What to Consider When Building a Unified eLearning Environment
The core components of a unified eLearning Environment are content creation, delivery of the information, and tracking the effectiveness of the training. Adobe provides a cohesive platform for organizations to succeed in all three phases of this process. The advantage of having these tools under one umbrella is that they work seamlessly together, so the focus can be on the training and not the technology behind it. In this post, we will look at what tools can be leveraged to create dynamic engaging content, how you can deliver that content in new and immersive ways, and where you can track and manage the effectiveness of the training in an easily digestible manner.
Creating Content that Drives Interactivity
The key to an exceptional eLearning experience is getting the learners to the keyboard and the screen. Interactivity helps mitigate multitasking and keeps the learner focused on the information being delivered. Developing your courses in Adobe Captivate allows you to add interactive elements like quizzes and branching scenarios where learners can make choices that affect the path of the lesson, providing a more personal training tool. Taking this development one step further, the virtual reality (VR) capability can create an immersive learning environment with a plethora of VR interactions that course designers can implement. Finally, adding responsive design to the courses ensures they look amazing. The content will adapt to various screen sizes, so the experience is optimal whether the learner is on a laptop, tablet, or phone. For more hands-on training, the software simulation element allows for creating tutorial-type content that learners can then emulate in a virtual mock-up environment to learn the skills demonstrated. Once the content is built it can be published directly to Adobe Learning Manager (ALM), Adobe’s LMS, for delivery and tracking. Driving interactivity captures the learners’ attention and thus leads to better information retention.
Next-Generation Virtual Classrooms Leveraging AI and Apps
Whether artificial intelligence (AI) is good or bad can be debated, but there is no doubt that it is here, and it will only get faster, more accurate, and grow in its capabilities. Adobe Connect has an app called “Chat Plus” that allows you to access AI in the chat during virtual classes. This allows hosts and presenters to instantly access information that may take several clicks to find in a search engine. Generative AI algorithms can help create new ways to spice up the virtual content through AI tools such as text (ChatGPT, Gemini, Sonnet), images (Adobe Firefly, Midjourney, DALL-E), and audio (Suno, Donna, AIVA). Text can be used to generate session outlines, quiz questions, polls, and slide structures. Images are great for virtual room backgrounds, slide deck visuals, and whiteboard exercises. Audio can be used as lobby background music, quiz music, or translated recordings. By combining these AI features with applications from the Adobe Connect App Store, you create a fully immersive learning experience that goes way beyond screen sharing and whiteboarding. Mixing up media types when delivering virtual classroom training keeps the learner engaged and entertained.
Managing the Blended Learning Classroom
As organizations work on balancing in-office vs. remote workers, the blended learning experience for training is becoming the norm. Blended learning can present numerous challenges, like tracking attendance, utilizing breakout rooms, or taking quizzes. However, it can also provide opportunities, like having content that is always available via recordings, addressing learners who learn better synchronously vs. asynchronously or vice-versa, and cost-effectively training a globally dispersed audience. When you combine the power of Adobe Connect (Virtual Classrooms) and Adobe Learning Manager (Adobe’s LMS), there is now a single hub for all synchronous AND asynchronous learning. Seamless data exchange between the products allows for more accurate reporting to better measure the training’s effectiveness. A unified user experience for instructors and learners means that managing, scheduling, and accessing the blended learning courses can all be done in a straightforward easy-to-use platform.
The Love/Hate Relationship with a Learning Management System (LMS)
The complexity involved with setting up an LMS and managing it can be overwhelming. Adobe Learning Manager was designed specifically for enterprise delivery of courses in an easy-to-manage platform, with Admins and Learners in mind. The idea was to simplify the process with personalized learning paths, comprehensive learning tools, social learning, gamification, mobile accessibility, and certification/badging. Each learner has a dashboard to track their progress and see recommended courses. A calendar with automated emails and system notifications to help learners manage their schedules, and a home page with announcements to provide an easy way to share information. Gamification and social learning elements can be enabled to foster an engaging eLearning ecosystem, and connection to other eLearning tools allows it to serve as a one-stop shop for all learner training. With ALM, automated smart workflows for learning plans, content reusability, and detailed reporting help take the complexity out of managing an organization’s training program.
Additionally, if you or anyone you know would like to dive deeper into Adobe’s digital learning applications and how they can be applied to create exceptional hybrid learning experiences, watch the on-demand recordings from our 8-part webinar series, Advancing Unified Learning Environments, to learn from Adobe’s digital learning experts who will guide you through building an all-in-one learning environment, designing captivating training content, managing content and learners, and amplifying your message through engaging live virtual instruction and social learning experiences.
