Despite being around for many years, virtual instructor-led training saw a surge in popularity this year as a result of orders to stay at home. Traditional face-to-face training and virtual instructor-led training share the following characteristics: they both require an instructor to deliver a training session live to a group of participants. Please continue reading if you’re interested in learning more about online instructor-led training.
What Is Virtual Instructor-Led Training?
Virtual training, live online training, and remote training. Although it goes by many names, it is simply instruction that is provided online rather than in a traditional classroom setting.
Just as in a traditional classroom, the instruction is given in real-time by a teacher; however, in most cases, it is done so using a video conferencing tool like Zoom.
Because they can reach a larger, more dispersed audience without incurring travel or lodging expenses, many training providers have shifted to this type of training. Additionally, it increases the convenience and flexibility of where and how students can learn.
This shift was accelerated by COVID-19, and many people were forced to switch to VILT when face-to-face training was no longer an option.
These days, many are expanding this strategy to include supplementary eLearning components. Blended learning is the term for learning that combines VILT and face-to-face instruction. This encourages more interaction, discussion, and collaborative learning for students while supporting a variety of learning styles.
Additionally, it has been demonstrated to improve retention of knowledge and learning outcomes. Blended learning, for training providers, further boosts a course’s value, expands its scalability, and cuts down on the amount of time an instructor spends instructing.
In comparison to classroom-based training, which can last a full or half day, virtual training sessions are typically much shorter, lasting no more than 60 minutes. Maintaining student engagement and connectivity is one of the biggest challenges of online learning.
Benefits Of Virtual Instructor-Led Training
The ability to learn virtually has completely changed how people are educated and how they seek out new information. VILT has the capacity to link students from various social backgrounds and cultural traditions who are located in various cities, states, and nations.
For Training Providers:
- Get more people to listen. Training companies can offer their courses anywhere in the world thanks to virtual learning. By expanding your course offerings globally, you can reach a much larger audience than you could if you only offered local, face-to-face courses.
- Increase capacity. There are limits to how many students can attend face-to-face training at once. You can expand the number of students who can enroll in virtual training because there are no enrollment restrictions.
- Reduce costs. travel and lodging expenses for presenters have been decreased or eliminated. Additionally, there are no venue or catering fees.
- Save time. You can deliver face-to-face courses more quickly and include more courses in your catalog with less travel for presenters.
- Boost the financial success of the course. In addition to the decreased fixed costs of providing your VILT, you may decide to raise the price of your course if you are astute in identifying opportunities to provide added value. Aside from forums and resource libraries, additional advantages might include eLearning modules.
For Learners:
- Flexible. Learning can be done virtually at a time and location that works best for the learner, frequently in much shorter bursts. Traditionally, face-to-face training would be conducted in full- or half-day sessions. wherein virtual training is frequently delivered over the course of a few sessions and lasts between two and three hours.
- Save time. Even without having to travel to a course that is held somewhere other than their usual location, learners frequently struggle to find the time to fit a course into their already hectic work and personal schedules. By using VILT, students can enroll in a course without worrying about the added costs of travel, lodging, or time away from their busy schedules.
- more effective memory. When VILT is combined with video recordings, resource libraries, forums, and quizzes to allow learners the chance to revisit the content and learn at their own pace, we are seeing encouraging results in terms of knowledge retention.
- Inclusive. If a student needs additional time to absorb or comprehend a concept, VILT provides the option for them to review course material from a recording. By including eLearning modules, more learning styles can be accommodated. giving students the option to learn at their own pace and in a variety of ways.
Tips For Facilitating Virtual Instructor-Led Training
Here are some essential guidelines to make sure your vILT training sessions are fruitful and achieve your learning objectives:
- Apply a blended learning strategy. To create a unified training program, combine synchronous training (live sessions) and asynchronous training on-demand tasks that can be finished outside of living classes.
- Join forces with a producer. Collaboration with a producer is ideal. They are there to help and address technical issues, freeing up the facilitator to concentrate on the learners and their learning process.
- Create a facilitator’s manual. This document outlines expectations and provides guidance for learners, facilitators, and producers so that everyone is aware of their roles.
- Maintain brief vILT sessions. Always prefer shorter phrases. Limit learning session length to two hours or less. 90 minutes is the ideal duration for live vILT sessions. Spread out several live sessions over several weeks to create a comprehensive learning program if you have more information to impart. Don’t forget to provide breaks for participants to get up and stretch during longer sessions.
- Weave interactive learning activities throughout for an optimal training experience.
Give students plenty of chances to participate, contribute, apply concepts, annotate on a digital whiteboard, and have discussions in small groups of ideally three to four people.
The Future Of Virtual Instructor-Led Training
Virtual instructor-led training has established itself as a constant component of the L&D landscape in the same way that remote work has. The fastest-growing method of delivering internet-based learning, according to Training Industry, is VILT.
In order to provide geographically dispersed learners with the best of both worlds, software advancements will continue to create new opportunities to combine the benefits of an instructor-led training program with those of a virtual learning environment.
How Organizations Can Implement VILT?
Three fundamental steps should be taken by businesses that are prepared to move forward with implementing a virtual instructor-led training program:
- Invest in a reputable training platform with a wide range of content that meets the needs of your employees’ personal development and overall business objectives.
- To ensure that corporate training initiatives are effective for all employees, pay attention to employee feedback.
- Promote learning and development throughout the organization and change the culture.