| Let me start out by saying that online training is | | | | hear audio? How's your network bandwidth? Do |
| not better than classroom training. It's different! | | | | you have the software needed to build the |
| Both are effective ways of motivating and | | | | course? |
| transferring information. You need to determine | | | | 5. Facilities Do you have training rooms? Are they |
| your training goals to determine which one is best | | | | equipped with the needed equipment such as |
| for your organization. | | | | projectors, whiteboards, computers, etc.? |
| Let's compare a few things about eLearning and | | | | 6. Scale How many people need to be trained? |
| classroom training by asking a few questions that | | | | How quickly does the course need to roll out? |
| might drive your to consider one method over | | | | 7. Consistency Does the content and delivery |
| the other. | | | | need to be the same each time? Does the |
| | | | content need to be customized for different |
| 1. Geography How dispersed is your target | | | | audiences? |
| audience? Are they in clusters or spread out | | | | 8. Team Skills Do you have the internal skills to |
| individually? How much travel would be involved? | | | | create online content? If you want to start |
| Would the trainer go to them or would they | | | | building content how long will it take for the team |
| come to the trainer? | | | | to learn the skills? Will you have to outsource the |
| 2. Trainer Resources Do you have people that | | | | development? |
| can spend time as trainers? Do they have the | | | | Online training can drastically reduce travel costs, |
| presentation and subject matter expertise to train | | | | increase consistency, make updates easier, offer |
| the course? Are they up-to-speed on the course | | | | just-in-time access, and can offer personalized |
| content? | | | | content. It has many positives. However, |
| 3. Maintenance How often will the course change? | | | | classroom training offers a personal interaction |
| If changes happen frequently will you need to | | | | with the trainer, networking with other |
| retrain those who previously attended the | | | | participants, and can be very entertaining. |
| course? | | | | Both has pros and cons. Pick the one that best |
| 4. Technology Does your target audience have | | | | meets your needs. (Ask yourself the questions |
| computers, audio, network connections? Are they | | | | above to start the process. |
| comfortable using them? Can they view video or | | | | |