6 Reasons Blended Content Trumps Digital

Supplementing digital training efforts can help improve the process and value of training.

Published on 28 August, 2017 | Last modified on 1 November, 2022
digital is great but blended training is better 2

Supplementing digital training efforts can help improve the process and value of training.

While offering a digital component is essential, it is not the end-all be-all. Here are a few reasons why a blended solution (also known as hybrid or mixed-mode) is the better bet for your training course:

1. Cross-Generational Learners

There’s oodles of research on how millennials demand digital learning, but most companies still have a mixture of other generations in their workforce. On top of that, educational research shows that everyone has a different learning style, so some people will engage better with digital material while others need pen and paper to retain the content.

Your training course should accommodate all learners’ needs. Providing a blended solution – where your learner can access print, digital, or both – allows each attendee to determine how they learn.

2. Increased Social Learning

Since a good digital platform will give you collaborative options such as group notes, offering blended courses amplifies the ways in which your learners can work together. Not only can they collaborate in face-to-face training, but outside of the classroom they can continue communication through comments and notes within the material. Plus, on some platforms, you can then track exactly what your learners are annotating, commenting on, or questioning, allowing you to build a more robust learning metrics system.

Increased Social Learning

3. Flexibility in IP Security

Oftentimes, training materials include precious brand intellectual property that you want to keep control of. Yet, in that same training, you will probably have handy quickguides, quizzes, or evaluations that you want your learner to keep as a resource to refer to after the course. With blended material, you can offer those non-proprietary materials as takeaways while securing the IP as digital content that cannot be downloaded.

4. Distraction-Free Learning

Because a good digital distribution platform will give you control over who accesses your content, offering a blend of both print and digital lets you get the best of both worlds. In the classroom, you can use print materials so that the learners aren’t distracted by their devices. Then you can offer more powerful digital content as material for outside the class, which not only is indexed for easy searching but is also interactive and updated to provide on-demand learning after the course is over.

5. The Takeaway Book

It may seem small, but at the end of the training, your attendee wants to have physical course material to take back to the office with them. For them, it is something to show their boss to prove they went and learned; for you, it’s easy marketing to other team members.

6. They Can Suit Themselves

As the cherry on top, you can ultimately prepare your content so that your attendees can choose for themselves whether they would prefer digital, print, or both. Find a solution that places the choice in your learners’ hands, whether it is an option when they purchase the content from your site or a “print” button with the digital copy that sends it straight to a professional printer for next-day delivery – and put that on their expense book.

The bottom line is that by choosing either print or digital, you exclude certain learners. With a blended course, you will satisfy everyone, leading to more learning and better courses.

Free eBook - Transitioning to blended L&D content

Free Guide: Transitioning to Blended L&D Content

Looking for a digital solution that allows learners to access protected content offline? Trying to incorporate printed materials with eContent for a blended curriculum? Download our free ebook, Transitioning to Blended L&D Content!

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Mimeo Marketing Team

Mimeo is a global online print provider with a mission to give customers back their time. By combining front and back-end technology with a lean production model, Mimeo is the only company in the industry to guarantee your late-night print order will be produced, shipped, and delivered by 8 am the next morning. For more information, visit mimeo.com and see how Mimeo’s solutions can help you save time today.

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