With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, numerous organizations and managers are understandably in a crisis mood. There is a risk that survival will take over and learning and skills development projects that are vital to future success will fade to the background to wait for better times. Now, if ever, it is important to invest in competence development, and digital learning provides an impressive pathway for this.

Over the past year, we have learned to hold effective meetings, do sales work and maintain customer relationships online. Digital tools enable flexible remote work and interaction conveniently.

Online training has for a long time been a part of the available range of learning tools, and the pandemic crisis has created a digital leap in both educational institutions and companies. Unfortunately, however, online training is often reduced to a mere sharing of documents and presentations or talking head videos on the learning platform.

Effective e-learning is a carefully thought-out entity that includes for instance the following:

  1. Learning objectives have been thought out and set for the training and form the basis on which both the content and the related tasks are planned.
  2. The objectives are measurable, so at the end of the training it is possible to assess how well the learning objectives were achieved.
  3. The entity is consistent, appropriately paced and progresses logically.
  4. The broader entity is divided into modules and into sections according to the themes to be learned. Entities that are too long and heavy will not promote learning.
  5. The content is designed in a user-oriented way and the entity contains various elements and interactive tasks that activate the learners and support learning.
  6. The training includes social elements where users can share what they have learned, give tips and discuss the topics.
  7. The training provides analytical information that can be used to monitor learning and develop the content further.

Learning forms the basis not only for overcoming a crisis but also for future success and growth – both at the organizational and individual level. In these times, promoting digital learning is more important than ever. However, organizing digital learning in companies requires special skills, technologies and resources.

To help you and your company to get started, Intolead has implemented a visual guide in the form of an online course on the building blocks of effective online training. If you are considering how digital learning should be integrated into your company’s strategy, or if you are preparing an online training or a related call for tenders, this guide is for you.

After completing the online course, you will understand what the learning objectives are, what makes up effective online training, what benefits online training can bring to your training strategy, and what things to consider when preparing a call for tenders for digital learning.