10 Asynchronous Learning Activities to Engage Learners
Asynchronous learning activities are self-paced learning activities that employees can use to get information based on their convenience. It is good to use these activities to train your team members because they are relatively low-cost and wide-reaching.
1. Online Courses
Online courses are pretty much as the name suggests. They are courses that are available for students to practice and train on various topics online. Online courses, depending on the course provider can be made available on any mobile device or from their personal or work computers. An advantage to using this asynchronous learning activity instead of an instructor-led training to train your team is the accessibility where they can access the course from anywhere, at any time they are free. You should look into using learning management systems (LMS), such as SC Training (formerly EdApp), for elearning development and train your team with online courseware in ways that are engaging and targeted.
With this learning technology’s easy-to-use SCORM authoring tool, you can easily create microlearning courses that are designed to ensure an effective learning experience for your employees. Its intuitive course management system makes it easy to manage and monitor teaching and learning. Through this learning management software, corporate learning becomes a fun and convenient experience.
2. Pre-recorded Video Lectures
Pre-recorded video lectures are informational videos that have been pre-recorded and mass distributed to learners. Pre-recorded videos can be used by numerous trainees at a relatively low cost. Also, if you’re looking for something that is somewhat engaging, video learning is a good way to go. Another advantage to using pre-recorded video lectures to get the message across is that they can be reused multiple times to disperse the same message. On the flip side, they cannot be used over time if the message has changed from the original. You should train your workforce with these videos if you need a way to pass information to your team and have them access it repeatedly if they need to.
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3. Video Demonstrations
Video demonstrations are somewhat similar to pre-recorded lecture videos but are different in more ways than one. They are to be done in a demonstrative way when there is a need to explain or demonstrate how a particular process, task, or situation is to be handled. Video demonstrations are quite useful when there is a need to illustrate one or multiple points to multiple individuals across multiple locations or over an extended time. With that in mind, they should be done concisely, otherwise, they can be time-consuming and your employees may lose focus and miss a step.
4. Reading Assignments
Traditionally, assignments may not be viewed as learning activities, but they are. Similar to when your lecturers or teachers would give you assignments to teach a particular lesson, reading assignments serve the same purpose in the workplace. Managers can give their employees reading assignments to teach them policies, procedures, or best practices. Reading assignments are good because when the information is read by the trainee or employee, they will feel as though they acquired the information on their own and it may be easier to retain this information. Unfortunately, some employees may find reading assignments to be boring and this could make them lose focus or not do the assignment at all. You can train your team with reading assignments to foster responsibility and also a do-it-yourself attitude.
5. Research Projects
Research projects are sometimes similar to a reading assignment but they are different in the sense that information isn’t just given to be read, but if the employee has to research to find the information, to begin with. Research projects can also be used as production activities in conjunction with learning motives. It is good to assign employees to research teams because research projects can help with product development, and employees learning the why behind the how. It’s also a great way to encourage them to work together as a team and collaborate on different ideas. One disadvantage to using research projects as learning activities is without clear leadership, the project can easily fall apart. Research projects should be used to train your workforce if there is a clear line of command, strong leadership, and a clear goal for the employee and the team to achieve.
6. Course Discussion Boards
Discussion boards that are hosted online or within an LMS, like SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s Discussions in-lesson feature, are valuable and effective ways to connect even the most dispersed teams. This asynchronous learning activity can have many forms such as social media boards, or internal message boards. Discussion boards are nice to be a part of, because a wide perspective on the topic in question will be available, hence leading to a better understanding or more information being available to the employee. If your discussion board is hosted on a learning software like SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s, you can also easily facilitate a forum-like discussion and provide coaching to guide and also give feedback in real-time.
7. Podcasts
Podcasts are becoming more and more popular each day. I’m sure you know what a podcast is, but just in case, these are digital audio files that are in the form of a series that can be downloaded for listening. Podcasts are good asynchronous learning activities because they can be accessed on multiple devices anywhere, at any time. Unfortunately, using podcasts for employee learning and development will limit what information can be dispersed because they are only audio. You can train your team with podcasts if you have interesting audio files that will keep them engaged.
8. Quizzes
Traditionally, quizzes are used to test the information retained by learners, however, they can also be used for elearning. I know you know what a quiz is, so let’s answer the question of, how can you learn from a quiz. When you create quizzes for your workforce, be sure to include the correct answer and explanations if you want your team members to learn and understand why each answer is correct. We are going to do you a solid. SC Training (formerly EdApp) is the perfect online quiz creator that is hosted in a free, mobile-first learning system. Convenient, right? Use quizzes as digital learning activities because they are fun, and engaging and if made available on multiple devices, can be very convenient ways to train your team.
9. Problem-solving Exercises
Problem-solving exercises are exercises in which the learner must take the information they receive and the work is to find a solution to the problem they are given. Problem-solving exercises can be given to your employees as individual exercises or group exercises that they need to compete together as a team. Honestly speaking, creating effective problem-solving exercises can be problematic, so to help you out, we found industry-proven learning templates, from the #1 LMS, SC Training (formerly EdApp). Various templates are offered to reinforce numerous learning points such as numbers, concepts, and more. It is good for problem-solving exercises to be used as asynchronous learning activities when information is dealt out in a light, fun way.
10. Games
Games are now being recognized universally as effective methods to train employees. We all have a fun side and the games tap into that and use this to help us learn. If you implement gamification in the workplace and design games for your team members, they’re more likely to participate, have fun, and learn all at the same time. You would be surprised at how effective this asynchronous learning activity can be. We were thinking that it would be mighty helpful if there was a way to turn boring activities into games. This would improve learner motivation, engagement, and retention. So, we went looking for one, and guess what, we found it! SC Training (formerly EdApp) combines gamification and micro learning and is a mobile learning example in a way that achieves all the outcomes we want. You are welcome.
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