The traditional classroom or training room is no longer the only option for learning. Digital learning environments, also known by various names such as learning platforms, online course platforms, e-learning environments, virtual learning environments, training platforms, and LMS (Learning Management System), have revolutionized the way organizations train their employees. These digital platforms offer numerous advantages. When selecting a learning platform, it is important to carefully consider what kind of a learning platform best serves your organization and its needs.
What is a digital learning environment?
Digital learning environments play a vital role in the training and competence development of today’s organizations. A learning platform allows the creation, sharing, and management of training content online. Its primary purpose is to facilitate the organization of training and learning, providing effective tools for tracking and managing the learning progress. Online learning environments offer many benefits, such as flexibility, learning independent of time and place, community engagement, personalization, and the ability to monitor learning progress. In summary, a learning platform provides digital tools and resources for learning and training. It has transformed the way learning and training are conducted, enabling diverse methods to learn and develop skills digitally.
Why choose a digital learning environment?
Organizations are more increasingly considering adopting a learning platform to meet their training needs and employees' competence development needs. Here are some key reasons why organizations typically decide to implement an online learning environment.
✅ Flexibility and accessibility of training materials
Flexibility and accessibility are crucial features in today’s rapidly changing business environment. A digital learning environment allows an organization to offer training and development opportunities to its employees according to their schedules and locations. This improves the accessibility of online trainings and makes participation as flexible as possible for the users. Each individual can progress at their own pace, reducing scheduling conflicts and enhancing the convenience of studying.
✅ Cost Savings
One of the biggest advantages of a digital learning environment is cost savings. Traditional trainings, which require traveling and physical presence, can be expensive for an organization. Online trainings reduce personnel costs related to training, travel and accommodation expenses, and enable consistent sharing of online training materials with staff, saving on printing costs. This is financially beneficial and can result in significant savings for the organization in the long term.
✅ Tracking competencies with a digital learning environment
Tracking competencies is an essential aspect of a digital learning environment, enabling real-time information on learning progress. Up-to-date information provides the organization with an overall view of the employees’ skills. This is a crucial part of managing competencies and learning through technology, and digital learning platforms offer effective tools for this purpose.
Analytics tools can identify the learners’ strengths and weaknesses as well as potential learning challenges. This enables quick responses and, if necessary, targeted support for those learners who have had difficulties with the training materials. This role of technology in competence management is key to an organization’s success.
✅ Consistency and quality of online trainings
Digital learning platforms provide a consistent training experience for all learners – everyone learns the same essential content. This is especially important for organizations operating under strict standards and regulations, and who offer for example data protection or safety trainings. Consistent training materials ensure that the organization’s trainings are of high quality and meet the necessary requirements. Many organizations have specific requirements and criteria related to data security or safety practices. With the help of a digital learning platform, for example Anora has been able to ensure that its staff meets these requirements.
✅ Adaptability and versatility of online training
Digital learning environments offer versatile content creation possibilities. Content creators can use various types of materials in online training, such as text, videos, audio files, and interactive tasks. This makes it possible to address the needs and learning styles of different learners. Organizations can also customize online trainings for different target groups.
These factors together form a strong foundation for why organizations should consider choosing a digital learning environment for training their staff.
10 Tips for choosing a good digital learning environment 🎯
A digital learning environment is a crucial part of modern learning. It offers learners a flexible and efficient way to acquire new knowledge and develop their skills. But how do you choose the right learning platform that meets the needs of your organization? Here are ten tips to help you choose the best platform for your organization’s needs.
1. Define goals for the learning platform
When comparing online learning environments, it is important to consider where the platform will be used, who will use it, and what requirements these will place on the platform. Updating trainings begins with the goal setting. Goals for online training can include for example ensuring timely training, unifying training, and providing up-to-date information from one place.
Setting goals is crucial as it helps to ensure that the digital learning environment you choose meets your organization’s needs and helps to achieve concrete results. Whether it’s launching a new product, updating the employees' competencies, or streamlining business processes, clear goals guide you in choosing the right solution.
Once the goals are clear, it is easier to identify the most essential features of the platform. Concrete trainings also help to identify the most important content and usage requirements for the platform.
2. User-centricity
Understanding the needs and expectations of the users is key to successfully choosing a digital learning environment. Conduct surveys, interviews, or gather feedback from the employees. This way, you get valuable insights into what the users expect from the platform. Choose a platform that meets these needs and provides a pleasant and intuitive user experience.
3. Ease of content creation on the learning platform
When comparing different providers’ solutions, it is important to find out how easy it is to create, edit, and share content on the chosen platform. Check whether the platform offers the necessary tools and functionalities for content creation. Good content creation tools make it easy to create training materials and customize them to the organization’s needs. For example, the Vuolearning platform allows you to easily convert existing texts and files into versatile and motivating online courses that support learning.
4. Usability and user experience of the learning platform
Usability is a key factor that affects the effective use of the digital learning environment. Choose a platform that offers a clear and user-friendly interface. Navigation should be intuitive, and functions should be easy to find. A smooth experience for users promotes the effective use of the learning platform and learning. Ensure that the platform is usable and scalable on all smart devices, from mobile devices to computers, allowing learners to study flexibly anytime, anywhere.
5. Support and training for the learning platform
Support services are critically important because users may need help using the online learning environment. It is good to find out what kind of training and support are available for the content creation of the online trainings. Research the customer support offered by the platform and the available training opportunities. Ensure that the end users also have a channel to contact support, along with clear instructions and resources to help them make the best use of the platform.
6. Costs of the learning platform
The costs of the digital learning environment are an important part of the selection process. Cost comparison is crucial because pricing models of different providers can vary significantly. Sometimes what seems like an affordable license may come with unexpected costs. To make the right decision, it is important to find out what the service price includes and carefully evaluate all potential costs.
When comparing different solutions, you should thoroughly review what is included in the price and what services bring additional costs.
Things to clarify about the pricing of the digital learning environment:
✅ Are there start-up costs for the learning platform?
✅ Prices of user licenses
✅ Possible branding or other personalization
✅ Integrations with other systems (e.g., HR systems or e-commerce)
✅ Necessary updates and product support
✅ Training on using the learning platform
One important factor is that the more transparent and straightforward the pricing model is, the easier it is to evaluate and budget for the actual costs of the purchase. This ensures that the chosen online learning environment is a cost-effective solution for your organization and that you can effectively manage your budget.
7. Implementation of the learning platform
Implementing a digital learning environment requires careful planning. The use of pilot courses can help test the platform before full-scale implementation and allows for the resolution of any issues before broad use. For example, Mantsinen Oy found an easy-to-use solution by testing the platform’s functionality in a test environment and then gradually expanding from the test to global use.
A quality learning platform offers start-up training, clear user guides, and a variety of resources included in the price, such as user manuals, blog posts, and YouTube videos, that can support for example those creating the online courses. Ensure that all users are motivated and ready to use the platform for training needs.
8. Data security of the learning platform
Data security in the digital learning environment is paramount, especially for protecting the employees' information and learning data. Ensure that the chosen platform meets data protection and GDPR standards and effectively safeguards personal data. Also, check that it is compatible with your organization’s data security practices. Regular data security testing is essential in order to detect and fix any vulnerabilities.
More information on the data security of a digital learning environment can be found here.
9. Integrations of the learning platform
When thinking about selecting a digital learning environment, it is important to consider whether it needs to integrate with other organizational systems, such as HR systems or e-commerce. Integrations can significantly enhance data transfer and process efficiency. Ensure that the platform supports the necessary interfaces and find out how integrations can be implemented.
The most common integration is single sign-on (SSO), which allows the organization’s user credentials to be used in the digital learning environment. This means employees don’t have to remember separate platform credentials, but can use, for example, their email credentials to access the course.
It is advisable to discuss the organization’s digital environment with the service provider already during the procurement process in order to determine how different services can be seamlessly integrated. Integration work can also be carried out in stages, and after piloting, more precise decisions can be made regarding integrations.
10. Continuous development of the learning platform
Finally, make sure that the learning environment provider regularly updates and develops the platform based on their customers' needs. Find out if there is a channel that can be used for sending wishes and suggestions regarding the platform's development. Ask if the service provider has an existing road map that gives you the overview of the upcoming changes that are planned on the platform. The old updates can often be used as an example of how fast the platform is developing.
Service providers often communicate the most important changes through a newsletter or platform's notifications, for example. This way, you can make sure that the chosen platform stays up to date, you get the information about the new possibilities, and the platform always offers the best possible learning experience.
Digital learning environment responds to the needs of the constantly evolving business environment
Digital learning environments have created a new way to train the personnel in addition to the traditional trainings. They offer flexibility, accessibility, cost savings, and the possibility to track the learning process. At the same time, they support the consistent and high-quality training and offer a possibility to a versatile content creation.
Why choose a digital learning environment? Flexibility and accessibility respond to the needs of the rapidly changing business environment, and the cost savings improve the financial efficiency. The competence tracking ensures the organization's success. Digital learning environments offer consistency, adaptability, and versatility, which makes them a great alternative for the traditional training.
Want to hear more about how Vuolearning could meet your organization's needs? Ask more by phone (+358 9 31545225) or by email (sales@vuolearning.fi).