Global Knowledge beats the competition in blended training solutions
Blended or hybrid learning is a new concept in corporate technology training. Although a few learning providers offer blended learning, Global Knowledge is the only one that has implemented a solution that fully utilizes the potential of a blended delivery model.
When I researched the competition for our new Blended Live delivery system, I was struck at how innovative Global Knowledge’s blended-learning solution is.
What is blended learning?
First, some definitions. Blended learning is the combination instructor-led instruction (face to face in a physical classroom, or virtually through an internet conference solution) and on demand learning (videos tutorials, lab exercises, and virtual lab exercises).
Blended learning is more than the sum of its instructor-led parts. Blended learning has a unique advantage: it solves the specific problems that business learners face. Technology has made it more difficult to distinguish between work and personal time. Your work access is not limited to the office with technology mobility. This includes answering emails while driving, taking calls, and responding to work inquiries while on vacation. Blended learning’s true benefit is its ability for learners to learn in an ultra-connected environment.
Blended learning can also produce better learning outcomes, better content retention, and higher skills acquisition. Blended learning solutions that are best incorporate elements of a blended classroom methodology. This assumes that current educational structures are wrong. Traditional classrooms have an instructor who delivers general content via lectures and homework or exercises that reinforce it. Flipped classroom delivers the general lecture content through an on-demand source. The instructor would then facilitate sessions to reinforce and support the content, engaging students and being available when they are most likely to ask questions.
Challenge-based learning is another key topic in blended learning. It’s an integral part of Global Knowledge’s blended solution. This learning theory puts the “homework”, labs, and exercises at the heart of the learning experience. It assumes that students learn more and retain more information if they do the work. Combining with a flipped classroom, the combination of challenge-based learning and flipped classrooms enhances student learning experiences and leads to better learning outcomes.
What makes blended learning better?
It all depends on what you’re trying to learn. It all depends on how you learn best. It all depends on how comfortable and proficient you are with technology.
Blended and hybrid learning methods have become more popular in the last five to ten years at K-12 schools as well as colleges and universities. These learning methods are more familiar to professional learners, and they are more open to online and blended learning.
Global Knowledge has been a leader in session-based, instructor-led training for over 20 years. We have seen a shift in the demand for training delivery. In the early 2000s students preferred to train in a physical location (e.g. a classroom), driving to these locations or traveling to them to learn about the latest technologies and IT solutions. We saw a shift in customer demand to virtual classrooms around 2010. These sessions are still held on fixed dates, but they can be delivered online with students from all over the country and the world. What was the driving force behind this shift? This shift was driven by improvements in conference solutions and reduced travel budgets. Students were also stru