What is an Online Training System?

IBM reportedly saved $200 million after it made a switch from traditional in-person training to an online training system.

More than 70% of companies believe that online learning is key to their long-term strategy.

By 2020, almost all employers plan to rely on online learning systems to meet the continuing educational needs of their employees.

These stats clearly point to the growing significance and value of online learning and development (L&D) among organizations of all kinds.

But what makes web-based training platforms so intriguing? What are its major features and what benefits do they bring? Who are the people using these platforms? What does the future hold for such online training tools?

Find answers to these important questions in this blog post. Let’s begin with the basics – online training definition or what is e-training as it is sometimes called – for the convenience of those who are new to the technology.

What is an Online Training System?

As the term suggests, an online training system is a system of training that takes place in an online environment. Cloud-based learning management system , ProProfs Training Maker is an example of such web-based training systems.

You can easily create online courses using these platforms and make them accessible on a range of devices such as desktop PCs, laptops and mobile devices.

Anytime, anywhere is one of the hallmarks of an online training system. It curtails the undue reliance on traditional classroom-based training and live instructors.

Online instructors can create, store, assign training content in a variety of formats such as presentations, infographics, audiovisuals, and more at one centralized location.

Personalized learning paths, online classrooms, and LMS reports & analytics are some other features that you would find in some of the top online training systems.

Watch This Video To Know How to Design Online Training Courses Effortlessly

Key Features of eLearning Systems

Not all online training systems are created equal. When it comes to choosing and investing in the right online training tools, one has a sea of options before them. Regardless of the tool you choose to implement online training programs, these seven key features are an absolute must-have. Without them, your training tool will not be equipped to meet your L&D needs.

#1. Easy to Set Up and Run

Believe it or not, there are online training tools that take months to create professional courses. You can avoid falling into this pit by ensuring that the online training software you have chosen is easy to set up and run. Preferably, it should be cloud-based and let you streamline and standardize online training hassle-free.

You may ask why cloud-based? Well, with a cloud video platform you don’t have to worry about setting up new servers, moving the application to the server and also configuring the application.

#2. Works Seamlessly Across Multiple Devices

Keeping in mind the growing use of mobile devices, it is important to choose an online training software that lets your users access training from virtually any device. Only then you can call it a complete training system.

Go for a tool that has been designed by training professionals and software experts who believe in offering robust user experience. The design should be simple, easy to understand and responsive so that the courses adapt across different devices and runs on multiple operating systems.

This feature, common in a cloud training system, will allow the learners to take training as per their convenience from a location of their choice. Moreover, the course designers will be confident that the content will fit whatever device the learner uses.

#3. Supports Course Authoring Capabilities

An eLearning authoring tool with capability should be another primary consideration when you are out in the market looking for tools. Using such software you can easily author online training courses. After that, you can edit, manage, and distribute them effortlessly.

The tool should offer an intuitive interface so that even the less tech-savvy users can get the hang of it without taking any help.

Also, it is good to remember that while your online training tool should support course authoring abilities, it should also allow you to upload new course material or reuse any pre-existing documents and media.

#4. Supports Integration with Other SaaS Tools

Nowadays, it has become a trend for most businesses to rely on multiple systems to meet their organization’s training needs.

That’s why it is important to select a platform that integrates seamlessly with other useful tools. This removes the need to buy and use different software applications separately.

For instance, ProProfs Training Maker integrates with popular tools such as MailChimp, SugarCRM, and Salesforce.

When you’re equipped with a group of equally powerful tools, you can expect to see better training, improved productivity and all-around positive impact on the organizational growth.

#5. Offers Online Assessments & Quizzes

After training content is created, it is a good idea to include timed quizzes to track learners’ progress.

A top-notch online training system should allow the course designers to include several questions that make it easy to evaluate learners’ knowledge. You should be able to compare their knowledge before starting a course with knowledge after completing it.

Also, the online software for training should allow the trainers to grade their learners so that it helps them make necessary improvements.

#6. Offers Customization Scope

While a platform may offer an impressive library of courses and ready-to-use training templates, training providers will still need to make necessary changes to support specific learning requirements.

The chosen tool should offer the option to personalize the training environments by branding with company-specific logo and color. If you commit the mistake of using a software that doesn’t offer the flexibility to customize and white label, you will need to hire a developer.

Apart from customization, your employee training systems should support easy sharing and embedding of course links.

#7. Allows to Track Progress & Generate Custom Reports

Monitoring your trainees’ progress helps identify ways to make improvements in the learning experience – which is why analytics for learning outcomes is a mandatory feature. Ensure that your chosen tool allows you to generate custom reports.

The reports should offer information related to completed courses, pending courses, a summary of correct responses to identify areas that need to be worked upon, engagement level, and time spent on each course.

Who Uses Online Training Software

A number of organizations and professionals in different industries use web-based training tools:

• • HR Professionals: With the availability of employee training software, HR managers won’t have to spend hours to train employees. Employees can engage in self-paced training and learn anytime whenever their schedule allows without hampering productivity.
  • Established Businesses & Startups: Businesses use online training software to train their stakeholders (employees, partners, customers, sales representatives, franchises, service technicians, etc.) on products and services. They also use it to provide compliance training including sexual harassment prevention and safety training.
  • Continuing Education Providers & Training Institutes: Continuing education (CE) is a type of training (including informal or formal) designed to educate professionals/working adults in key skills they require to excel at the workplace. Continuing education is typically preferred by doctors, lawyers, architects, nurses, etc. to earn or maintain a professional license.
  • Online Trainers:  Online training providers use this platform to deliver training on a specific subject to a large group of learners at a fraction of the price of live training and also to sell courses online.

Benefits of Using an Online Training System

There are multiple benefits of using a cloud-based training system. Here are a few of them:

⇒ Flexibility: An online training system enables learners to learn at their desired time and place, using a device of their choice. All they need is a reliable Internet connection.

Unlike this, instructor-led training is rigid as it can’t happen without the availability of the instructor and learners, which is tough to coordinate and expensive at the same time.

⇒ Streamlines Administrative Tasks: Online training tools make it easy to enroll groups of targeted learners into training programs. Once enrolled, the course administrators can communicate with them via automated messages including announcements and reminders. Adding or removing learners, assigning and scheduling courses, and setting course expiry dates become easy.

⇒ Repurpose Training Courses: Creating high-quality and engaging training programs is time-consuming. With a robust online training tool that comes with content authoring function, you will be able to create content once and reuse it many times. This is especially advantageous if you are deploying the same training again. This saves you time, effort, and resources.

⇒ Better Learner Performance: According to the U.S. Department of Education, higher education students who learned via online methods performed better as compared to those who chose face-to-face learning.

⇒ Allows Consistency: Online training offers the advantage of ensuring consistently high-quality instruction, which is key in the area of compliance training. A well-structured course ensures all topics are covered by learners, which doesn’t happen in traditional training.

Also, this acts as a safeguard against different trainers who follow different teaching styles, which can hamper the learning outcomes at times.

⇒ Cost Effectiveness: Since learners and instructors can access content from anywhere around the world, it helps curtail the expenses related to travel and organizing training.

Online Training System? You’ve Come to the Right Place

ProProfs Training is a cloud-based LMS that enables you to create a wide variety of online courses. It helps you design learning material with your learners in mind, and deploy training in a short period of time. As a web-based platform, it brings all the benefits of online training to your doorstep. It is a tool that will never let you down.

Want to share your opinion about the growing trend of businesses adopting online training systems? Leave your comments below.

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