HOW HAVE THE INSTRUCTORS TAKEN THE ROLE OF A FACILITATOR IN ELEARNING?

The elearning has progressed rapidly in the last few years. But there are still some problems with such a mode of learning. Employees who are not digitally literate have to be initiated into using an LMS.

What is the role of a facilitator?

An instructor is now needed as a facilitator because he helps the learners resolve their problems concerning elearning content or using the LMS. He also makes them conclude in case of disagreements in a social media chat.

Scared employees: Employees might not be too keen on taking an elearning course; they prefer ILT. Hence in such scenarios, an instructor acts more as a facilitator. He ensures that employees get a proper introduction to the purpose of the elearning content and its gist. When an overview of the topic has been provided, they find it easy to browse the course. Another formidable advantage of an instructor is that he can use the LMS resources more judiciously. He can send invites for webinars and schedule them through an LMS. Being part of a webinar is interesting for employees compared to sitting in a training session, where there might be no videos. Employees can also be given an outline of the course in such an introductory session and feel more comfortable using it.

Such a brief insight into the course is also necessary for employees who don’t know how to use an LMS.

Through such sessions, the companies can reap huge rewards for their investment in an LMS. The instructors can also schedule QA sessions through webinars for employees after they have seen common problems in some modules. Employees can express themselves better through words rather than chats.

They might have to check the LMS tutorial to browse through the course, and a facilitator’s introduction gives them sufficient reason to do so.

The instructors can take the help of graphic designers to prepare attractive virtual invites containing animation for such events.

Furthermore in these ways, a facilitator helps in an elearning session:

Better understanding of response in real-life situations: If the employees prefer to study the course through an instructor only, then his role as a facilitator involves testing them for their knowledge.

Also, there is no scope for cheating in such exams when employees take the tests together so that no one knows the questions beforehand and tells others. It is also necessary that the passing percentage is set not too high so that employees don’t feel inclined to cheat to pass. But some questions must be compulsory for learners to attempt.

He can ask for their participation in the elearning branching scenario-based games and explain why they failed. The employees can better understand their required responses in certain situations. When they have discussions about such simulations with the facilitator, they comprehend why they should act in a certain way in a certain situation and how much compassion and rationality are expected of them.

Ensures no cheating: An instructor also finds it easy to manage his training through elearning. The instructor does not have to check the assessments, which is better. After all, he can focus on giving the best content to the employees. He is also informed on time about the employee assessment scores. When employees have failed the assessment, they can ask which questions were tough for them. It could also mean employees didn’t learn from the elearning modules as expected.

Another alternative is to ensure that no one is punished for a lower grade, so there is no peer pressure to cheat to score better than others. In an elearning session, the instructor’s job is to behave as a regulator/facilitator to ensure there is no cheating. They can ensure that all the learners get a different set of questions which is crucial for them to not leak questions to each other. This will ensure that the learners genuinely attempt the tests and do not pass based on cheating.

Send content suggestions: The instructors can’t be replaced when online training is reduced. Their role as a facilitator becomes essential for a company. They know the learning patterns of employees. Hence they can send personalized recommendations of elearning content such as videos to employees after choosing the material as per the latter’s learning method.

The instructor again has an important role as a facilitator here because he can record podcasts for learners who prefer to hear content for retention rather than reading it. The best part about the instructor acting as a facilitator is that they know the employee’s problems at work. So, whenever an employee searches for some topic, an LMS might recommend that to him based on AI, but an instructor knows the best topic because he has created most of it.

Acting as a mediator in social media discussions: As far as getting help for their problems is concerned, an employee is at ease with an instructor available for help in person in the office rather than reaching him through email or chat. An instructor’s role is amplified as a facilitator in social media chats because employees can stray from the topic. Hence an instructor can ensure that the conversation does not digress.

The employees can also get angry trying to reinforce their opinion on others, and a facilitator/instructor pacifies them. They can also send content links to employees to resolve any confusion.

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.