Moving face-to-face resources to fully online courses.
While you might never have thought that you would have to take face-to-face training and courses online, that time has arrived as a result of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. At this point, you might be wondering how you are going to turn your face-to-face training resources into an online e-learning module.
The main thing to remember is that the experience will be different, but the aim is to ensure that you achieve the same learning outcomes. So. with this in mind, how do you move resources online?
Make your content relatable and valid.
The first thing you need to do is make sure that your resources are still relatable and not outdated. If it is outdated, then you’ll need to get rid of it, and if you focus too much on one topic, then you should think about shortening your online resources.
You might find that the resources no longer relate to what they were once related to. Perhaps the culture has changed, or the organisation does things differently, and so, it is important that you make sure that your content is right. Online learning is different to face-to-face, so you have to make sure that the content is concise, on point and easy to digest.
Make learning easier through mini-stages.
Moving your resources online might need to be carried out quickly, but you still need those resources to meet learning objectives. When you find that time is tight, don’t skip steps to get the job completed but instead carry out a smaller assessment based on needs. So, you need to ask yourself, “what does success look like once the learners have completed training?” and then create a list of behaviours, skills and tasks that learners must improve and do differently once they have completed the online course.
It’s also possible to speak with managers or employees that have been through the training process to find out what they think should be included in your resources. They might enable you to remove a lot of the content, helping to make courses more efficient and effective. However, the main thing to consider is that you only need the essentials because it’s vital that the content is reduced to make it easier to digest.
Turn content into tasks.
As the training will change from face-to-face, it means that the learning process changes. People are likely to engage when they have a tutor or instructor in front of them. They can absorb the information you provide without the need for content. However, this part of the process is removed, which completely changes the dynamics of the learning experience. You can replace the human element of learning through listening by introducing tasks. If you can turn the content into tasks where learners can answer questions or even play games, it will enhance the learning experience.
So, the main thing is to make sure that the content relates to the subject in a more efficient way. You want to keep learners engaged by not bombarding them with masses of text, so you can do this by providing relevant content that meets the learning outcomes while also making it an interactive experience. If you get all of this right, your face-to-face resources will work hard for you online.