3 Things To Remember When Creating On-Demand E-Learning

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"Learners want e-learning on their terms. Here’s how to make sure the results are on yours." reports Sameer Bhatia, founder and CEO of ProProfs, an e-learning company.

Photo: Chief Learning Officer

The e-learning market is growing apace, thanks to new technologies and trends like massive open online courses and mobile learning, as well as a desire for organizations — both educational institutions and companies — to get more for their money.

While most of the initial online courses and MOOCs were scheduled and moderated similar to a face-to-face course, today learners get more self-paced, on-demand e-learning options. 

A variety of factors are driving this trend, including:

• A general move toward bite-sized learning activities 
• An increased focus on just-in-time training and performance support 
• A growing BYOD, or bring your own device, culture 
• A need for people to learn more quickly 
• An emphasis on personalized, rather than standardized, learning processes 
• A consumer mindset that favors instant access

Many organizations today use e-learning for more than education and employee development. Colleges are producing MOOCs to boost awareness of their academic programs, and companies are using online courses for brand awareness and recruitment, improving customer relationships and more.

The overall effect of these forces combined is creating a system that provides learning opportunities for people where, when and how they want them. This movement is happening quickly: According to Docebo in March 2014, the worldwide market for self-paced e-learning is expected to increase 7.6 percent per year, hitting $51.5 billion by 2016.

While e-learning best practices apply whether the course is scheduled or self-paced and moderated or not, the new tools and technologies used today require more thought to the learning environment and the user experience. Below are three essential things to consider when designing modern, self-paced and on-demand e-learning.
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Source: Chief Learning Officer