Are you ready to leap into the future of learning and development? Cloud learning is rapidly changing how organizations provide training and development opportunities to their employees. With the flexibility to access training anytime, anywhere, and on any device, cloud-based learning empowers learners to take control of their learning experiences. And with the latest innovations, from personalized and gamified learning to augmented and virtual reality, the possibilities for immersive and engaging learning experiences are endless. 

In this blog, we’ll dive headfirst into the latest trends and innovations in cloud learning that are transforming how we learn and grow. Get ready to be inspired, and let’s explore the exciting world of cloud learning together!

Cloud Learning Management Systems (LMS) – Empowering Organizations to Deliver High-Quality Training Anywhere, Anytime

In today’s fast-paced business environment, organizations must keep their employees trained and up-to-date with the latest skills and knowledge. Cloud-based learning management systems (LMS) are helping organizations to achieve this goal by providing a powerful and flexible platform for delivering training whenever, wherever, and on whichever device their employees prefer. 

The Benefits of Cloud-Based LMS for Organizations

Cloud-based LMS offers several benefits for organizations, including:

• Flexibility: With cloud-based LMS, learners can access training in the way that works for them. This allows organizations the flexibility to train their employees regardless of location, time zone, or device preference.
• Scalability: Cloud-based LMS can easily scale up or down to meet the changing needs of an organization. This means organizations can expand their training programs as their workforce grows, without worrying about infrastructure limitations.
• Cost Savings: Cloud-based LMS eliminates the need for expensive hardware and software installations, resulting in significant cost savings for organizations. Additionally, cloud-based LMS allows organizations to reduce training-related travel and expenses.
• Improved Training Programs: Cloud-based LMS provides organizations with powerful tools for managing and delivering training programs. With features such as course authoring, assessment creation, and reporting, organizations can improve the quality of their training programs while reducing administrative burdens.

Example: A global organization with multiple offices wants to provide consistent training to all employees, regardless of their location. Using a cloud learning management system (LMS), the organization can provide a centralized platform for delivering training to all employees. The cloud-based LMS allows the organization to create and upload training content, such as videos, quizzes, and presentations, that employees can access from any device anywhere in the world. The LMS also provides real-time data analytics, allowing the organization to monitor the effectiveness of the training program and make adjustments as needed. Employees can access the training on their own time and at their own pace, making it easier to fit the training into their busy schedules. The cloud-based LMS also provides automated features, such as notifications and reminders, to keep learners on track and ensure they complete their training on time. By using a cloud-based LMS, the organization can save time and reduce costs associated with traditional classroom training while providing all employees with a consistent and effective training experience.

Personalized Learning – How Cloud Learning Is Revolutionizing Training

One of the biggest trends in learning and development is personalized learning, where learners can access training tailored to their unique needs and preferences. Cloud learning is making personalized learning a reality by providing organizations the tools they need to deliver customized training to each learner. In this section, we will explore the benefits of personalized learning and how cloud-based learning makes it easier to achieve.

Benefits of Personalized Learning for Learners

Personalized learning offers several benefits for learners, including:

• Improved Engagement: Personalized learning allows learners to access training relevant to their job roles and interests, supporting their motivation and engagement.
• Faster Learning: Personalized learning enables learners to focus on areas where they need the most help for more efficient learning.
• Enhanced Retention: By delivering training customized to the learner’s needs, personalized learning can improve knowledge retention and ensure that learners can apply what they have learned on the job.

How Cloud-Based Learning Is Making Personalized Learning Easier

Cloud learning makes personalized learning more accessible by providing organizations with tools such as adaptive learning algorithms, personalized learning paths, and data analytics. These tools enable organizations to deliver training tailored to the learner’s needs and preferences, while also providing valuable insights into the effectiveness of the training program. 

Example: A technology company wants to train its employees on a new software application, but it has employees with different skill levels and job roles. By using cloud-based learning to deliver personalized learning, the company can create a customized training program tailored to each employee’s needs. The personalized learning program includes pre-assessments that determine the learner’s current knowledge level and learning preferences. Based on the results, the program offers customized learning paths that provide learners with the appropriate level of training and content to meet their individual needs. Learners can access the training from their preferred device at their own pace and receive feedback and progress tracking. The company can monitor the learner’s progress and adjust the training program as needed, providing a continuous learning experience tailored to the individual. 

Gamification – How Cloud Learning Is Making Training Fun and Engaging

Training can be a dry and dull experience for many employees, leading to disengagement and poor knowledge retention. Gamification – or the application of typical game-playing elements like scoring points, competition with others, etc. – is a powerful tool organizations can use to make training more fun and engaging. Cloud learning is making it simpler than ever for organizations to incorporate gamification into their training programs. 

Benefits of Gamification in Training

Gamification offers several benefits for training programs, including:

• Increased Engagement: Incorporating game elements makes training more interactive and fun, increasing learner engagement and motivation.
• Improved Retention: By providing a more interactive learning experience, gamification can improve knowledge retention and make it easier for learners to remember what they have learned.
• Better Performance: Gamification can help learners to apply what they have learned on the job, leading to better performance and results.

How Cloud-Based Learning is Enabling Gamification

Cloud learning makes it easier for organizations to incorporate gamification into their training programs. With cloud-based learning, organizations can use various tools, including game-based learning, leaderboards, badges, and rewards, to create a fun and engaging learning experience. These tools can help learners to stay motivated and engaged throughout the training program, while also providing valuable insights into learner performance and progress.

Example: A manufacturing company wants to train employees on workplace safety protocols. Instead of providing a traditional training program, the company decides to incorporate gamification into its training to increase engagement and retention. The gamified training program includes interactive simulations, quizzes, and rewards for completing certain tasks or achieving specific goals. The training program also includes a leaderboard that displays each employee’s progress, creating a competitive environment that motivates employees to improve their safety knowledge and behavior. By incorporating gamification into the training, the company can create a more engaging and effective training program that improves safety compliance and boosts employee morale and job satisfaction. The use of gamification in the training program encourages employees to adopt safe practices and promotes a culture of safety in the workplace, leading to a safer and more productive work environment.

Microlearning – The Bite-Sized Solution to Efficient and Effective Training

Microlearning is the process of breaking down complex learning content into smaller, more manageable modules to make it easier for learners to digest information and apply it in real-world scenarios. Cloud learning is making it easier than ever to deliver microlearning content, and in this section, we will explore how this trend is changing how organizations approach training.

How Cloud Learning is Enabling Microlearning

Cloud learning enables microlearning by providing organizations with the tools they need to deliver bite-sized training content that is easily digestible and accessible from any device. With cloud-based learning, organizations can create microlearning modules that include videos, interactive quizzes, and other multimedia content, making training more engaging and effective. Additionally, cloud learning platforms provide real-time data analytics, allowing organizations to measure the effectiveness of their microlearning content and adjust it as needed.

Example: A retail company wants to train its employees on new customer service techniques. Instead of providing a lengthy training session, the company creates a series of microlearning modules that cover specific customer service scenarios. Employees can access the modules on their mobile devices during downtime at work, such as during breaks or on the sales floor. By breaking the training down into smaller, more manageable modules, employees can quickly and easily learn new techniques, leading to improved customer satisfaction and increased sales.

To conclude, the future of learning and development is rapidly evolving, and cloud learning is leading the way. From personalized learning and gamification to microlearning and cloud-based LMS, the latest trends and innovations in cloud learning are transforming the way organizations approach training and development.

At ReadyTech, we are committed to helping organizations take advantage of these trends and innovations through our online training delivery platform. We provide organizations with the flexibility, scalability, and cost savings they need to deliver high-quality training to their employees anytime, anywhere.

What is Microlearning?

Microlearning is a way of delivering content, typically through video or audio, that is aimed at helping people retain information for longer. In other words, it is a type of learning that happens in smaller, more frequent chunks that are typically broken up into a series. It is typically used to deliver parts of a larger learning program, such as a training course, or a specific skill, such as how to use a specific software program. For example, a tech company that is teaching their employees how to use a new software program may decide to break down the course into smaller modules that will help employees learn the material in shorter stints. It can be beneficial for a number of reasons, such as helping companies cut down on the resources needed to train employees, allowing employees to learn at their own pace, encouraging employees to self-regulate their learning, and allowing employees to learn on their own time.

Why use microlearning?

Simply put, microlearning is a more efficient way to deliver training materials to employees. And with the rise of technology and the expectation that knowledge can be easily accessible at any time, businesses have had to change their approach to training. It is a more efficient way to deliver training materials to employees. With short bursts of information, learners can quickly consume the information and apply it in the real world. Microlearning is quickly becoming the preferred way of learning. Over the years, we’ve seen many different types of learning methods, but microlearning has proven to be the most effective. Research shows that humans have a shorter attention span than ever before. We’re drawn to online content and social media, and we’re not willing to spend hours reading through textbooks or sitting through long lectures. This makes it difficult for businesses to keep their employees engaged. These training programs can help combat this issue.

Types of Microlearning

There are many different types of microlearning. Here are a few of the most popular types:

– Bite-sized content: This refers to breaking down larger units of content into smaller portions. Bite-sized content can include short videos that are less than 10 minutes long, short articles, or short audio clips.

– Convenient delivery: This means delivering content in a way that’s more convenient for the learner. This could be through a mobile app, a podcast, or even a series of emails.

– Intermittent reinforcement: This is a type of microlearning in which new information is added over time to reinforce the previous information. This is commonly referred to as a “learning marathon.”

When to use microlearning?

As mentioned in the introduction, microlearning is a great way to deliver smaller chunks of information. So what is the best time to use it?

– If you’re introducing a new concept or skill, you will want to start with an introductory microlearning lesson. This will help your employees quickly understand the basics of a new topic and allow them to move on to other parts of their job.

– If you want to help your employees retain information, you may want to break down a larger course or skill into smaller parts. This might be applicable if you’re teaching a group of employees a new skill, or if you’re training employees on a new topic that’s particularly challenging.

 – If you want to give your employees access to information in their spare time, you may want to turn a longer course or resource into microlearning. This will allow employees to access the information on their own time through an app or online course.

Final Words

Microlearning has become a popular way for businesses to deliver information. It’s broken down into smaller chunks that are easier to digest, and it’s often delivered in bite-sized chunks, such as short videos or audio clips. It is a more efficient way to deliver training materials to employees. It also allows employees to learn at their own pace, which is especially helpful if they work remotely. Additionally, it encourages self-regulation and allows employees to learn at their own convenience, which is important when working with a remote workforce. To summarize, microlearning is a way of delivering content that is aimed at helping people retain information for longer. It is a type of learning that happens in smaller, more frequent chunks that are typically broken up into a series.

We Can Help

Companies that invest in employee training benefit from reduced attrition rates and hiring costs, better employee productivity, more knowledgeable employees, and a competitive hiring package. ReadyTech’s remote training software provides different ways to interact with trainers and peers, encouraging participation and active learning. We provide companies and their employees with a hosted training solution that offers hands-on, virtual training software to aid your workforce in practicing job skills.

If you are still interested in learning about microlearning, read some best practices here. ReadyTech provides you with everything you need, and we offer a full-service setup process and 24/7 live support. Do you have questions? Contact us today.

The reason behind microlearning’s recent popularity revolves around three things: workers are time-constrained, obsessed with mobile devices, and are impatient. Today’s average U.S. employee works 47 hours a week, 49% of employees work 50 hours or more per week, and 20% work 60+ hours per week.

Not only are employees overworked, but they are obsessed with technology, even checking their cell phones about 150 times a day. It’s no wonder they only have 1 percent of their work week (about 24 minutes) available for learning.

The combination of busy schedules and a mobile device that gives them immediate access to an infinite amount of information also has workers accustomed to immediate answers and a general impatience towards finding solutions. It’s true, Google it.

As a result, businesses must seek faster, more effective ways to deliver training where and when their workers ask for it. Enter microlearning.

This type of learning is touted as bite-sized, personalized, attention- grabbing lessons that are easy to access and apply. And because content is simple to create, it is easy to develop educational material to meet ever-changing business needs.

According to Josh Bersin, founder of Bersin by Deloitte, “Microlearning content is important because the way we work has radically changed, and we are constantly bombarded by distractions.”

And Debbie Williams, marketing director at TOPYX, agrees, referring to microlearning as the future of corporate training: “Microlearning is one of the most effective forms of information acquisition, effective at helping people keep and recall information.”

But is microlearning the best way to teach today’s busy and overwhelmed employees? Let’s take a look at the potential shortcomings of microlearning:

1. Teaching students the big picture

Microlearning: does it help students see the forest from the trees?

Microlearning consists of short learning nuggets which are designed to meet specific learning goals. However, while this type of content is easy to digest, students can miss the big picture and lack a larger perspective of the problem.

In other words, while microlearning can help students quickly solve problems, it doesn’t provide students with a framework. For example, microlearning could teach a student how to do a simple database query. But if you ask the student to do a database query that includes multiple tables, relationships and exclusions, the microlearning nugget will be inadequate.

2. Turning novices into experts

Learning from a short video is simply not as effective as learning directly from an experienced instructor.

Early in the learning curve, employees require macro learning—committing a great deal of time to learning a whole new area or domain—to fully understand a new role, process, culture and system. And as students progress along the learning curve, they need continuous boosts of new skills, information and connections until they become experts.

Once this macro learning is complete, students can learn via microlearning because they now have the foundation, experience and context under them. After all, what’s a better way to learn? By sending employees to a 3-day training course with an expert instructor or showing students a series of 5-minute videos on how to use the software?

Another way to think about it is what are the consequences or costs of a student who learns something incorrectly? If the costs are small, then perhaps a microlearning course is appropriate. But if the potential costs are large, or if you plan to rely on the student for critical functions over a long-term period, then investing in proper training would be the appropriate way to go about training.

3. Providing an environment for students to practice real-world tasks

Proponents of microlearning maintain it is beneficial for students to receive small bits of information to avoid overloading students or taxing their short attention spans.

But active, hands-on practice is the key to learning. According to John Dewey, learning must be relevant and practical—not passive and theoretical. “Give the pupils something to do, not something to learn,” said Dewey. “And the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results.”

Giving students something to “do” is the premise behind virtual training labs. These labs are critical in replicating realistic situations that teach students the skills they need when they are back at their desks, working on actual software. Learn more about ReadyTech’s virtual training labs.

Because learning by doing has been proven to create higher knowledge retention than just listening and watching (death by PowerPoint), the combination of virtual instructor-led training (VILT) and virtual training labs are more effective at helping students achieve performance fluency. And this hands-on practice can help students get the real-life skills they need to not only succeed in their jobs, but throughout their careers.

The bottom line is that all skills must be practiced and require more than 3- to 5- minute segments of instruction. It is vital for students to practice these skills by working on real-world tasks—instead of merely watching a handful of short videos.

4. Promoting teamwork and collaboration

In addition to real-world practice, it is important for students to learn how to interact with a team to test new ideas, obtain feedback, collaborate and discuss theories.

John Dewey maintained that learning is a social and interactive process. He believed that students thrive when allowed to experience and interact with the curriculum and take an active part in their own learning.

That’s where virtual training tools come into play. For example, ReadyTech offers many innovative virtual training tools that enable instructors to create a collaborative learning environment for students.

These include quizzes, polls or exams to create interaction; Screen Share, which allows instructors to let a student teach the class for a short period; annotation, which allows instructors and students to discuss images, screenshots and the product that the training is on; and Breakout Groups, which allows instructors to break the class into smaller groups for group assignments.

All of these virtual training tools help instructors provide a collaborative learning experience for all students.

Survival in today’s business world depends greatly on acquiring and retaining knowledge, skills and capabilities. But organizations can’t rely solely on microlearning to fill knowledge gaps.

Microlearning is most useful when combined with other types of learning—such as hands-on learning, macro learning, spaced repetition and reinforcement learning—because it is ineffective to only teach new information in short bursts.

Whether it is a request dealing with deployment or a last-minute event change, your team handles it quickly and with extreme professionalism and patience. We are perfectionists with our classes, and ReadyTech’s support meshes well with that expectation of perfection for our classes.

The truth is that providing excellent tech support is quite challenging. After all, who calls tech support to give compliments? Add in the difficulty of having virtual teams with employees distributed across the globe in various time zones—and you have a daunting task.

The customer letter made me stop and think about the tech support department we’ve created at ReadyTech. What makes it so good? Are there things we can do to be even better? What advice would we give to other organizations building a 24/7/365 support team? Here are some thoughts on how to deliver strong and reliable tech support:

Leadership: Each office location should have an experienced team lead in charge. This lead can be a point of contact for all urgent and complex tech issues.

Ongoing training: Training helps any tech support team understand their roles and responsibilities. In addition, training can improve their well-being and confidence in performing their responsibilities effectively. Support representatives who receive training are better able to perform in their jobs. This builds confidence by providing a stronger understanding of job duties—and this confidence inspires them to work harder and perform better. Additionally, investing in training proves to employees that they are valued and supported.

Communication: Because virtual teams don’t see each other regularly, good communication between managers and employees is vital. Strong communication enables employees to be self-sufficient, which is crucial when it comes to remote employees tackling spur-of-the-moment, complex issues. Develop an open door policy and consistently encourage employees to ask questions.

Another way to foster strong communication is to create an internal support blog. For example, ReadyTech has a section on its intranet that is used for support team announcements and policy changes–and maintained regularly by support management.

Not only is it useful to have a designated place to share what’s happening in support, but managers should communicate to all staff that it is their responsibility to regularly check the blog. In addition, every support team should have some kind of chat system, such as HipChat or Slack. This chat system allows for quick and easy communication between staff.

Hiring: To avoid employee burnout–which is quite common in the customer service industry–it is important to pay special attention to hiring. Try to employ individuals who are self-motivated, positive thinkers, independent, multi-taskers and tech savvy. In addition, seek candidates who are confident in making quick decisions, thrive under pressure, and possess empathy and patience with customers.

Keep in mind that customer satisfaction is an important differentiator for many companies. Consequently, it is vital to personalize the customer service experience. Because every business is a “people business,” your support team members should consistently personalize their service. This means engaging in one-on-one conversations, obtaining the loyalty and trust of customers, working hard to resolve issues quickly and always making customers feel important.

And this, in turn, can reduce burnout because personalized service translates into an increase in creativity and individuality for support team members. Many organizations that provide support use call scripts for almost everything they do. However, this creates a monotonous and repetitive workplace, which can result in employees feeling bored, discouraged, unsatisfied and frustrated.

For ReadyTech, hiring qualified staff is especially important. When anyone calls or emails ReadyTech with technical issues, support staff treats every interaction as urgent. Consequently, hiring people-saavy employees who believe in ReadyTech’s values–and can be the voice of our company–is crucial.

Resource center: Establish a shared, online resource center. This center should cover common problems and solutions, as well as FAQs. A shared knowledge base enables all team members to be on the same page, and feel like they have the needed resources on hand. For example, ReadyTech has a resource center maintained by support reps. Support staff writes most of these articles, which makes sense since the reps manage the ins and outs of support each and every day.

Employee engagement: Technical support can be extremely demanding due to the high stress work environment and emotional aspects of the job. Consequently, be sure to consistently check in with employees to hear about their highs and lows. Listen to their feedback and implement their suggestions.

Customer feedback: Another way to improve your support team is to encourage feedback from customers. This feedback will allow you recognize your support team’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as improve processes.

Onboarding: More than 85 percent of new employees lack the level of knowledge to do their jobs, causing stress and anxiety during the transition to a new position. That’s where onboarding comes in. Integrating new employees into an organization and making them productive as soon as possible is the mission of a good onboarding program.

It is vital to realize that onboarding and training are different. Michel Falcon, founder of Experience Academy, explains: “Employee onboarding is the design of what your employees feel, see and hear after they have been hired. Often companies confuse onboarding with training. While training does have a role within the onboarding, it doesn’t represent the entire scope of the process.”

Onboarding is the opportunity to equip employees with resources, tools and confidence they need once they are on their own. This is the time to set expectations and teach skills, knowledge and behavior in order to be effective on the job. Strong onboarding can lead to higher job performance, job satisfaction, greater organizational commitment and a reduction in job stress.

As described in the Hiring section, many support organizations use call scripts as a way to enforce standards and speed up the onboarding process for new hires to make sure there is ROI on the support representative before they quit. But scripted conversations lack engagement, resulting in customers feeling like the support representative isn’t listening and the support representative feeling like a robot. During the onboarding process, be sure to address the critical need for personalized service. After all, giving employees freedom to tap into their individuality will not only reduce burnout, but improve the experiences of customers.

A strong tech support team can make the difference between happy and unhappy customers. By implementing these suggestions, you, too can receive compliments—instead of complaints.

In fact, online training is an accepted way to increase an organization’s revenue. Studies have found that roughly half of associations that use technology for learning purposes have been able to increase their revenue from educational offerings. For these organizations, a strong corporate learning strategy also creates a significant competitive advantage. Not only does enhanced learning and knowledge sharing translate into innovative ideas and solutions, but a well-trained workforce produces high-quality products and services.

And virtual training is not only good for organizations. On average, students in online learning situations perform better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.

Many students prefer online training because it offers convenience and flexibility. Students can attend instructor-led courses from home—or attend self-paced training anytime and from anywhere. With VILT, there is no inconvenience from travel, such as missing important family events, missing actual work, managing lost productivity from traveling to training locations, and dealing with the stress of being away from home.

It is clear that VILT is beneficial for students and training organizations, but what about instructors and trainers? Are they ready for VILT software?

Simply put: Yes! And here’s why:

VILT software enables instructors to work from anywhere

In today’s world, work is no longer a place you go. It’s something you do. And nobody has embraced this more than instructors and trainers who have realized the benefits of virtual training. After all, the option to work on from home instead of having to travel or commute to deliver training provide extreme flexibility without compromising any productivity.

Instructors and trainers are comfortable with—and rely on—technology

Technology plays a vital role in our lives. In fact, the Internet is so integrated in their lives that many technology users can’t remember the first time they even accessed the Internet. They are extremely comfortable in the world of digital devices and rely heavily on technology for learning, communicating and entertainment.

According to research from the Pew Research Center:

• The vast majority of Americans–95%–now own a cell phone of some kind.
• About 90% of American adults use the Internet.
• Roughly 75% of American adults have broadband Internet service at home.
• And 65% of American adults use social networking sites regularly.

In short, the average American is used to technology, so with these statistics in mind, it’ is no wonder that today’s instructors and trainers are also very comfortable using technology while at work–as well as at play.

Instructors and trainers are already embracing the Internet Of Things

The Internet Of Things—the concept of connecting every device with an on and off switch to the Internet—includes everything from cellphones and washing machines to lamps and wearable devices. In fact, according to Gartner, 20.4 billion connected things will be in use worldwide in 2020.

According to Forbes, the new rule for the future will be: “Anything that can be connected, will be connected.” And because the Internet Of Things is a huge network of connected things and people, today’s instructors and trainers are already becoming accustomed to relationships between people-people, people-things and things-things.

Instructors and trainers understand the value of VILT software

Virtual desktops are now accessible on all devices using the cloud. This means that organizations can leverage a single technology to provide local and remote users with a seamless learning experience.

According to a KPMG cloud survey report, “the top 2 value drivers from mobile cloud workforce enablement are increased productivity and higher employee satisfaction.” Because instructors and training managers understand this, they have turned to virtual training software to increase their own productivity and improve the learning experience of their students.

Instructors and trainers enjoy working remotely

Do remote employees feel isolated and unhappy? Are they unsatisfied with their working situations? Do they feel less valued? Are they less productive? The answers to these questions are a resounding “no.”

In fact, employees who telecommute are almost twice as likely to love their jobs than employees who work in traditional worksites, such as in office buildings. A recent study of remote working arrangements found that remote workers are happier because they enjoy the freedom and flexibility of their jobs. Having control over one’s schedule and being able to customize work hours to meet the needs of one’s personal life and working style are vital.

In addition, remote employees believe they are more productive when working remotely, feel more valued and have consistent contact with managers. The bottom line is that as training organizations make the move from traditional training to VILT software, organizations, students and instructors all benefit.

There is no question that engaging virtual audiences can be extremely difficult for novice instructors, as well as for experienced ones.

Kassy LaBorie, instructional designer, author and principal consultant at Kassy LaBorie Consulting, describes how to break the mold of static lecture-style trainings. Her strategies described below will help ReadyTech instructors ensure the effective delivery of meaningful training that sticks:

1. PLATFORM: Know it inside and out, upside down and all around.

Be an expert of the ReadyTech online training platform. Understand its capabilities, nuances and all its virtual training tools. Click on all the different options and utilize an Assistant Instructor for extra platform expertise. If you’re using ReadyTech’s platform and want additional training, contact your Customer Success Manager to schedule a training session or visit ReadyTech’s Knowledge Base.

2. PRODUCER: Don’t go it alone.

An Assistant Instructor can help distinguish your session, as well as support you, the participants and the technology. They are an extra pair of hands, eyes, and ears!

Meet your Assistant Instructor in advance for pre-session preparation to discuss the best ways to be supported. Learn from each session by conducting a thorough debrief. For virtual instructor-led training (VILT) courses, ReadyTech recommends having an Assistant Instructor if the class is greater than 15 students–or if it’s the instructor’s first time teaching the course.

3. READINESS: Confirm that you, your participants and your technology are ready.

Use a Facilitator’s Guide to stay on track. At the start of your online class, don’t assume that participants are familiar with the ReadyTech online training platform. Give a quick how-to on the ReadyTech platform to teach participants how to work and learn in ReadyTech’s virtual training environment. Have backup plans in place for any unexpected technology issues, such as loss of internet connection.

4. SOUND: How you sound determines how people feel.

Deliver with a tone that says, “I want you here!” Make participants feel welcome and let them know you care. Be sure to call on individuals by name, remember to bring all students into the conversation, acknowledge them and incorporate participants’ comments and ideas into the session.

5. THINK: Practice “purposeful silence” when asking students to respond.

Allow quiet time for students to think and process. Thoughtfully comment on students’ ideas or questions submitted through chat. Instead of just reading these out loud, call on students to elaborate.

ReadyTech’s Chat and Whiteboard features can help instructors facilitate this strategy. For example, with Whiteboard, instructors can draw and write, as well as communicate flowcharts, IT configurations and process maps. Private and Public Chat enables one-on-one conversations between the instructor and other students, as well as chats between the entire class.

6. INTERACT: Encourage students to answer questions–instead of being the first to comment.

Facilitate group learning and collaboration by asking students to answer each other’s questions. ReadyTech’s Breakout Groups allows instructors to break the class into smaller groups, which enables student collaboration on case studies and lab exercises.

7. ADAPT: Manage time, adhere to course objectives and flow, and adapt to participant needs and expectations.

With ReadyTech’s Lab Timer, instructors can set a timer so students know exactly how much time they have to complete their virtual training labs. Students are able to indicate when they have completed each exercise and can track how long it took them.

8. ACTION: Open the class with purpose and respond to that purpose.

For example, open using a slide with a question on why the topic is important. Or ask students to share their challenges related to the topic. Read their responses and thread them throughout the course. A feature that can help with that is ReadyTech’s Public Chat. This feature allows back-and-forth communication in an easy way across the entire class, keeping track of the conversation, plus the functionality to search through chat history later in the course.

9. FACILITATE: Commit to no more lectures.

Instead, design hands-on activities for students to complete–either individually or within small groups. For example, instead of posting a slide with a bulleted list, ask students to share their own experiences. Because hands-on training is vital to the learning process, students need to spend time working with the product.

10. BREAKOUT: Breakout groups are great for facilitating student collaboration.

Always be very clear with the breakout group instructions and answer all questions before launching the breakouts. Be sure to check in on students throughout the breakouts in case they need help.

The key for any virtual instructor’s success is discovering how to create an engaging and meaningful class—from beginning to end. To help accomplish this, instructors can use Kassy LaBorie’s 10 master strategies while teaching an online class on ReadyTech’s VILT software.

In fact, about $11 billion is lost each year due to employee turnover, and companies with engaged employees outperform companies with disengaged employees by 202%.

According to a recent study, engaged employees—those with an emotional and functional commitment to an organization—possess the following four traits:

• Enthusiasm—employees love their work
• Empowerment—when employees are allowed to do work their way
• Inspiration—this results from good leadership
• Confidence—a feeling they can achieve excellence in the workplace

With these traits in mind, here are some tips on improving productivity and engagement at any organization:

Provide training, training and more training

42% of employees view job-specific training as extremely important to their job satisfaction. And when considering their ideal employer, millennials value solid training and development programs.

This is no surprise. Training helps employees develop their talents and empowers them to become more effective and engaged in their roles. Employees who take part in training and development programs are better able to perform at work and have more confidence on the job.

A company’s investment in training proves to employees they are valued. And employees who get training opportunities tend to feel more satisfaction toward their jobs. According to a recent SHRM study of 600 employees, 42% percent of employees view job-specific training as very important to their job satisfaction, while 47% view training as important.

Respect employees as individuals

Research shows that when leaders are fair to team members, employees display more citizenship behavior and are more productive—both individually and as a team. The bottom line is that respect is a simple, but powerful motivator. When employees feel genuinely respected, they are more likely to go the extra mile in their jobs.

Provide meaningful and constructive feedback

Employee feedback is a critical management skill. The tricky part is delivering effective and supportive feedback in a way that encourages, rather than discourages, employees. While feedback is not always positive, it must be communicated in a constructive manner (have suggestions ready on how the employee can improve their performance) and on a regular basis—so employees understand exactly how they are performing in their roles and what they need to do to improve.

Foster trust and strong relationships

Employees want leaders to trust them—not micromanage them. In any job, risk taking and exploration provides employees with the ability to learn and improve their job skills.

Developing personal relationships is vital because these relationships really do matter. Business revolves around teamwork and collaboration to make things happen—whether it’s developing a product, delivering a service or forming a partnership.

Consistently connect with employees. Be sure to help them navigate their talents and skill set, as well as their roles in the organization. Take time to discuss an employee’s strengths—and how these can make a difference in the organization. These connections will help strengthen an employee’s commitment.

Employee engagement and productivity are critical in every organization. By consistently focusing on training, feedback, relationships, trust and respect, organizations can significantly boost productivity and engagement.

We wanted to share the most interesting ideas and key takeaways from the conference:

Anthoine Wurth, CEO of Mindmarker, presented on how reinforcement increases impact. For attendees interested in learning actionable tips on how to use reinforcement to improve training and increase results, Wurth outlined practical tips on building reinforcement objectives; measuring knowledge retention; closing the common training reinforcement gaps, and achieving the three phases of behavior change.

In addition, Wurth spent part of his session explaining how to bring about behavior change. He explained that ROI is 0% until you see behavior change. And to get this behavior change, organizations must spend 15% of time “telling” the employee, 25% “giving” them the knowledge and skills to do it, and 60% of the time “incentivizing” the behavior change.

John Mattox, Managing Consultant at Corporate Executive Board, presented on how learning drives metrics. According to Mattox, as technology advances, so does learning. And new and different ways of learning develop every day. In this new world, learning and development professionals face two challenges: measuring the wide variety of learning methods and communicating the influence of learning to business leaders. His session described the best practices for measuring formal and informal learning, as well as practical ways to summarize and communicate the value of learning’s influence on performance.

In addition, Mattox discussed how today’s digital learner is empowered (they can find information anywhere and at anytime); networked (they have peers that can teach them how to do things); and impatient (they are accustomed to instantaneous and accessible information). He also explained how training portfolios fit into four categories: maximizing operational efficiency, driving growth, mitigating risk and building, and maintaining foundational skills.

Kassy LaBorie, Principal Consultant at Kassy LaBorie Consulting, and Karen Greenfield, Global Director of SAP’s Virtual Live Classroom Program, presented 20 master strategies for facilitating and giving virtual courses. Here, they shared powerful tips, tricks, and practices to lead engaging online learning sessions. For example, they offered the following virtual classroom methods to engage an audience:

• Practice “purposeful silence” when asking participants to respond by allowing quiet time for participants to think, process and respond.
• Encourage others to answer questions instead of being the first to comment.
• Research your topic, learn about your audience, use specific examples relevant to their industry, company, and the culture of the participants. Use stories to make the content memorable.
• Have a trusted friend or colleague who knows how to deliver online learning observe you and provide feedback and coaching. Get out of the rut of bad habits, such as too many filler words or calling attention to technology.

Becky Pluth, CEO and president of The Bob Pike Group, presented a session on improving retention. According to Pluth, research shows that we remember best when we see or hear a principle first and then have it repeated as the last thing in a session. Consequently, presenters must start strong and end strong—with intentional and effective openers and closers. And to improve retention and engagement throughout the webinar, Pluth suggests offering revisiters and energizers.

Her nine steps to effectively facilitating activities includes gaining attention, explaining the signal, explaining the directions, giving a model, repeating directions, giving a signal, watching the activity, thanking, debriefing and sharing.

And finally, Kevin Carroll, author, speaker and agent for social change, delivered the keynote address, which focused on how organizations and individuals should embrace their spirit of play and creativity. This, in turn, maximizes their human potential and sustains more meaningful business and personal growth.

According to Carroll, play was “serious” business in our youth—and it should be even more serious business in our professional lives if we hope to unleash the creative genius that spurs organizational growth. In his keynote, Carroll described the relevance of play and how we must continue to tap into those lessons for our future success. In addition, he spoke about how a business culture that incorporates “purposeful play” can improve leadership, employee quality of life, and retention, as well as attract new talent.

Because technology is a vital part of today’s workplace learning, training professionals must stay on top of the current trends. The ATD TechKnowledge conference not only showcased these trends, but also inspired and encouraged L&D professionals to embrace these trends in the workplace. The goal was to think, create, and connect. And that’s exactly what happened.

For more information about ATD TechKnowledge 2018, visit http://techknowledge.td.org/.

Today’s top performing companies not only recognize the importance of their employees, but also the critical need to provide the right skills at the right time for the right people. And embracing the best training methods successfully enables employees.

When organizations search for these training methods, virtual training labs cannot be overlooked. These cloud-based, virtual training environments help organizations deliver better hands-on training—while also offering significant cost savings, convenience and instructor/student productivity. To see how much online training can lower your training delivery costs, use the in person training vs. online training calculator.

Virtual Training with Virtual Training Labs: A Recipe for Cost Savings

Today’s organization’s report that virtual learning is the second most valuable training method they use. Additionally, virtual training reduces training expenses by up to 50%.

When using virtual training labs, organizations only pay for the resources they actually use—unlike local labs where organizations are responsible for the storage, maintenance and administration of labs, regardless of how often they are used. And because virtual training labs are web-based, software and plugins are not required—removing the need for an IT staff to set up, support, takedown and maintain the labs.

Another cost reduction comes in the form of travel. With instructors providing training to employees around the globe from their desks, companies dramatically reduce expenses for airfare, lodging, food and equipment/site rental.

Convenience and Productivity

Because it is common for employees to be distributed geographically, students and instructors must travel long distances for training. This causes a decline in productivity when individuals are away from work, plus the “wear and tear” caused on employees from having to be on the road.

However, virtual training labs provide convenience and flexibility because students can attend scheduled, instructor-led courses from their home or office—or take self-paced training courses from anywhere and anytime. There is no inconvenience from travel, such as missing work or family obligations.

Moving from traditional labs to virtual training labs is a smart choice for organizations that want to develop a skilled workforce, while reducing costs and improving convenience and productivity.