While remote work has ushered in a new era of flexibility –– with a happier, more productive workforce –– corporations are still trying to figure out the right balance of tools to support their hybrid teams.
One technology that has been useful to both workers and the businesses that hire them is eLearning options. Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, forward-thinking companies were turning to virtual training to teach employees valuable skills in an efficient, convenient and even fun way. When everyone suddenly found themselves working from home, eLearning programs were the only way to achieve a universal learning outcome.
In two years, executives may ask, “Is this working?” The burden of answering this question rests on the learning and development (L&D) professionals who design and implement eLearning. As we get smarter with our assessment tools, we will have better data to help steer strategic decisions about the future of corporate learning in this uncertain hybrid environment.
Smart modules can have built-in assessments to evaluate the effectiveness of remote learning every step of the way. With that in mind, here are five ways to “amp up” remote learning assessments to ensure that courses are working, employees are learning and every organization has the information they need to make better choices about their remote learning programs.
1. Make it Immersive
Just because it’s called an “assessment” doesn’t mean that a quiz at the end of a remote learning course is the only way to evaluate what workers have learned. On the contrary, more active assessments at regular intervals within a module will offer a better idea of where a learner’s strengths and weaknesses lie.
Immersive assessments might include things like real-time reactions, simulated conversations, branching choices and even backend experience API (xAPI) data. A lot can be learned about your workforce by how they approach a task. For example, tracking the time an individual spends answering a question correctly is just as valuable as the answer to that question.
2. Make it Individual
Everyone learns differently, so using the same check-boxes to evaluate every employee doesn’t really tell you much about where they really are in their skills journey.
Fortunately, technology has progressed to the point where each learner can have assessments built in that are tailored to their experience. Artificial intelligence (AI) can track which points of information are most difficult for each person, and use follow up questions or present the knowledge in a different way to determine if the instruction is making an impact.
3. Make it Timely
One of the strengths of remote training delivery is that each worker can learn on their own schedule at their own pace. While everyone might be taking courses at different times, virtual assessments should give managers the opportunity to check in at any point along the way.
4. Make it Collaborative
There is no reason that remote learning assessments have to go only one way. Digital learning provides organizations unprecedented access to data about their workers. However, as you are counting keystrokes, recording responses and timing skills, don’t forget one of the most useful tools at your disposal –– asking for
Allowing learners to weigh in on the training processes gives you valuable information about what works and what doesn’t. It also helps your team feel valued and more in control of their career. If that weren’t enough, there is plenty to be learned about a team from the feedback they offer. Find out how everyone is working together, if empathy is present and get a general attitude check from learner input.
5. Make it Fun
Corporate training doesn’t have to simulate a college course. L&D professionals can –– and should –– get creative with how they test workers.
Remote learning assessments can come in the form of video coaching sessions, real-world scenarios and games. The more fun employees have with remote learning, the more likely they are to put their best effort into the process, and assessment data will be more useful as a result.
Assessments should be at the heart of any remote learning program. Since managers do not have the opportunity to observe remote workers in person, well-planned assessments serve a vital role in checking in with everyone on an ongoing basis. When evaluations are immersive, personal, consistent and fun, they can provide invaluable feedback from and for remote workers.
