What We Learned About eLearning During a Pandemic

Do you know anyone who isn’t COVID weary? We are all learning to adapt to our new normal. One of the biggest COVID-related changes in our lives is digital communications. Remote working no longer applies to only a few workers with outlier jobs, but everyone is doing it, including C-suite execs. eLearning has also risen to the occasion to provide a form of connection and sense of community among people and colleagues who aren’t able to collaborate in person now.

Businesses can’t afford to slow down productivity for building objectives, so it’s more critical than ever to take advantage of virtual learning. Whether it is making changes at the business unit level or transforming entire companies, virtual learning is a life force. Fortunately, digital learning programs are not new to most people, so learning momentum can continue as companies balance their other challenges presented by the pandemic.

Rovy Branon, vice provost of Continuum College, the University of Washington’s continuing education and professional development unit, believes in the power of education to promote positive change, advance social equity, and improve lives. “At times like these, with a global pandemic, social unrest, and political discord, education can help bring together people of diverse backgrounds and opinions in a supportive, collaborative community to equip and enable them to solve the problems we face.”

What is the COVID fallout for eLearning?
It’s still too early to tell how COVID will affect rapid adoption of remote learning, but from all signs so far, it is one healthy attribute in the days of the pandemic. If businesses are looking for something to hold on to in these volatile times, providing digital learning opportunities is an excellent way to share hope and future vision for both employees and shareholders.

No doubt eLearning engenders loyalty in employees because they can advance their learning while staying safe in remote environments during pandemic conditions. Professional jobs that can be done remotely have moved into the home. Everyone has been required to up their ability to navigate online forums, whether Zoom meetings or Slack for increased team communication.

Almost all the hard skills necessary to survive in a post-COVID workplace are available online, especially when using business-specific subjects in education modules. Interestingly, the pandemic has created even more awareness of remote business possibilities for content delivery and skills advancement.

“Education doesn’t stop when you get a diploma,” said Branon. “Modern life requires that you continue to educate yourself as technology changes, as society changes, and as the way we work changes.

“Some jobs might not come back,” said Branon. “We were already seeing reports of overbuild in some service industries before COVID-19. Once we get through the initial recovery to save as many businesses as possible, the focus is on what’s next. Learning online provides the same skill set you will need for successful remote work.”

ONEIL’s Learning Management System
Our Learning Management System (LMS) has a strong history of providing the ultimate learning and certification tools so that your employees and your business are constantly moving forward. This momentum has never faltered throughout the pandemic and our commitment to you will remain strong, especially during times of business upheaval.

Our LMS allowed our clients to continue training operations and maintenance technicians during a time when face-to-face interaction was not taking place. It allowed for pushing new technology skills and knowledge in an interesting, interactive format. Our eLearning solution is customized to your employee base including dealer networks, technician training, customer service learning, help desk employee support, and more. Your teams will appreciate the specialized language and industry knowledge made available to them, making it especially easy to begin and complete training modules.

The LMS is secure and web-based to make it easy for your employees to access, learn, and get certified. But most of all, it is well established in digital communications upon which the entire world is relying now and in all future interactions.

Digital and eLearning programs were already on the rise before the pandemic struck, including our eLearning offerings, and we will continue to provide robust solutions to keep your business learning momentum healthy.

• Contact a ONEIL eLearning expert today for more information.
• Discover today how ONEIL Learn Management Solutions are the single solution to meet all your organization’s learning management system and certification needs.