This week, we're learning about technology-based training methods. For this week's discussion, we'll explore how technology has driven changes in training design, delivery, and administration. Technology-based training can reduce costs, which is important to the business, and can increase learning and transfer of training, which is important to the trainer and trainee. The adoption of online learning, for example, continues to grow because it provides three common benefits to the learner: collaboration, control, and a dynamic learning environment.

Benefit to Learner DescriptionIncreased Collaboration

• Increased collaboration can be obtained using tools such as websites, document sharing, messaging, online discussions, and online conferencing.
• Synchronous online learning is live, and it's most often streamed by video or voice conferencing to trainees' desktop or mobile devices.
• Asynchronous online learning utilizes the same desktop and mobile devices, but the learning environment is accessed at the learner's discretion through tools such as websites, document sharing, messaging, and online discussions.

Increased Learner Control

• Control is afforded to the learner through self-paced work assignments and 24/7 access to additional training materials and support.
• Learners schedule and access information and work assignments in new ways, whereas traditionally, learners were dependent upon the trainer to provide training content according to the trainer's schedule.
• Control can also be given to the learner within the delivery of the training content, such as streaming video that allows the learner to pause, slow down, speed up, rewind, or even watch later.

Dynamic Learning Environment

• Online and blended learning is more dynamic than a traditional classroom setting because online and blended learning both provide more interaction among learners, more interaction between learners and training content, and more interaction between learners and instructors.
• Asynchronous communication between learners and instructors allows their interactions to be more frequent than a traditional classroom setting.

As you write your first response to this discussion, consider your experience in this class as the case study. Based on what you've experienced in this course as a learner, how are the three benefits mentioned above benefiting you? For example, how are you benefiting from increased collaboration with your classmates and instructor through the weekly discussions, announcements, and messaging? How are you benefiting from increased control provided by 24/7 access to course content and asynchronous interaction with classmates and the instructor? How are you benefiting from the dynamics of the online or blended learning environment with increased interaction among classmates, more frequent interaction with your instructor, and greater access to course content?