![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Implementation will include resource scheduling, technical support for learners and facilitators once the program goes live, and an ongoing project manager to ensure the program is being rolled out correctly and meets its goals. Who’s in charge now? The implementation team is just as important as the development team.Who takes care of details like this?Įven the most thoughtfully designed and developed program can fall flat if you don’t consider the following questions with regard to implementation. And resource scheduling, including your learner population, needs to start as soon as the design document has been finalized. Implementation needs to be part of your project plan from the very beginning. In fact, you can’t just think about program implementation only after the development is complete. When you add in the availability of facilitators, subject matter experts, and guest speakers, just the scheduling aspect of implementing a blend can be overwhelming. ![]() Think about it: a program that’s rolled out over multiple weeks, with a combination of live and self-directed activities, to people potentially across multiple time zones, needs to be scheduled literally months in advance to ensure full participation by the learners. Implementing a blend is much more complex than implementing a traditionally delivered course. And managers of potential learners need to understand why they should have their team participate in a blend. Cost savings need to be shared with potential sponsors. Success stories need to be shared with potential learners. Someone outside the training organization needs to wave the banner of blended learning. This simplification will help learners to focus on content and not delivery method. Call each part of a course a “lesson” whether it is delivered via virtual classroom, PDF, or e-learning. Call everything a “course,” no matter how it’s delivered. What’s the difference between a “session” and a “module?” Is a virtual classroom more important than e-learning? Simplify the language. Concepts such as “synchronous,” “blended,” and “simulation,” don’t mean a lot to our learners. Why should they bother? To answer this question, publish a list of facts specific to each blended program that reinforces items such as: A blend can be more real-work oriented, learning in shorter chunks increases retention, and the blend will leave learners with a set of accessible resources to refer to when they need to apply the learning in real life situations. Learners need to master multiple technologies, manage their own time in order to complete the requirements, and often are required to create substantive deliverables that will be evaluated to determine their individual success. Answer the question, “Why learn this way?” Let’s face it, participating in a blend is more difficult than participating in a traditionally delivered course.The foundation of your marketing strategy should include the following components: If virtual blended learning is “in,” employees will demand to be part of the action. Regular news about what courses are coming up, and their importance to the organization, will help employees to understand that blended learning is an integral part of the organization’s learning culture. An initial marketing burst without a continuing campaign will make your initiative seem like another passing fad. Make sure the word about blended learning is positive, and constantly being reinforced. In our networked world, word gets around fast. Marketing the Blended Learning Curriculum When it comes to ensuring that your blended learning curriculum is a success, focus on marketing the blend, managing its implementation, and motivating learners to enroll and complete the entire program. Connecting the dots between the different learning technologies means managing a potentially complex rollout, developing the training team, getting the word out, and getting participants excited to participate and complete the entire program. And when you add to that an implementation that is fully virtual, the management becomes even more complex. Most training organizations don’t realize that the management of a blended learning solution can be the most difficult hurdle to jump. So you’ve built a virtual blended learning program, but will they come? And once they are there, how are you going to keep track of them? ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |