Self-Paced Learning Provides Flexibility to All Learners
Whether you are in charge of a classroom full of middle school science students or compliance training for an enterprise organization, you’ve probably noticed that learners learn at different paces. Live instructors inadvertently force fast learners to slow down while also moving too quickly for others, preventing anyone from getting everything out of the lesson that they could be. Self-paced learning is the solution to this because it affords all learners the luxury of learning at their pace without concern for the progress made by peers or colleagues. Learners can also control when and how they learn in a self-paced training program, making them more invested in their education and promoting information retention.
The logistics that go into self-paced learning for hundreds of learners are overwhelming, so your organization will probably need technological assistance to pull it off successfully. EchoPoll is a learning engagement platform developed by Echo360 to bring our e³ philosophy of equity, evidence, and engagement to life. It offers all of the features you need to facilitate self-paced learning on any scale.
What Features Should I Look for in a Self-Paced Learning Platform?
Self-paced learning allows learners to take ownership over their education, but an instructor still needs to be overseeing their progress to ensure that learners are taking it seriously. Here are five features that any self-paced training program will want access to:
- On-Demand Playback
Learners won’t always grasp the material immediately, so your organization has to ensure that all educational content can be rewound and replayed to meet the needs of your learners. EchoPoll goes one step further by allowing learners to access all content anywhere with a reliable internet connection, giving learners total control over when and how they learn. - Built-In Assessment Tools
Learners may not always realize when they’re struggling, encouraging them to forge ahead if an instructor isn’t providing oversight. Your self-paced learning modules should include real-time assessments that are automatically scored so that students always have evidence detailing how they’re doing. EchoPoll supports inline quizzes and delivers the results to instructor dashboards, allowing you to intervene if a learner isn’t showing any progress. - Accessibility Features
One of the biggest benefits of self-paced training is that all learners can access the same educational content however is most convenient for them. This falls flat if learners can’t interact with your content because of sensory impairments or unfamiliarity with technology. EchoPoll meets or exceeds all WCAG 2.0 guidelines, ensuring all learners get equity in their access to training materials. - Engagement Tools
Self-paced learning must be engaging to maintain learner interest and deliver the results you’re looking for, but creating something that’s engaging without an instructor’s direct involvement can prove difficult. EchoPoll gives instructors unfettered access to multimedia authoring tools to help them design more engaging lessons with photos, video, and interactive activities. Collaboration tools and gamification elements can also promote learner engagement on our platform. - Instant Notifications
Your learners are going to be driving their educational processes, so you can’t tell them when they need to take a CE course or what classes would support their career goals. EchoPoll automatically notifies learners when new courses are available and spells out why they would be a good fit for a particular learner, allowing your organization’s learners to take the upskilling courses that most appeal to them or a public speaking course to prepare for a law career.
Why Should My Organization Invest in Self-Paced Learning?
Many employers and some schools pay for learners to attend in-person seminars around the country, but this is costly in terms of money and opportunity cost. Your organization loses productivity whenever you send workers away, and students are forced to skip their normal classes while studying elsewhere. Self-paced training saves money on travel and instructor costs while allowing learners to study during their free time. EchoPoll is also highly scalable so you can offer training to any number of learners. Overall, it’s a much more efficient solution that doesn’t compromise efficacy.
Are you convinced that self-paced learning is right for your organization yet? If not, we invite you to explore EchoPoll’s many features in further detail. You won’t regret it.