier to recognize these styles and apply corresponding techniques.« observes Jaka.
Perks of online delivery
There is no doubt that online delivery also comes with substantial benefits; besides the obvious pluses such as saved time and money, the students have the opportunity to attend their selected course from wherever they are without a big sacrifice of friends & family time. Also, some courses offer highly specialised knowledge, usually required by only a handful of people in the organisation. In these cases, an online course is a welcome and almost always the only rational decision.
For the instructor, an online delivery often requires more preparation and a careful choice of tools and techniques to enhance the training experience and create an interactive environment. At Flint, we are lucky to have an excellent in-house Quality Instructional Design team preparing motivational and visually appealing content for effective online delivery (read a dedicated article on this topic for more insights).
“The time and money invested in delivering in-person training shouldn’t be underestimated. Interacting directly with the students in a room rather than through a computer screen is both exciting and rewarding. Still, the time, costs, and energy spent to travel should be taken into consideration when weighing up the viability of on-site training, especially as there are very effective online tools and methods available today,” says Nikola Milojević, who has trained students all over the world, onsite and virtually. Nikola also offers two valuable pieces of advice for a successful online delivery for both students and instructors:
- An increased level of self-discipline is needed as students tend to be distracted more easily. Thus, it should be encouraged that the student’s mute potential detraction factors such as app notifications and make sure they let their colleagues know about the dedicated time for the training. Managers should re-enforce this message to ensure students are not disturbed whilst training.
- Active participation is crucial to improve and accelerate the learning process. It is desirable that there is a constant flow of interaction between the instructor and the students, as well as between the students themselves. The trainer should plan to regularly interact with the students to involve them in the discussion and ensure a high level of engagement throughout.
Blended learning model – the best model?
Of course, with benefits like convenience, flexibility and affordability, we expect companies to continue to take advantage of the online option. Still, we already see a strong desire from our clients to complement it with in-person training sessions – at least occasionally and when the circumstances allow.
It is in Flint’s DNA to maximise the benefits of everything we do. In the field of our Learning Services, we pay special attention to the preparation of our instructors, empowering them to become efficient and capable experts in onsite as well as online delivery environments. So, whether you opt for online, blended or on-site learning methods, at Flint – we are ready!
