Virtual Professional Training is Right for Everyone Right Now

When it comes to corporate training and professional development, the future just got a step closer.

We all expect convenient, engaging ways to learn. Live training has long been a mainstay of professional development, with opportunities for networking, collaborating and sharing face-to-face while we learn in classrooms and meeting rooms across the country from experts in their fields.

Evolving technology has increasingly offered virtual learning, with academia continuing to study the advantages and disadvantages of various alternatives. With the current pandemic causing social distancing, isolation and self-quarantines, what we consider “convenient” or “best practices” has changed seemingly overnight.

And thankfully technology offers extraordinary professional development solutions!

Learning in our own work spaces — be those in an office, at home or in a shared workspace isn’t new (although some of the technology is). As early as 1960, the University of Illinois created an intranet for its students made up of linked computer terminals where students could access course materials as well as listen to recorded lectures.

We’ve come a long way ... as online learners now access microlearning on an as-needed basis or interact with each other and instructors in real time.

Beyond simply allowing for professional development and training to continue with each of us at a safe distance from one another, let’s consider some of the often-touted advantages to live, virtual instructor-led training.

 

1. It is and has always been convenient. Virtual training allows learners access to courses wherever there is internet. Instead of traveling to a single classroom location, teams that are spread out geographically or who have any health or mobility issues can come together in an interactive learning environment without lost travel time or expense.  It’s also convenient for training professionals, allowing qualified experts to teach from anywhere.

 

2. Not all learners thrive in a classroom setting. Virtual learning allows learners who may not be as comfortable interacting in-person an opportunity to contribute.  Some traditional classroom training techniques are better suited to extroverts, where these outspoken learners can dominate group discussions. In these face-to-face settings, the quieter, more introverted learners who are more likely to ruminate on a problem or question or may simply be hesitant to speak up, may be slow to raise their hands. Virtual classrooms offer a more comfortable environment for everyone to contribute.

 

3. Increased participation and engagement. Just because it’s virtual doesn’t mean learner engagement will suffer. In fact, many live virtual classrooms are now equipped with comment, chat, whiteboard, screen share or poll features, enabling students to easily collaborate in real time with peers or other learners, creating a multi-directional flow of information. Because the classes are live, instructors easily communicate with learners … monitor comments, questions or responses and adjust content to ensure effective learning.

 

4.  Efficiency is increased. Live virtual training often compresses a full day of classroom training into three or four hours. Meaningful content takes center stage as training is adjusted to maintain learners’ attention and the concepts with the greatest impact on performance take center stage.

 

5. Can be customized. You can find live, virtual instructor-led training covering a variety of business topics. But, just as with face-to-face, instructor-led training, it can also be highly-customized to fit the training needs of a specific organization or team.

 

Rather than hit "pause" on professional development, consider the many benefits of today's most innovative online learning — live, instructor-lead virtual training.