Training employees is a never-ending but crucial process. Choosing suitable methods and tools is vital to ensure the success of your training initiatives. One learning method that is becoming popular is synchronous learning, and this article covers everything you need to know about it.
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What Is Synchronous Learning?
Synchronous learning is the learning environment where all corporate learners simultaneously engage in a virtual training session. Live instructor-led sessions are a prime example of synchronous learning.
Most companies prefer synchronous learning for its highly interactive nature. Employees can communicate with each other and the instructor in real-time, thus learning and solving queries as and when they occur. It also gives employees an opportunity to engage in social interactions, which is much appreciated in this time of remote work.
Today, most employees either work from home or visit their places of work some days a week. However, remote or hybrid culture does not mean employees can no longer learn or take training simultaneously, thanks to LMS-video conferencing integrations.
In fact, now that employees are not bound within the four walls of a conference room, employees spread across countries can also participate in online synchronous learning. Let’s learn more about LMS-video conferencing integrations in the section below.
Using LMS-Video Conferencing Integrations For Synchronous Learning
Learning management systems integrated with video conferencing allows companies to create a classroom-like environment, irrespective of the employee’s location as they train. This integration enables employees to communicate face-to-face, even when they are not together in the same room with their peers or instructors.
When considering online employee training, most companies fear a lack of engagement and poor completion rates. But when employees get first-hand training from subject matter experts in real-time while sitting in the comforts of their homes, they may be quick to attend the sessions. This is where LMS-video conferencing integrations become an integral part of synchronous learning.
With the help of such an integration, you can host webinars, conduct instructor-led training sessions, or facilitate communication between a seasoned and a rookie employee to offer an enhanced learning experience. An LMS and video conferencing integration pave the path for successful and engaging synchronous learning.
So we know what is synchronous learning and how you can ensure its effectiveness. Let us now understand why you should consider this form of learning for your corporate learners.
Benefits Of Synchronous Learning
Synchronous learning has numerous advantages for both employees and organizations. A few of them are mentioned below.
Helps Facilitate Collaboration
Collaboration plays an important role in an organization’s success, whether in a training session or on the job as employees try to achieve common goals. Synchronous learning gives employees a platform to interact with each other and collaborate in real-time.
Employees can participate in online activities, showcase their skills, and engage in online discussions. You can even plan a situation-based training model where they all come together to find relevant solutions to complex problems.
All of these experiences are possible not only with their peers but also with the online instructor. Such interactive and collaborative models help boost participation, leading to a higher completion rate.
Helps Avoid Location Barriers
We have seen how technology helped make remote working a success (now that some leading companies have decided to go remote indefinitely).
Synchronous learning using digital training tools played an important role in helping businesses make such huge decisions. These digital tools enable organizations to overcome location barriers. Companies no longer refrain from hiring employees from different parts of the world because they can ensure their learning and development, regardless of the distance.
Diversified and global teams can come together in real-time, collaborate, learn from instructors or each other, and exchange ideas when participating in synchronous learning.
Creates An Effective Feedback System
If you want your corporate learners to improve and do better on the job, you will need to let them know about their areas of improvement and how they can fill these gaps. With the help of synchronous learning, creating such a feedback system is easy.
Since these online training sessions are held in real-time, your employees won’t have to wait to get instructor feedback. You can conduct online quizzes to make your training sessions more exciting and offer instant feedback. This will give employees a clearer idea of where they truly stand.
Furthermore, employees can find answers to their questions immediately. Instructors may also ask for employee feedback and alter their training sessions accordingly from that moment.
Improves ROI
Because of its cost-effectiveness, it is easy for most learning and development teams to convince stakeholders to offer synchronous learning to employees. Unlike traditional training sessions, online synchronous learning does not demand companies to spend money on venues, travel, accommodation, or stationery expenses for instructors or employees.
Companies can still hire an instructor and host live sessions for their employees without spending on such expenses. Moreover, when planned well, these training sessions also witness a better attendance rate, thus improving investment returns.
Ways Of Hosting Synchronous Learning
Companies can foster online synchronous learning in three ways: webinars, web-based classes, and live streams.
Webinars: Companies often host webinars when they have a leader of the industry take a training session for employees. In webinars, employees may not be able to speak directly with the host but can use features such as chat and polls to communicate. Hosts can also use slides and screencasts to make synchronous learning more enjoyable.
Web-Based Classes: These classes are an online version of traditional classrooms. Web-based or live instructor-led classes are interactive, collaborative, and highly suggested. Employees have the freedom to ask questions, get feedback, and share their thoughts instantly with the instructor and their peers.
Live Streams: Companies sometimes may encourage employees to leverage their social media profiles and listen to experts share their experiences and knowledge. Social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, or Twitter, offer live streaming features to their users that employees can take advantage of.
Conclusion
Synchronous learning allows companies to promote a positive learning culture and offer an enhanced learning experience to their employees, even when they are all miles away. This form of learning is an excellent solution to bring employees together in real-time and promote a collaborative culture in an organization. Convincing your stakeholders to host synchronous learning will also be easier if you lead a learning and development team, owing to its many benefits.
