SHIFT's eLearning Blog

Our blog provides the best practices, tips, and inspiration for corporate training, instructional design, eLearning and mLearning.

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    Integrating AI and the Human Element in eLearning Course Design

    Finding the right balance between artificial intelligence (AI) technology and human interaction has become crucial for success in the new era of corporate training. As AI becomes a powerful tool in developing e-learning courses, it's important to discover effective ways to combine the efficiency and personalization offered by AI with human collaboration and communication. In this blog post, we're going to share three ways to achieve this balance and maximize the impact of corporate training in today's environment. According to a recent study, 78% of companies believe that AI has a significant impact on corporate training. However, despite its efficiency and ability to generate personalized content, 62% of employees consider human interaction crucial for meaningful learning. These statistics highlight the importance of finding the right balance between AI technology and human interaction in the realm of corporate training. 1) Amp up Interaction and Collaboration in the Learning Experience In the context of corporate e-learning, AI can be a powerful tool for creating courses quickly and efficiently. It can analyze large amounts of data and generate relevant and personalized content for learners. However, it's essential to balance this efficiency with opportunities for human interaction. Human interaction in e-learning courses is crucial for fostering active participation, engagement, and meaningful learning. While AI can provide content tailored to individual workers' needs, it's also important to offer opportunities for them to interact with each other and with experts. For example, discussion forums are an effective way to promote collaboration and the exchange of ideas. Learners can ask questions, debate topics, and receive feedback from their peers and the instructor. This human interaction enriches the learning experience and allows learners to develop communication and collaboration skills. Additionally, group projects and hands-on activities provide opportunities to apply acquired knowledge and work as a team. These activities foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and the development of practical skills, which are essential in the workplace. The key is to find the right balance between AI and human interaction. By harnessing the power of AI to enhance learning efficiency and personalization while valuing the human touch in collaboration and communication, we can create more effective and enjoyable online learning experiences for our learners. As leaders in corporate training, it's our responsibility to prioritize and encourage interaction and collaboration in e-learning courses. Here's an actionable step you can take: Design interactive activities: Include activities in your e-learning courses that promote interaction among learners. These can be discussion forums, group projects, or simulations. These activities allow learners to apply what they've learned, share ideas, and receive constructive feedback. Recommended reading: 3 Ways to Leverage Artificial Intelligence for Rapid eLearning Course Creation 2) Embrace a Hybrid Model Taking on the "human-AI sandwich" approach in corporate training is crucial. This approach involves providing human input to AI, allowing AI to assist in content generation, followed by review, editing, and iteration by humans. This way, a harmonious integration of AI and human experience is achieved. By applying the "human-AI sandwich" approach in creating e-learning courses, optimal results can be obtained by combining the capabilities of AI with the expertise and knowledge of human professionals. AI can streamline the creation of e-learning courses and address many of the challenges companies face when creating up-to-date training. With AI, certain processes can be automated, resulting in reduced wait times and a lighter administrative burden for the training team, enabling them to focus on providing added value in areas where human interaction is crucial. However, it's essential to remember that AI cannot completely replace human expertise in developing e-learning courses for companies. AI can be a powerful tool, but there are critical aspects where human knowledge and perspective are irreplaceable. By adopting a hybrid approach, we can leverage the strengths of both AI and humans to the fullest. AI can analyze vast amounts of data, identify patterns, and generate relevant content, while human experts can contribute their judgment, experience, and creativity in reviewing and improving the content generated by AI. Furthermore, by actively involving human experts in the process of creating e-learning courses, we ensure that the content is accurate, up-to-date, and tailored to learners' specific needs. Experts can provide real-life examples, case studies, and practical exercises that enrich the learning experience and connect it with the working world. To implement this hybrid model, corporate training leaders should take the following actions: Provide clear guidance to AI: Leaders must ensure that AI has access to accurate and detailed information about the course's objectives and requirements. This includes providing clear instructions on desired content, topics to cover, and expected learning outcomes. Validate and review AI-generated content: Experts should take responsibility for reviewing and validating the content generated by AI. They must ensure it meets desired standards of quality and relevance. If necessary, experts should make modifications and adjustments to improve and adapt the content to learners' needs. Establish a continuous feedback process: Leaders should foster a constant feedback loop between AI and the team. This involves establishing mechanisms to collect feedback and suggestions from experts regarding AI performance and generated content. Based on this feedback, continuous improvements and adjustments can be made in the hybrid model. By implementing these actions, corporate training leaders can achieve effective collaboration between AI and human experts in creating e-learning courses. This will ensure that the strengths of both dimensions are maximized, resulting in high-quality, learner-centric training tailored to learners' needs. Also, read: AI Tips to Transform Your eLearning Content Creation Process 3) Revalue and Train the Training Team for the New Era of AI In today's landscape, where artificial intelligence (AI) has become a powerful ally in corporate training, it's essential to recognize the importance of empowering and training the team responsible for this task in the context of AI. This new era brings forth a series of changes and opportunities that require professionals in training to update their knowledge and skills. By revaluing and training this team for the AI era, leaders will not only ensure they are prepared to make the most of the capabilities and benefits AI can offer but also lay the groundwork for an effective and successful transformation of corporate training as a whole. To harness the full potential of AI, the following actions should be taken: Train the team in AI: It's crucial to provide training team members with the skills and knowledge necessary to understand and use AI effectively. This involves offering training and development programs that familiarize them with relevant AI concepts and tools for their work. Promote a culture of openness to change: Training leaders must foster a culture in which the team is open and willing to embrace new technologies and AI-based approaches. This can be achieved by creating an environment of continuous learning, where the latest trends and best practices in the field of AI are shared. Stay updated continuously: AI is a rapidly evolving field, so it's essential for the training team to stay informed about the latest trends and tools. Leaders should provide professional development opportunities such as courses, conferences, and learning resources to ensure the team is up-to-date and able to make the most of AI capabilities. Also read: Unleash the Power of Continuous Learning: Thrive in the Age of Automation and AI

    Unleash the Power of Continuous Learning: Thrive in the Age of Automation and AI

    Did you know that experts predict a staggering 400-800 million jobs will vanish by 2030 due to the unstoppable rise of automation technology and artificial intelligence? These advancements will render countless roles obsolete, paving the way for a future where uniquely human skills like creativity and collaboration reign supreme. To stay ahead and flourish in this evolving landscape, we must adopt an unwavering commitment to continuous learning. Embracing a continuous learning mindset is the key to unlocking infinite human potential, where we recognize that our capacity to learn knows no bounds. As an L&D professional, it is imperative to establish and foster a culture of nonstop learning within your organization. By offering employees multiple learning opportunities, you empower them to seize control of their growth and development journey.

    Breaking the Monotony in eLearning Course Design:  Transform Dullness into Engaging Experiences

    Say goodbye to the myth of "boring" eLearning courses! When your team, audience, coworkers, customers, and friends label your courses as dull, it hampers their ability to extract maximum value from them. Not to mention, it leads to wasted time, money, and energy on your part. But fear not! If you find yourself trapped in a monotonous cycle, yearning for inspiration to breathe life into your courses, you've come to the right place. In this post, we'll guide you through innovative strategies and ideas that will ignite creativity and infuse your eLearning courses with the irresistible spark they deserve. Get ready to transform dullness into engagement and captivate your learners like never before!

    These 27 Questions Will Help You (Really) Know Your Learners

    Creating a course that fails to resonate with its intended audience is an exercise in futility, isn't it? Nonetheless, it is not uncommon to find eLearning designers crafting courses that, bewilderingly, appeal to no one. These are courses that even the designers themselves can't pinpoint who might desire to take them. This approach, however, ought to be completely inverted. Before anything else, designers must cultivate a deep understanding of their target audience. They need to construct content that speaks directly to the audience's needs, circumstances, limitations, preferences, and desires. This requires transcending the superficial descriptions provided by subject matter experts (SMEs), managers, or even clients. Consequently, this article will delve into the concept of empathy mapping, a potent and intuitive framework that employs a series of targeted questions to put you firmly in the shoes of your audience. This tool not only facilitates effective engagement with SMEs but also proves invaluable in conducting independent research.

    AI Tips to Transform Your eLearning Content Creation Process

    In an era where digital technology has revamped approximately 85% of how we learn and share knowledge, the need for innovation is persistent. eLearning professionals are continually on a quest for ground-breaking tools to amplify course quality and magnify the overall training experience. Traditional content development methods, often sluggish and resource-intensive, place substantial pressure on instructional designers and eLearning developers. They are left grappling with tight schedules and the constant demand for enhancing student engagement. Responding to these pain points, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been steadily gaining traction in the industry. As of 2023, investments in AI within the education sector have surged by a whopping 47.5%, underlining its burgeoning importance.

    3 Ways to Leverage Artificial Intelligence for Rapid eLearning Course Creation

    In the digital age we're living in, eLearning has experienced explosive growth in the corporate realm. More and more, companies are recognizing the benefits of implementing online training programs for their employees, as they offer flexibility, accessibility, and efficiency compared to traditional training methods.

    6 Proven Principles to Create Memorable eLearning Courses

    Picture this: You've invested countless hours in creating a brilliant, engaging eLearning course. It's chock full of relevant information, interesting modules, and interactive quizzes. You've done your part, but there's one question that haunts you as you stare at your masterpiece:"Will my learners remember any of this a month from now?" It's a fair question. After all, the true measure of successful training is not just the initial understanding, but also the longevity of the knowledge imparted. So, how do we ensure that the valuable information you're providing sticks in the minds of your workforce long after they've logged off the learning platform? Understanding how human memory works is pivotal in this quest. But to truly elevate your eLearning strategies, we need to delve into the ways that can help learners not only acquire but also retain new knowledge effectively. This pursuit leads us to six key premises that can transform your eLearning from a fleeting moment of instruction to a memorable learning journey. Join us as we navigate the fascinating world of learning retention, tapping into cognitive science, cutting-edge research, and proven strategies to help your workforce remember what they've learned. For training leaders like you, this blog will be your guidebook, transforming the way you think about eLearning and its potential to empower your workforce in a whole new way.

    How To Avoid Designing Cluttered eLearning Screens

    How many times have you found yourself sitting through a course, feeling bewildered and lost because you couldn't determine what to focus on? And how often have you strained your eyes during a presentation, attempting to decipher the minuscule content squeezed into a tiny space at the bottom of the screen, from your distant seat in the fifth row? Unfortunately, these dreadful experiences are all too familiar. Even the most well-intentioned instructional designers have been guilty of creating cluttered and chaotic eLearning screens, where the intended message gets drowned amidst a chaotic mix of images, icons, text, charts, and graphs. This mishmash of visual elements not only overwhelms the screen but also tests the patience of learners, hindering their ability to grasp meaningful concepts from the course. To alleviate this issue, here are seven effective strategies to help you declutter your eLearning screens: