It won’t come as a surprise to anyone that virtual classrooms for corporate learning have seen exponential growth in the last year. In a world of Covid-19, lockdowns and remote working, it’s a trend that will continue well into 2021.
New research shows virtual classrooms are powering learning through the pandemic and beyond, but still have untapped potential for high value people development.
The insights are part of new research conducted by Fosway Group, Europe’s #1 HR industry analyst, in partnership with Barco. It follows Fosway research earlier in 2020 which showed that 95% of learning leaders believe L&D changed forever due to the pandemic.
Some interesting facts
As many as 97% of organisations are now using virtual classrooms to support their learning and development, and just over half (53%) report that they have proved to be their most successful learning platforms since the start of the Covid-19 crisis.
So far, so obvious. How else is L&D supposed to reach people? Early in the pandemic, there was very much a sense that any learning done was better than nothing. But as time went on, organisations needed to figure out how to get beyond lowest common denominator approaches and to harness the true potential of this technology.
Online learning has historically been seen by many as the poor relation to in-person, face-to-face training. Think leadership development programmes - how many of them are exclusively run online or virtually? Most include cohorts physically getting together, often in a nice offsite locations and retreats. But with traditional approaches suddenly off limits, L&D teams across Europe have had to think differently. And that’s resulted in a promising evolution in how virtual classrooms are being used in organisations today.
David Wilson, CEO of Fosway states: “Virtual classrooms have been a staple in corporate learning for a long time (…) But as time goes on, organisations must go beyond lowest common denominator solutions and have to also deliver against strategic people initiatives such as leadership and team development.”
As we move towards a ‘new normal’ post-pandemic, virtual learning will continue to be a lead component of the corporate learning strategy. It´s time companies know everything about the power of virtual classrooms!
Virtual classroom: a room with a view
Have you ever thought about a virtual classroom or training room? Interactivity and engagement guaranteed! Add to that the magic of interactive touchscreens and you can get started!
In collaboration with our partners Barco and Kinly, we have built a unique virtual training room at the CTOUCH office in Eindhoven. Our virtual classroom is a purpose-built platform for teaching and learning. It is co-created with learning technologists from universities, business schools and corporate training centers. With this state-of-the-art facility, we make it possible for companies and institutes to organize real-time, interactive trainings and classes with co-workers, students or partners from all over the world. It almost feels like your students or colleagues are actually in the room with you! Want to know more about virtual classrooms or training rooms? We are happy to show you what we have to offer!