E-learning myths and misconceptions

Although e-learning has rocketed in popularity over the years, this revolutionary form of education is still widely misunderstood by many, as a result of outdated notions and common misconceptions. In this week’s blog post, we aim to debunk some of those big, bad myths and explain exactly what e-learning can offer your facility!

Myth 1: It’s impersonal

The absence of a face-to-face element can mean that people often believe e-learning to lack the all-important personal touch that helps them to feel connected to the material they’re interacting with.

This may be true for an e-learning product that only offers a one-size-fits-all approach which doesn’t take into account individual learning styles, but the world of e-learning has greatly advanced over the years, and many now offer personalised aspects to their content.

As well as empowering you to develop your own courses, Smartpass allows you to add your own logos, themes, images, video, audio and animations to the learning interface – ensuring each module feels completely exclusive to your facility.

Myth 2: It’s not user-friendly

One of the most common misconceptions about e-learning is that learners need a degree in IT in order to use it effectively. In fact, the only skills you require to get through an e-learning course are the ability to use a mouse, keyboard/touch screen, and read the content. And that’s it.

What’s more, Smartpass is a cloud-based software, meaning no tricky installations are required. Simply access the Learner Management System through your standard internet browser and you’re good to go.

Myth 3: There’s less support

Just because there’s no physical ‘instructor’ with e-learning doesn’t mean you’ll be thrown straight into the deep-end and left to figure everything out for yourself.

Smartpass provides a full support service by remote desktop, e-mail and telephone. We are more than happy to travel to you for training on any elements of Smartpass, including the use of the management and content authoring tools.

Myth 4: It’s expensive

Like any educational solution worth its salt, there is an expense involved in e-learning – but in the long-term it’s much more cost-effective compared to face-to-face training. In fact, by moving to online learning, US technology and consulting company IBM were able to cut their training costs by roughly $200 million.

Any facility with more than 5 employees will know only too well the expenses that come with sourcing instructor-led training. This includes a significant sum per head or for the whole group which includes instructor time, training materials and lunch, and – if carried out externally – the travel, boarding, equipment hire and sustenance for each learner. You also need to think about the strain on resources when employees are taken away from the care environment – will you need to bring temporary staff on board to bridge the gap, and thus incur further expenses?

What’s more – once one course has been completed, the entire process has to be repeated whenever new training is required. With e-learning, on the other hand, once you’ve paid a set-up fee and you’re up and running with your chosen software, you can avoid all other related costs.

And the best part? You can retake each course whenever you like.

Myth 5: It doesn’t work

If your only experience with e-learning has involved having to take notes from a rushed PowerPoint slide deck, it’s safe to say you probably didn’t get much out of it. We don’t blame you. From professional content to a clear progress-reporting function, a significant part of a great e-learning course lies in its design. The best e-learning solutions software will not only look great, but they will also take into consideration differing learning styles, the importance of interactivity and reporting preferences.

The Smartpass team has over 20 years’ experience of working in collaboration with healthcare professionals and key opinion leaders, so you can be sure all content is appropriate, relevant and up to date.

What’s more, the beauty of e-learning pedagogy is that each individual can take everything at their own pace – so if there’s anything you weren’t 100% sure about or would like to revisit, you can do so with ease.

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Still not 100% convinced about whether e-learning could work for you? Start your free Smartpass trial today.

To find out more about our education solutions, click HERE to get in touch with one of our friendly team.