What is E-learning? A Complete Guide

What is e-learning?

E-learning is digital learning that consists of text, images, audio and video. Often supplemented with interactive tasks and tests and which can be used via a computer, tablet or smartphone.

• no matter where you are
• when you have time for it
• exactly when you need it.

E-learning is especially good if many people need to be trained in the same thing and is typically most relevant if the goal is to create a basic understanding of a topic. This could be, for example, onboarding new employees, training in IT systems and much more.

For companies, the benefits of e-learning typically include training employees:

• Cheaper (Greatly reduced costs on travel, meals, wasted working hours and waiting time)
• More flexible (Access to learning 24/7, no matter where you are, language adaptation of content)
• Faster (Avoid employees wasting time waiting for training, certifications and travel hours)
• that you can document that you have trained your employees.

Compliance E-learning

Elearning is often used in connection with ongoing compliance to ensure that employees are continuously trained.

This is especially in connection with GDPR, IT security, money laundering regulations, anti-corruption, competition regulations, whistleblower scheme, working environment and safety and much more.

It is often also used in connection with the implementation of new policies such as NIS2 and ESG reporting, but it can also be used for very specific topics, everything from managing sick leave to transporting wind turbines.

How do you do e-learning?

There are many roads to Rome – you can convert existing PowerPoint slides into e-learning, or you can design it from scratch. And everything in between.

The following describes how we ourselves do it when we design e-learning.

When we design learning, our starting point is not initially that we are going to make e-learning – the most important thing is to initially make it very clear what need is ultimately to be met. Therefore, the first step is typically to identify the target group and find out where they need to be 'moved';

Who are they? What can they do, and what do they know now? What should they be able to do or know in the long term? What are they doing now? And what do we want them to do? What opportunities and limitations do they have in terms of learning? And how do we best solve the task, with the framework we have?

The answer to these questions is not always e-learning. Sometimes the solution is other forms of digital learning, a short video or online meetings. Other times there is a need to create a blended learning solution, where different learning methods are mixed, for example, supplementing e-learning with regular face-to-face teaching or online education.

If the answer is that e-learning is a good solution to the task, then there are a number of tools you can choose from:

• Will you use storytelling or dialogues to convey knowledge, or will you take a more classic approach with a narrator?
• Do you want interactive tasks?
• Do you want to use gamification for e-learning and create scenarios with dilemmas that the user must decide on?
• Do you want to make small learning games?
• Do you want to have a final test so that you can document that the user has understood the material?
• And many more…

However, it is important to know the target group and how the different tools work on them - paradoxically, unfortunately, there is far too much e-learning that contains elements that actually inhibit the recipients' basis for learning. This is often because the developers do not know how to support the user's motivation for learning.

For example, did you know that there is a big difference between which learning methods work for beginners and experts?

If you use the wrong tools, you risk that the e-learning you have spent time and resources on will become boring and that users will lose motivation to learn.

That's why we work specifically with motivation for learning. You can read about how we do it in our blog article about self-determination theory - the most important theory of learning. (Warning: Long article, so if you can't bear to read 7 pages, it's probably faster to call and get the short version 😊)

E-learning storyboard

Once you have a handle on the target group and the didactic tools, you write a storyboard , which is a kind of script for how the content should be expressed in practice, which is most often done in a program like Word. Once the storyboard is in place, you can begin to design the specific content in an e-learning program, a so-called authoring tool.

LMS is an abbreviation for Learning Management System.

In plain English, an LMS is an online system used to administer e-learning.

The slightly longer description is that an LMS is a learning management system - an online e-learning platform where you can upload and manage your e-learning courses, so you can keep track of how your employees use the digital learning. When employees work with the courses, the LMS stores various information, such as their answers to questions and how long they have spent. This is called tracking , which both makes it possible to verify user activity and aims to ensure that employees can resume learning at exactly the same place they left off.

In the LMS you have the option to see reports on which employees have completed e-learning - and send reminders to those who have not yet completed mandatory content. You can read more about choosing an LMS here.

What is SCORM?

In an LMS, tracking of users' use of e-learning is done using the SCORM standard. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the e-learning programs and platforms you use can save as SCORM.

SCORM is a standard that ensures that your e-learning content and Learning Management System (LMS) can "talk to each other". This means, among other things, that you can move your content to another LMS if you need to change suppliers - without having to pay the box office to have it converted. It also means that you can buy e-learning courses about e.g. Office programs from other suppliers and use them on the same e-learning platform (LMS) as your own e-learning courses. You can read more about SCORM here: SCORM for dummies and busy people .

What is Blended Learning?

Blended Learning is about combining different forms of learning – typically through combinations of online learning and “offline” learning. Some things cannot be learned solely by sitting alone in front of a screen. In a number of areas, you need to bring your “body” with you – for example, situations where you need to learn how to handle social interaction, or where you need to practice a specific professional skill, MUS interviews, sales and much more. Of course, you can learn a lot about these topics by reading and listening, but typically you need to practice applying what you have learned in practice.

In these situations, we would typically recommend a Blended learning solution where different learning methods work together.

Course on e-learning

If you are interested in learning more about e-learning, check out our course overview of e-learning courses .

E-learning supplier with 20 years of experience

At Elearning Specialist we create digital learning experiences for ambitious companies. And we are a bunch of dedicated learning geeks. Our work is based on the latest research and knowledge within learning, combined with our 20 years of experience with e-learning and digital learning.

We work with companies all over the world - primarily in Denmark, but also around Europe, the USA and have even carried out an assignment for the EU in China.

Our customers say that we are good at understanding which companies we work with and translating that into good e-learning – all at a reasonable price.

Here you can read more about how we work.

But “How long does it take to develop e-learning?”

and

My question is not here?

Oops. Send us an email or give us a call and we will answer your question shortly.