Are You Blaming Bad e-Learning Experience to Stay in Love With ILT

In any workplace, you will come across two segments of people when it involves corporate training platform. One segment favours the traditional Instructor-Led Training (ILT), while the other prefers e-Learning. The latter, tech-savvy audience would willingly embrace a digital eLearning experience. The former half may also accept the change, but deep down, they cannot let go of the conventional ILT that had worked so well in the past. However, here is the thing. Classroom training has become obsolete, thanks to advancements in the quality and enhanced digital learning experience.

A high-quality eLearning experience is an ideal combination of data and expert research — bringing in the best of both worlds. Since digital training is information backed by research, L&D professionals are quickly drawn toward it. But even then, people continue being attracted by ILT. Why?

Why Are Organisations Still Lured to ILT?

There is this common misconception that there is not enough data to support the drawbacks of ILT. Well, here is the thing. Even when companies use ILT, online tools form a significant chunk of the learning experience. In fact, in blended learning, digital training accounts for a considerable percentage of the learning program.

On the other hand, the retention levels in ILT are much lower as compared to eLearning. During an offline session, the classes extend to longer durations. Learners eventually lose interest and stop paying attention. You might observe employees scrolling through their phones, working on their laptops, or simply gazing at the whiteboard! If you think they are taking notes, they are usually looking at emails and reverting. Additionally, even the activities see only a few of the attendees participating. The rest pray that they are not called upon to partake in the said activity. So, where will the retention come from? It is just not happening!

Next, what about the time? It’s OK to sit through an ILT session that lasts for an hour — at the max. Once these 60 minutes are over, the attention span of people starts to waver. Moreover, employees do not prefer to leave behind their work and attend training sessions.

So How Does eLearning Outweigh the Downsides of ILT?

Well, as per research, "Employee engagement is an increasingly difficult task. Studies have shown that organisations with actively engaged workforces have 2.6 times the earnings per share growth rate compared to their industry counterparts. This is important because companies that utilize corporate learning technology achieve an 18% boost in employee engagement." eLearning is even more effective when you couple it with elements like interactive sessions and make it engaging with real-life scenarios.

Edgar Dale found that lecture (ILT)’s retention rates were five percent, compared to practice by doing (75 percent) and learning in an actual situation, 90 percent retention." And it is pretty simple to incorporate the aspects mentioned above in e-learning. Yes, e-learning tends to be more effective than classroom training. e-Learning has higher efficacy because classroom training involves less interactivity, more instruction, and less real-world practice when compared with e-Learning.

What About Visualisation?

Did you think that visualisation was all about Powerpoint presentations and slide projections? Well, no. In a training session, people at the back of the classroom can barely read what is written on the whiteboard. So, how can they have a visual experience? A good visualisation is easier in eLearning — via the use of embedded gamification, live sessions, and interactive quizzes.

Are You Blaming Bad e-Learning Experience to Stay in Love With ILT?

Yes, we have seen several articles which explain that eLearning is terrible. But this is not true. You cannot blame a bad eLearning experience and favour ILT. The primary reasons behind a poor eLearning experience are poorly designed content, ineffective instructional design, and the absence of real-life/world scenarios, including interactive and engaging content. If you include the elements mentioned above in your online training program, there is no question of a bad eLearning experience.

Again, comprehension with ILT is low. A presenter only has a specific time at his disposal. How can learners learn, retain and comprehend something in such a short amount of time? Additionally, synthesis is a complete no-no in offline sessions, and this is because of the way ILT is structured. But with online learning, synthesis is effortless since it is non-linear and focuses on what you want to know when you need to know it. Again, ILT has set times to attend. But eLearning is flexible. A Brandon Hall report suggests that online learning (in corporations) required 40 per cent to 60 per cent less employee time than a traditional classroom setting.

Finally, ILT is expensive since it includes travel expenses, time spent away from workstations, and venue + instructor costs. So, yes, ILT isn’t working out so well.

Bottom Line

ILT has indeed been around for a long time. But it is all but obsolete, thanks to the continuous evolution of technology in e learning management system that can match and even surpass it. If you wish to know more about how eLearning can help you bypass the downsides of ILT, our experts at PlayAblo are here to help you out!

PlayAblo is an award-winning cloud-based learning platform that offers multi-device support, microlearning modules, and analytics, gamification among other features.