20 Jun 2022

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What is the role of a moderator in a VILT session?

All over the world, the VILT sessions are happening at a rampant pace. It’s an aftermath of the pandemic, but conducting such sessions is not easy. The companies were looking forward to changing to the virtual training method due to the excessive costs of classroom-based training. But the change has been expedited by the pandemic.

Gen Z also cannot concentrate in-classroom training sessions and prefers VILT sessions where they can log in at a preferred time. It’s because it’s easier to focus when you are alone rather than with others in a classroom.

What is so peculiar about VILT that such sessions require both a trainer and a moderator?

Participants are not face-to-face:

The biggest loophole of a VILT session is that since the cameras of the attendees are off during such sessions, the trainer can’t see their facial expressions. Such expressions help trainers understand the difficulties of a learner. Hence, there can be a major communication gap between the VILT instructor and the participants, which the moderator bridges.

Hence, if the trainer does not know that his teaching speed is not acceptable for the attendees, there is a cognitive overload, i.e. too much information gets passed on to the learners in a short time.

The problem of not seeing attendees’ faces is a huge obstacle in synchronous VILT sessions to result-oriented communication.

It’s because, in such sessions, the trainers and students have taken out time from their over-packed schedules, and when they cannot comprehend each other, it is futile.

Helps the trainer in preparing for the session

It’s because there can be problems with a VILT session when large uploads are happening at the teacher’s end. The internet speed can get slow when live screen-sharing happens because, during this process, a stream of your video gets sent to the server from where the browser downloads it to the learners’ PC. Internet content upload speed is slower than the download speed. Hence during screen-sharing, the quality of the video call is average.

So it is better that if software screencasts are getting sent to the learners during the session, it’s better to record them beforehand rather than during the class. A moderator can help the trainer in recording a screencast video before the VILT session.

A moderator is someone who helps the trainer but is he required so essentially in the VILT sessions.

These are some situations that can arise during a VILT session for which the moderator’s help is needed:

The trainer can’t handle large sessions:

Another loophole in such a session is that sometimes trainers get nervous in large sessions and face technical issues.

For example, the learners might be unable to log into the meeting URL through their browser. So, they might send the trainer a message to resolve this problem. When so many participants send chats to the trainer, it’s tough for him to respond. That’s where a moderator helps to facilitate and responds to the learners’ confusion.

The moderator can access the meeting through a remote desktop and has no problems responding to the participants. A moderator must be an experienced IT person so that he can solve any technical glitches in time when a participant can’t access the VILT meeting URL through his web browser because it’s not compatible; the moderator can help him rectify the situation by switching to a different browser.

For example, the internet explorer is an outdated browser that does not work with web versions of the video conferencing software.

Preventing anyone from creating a nuisance during the meeting:

It’s a tough task to manage participants in remote learning sessions because sometimes, they may share some unwanted content.

Hence, a moderator can help the VILT trainer prevent the participants from sharing their screens if they send irrelevant content.

The moderator makes sure that such a participant is removed from the meeting. A remote moderator can immediately do this task for the trainer. So, the moderator can help the trainer block such a participant or change the options where no one can share screens except the host.

Makes sure that the trainer is not disturbed:

It can be ensured that the trainer is unaware when any participant leaves the meeting due to the lack of any notification because the settings can be enabled for the same.

However, the moderator calls the participant to enquire why he has left the meeting. A moderator can also mute a participant if he starts speaking between lectures. They can mute and unmute participants when needed based on whether they are talking about anything pertinent. If a participant is not allowing others to express their opinions, he can be muted.

Preventing latecomers to the meetings:

Moderators can also lock meetings to ensure that nobody unknown joins the meeting or any employee joins after a certain time. The meetings can be locked since they begin or after a certain delay after their beginning. This can help prevent any late entrants to a meeting.

In the end, the moderators allow the meetings to go unhindered, save the trainer from solving any technical and human problems, and focus on his topic during the session.

23 Mar 2022

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5 Tips to make online learners finish a course

Online learning is everywhere, although creating e-learning content is tedious. But the course creators also have to create awareness about the existence of the course, i.e., its marketing. Herein lies the challenge for the e-learning companies USA must get adequate completion rates for their course. The course might have huge enrollment numbers, which is excellent because the fees are paid, but what if the students drop out of the course.

If online learning courses don’t see completion, they won’t be advertised because the students didn’t enjoy them. So, they can’t let anyone else know because they have not completed them. Due to lack of completion, the course does not get any testimonials or reviews to prove its quality. Also, when the course does not have any testimonials to corroborate its worthiness, how can online learning companies charge a high price for it.

Clear descriptions

The e-learning companies can do much about the course when there is a problem. Of course, the analytics’ reveal here the highest time was spent in an online learning course, i.e., which module was the most difficult. The module could be challenging to understand, or there could be some technical difficulty due to which browsing through it was tedious. In addition, the online e-learning course could have problems like vague descriptions. If the online learning course description is unclear, the learners might sign for a wrong course because they might not have completed a beginner’s course and sign up for an advanced course.

This means that the learners have no idea what they are buying.

The online learners should be given all the information before beginning a course, including the course length, deadline, projects, and technical requirements.

They should also be given the instructor’s email ID and phone number if they have any trouble.

The learners should also know the technical skills needed for the course because they might have trouble completing it if they don’t have them.

Availability of an instructor

The learners can also have problems with the instructor. Maybe he is not available on time to handle their queries, or he does not exist. The online learning vendor signed up somebody to create the course, but he left afterward. So, an instructor is not available to handle course-related problems. Hence, the online learning vendor must stay in touch with the learners to know whether they are getting any in-time support.

Thus, the learners must post their queries on online discussion forums built especially for this purpose. If a regular instructor is unavailable, a part-time instructor can be hired to provide a VILT session once a week. Make sure that the learners are informed about such a session through email.

Complete accessibility

The learners also feel it’s an issue to complete the course when they can’t leave their desks because the course is only accessible on the laptop or desktop. The course must be accessible outside the hours and across all devices. It should not have a restricted availability so that the learners cannot leave the office to pursue the course. The learners should be able to download course-related materials to go through them while they are traveling on mobile phones.

Online forums

Having an online community is also vital because the learners discuss their queries, which helps them with FOMO. Once they know what other learners are doing through this community, they also get encouragement to finish the course and not to lag. Learners carry through a course because they know their friends have done so. Online learning courses also have problems because the students miss the live interaction with classmates. This can be replicated through the discussion forums, where students can interact through chats or even video calls. When students get access to an online discussion forum, they must be required to post a query with a certain word count.

Due recognition

The learners also get an incentive to finish the course when recognized on the company’s Facebook page. They can also be given additional resources such as EBooks for assistance with course material. When learners are given badges that they can display on LinkedIn pages, they get a winning sensation, and this is why they finish a course. So, this is how you can make learners complete a course and benefit the business

23 Feb 2022

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How can organizations ensure completion of online learning?

Online learning has seen a great impetus these days because it’s standardized.

But there are many reasons why learners don’t complete a course although they have signed up for it. For example, a study has revealed that the dropout rates are even high among Harvard learners, as high as 96%. But the online learning companies can ensure that their courses have some elements so that the learners finish them. These are the following tips for ensuring that:

A logical Schema in the course: A schema is crucial for a course that decides its structure. Human beings tend to grasp information better when it’s organized with proper relationships. The learners feel motivated to go through a course that goes bits by bits building upon their understanding. Moreover, show the learners how pursuing the course can contribute to their skills and attain better performance. This way, with a practical application of the knowledge inbuilt into the course, learners retain things better.

Social-emotional learning: Social-emotional learning is also a useful way in which learners can be made to complete the course. This kind of learning allows the learners to imbibe information more easily because it combines emotional and social skills to create better outcomes. It teaches skills like social awareness and empathy to learners. To become better employees, self-awareness must be taught to them because it is a prerequisite to self-management.

It includes the ability to understand the inner thought, values, behavior, goals, and emotions which manifest into behavior. Hence an employee who has self-awareness has a positive image and knows why he is behaving in a certain manner. Such an employee knows the triggers which can cause him to lose control. Furthermore, it’s important that the learners are taught skills such as self-management to ensure that they attain financial success and goals by monitoring their emotions and behaviors (responses) in various situations. Self-management includes the employees’ power to control their emotions, understand their duties, and attain them.

For example, when employees are taught self-management, they get role clarity. Hence they know their responsibilities at the workplace and how they help the organization. They get an idea of whom they are dependent for completing such duties. They also understand how organizational goals are crucial, and online learning can help them attain them and complete the course. They comprehend their future roles and don’t lose sight of their learning targets. They also don’t allow their goals to take precedence over organizational goals and hence don’t get distracted.

Emotional well-being: It has been discovered that our Brain development and consequent learning are highly affected by physiological conditions, including emotional and cultural well-being. Therefore, the learners must not be subjected to any kind of stress which is not conducive to learning. Hence the individuals must not feel discriminated against because it can be detrimental to their cognition and learning. Furthermore, it has been proved that stress can cause a person’s physiology to alter and undermine the functioning of his brain, significantly reducing his working memory resources.A company can ensure that the students/employees don’t suffer from any lack of cultural wellbeing by holding interventions for them. With any cultural misalignment, employees can feel invalidation which causes them to lose their emotional well-being, affecting learning capability adversely.

Productive environments: The learners must also be given productive environments optimal for their learning. The learners must be encouraged to create social identities with their newly acquired knowledge and skills. This makes them retain more because they know that they serve a purpose in the company. Hence the learners must be respected in their organizations; their values are given due importance, and all the members must have shared responsibilities. There should be a focus on building strong relationships among employees to feel emotionally secure.

Scope for exploration: Exploration is also an important part of the learning environment for adults. It implies that the learners must know when to continue learning or stop doing that because they have goals. The employees can be paired in groups to figure out answers to particular problems, like what will happen if something is done in a certain way. The employees can also be given equipment materials to seek the relevant answers. Once they get their answers, the employees can reflect on them, allowing for better retention.
Developing habits of mind for life-long learning: The employers can ensure that the employees develop habits of mind such as reasoning, which are critical for continuous and independent learning. Hence positive learning environments are a must for teaching such habits. The employees become learners and develop curiosity and a hunger for comprehension. The employees must ensure that the learners are included in their choices which require planning as a prerequisite.

In the end:

The learners also need physiological ways to learn. It’s true that young people’s emotional and academic development are related. A student/learner who is not getting a good environment at home fails in his grades. Hence, it is important that for better learning, students/learners are provided with sleep, social relationships, and positive emotional associations so that the brain is ready to grasp the information served.

30 Jun 2021

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How are companies providing online learning?

Education has undergone a huge shift during the pandemic. One of the main reasons for it was the social distancing norms followed during this period, which prohibited the students from having an access to being physically present at the venue. Online learning is the new rule now with so many professionals turning to MOOCs for boosting their skills as the pandemic affected the required job skills also. Online learning got a boost because laid-off employees wanted to add to their skills to have a stronger resume. While online learning can be imparted to learners, there is the problem of how to give them credits i.e. Credentialing.

Credentialing is not a problem with MOOC’s because although the course is imparted through online learning; it is always imparted through a university that grants a certificate after the course finishes.

However, some MOOCs offer nano-degree programs which involve that the learner completes some projects before the certificate of completion is issued to him. Nano degree programs are preferred by working professionals these days because they don’t have time to attend regular courses. Also, on the other hand, nano-degree programs have the best placements because companies value the skills acquired by learners in these programs. Elearning companies in India prepare the content of such programs with specialized SME’s. The elearning companies provide the projects for such programs. The industry experts have helped in designing such projects and confirm whether they meet the competency standards required for a certain domain.

These programs have become crucial for companies because there has been a change to a digitalized workplace now and employees need new skills to adapt to such a transition. Companies today need to protect themselves from faulty software, cybersecurity attacks and data losses that can cause closure of business.

However, companies need to hire professionals who are skilled and can handle such problems with ease.

These programs also involve the LMS that makes sure that learners can access the course content and there are webcasts which the learners can watch in their spare time. Hospitals use such content to impart training to employees. Also, such programs are necessary to make sure employees get accreditation as per the compliance rules of this industry.

These online learning courses also consist of workforce assessments that, make sure that the learners are tested before they begin the course. When the results of such pre-assessments are yielded, learners get advice about which skill sets do they need further.

Since the elearning companies manage the execution of such courses, they provide a dashboard from which universities can check how many students have enrolled and how are they proceeding. If the university has a tie-up with a company, the latter can also check whether employees are registering for the course or not.

Companies should provide employees with such courses rather than hiring someone to replace them because advertising for such vacancies costs a lot. It’s also true that companies sometimes find it tough to get such talented individuals because they need higher salaries which are unaffordable. So, reskilling employees, is the practical way out. Companies need IT skills because they make sure work processes can be upgraded to suit customer’s and employee’s needs. But then the employees need to be trained to use such upgraded IT systems. Then, the ROI of the business can be increased due to the heightened speed of employees and better customer satisfaction rate.

15 Mar 2021

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How to create integrity and security in online learning?

Elearning is one of the most important parts of modern-day online learning today.

The teachers are now teaching students through tools such as Google Zoom. However, there can be someone who can disturb a Zoom call and show inapt behavior towards kids. Make sure that there are authentication measures used so that uninvited members don’t become a part of Zoom call. There should be proper credentials given to members to access the Zoom call.
Participating in such a call without the proper authorization is known as Zoombombing . This happens when someone gets access to the link of a Zoom meeting. Such links are indeed shared between coworkers etc. Someone can also get access to such links when they google Zoom.us. So, this Zoombombing is used to laugh at the participants or show them vulgar content in a Zoom meeting.

There can be various Settings changed in a Zoom meeting to prevent Zoombombing.

Following is the list of measures you can take:

You can go to the Settings tab on the personal dashboard of the Google Zoom call page.
Then click on the Embed passcode in the meeting link for one-click join option and disable it. This option makes sure that unauthorized members can join the Zoom chat without even having the passcode for it.
You can also disable Screen Sharing so that participants can’t share anything from their Desktop on the Zoom chat. The host of the meeting should only be able to share something from his Desktop during the call. This option can be disabled by selecting the Hosts Only option as per the Screen sharing option.
Nefarious files can be sent in a Zoom chat. So, make sure that this does not happen. This can be prevented by allowing users to share files of only authorized types. This can be done by choosing the option “Only allow specified file types” under the File transfer option.
Some unauthorized participants can also take part in the Zoom call. This can only happen when participants are allowed to rename themselves when taking part in a call. This should be completely unallowed. It can be achieved by disallowing the option “Allow participants to rename themselves”.Disabling this option will ensure that the participants who have been allowed can only take part in the Zoom call with their original names.
There are also other threats to data security apart from Zoombombing. There is another way, this Zoombombing can be prevented. There is another option that has been disabled which is “Allow participants to join before host”. Don’t enable this option under any circumstances. In case, the participants have come to attend a Zoom call before the host they should wait. They can do so in a “Waiting Room”. Since April 5, 2020, this feature is allowed by default. The participants can later join the call if the host allows them.

How to protect the training data?

LMS must also be a secure portal. This means that the LMS must have an HTTPS security certificate. This is important so that no one can hack the LMS portal or the student’s PC through the LMS. It’s also important that the content is not hosted on a cloud-based LMS platform. Instead, there should be a dedicated hosting server for your LMS portal or make sure it is hosted on the same server as the corporate website.

The data hosted on the LMS must be backed up also. This way, even if the LMS is hacked, the data is protected. The LMS must have encryption of data so that it can’t be hacked.

This is how data in online training can be prevented from being accessed by malicious parties.

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