Corporate training has a huge impact on business success for any industry, and as technology is released that improves business impact, blended learning solutions are developed to capitalize on them. From the revolution of travel by GPS technology to the presence of online recipes in the kitchen, digital transformation has affected all of us in countless ways. In education, this could mean anything from the complete overhaul of a training program and its conversion it into a 100 % online course to a blended learning approach that combines both physical and digital interfaces.   A complete digital transformation is not a compatible option for all training programs, and there may be several reasons why a program decides against it. These include factors such as the available digital infrastructure and expectations of face-to-face contact, since the presence of a live instructor makes it much easier for participants to receive an immediate response to questions that arise during the training. Due to such considerations, digital training hasn't completely superseded traditional learning.   Why use a blended learning approach? If digital elements are going to be introduced, why not make the entire program digital? And if not, doesn't adding digital elements interfere with the organic nature of the training? This isn't necessarily the case, and there are a few important reasons that blended learning, or hybrid learning, can make such an impact. The goal of blended learning is to emphasize the advantages of digitization, such as effective standardization and ease-of-use, while retaining the advantages and personalized nature of the traditional classroom environment.  

Below are a few of the possible applications of blended learning:

1 – Assessment Digitization

  The most popular blended learning method is the automation of assessment. This serves as a significant time-saver for instructors, who are no longer required to dedicate classroom time to completing assessment tasks. Instead, the instructor can spend their time actually teaching. This is particularly relevant when the students are already part of the active workforce, making classroom time for them especially valuable and hard to come by.  

2 - Hybridized Automation of Classroom Reporting and Tracking

  Many digital blended learning tools are able to record attendance and absence, accept results and track submissions for assignments, making them a simple and effective way to alleviate the pressure of administrative tasks. They also include alerts to identify students who may be struggling, allowing instructors to react appropriately. The seamless administration permitted by these solutions is capable of reducing the stress involved in training programs of any kind.  

3 – Blended Videos and Animations

  Video demos are incredibly effective tools to introduce or explain visual concepts and mechanisms, succeeding where Whiteboards and PowerPoints sometimes fail. Videos can be very impactful, boosting knowledge acquisition and memory retention tremendously, meaning that they are fast becoming the second-most popular training technique.   Whether it's an aviation company describing the cross-section of a commercial jet, or a financial institution explaining how money moves through an economy, videos are an incredibly useful way to explain concepts visually and help learners picture and grasp ideas that they would otherwise struggle with.   Videos are even great training systems on their own and can sometimes be used as substitutes in emergency situations when the instructor is unavailable. In such cases, some companies will prepare and showcase training videos rather than cancelling the session for that day. Ozemio has a fairly robust collection of videos, including interactive videos, that have delighted our customers, both as a blended learning tools and as stand-alone training programs. You can find more about our videos and request a case study to see an example of what we can do on our videos and animations webpage here.   These are just a few of the most popular ways that blended learning can impact the physical classroom. There are also many more techniques available that are industry or service specific. Ozemio is happy to help you brainstorm which parts of your training program you can digitize to help optimize your corporate learner journey. You can find our blended learning webpage here, where you can request case studies of our past work or get in touch with one of our learning consultants who will help you identify what blended learning programs are right for you.