Remote training

We’re hearing a lot about online learning currently and its recent prominence has highlighted some of its many advantages. Online learning has been used as an educational tool for decades. When information is presented online, it becomes accessible to those who might have found it difficult to attend classes in person. On the other hand, face to face learning also offers a number of advantages. Collaboration – sharing discoveries and debating questions – is easier, and students are more likely to establish interpersonal relationships. Teachers can also tell more quickly whether students are engaged with the material. Both approaches when presented well appear to be equally effective

In a review of 19 studies, Queens University Belfast found online teaching of clinical skills to nursing students was no less effective than traditional face to face approaches.

One of the most important factors in learning is motivation: whether delegates want to engage with the material . The National University in San Diego and the University of Massachusetts asked more than 4,000 students what they wanted from their course of study. Their top priority, whatever the mode delivery, include relevant and engaging course material, teachers who are able to connect with and motivate students, and a mixture of approaches when delivering course material; especially methods that encourage student- instructor interaction

Whatever the mode of delivery, students want enthusiastic teachers who present interesting material and prioritise student engagement

This is an extract of an article from Linda Blair, clinical psychologist that first appeared in The Daily Telegraph in August 2020

The full article can be read here

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/mind/better-online-learning-face-face/

COVID-19 has proved a catalyst for online training. E-learning has been around for several years now, often through impersonal computer based training packages offering online self-paced courses. With the onset of COVID-19, distance learnings has recently taken on a completely new dimension. Given the current social distancing requirements, and the fact that significant percentage of learners prefers virtual classrooms, real-time workshops are effectivity being used to deliver online medical terminology training.

A viable alternative to on site delivery

The current range of technology and platform choices has made it easier for organisations to access online medical terminology training remotely without a huge investment in technology. Zoom is one of several solutions that can be used on laptops, desktops, tablets, smartphones, and even desk phones, giving delegates several ways to access the training workshops. If there are bandwidth limitations, Zoom will modify its transmission to ensure that delegates are able to have as smooth a training session as possible. Where other applications will begin to act sluggishly and take seconds to load a single frame, Zoom does everything in its power to ensure that delegates do not experience any delay in presentation. Simply because the next slide won’t load on participants’ screens, even if it has to resort to cutting down slightly on the resolution.

Zoom workshops provide trainer / delegate interaction as viable alternative to on site delivery. These are shorter and more digestible real time classes with the same live trainer that would normally deliver on site.

Delegates and trainers interacting in real-time

For organisations like Medicologic it has been easy to immediately integrate ready-made, high-quality courses into Zoom online medical terminology training packages which that can still be delivered in house. Delivery in person through Zoom allows an easy switch between web cam and screen-share content. With delegates and trainers interacting in real-time, the sense of presence is enhanced when everyone shows their face via their web cam. Simply, it is easier to engage with the group if trainers can see the group, notice non-verbal cues and gauge the level of engagement in real time.  Trainers can then make adjustments to the way, and the pace at which, they deliver the workshop in order to make sure they are getting through to everyone. Indeed delegates themselves are more likely to pay attention if they know they’re on camera.

For online medical terminology training, delegates are still provided workbooks and manuals, and simply join the course from a location that suits them.

These trainer led real-time virtual workshops are the closest equivalent of physical training room in the digital world, but without the need to travel or book rooms. What started as a short-term response to a crisis, this shift to remote training will likely become an enduring digital transformation for the whole of the training industry