How can you use VILT to foster a culture of continuous learning in a distributed workforce?

2 Designing VILT

When designing effective VILT, you need to think about the learning objectives, the content to be taught, the activities used to deliver the content, the duration of the training sessions, and how to evaluate the learners' achievement. Your learning objectives should be specific and measurable, and should align with your organizational goals. The content should be relevant and useful, organized into logical chunks. The activities should be engaging, such as presentations, videos, simulations, case studies, or games. The duration of the training sessions should take into account the learners' attention span and workload. Finally, you need to design criteria and methods to measure the learners' achievement.

3 Delivering VILT

To ensure successful VILT, it's important to prepare well by testing equipment, software, and internet connection, and having a backup plan for technical issues. You should also review content, activities, and materials, and become familiar with the platform's features and functions. During the training, start with a warm welcome, an icebreaker, and an overview of objectives and agenda. To engage learners, use a variety of media, visuals, and examples to illustrate your points. Encourage questions, opinions, and collaboration between learners. Provide feedback, recognition, and reinforcement frequently. Stick to the schedule and pace of the training while avoiding unnecessary distractions and interruptions. Use timers, cues, and transitions to guide learners through the sessions. Breaks and summaries can help learners retain information. After the training is complete, send a thank-you message with a recap of key points along with additional resources or materials. Ask learners to complete a feedback survey and an evaluation test to measure satisfaction and learning outcomes. Provide ongoing support and coaching to help apply what was learned to work.

4 Enhancing VILT

To enhance VILT, you should leverage a blended learning approach, combining it with other forms of online or offline learning. Additionally, create a community of practice for learners to network and share knowledge. Microlearning can also be used to provide short and focused learning nuggets, such as videos and infographics. Finally, gamification can be used to increase engagement, motivation, and retention by incorporating game elements such as points and badges into your VILT.

5 Challenges of VILT

VILT can present a few challenges for learners and trainers in a distributed workforce. Technical issues, such as unreliable or incompatible technology, can disrupt training and negatively affect the learning experience. Additionally, learners may feel isolated and disconnected from the instructor and peers, as well as more exposed to distractions and interruptions from their environment. Cultural and linguistic diversity of learners may create communication barriers and misunderstandings, while skill gaps in digital literacy, self-regulation, facilitation, etc., can also affect the quality and effectiveness of the training.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?