Rapid eLearning development (REL) is transforming how organizations train their workforce. This innovative approach creates engaging, interactive, and customizable eLearning experiences in record time. But what is REL, and what sets it apart from traditional methods?
What is Rapid eLearning?
REL is the process of quickly developing and deploying digital learning content using authoring tools and templates. Traditional eLearning development often requires extensive resources and time. However, REL streamlines the creation process, allowing for faster design, development, and distribution of courses.
At the heart of REL lies its agility and flexibility. It empowers subject matter experts (SMEs) and instructional designers (IDs) to quickly create content, responding swiftly to evolving training needs and market demands. By combining pre-built templates, multimedia elements, and interactivity features, IDs can produce impactful learning experiences much faster than before.
Advantages of Rapid eLearning
Speed and Efficiency
One of the most significant advantages of REL is its speed. (It’s in the name, after all.) Traditional eLearning development cycles for just one course often last weeks or months. In contrast, REL can drastically reduce development time to day — or even hours — allowing organizations to deliver training content quickly. The fast development cycle allows businesses to quickly respond to changing training requirements, helping companies maintain a competitive edge in their industry. Businesses can ensure employees are always equipped with the latest knowledge and skills. REL is ideal for reusing content: no need to reinvent the wheel or create from scratch when IDs can pull information from what’s already in use. This is particularly necessary in industries where compliance and other regulations change quickly, such as biopharmaceutical and healthcare.
Cost-Effectiveness
REL minimizes development costs by streamlining the production process. IDs use authoring tools such as Rise, Storyline, and Articulate to transform pre-designed templates into eLearning created specifically for a company’s needs. With the use of templates, reusable assets, and rapid authoring tools, IDs can create high-quality content without breaking the bank. A European Union report discovered that the expenses for software, hardware, project support, and technical support for one project were reduced by 41 percent compared to traditional eLearning. Such cost-effectiveness makes it an attractive option for businesses of all sizes, especially those with limited training budgets.
Flexibility and Customization
REL offers exceptional flexibility, allowing organizations to customize content to meet specific learning objectives and learner needs. Whether adapting existing modules or creating new ones, REL allows IDs to customize content swiftly, ensuring relevance and engagement. “It’s a good way to create a needed short-term solution — a ‘good for now’ product that can be used while we create a more comprehensive version for the long term. The user needs the basic facts immediately, and we can add details later,” says Abby Kelly, MATC Head of Instructional Design. Abby goes on to say that sometimes managers find that this simple training meets the need without creating more detailed training.
Accessibility and Scalability
Digital learning content created through REL is incredibly accessible, allowing learners to access training anytime, anywhere, and on any device, enhancing learner engagement and convenience while accommodating diverse learning preferences. REL is also easily scalable, enabling organizations to expand training initiatives rapidly to meet increasing demands. It is particularly useful for onboarding and upskilling, ensuring the demands of a growing organization are met. Such trainings work particularly well for companies with wide-ranging training needs and a large workforce.
Interactivity and Engagement
REL empowers designers to incorporate interactive elements such as quizzes, simulations, and multimedia to enhance learner engagement and retention. By creating immersive learning experiences, organizations can captivate learners’ attention and facilitate active participation, leading to improved learning outcomes.
Disadvantages of Rapid eLearning
Quality Concerns
While REL offers speed and efficiency, there may be concerns about the quality of content produced. The focus on rapid development could sometimes lead to sacrificing depth and complexity in favor of quick delivery. To mitigate this risk, organizations must invest in strong quality assurance processes and ensure that content effectively meets learning objectives.
Solution: Certain stakeholders still need to review these courses, but too many cooks in the kitchen can take the “rapid” out of “rapid eLearning.” Early in the process, the team needs to decide who must absolutely review the course before it is finalized, and when and what they see. This will help cut down on review cycles.
Limited Customization
Despite its flexibility, REL may have limitations regarding customization compared to traditional development methods. Pre-built templates and standardized formats may not always align perfectly with unique training requirements or branding guidelines.
Solution: Organizations must strike a balance between customization and efficiency to achieve the best results. The modules may not include as much interactive content as a typical eLearning training because of the time needed to create and review such content.
Dependency on Technology
REL relies heavily on technology, including authoring tools, learning management systems (LMS), and multimedia resources. Any disruptions or technical issues with these platforms could derail training initiatives and impact learner experiences.
Solution: Invest in reliable technology infrastructure and provide adequate support and training for users to limit the possibility of disruptions during training.
Skill Requirements
While REL tools are supposed to simplify the content creation process, they still require a certain level of technical proficiency to use effectively. Maintaining proficiency in rapidly evolving software platforms and technologies may also pose challenges.
Solution: SMEs and IDs may first need training to learn how to use REL development tools to their full potential. Check in with them to understand where they may have knowledge gaps and help them increase and maintain their understanding of the necessary platforms.
Overemphasis on Speed
In the pursuit of rapid development, there’s a risk of prioritizing speed over learning effectiveness. Rushed content creation processes may overlook critical instructional design principles, resulting in superficial or ineffective learning experiences. “When the primary focus is on rapid preparation and/or cost effectiveness, it is easy to slip to the extreme and turn the course into a dull, template-based course that only transfers information,” resulting in discouraged learners who do not see a connection to the real world.
Solution: Companies must maintain a balance between speed and quality, ensuring that REL initiatives deliver the desired outcomes. While gamification and interactivity may not be as prevalent as in typical eLearning trainings, remember to include them where possible to help keep learners engaged.
When to Choose Rapid eLearning
Some circumstances are better than others for REL. An EU report states, “REL is applicable for some specific types of courses, specific assignments and some tasks. To be interesting for clients, REL must be tailor-made courses designed to meet their specific objectives.”
- Urgent training needs. Regulatory changes and new product launches require the development of training as soon as possible. Workers need to learn and understand such information quickly to effectively and safely use or support new products and change processes to comply with new requirements. If not, companies may experience increased customer dissatisfaction or expensive fines, or even potential shutdowns. The agile nature of REL allows such organizations to respond quickly and accurately to new or unforeseen circumstances.
- Frequent content updates. Particular industries, such as technology and healthcare, tend to experience many seemingly overnight changes, where frequent training updates are critical. REL is ideal for them, allowing for continuous content revisions to stay current with developments. Learners are assured they will always have the most current information.
- Budget constraints. Some businesses simply do not have large enough budgets for traditional eLearning that takes weeks or months and several employees to create. This can be especially true for start-ups and young companies. REL gives such organizations the ability to achieve more with limited resources.
- Pilot programs. Before investing in comprehensive eLearning programs, companies may want to test pilot programs or prototypes. By implementing REL, they can quickly develop and test programs and provide insights for refining and scaling training programs.
Final Thoughts
According to one study, “Rapid eLearning is not an all-inclusive solution. It is a specific and specialized learning/teaching method and has to be considered as such. To use it means to respect its main distinctive attributes: the speed element – including short preparation time and short time to acquire the knowledge, plus its economic aspects/advantages.” While REL offers unparalleled speed, flexibility, and efficiency, potential disadvantages need to be acknowledge and addressed to maximize its full potential. By investing in quality assurance, skill development, and strategic planning, organizations can use REL to meet the constantly evolving needs of modern learners and stay ahead in today’s competitive market.
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Resources
Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. “Rapid E-Learning Methodology, V.1.” 2015. Accessed 4/22/24. https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/project-result-content/4acfeae7-e19b-4a22-a958-5cc97278d71b/O2-RELM_methodology_EN.pdf
Singh, Gopal. “11 Ways Rapid eLearning Is Transforming Training.” eLearning Industry. 8/13/23. Accessed 3/26/24. https://elearningindustry.com/ways-rapid-elearning-is-transforming-training
Singh, Gopal. “Rapid eLearning Solutions: A Comprehensive Guide for Success.” eLearning Industry. 1/5/24. Accessed 4/22/24. https://elearningindustry.com/rapid-elearning-solutions-a-comprehensive-guide-for-success
