Wednesday 2 September 2015

How Online Training Software Is Changing the Face of Learning

Online learning is now an easy and efficient way of training and learning for varied audiences – be it school children or corporate employees. In corporate circles, online training software has been fairly accepted as it saves a lot of time and money. But as   technology advances, the expectations from online learning are increasing as well.  While until a few years ago, simply making learning available and accessible to learners through a trusted online training software was enough. But today e-learning and online training software is changing how corporate employees choose to learn and more importantly, bringing significant changes in how training is perceived in the corporate sector.

  • With online training systems, it has always been possible to monitor and store learner responses within the course. But with advanced learner analytics technology of modern learning systems, it is now possible to record how much time a learner spends on a page, how many external links he or she clicks within the course, how many times does he or she refer a course. This gives a comprehensive report on the efficacy of the course – which emerges from different experiences within the e-course and not just the result of a quiz or test which measures retention.
  • From the exhaustive learner data churned out by the online training software it is also possible to identify if an e-course or a portion of an e-course is not working very well. So, if the learners are taking too much time over a portion or just skipping it due to disinterest, that section can be revised and redesigned. Instead of revising the entire course, developers can quickly change the content to create ‘adaptive’ learning for the new-age learner. The changes make a remarkable change in how the e-course is received by the learner and the participation automatically increases as well.
  • From studying user experience analytics, it is also possible to identify learning activities that are successful for the majority of the learners. L&D professionals can then provide learning, which provide these activities to all learners and encourage them to succeed as well.  For instance, in social learning, the number of posts or contribution a learner makes is indicative of how involved he is in learning. More learners can be encouraged to follow the same path to ensure success of the whole group – within the platform and at work, where it matters the most.
  • Newer technologies ensure that comprehensive learner data can be transferred from the online learning management system to other systems within the organization, for instance the HRMS. This helps in creating better compensation packages and takes supportive measures for employee retention as well. 

Making use of learning analytics is beneficial for learners, managers and the organization as well. But at the same time it is important to consider that this is not a completely fool-proof system. Along with the voluminous data churned, there will be emerging patterns which may not have much relevance to learning preferences or impact of learning. Correlation between emerging trends has to be scrutinized before making changes in the learning objective or the course itself.  While online training software has a multitude of benefits, they have to be utilized intelligently to create online learning for the modern learners. Only then can the online trainingsoftware truly be a viable solution for the corporate organization – through positive ROI and better work standards through sustained training. 

Sunday 2 August 2015

Mobile Learning is Perfect for Just-in-Time Learning: An Industry Example


E-learning is being adopted by all leading industries in the world. The Banking and Financial Industry has been an early adopter of technology-aided learning. Over the last few years, increasing competition, newer regulatory bodies, as well as a tremendous impact of information technology has changed the way this industry conducts business. There is a growing demand for newer products and services, which has brought on significant changes in the operations as well as thestructure of the BFSI

Many BFSI organizations have already adopted mobile-enabled solutions by providing pre-loaded hand-held devices for their employees – particularly, the sales staff. However, there is another benefit that can be derived out of mobile devices – that of training and learning. Mobile learning solutions can be developed, keeping in mind the needs of the learners as well as the strength of the mobile platform.


  • E-Courses via Mobile Learning Management Systems: Creating a Mobile Learning Management System makes learning accessible to the learners at all times. Thus, an appropriate development tool should be chosen to build the LMS, which ensures seamless accessibility across varying mobile devices. A mobile LMS developed with newer technology like HTML5 can be uniformly accessed on a laptop, smart phone or tablet even if these devices run on different OS or have different web-browsers. This makes learning easier to access for the learners. For the BFSI sector, which often has to train extensively within limited timelines, it is the easier and cheaper option to enable cross-platform delivery of media-rich mobile content. In addition, the employees of the BFSI sector come from a higher educational background and are well aware of the technological developments in IT. They have to come to expect the same from their learning as well. With intuitive design strategies like floating panels and tiled structure, it is possible to create a compact yet visually attractive UI that enhances the learner’s experience with the platform and takes it to the level of other IT-enabled platforms that learners often work with.


  • Video/Audio based learning solutions: Both audio and video align very well to the mobile platform. Contrary to popular belief, creating audio-visuals does not have to be a very expensive proposition. Short videos can be created very easily, with the help of modern animation tools. These provide an opportunity of impactful visual learning and can be developed easily, even on minimal budgets. Even when the learning time is limited and there are plenty of external stimuli, an impactful video can impart knowledge successfully. This makes it most suitable for mobile learning delivery, even when the topic is complicated or dreary. Similarly, audio can also be utilized to create mobile learning solutions. Though, listening to a podcast might not be as impactful as watching a learning video, audio can be utilized well when external stimuli is limited – like waiting for a sales call. This is the time when most learners need to refresh the learning and an audio learning solutions will be apt for this situation.


  • Social learning on the Mobile Platform: Sales personnel spend a lot of time outside office and there is a definite lack of peer interactions, which can create gaps in learning. The mobile platform provides a forum of learning together as well as from each other. BFSI employees can share documents or files with pertinent information on their learning – customer feedback or selling techniques, which have worked for them. To encourage increased sharing behaviour, video/audio sharing can also be included. This saves precious time and effort as learners can simply record short videos or audio on their mobiles and upload them on to the platform. From time to time, managers and higher management personnel could also share organizational beliefs and visions as well give the learners a morale boost.
By adopting the right combination of technology, learning strategy and delivery mechanism, mobile learning solutions can becreated for the learners across diverse industries – as illustrated in the example above.

Tuesday 7 July 2015

Game-Based Learning Engages Learners and Achieves Learning Objectives

Training and Learning in the workplace is being taken seriously more than ever now. L&D managers are always on the look-out to find ways and means to excite and engage learners into a training activity. In an instructor-led classroom there are many ways of engagement. But with the widespread adoption of technology-enabled learning, there is a strong need to find ways of engaged e-learning as well.
Game-based learning is now heralded as the new way of engaged learning – even for adults. It is a good way to engage the learners and achieve learning objectives set out by the organization as well.

  • A popular misconception is that games are only effective for a young audience. Games have traditionally been created keeping the younger audiences in mind – who are more aligned to newer technologies and are open to explore more. L&D managers who procure e-learning services are often not sure if game-based learning will fit into their audience profiles – that include mid-level or high level executives.  There is now proof that game-based learning can be designed for older audiences also. If a game has enough challenges, learners of any age can enjoy and learn from it.
  • Another misconception is that game-based learning cannot provide serious learning. Many learning games are built for serious learning as well. There are simulations that teach high-end medical procedures or flying skills to air pilots. For corporate training, quizzes on varied subjects can be built – where the learner can be challenged on different issues. In addition to sparking interest and creating a sense of competition, they hone the skills of assimilation and recall. Serious games can also be built with a small learning nugget that provides information or knowledge prior to the beginning of the game. This helps the learner get better prepared for the game as well as utilize the learning nugget to acquire knowledge – utilizing both mediums equally.
  • Also, game-based learning is not always a costly proposition.
    Though building a game takes some amount of logical thought and time, games can be built within tight budgets as well. Simple inter-activities can be built with development tools like Flash, to engage the learner. Many free tools are also available on the internet that can help create simple games of learning like word-building, cross words and so on. Utilizing these, e-learning services companies can create games for corporate learning. A series of simple games can be created over time to provide sustained learning.
There are many benefits of game-based learning and once you get past the mind-block, organizations can utilize them to the fullest. Games can engage even the most reluctant learners. They can breathe in life into the most boring and mundane learning topics. Learners who are withdrawn in an actual classroom might open up in a competitive scenario like a game. Games provide instant learning benefit – as the learner engages with the game and learns from the experience. Assimilation is fast and knowledge gained can be utilized immediately.

Tuesday 30 June 2015

G-Cube CEO Manish Gupta Interviewed by Balaji Chakravarthi

How G-Cube Started?

Manish Gupta Co-Founded G-Cube along with Kapil Gupta and Sayan Guha in their final year at Kurukshetra Engineering College. The startup was funded by taking small loans from families, and insights were provided from all entrepreneur acquaintances.... Read Full Interview

Thursday 25 June 2015

Localization Improves the Reliability of e-Learning Materials

The need for impactful e-Learning development is growing across the corporate sector. With more and more training budgets directed towards e-learning, companies are able to reach out to their global employees and ensuring same standards of learning across the organization. However, there are some considerations that must be taken into account when creating e-learning content for a global audience. Developers need to make sure that the content is as per the requirement of the audiences. E-learning content Localization comes in at this point – making e-content suitable for specific audiences as per their individualistic requirements.
E-learning content Localization is the process of creating content keeping in mind the different local and cultural preferences of the intended audience. It may include Translation of written or spoken text. However, this is not all. E-learning contentLocalization is much more than just changing the language so that the learners can read up the e-course. While saving time and money it also increases the reliability of e-Learning content, as just one sample of content needs to be verified – and then localized into different modules for a far-reaching global learning strategy.


  • The first step to effective e-learning content localization is to understand the learning behavior, preferences and needs of the target audience. While the diverse audience may have many different preferences, there has to be a common learning objective. This needs to be identified before the course development in the source language.

  • Cultural biases towards icons, figures or colors needs to be kept in mind. Local experts can attend to language translations and bring in the right cultural flavor to the text. This makes sure that the e-content is as per the cultural preferences of the audience. 

  • When the e-course is developed, e-learning content localization experts should make sure that the text is concise and crisp. It is important to avoid alliterations and descriptive passages that will confuse the local translators. The use of slang or jargon should also be avoided to make the content free of culture-specific references.

  • Audio accompaniment is often an integral part of most e-learning courses. The Localized audio should be in sync with the accompanying text, graphics or animations. If using human-voice for voice-overs, choose a suitable mix of gender and ethnicity, keeping the target audience in mind. Here too, choosing local voice-over artistes is the best option to bring in the right cultural flavor in the audio.

  • Remember that cultural bias towards graphics and icons are the strongest. It is a good idea to create graphics with common tools like Photoshop, which allow ‘layering’ that keeps imbedded texts separate in source-files (.psd format). This allows changes to be made in the text, while the image can be left the same.


  • Many modern organizations which have a regular and continual need to localize their trainings often prefer to outsource the process of content creation as well as localization to an e-learning company which has all required services. Not only does it centralize the process, the training content is prepared keeping the needs of Localization in mind.

With E-learning content Localization, global organizations can reach out better to their employees without spending unnecessary money on creating different training courses for different offices. Instead of creating separate training content for different groups, e-learning content Localization is the better option as it saves time and costs.  Reliability is also affirmed as the same verified content can be refurbished across different offices.

Tuesday 9 June 2015

On-the-move Workforce Represents a Great Opportunity for Mobile Learning in India

Technology has evolved rapidly over the past few years and so has the way we work. The workplace has changed scene from traditional desk spaces to a large and fluid area where people are connected to each other all the time through technology. Employees have moved on from desktop computers to laptops and now, tablets and smart-phones. India too has witnessed immense technological advances over the years – especially in the area of mobile usage. It now ranks 2nd in the world, only behind China, in the number of mobile devices in use across the country. As of February 2015, the number of mobile devices in use in India is 960,579,472 (Source: Wikipedia).


With the rapid increase in the use of mobile devices, mobile learning (mlearning) has also made a powerful contribution in the area of training – making it available as per the needs of the learner, anytime and anywhere. mLearning is suitable for a wide range of learners in different industries. mLearning in India can be very successful on account of the workforce becoming increasingly mobile. mLearning can provide short learning nuggets, audio or video-based learning and even performance support. Here are some ways that the mobile learning platform can be utilized:

  •  To enhance and support the learning imparted in class or through an e-course, course notes can be shared after an instructor-led session or once the learner completes an e-course. This reinforces the learning and increases its impact drastically. The learners can refer to these notes from time to time and refresh their learning, which then reflects on their performance as well. Similarly, checklists can also be prepared for courses or sessions which highlight the crux of the learning through tabulated pointers. Through the mobile devices, the learners can refer to these anytime and anywhere – especially during the course of actual work.
  • Another performance support tool can be sent as practice assignments so that learners can practise newly acquired skills outside of the class as well. The assignments can also be sent after the learner completes the e-course. The added advantage is that the learner can read up an e-course on the mobile learning management system and then the same system provides practice assignments to develop the skills gained.
  • Short audio recordings or podcasts can also be developed that provide performance support at the time of need. In-house podcasts can be developed by instructors or the learners themselves to encourage sharing and peer-learning.
  • Similarly, videos can also be created to gain the instant appeal of all the learner groups. Videos are a great way of providing performance enhancement tools through mobile learning management system as it delivers just-in-time learning – which can be accessed as per the emerging needs of the learner. Videos can encapsulate concepts or topics in a way that appeals to the learners as it has minimal text and attractive graphics. It helps the learners gain quick knowledge quickly and apply it instantly onto the area of work. Organizations can encourage knowledge sharing by providing learners with simple devices with built-in cameras to record videos themselves and share it with the fellow learners.
  • It is important to keep in mind that in mobile platforms the reading space is constricted. Also, the opportunity to read is when the learner is on the move. In this scenario, infographics can be utilized to convey information. Infographics can be easily created and easily disseminated among the learners providing encapsulated and tabulated knowledge in an attractive way. Infographics use graphics and minimal text to create visual representations of concepts, which works very well for the mobile platform. Also, infographics are image files that are compatible with all learner devices and learners do not have to download any other supporting programmes. They also take up very little hard-disk space and thus can be saved or stored in the device for further utilization as per the perceived need of the learners.

To help and support the learners to apply the learning on to their work, it is necessary to provide learning as per their needs – as and when they need it. The time is ripe to utilize the mobile platform for learning, and all countries -- including India -- can benefit from the vast opportunities that mobile learning provides.

Friday 15 May 2015

Cloud LMS Provides Flexibility and Customization Capability for Corporate Training

Training and Learning is necessary for the corporate workplace as knowledge and skills of employees have to be continually revived. So, it is important for corporate employees to learn and get trained throughout their careers. With e-learning, training courses can be made readily available for the learners anytime and anywhere. This provides flexibility of learning and aligns it as per the needs of the learners. Learning Management Systems make learning available in an easily accessible manner as well as help in keeping track of the learners’ progress. Of late, Cloud LMSs have been put in place, which are helping organizations to reduce additional hardware or implementation costs to provide hassle-free learning. 
  • Cloud Learning Management System makes e-courseware available to learners in a seamless manner. With clean design and intuitive as well as logically structured UI, Cloud LMSs make sure that learners get used to the new learning system very fast. This increases the impact of learning, as the learning curve is reduced considerably. This also encourages learners to interact more with the LMS – find more content and other capabilities to increase the utility of the LMS.
  • Most Cloud Learning Management Systems have built-in ‘search’ facility that help the learners find pertinent content within the course catalogue of the LMS. The utility of the Cloud LMS is further increased as learners can look for what they want and find it easily.
  • Cloud LMSs have a lot of built-in flexibility that provides options for learners to have a personalized feel to the learning environment. The UI can be customized in terms of color, images or theme. Being on the Cloud, Managers or administrators can log on anytime and assign different groups with a different ‘look’ even when out of office or travelling.
  • Cloud LMSs can also be accessed on mobile devices and the learners can log on with multiple devices as per their ease. Thus, they can choose to learn ‘on the go’ and utilize the e-content better, as and when it is most needed during the course of work.
  • Even when the LMS does not reside on premise, the security concerns of the data is maintained thoroughly. Through appropriate measures like encryption and firewalls, the data residing in the LMS is kept safe.                                              
  • Implementing the Cloud Learning Management System, the amount of data residing on the system can be increased as per the growing needs of the client. No extra costs or infrastructure is needed – saving costs as well as time. This gives the clients complete freedom to upload as much content as they deem fit for their learners. The learners too are given more freedom to choose what they want to learn and when.
  • The number of concurrent users on the Cloud LMS is also flexible. This is a boon for smaller organizations that often experience an increased number of learners who require quick and efficient training. The benefit of Cloud LMS is that with growing number the system does not slow down at all.
Cloud LMS is a flexible system which helps the learners access e-learning better and makes learning a part of their everyday life.