Asynchronous Elearning Solutions and Rapid Elearning

Elearning delivery modes can be divided into the synchronous and asynchronous types. Synchronous training is used at a specific time period where students and teachers converge online for a learning session that’s led by an instructor. Asynchronous training, on the other hand, uses different materials that are made available through the internet and is ready to be accessed and used by students at any time.

The topic of interest for this article will be the asynchronous type of electronic learning solutions. The type of training involved is described to be student-guided. Since it can be accessed at any time at the discretion of students, it is important that the content is complete in both breadth and depth so self-studying can be effective. This means that tools such as PowerPoint would be ineffective because if such a presentation comes without a live presenter, the points would be weak since the content is merely an outline of the topic.

The main advantage of this type is that content delivery is convenient for the learner because it is dictated by his preference for pacing and learning needs—it does not require the presence of a teacher. The challenge for this type is that the content must be engaging and provide high quality information. It should be complete and interesting so that it can stand alone to let students master what they need to learn.

For it to become successful, designers and instructors must keep in mind the following factors: (1) motivate learners to learn. Learners, especially adults, need to understand the value of anticipated outcomes in learning experiences, but also be eager to engage in activities with the necessary attention; (2) focus on behavioral outcomes. The course must be challenging so that the learners would be encouraged to utilize active processing. Simple information recall should be avoided at all costs; (3) create meaningful and memorable experiences. It is critical to create standards and processes to make elearning efficient. The design must be distinct and it must give purpose.

Rapid elearning is an emerging trend in the industry, and it is one of the two types of asynchronous electronic learning, the other being traditional technology-enhanced learning. The rapid type, as implied by its name, requires only about 8 to 20 hours of work. Its main objective is to leverage web based technology and best practices to deliver content for training. The main characteristics include short development time, integrated design and implementation, avoidance of newer digital media, quick delivery, shorter courses, and topic-centered graphics, achievable over several sessions without having to restart each time and focused on product and services training.

Ideal projects for this type include: (1) rapidly changing content. The content for this project topic changes quickly and is sensitive to time restrictions; (2) expires quickly. Limited shelf life projects and products work well with this. Rapid elearning provides companies with a strategy that allows them to get updated information to those who need it most, quickly and in a format that’s digestible; (3) small budget. This type gives small budget companies the ability to produce courses and; (4) timely information and interesting topics. With its quick turn-around time, organizations can have a way to obtain information and provide employees with a presentation in less than 48 hours.