Find the right eLearning course with these 7 questions

Choosing the right eLearning course can be easy for some people. They know what they’re looking for and where they want to go. Therefore, it’s a simple matter of selecting a course that’s in line with their career goals.

For others, the choice isn’t so clear-cut. Some people just want to learn something new because they’re bored with their current role. Others may want to add skills to their professional repertoire so they’ll be next in line for a promotion.

To help you out, here are our tips on selecting the right eLearning course for your unique situation.

What do you want to achieve?

Before you choose an eLearning course, it’s worth thinking about what you’d like to achieve. If career progression is your goal, it should be a simple matter of selecting a course that’ll provide you with the skills you’ll need.

If you want a complete change in direction, it’ll be worth choosing a course with a grounding in the sector you want to enter.

Or, you might just be looking for a general expansion to your arsenal of skills, in which case you could pick pretty much any course you fancy. That said, an eLearning course that aligns with your current career track would be advisable—as long as you’re happy with the path you’re on, though.

Do you need formal accreditation?

If your goal is to upskill so you can progress through your current career path, you should think carefully about whether you’ll need any formal accreditation. Some courses offer this, while others provide a glimpse into a subject area as a basis for further learning.

Before you invest in a training course, make sure it’ll provide you with the certification you need. You should also check who’s awarding the accreditation; make sure it’s a reputable provider.

How much time can you realistically dedicate?

You need to think about how much time you can devote to your eLearning course before you enrol. One of the major perks of eLearning is that it can be done at your own pace. Another bonus is that most courses offer a generous access period—anywhere between six months and two years is normal.

See if you can find out how long it takes to complete the course on average. This could be stated in black and white, or you might have to ask, but once you know, you can start to work out how much time you’ll need to devote to your online course each week.

Think about whether you’ll be able to acquire your new skills quickly enough through the course you have in mind? If not, it might be worth considering an alternative training course.

Does it offer tutor support?

Generally speaking, it’s worth going for an eLearning course that offers tutor support. There’s a chance you’ll struggle with a section or two, making the extra support of the course tutor necessary.

You can probably get through without it, depending on the nature of the course, but you don’t want to stunt your progress. If you can, make this a deciding factor when selecting an eLearning course.

It’s worth keeping in mind that many courses offer group support through some kind of online forum. Discussing the course content with others who are also working through it is one of the best ways to learn, and one of the most rewarding.

As such, ensure that you make full use of any group system offered. If you run into trouble, you can consult the group before going to the course tutor—you might find the answers you need more quickly.

What’s your learning style?

You must consider your learning style before selecting a training course, because not all eLearning courses come in the same format. There are many different learning styles out there, so make sure you choose a course that fits yours.

For example, does the course you’re interested in mainly consist of audio-visual content, or is it more of a reading-based approach? Some people will find one approach easier than others. That said, it’s best to find a course that strikes the right balance between video content and written material.

Something else to bear in mind is the services are available to consolidate your learning. A good eLearning course will have a wealth of exercises and quizzes to complete to make sure you’re on track. Ideally, you should have to complete these before moving on to subsequent sections so you can make sure you fully understand the course content.

Some courses might also offer downloadable content to look through in addition to the course’s main content, or point you to relevant resources and URLs so you can do some further consolidation.

Is there any prerequisite material?

Make sure you choose a course at the right level for you. It sounds obvious, but for some courses prerequisite learning will be necessary, so just bear this in mind when selecting your eLearning course.

What payment plans are available?

The course you choose might depend on your budget, seeing as they can be anywhere from £20 into £100s depending on their difficulty level, accreditation, and what’s covered. A course might be payable monthly or upfront. Some even offer perks such as a 10% discount on upfront commitments.

Note that you might be able to get your employer to pay for your training, if you can make a reasonable case to prove that it’ll be worth their while. Read more on that here.

Hopefully these seven questions make it easier for you to select the right eLearning course, especially if you haven’t tried one before and don’t know what to look for.

Why not consider one of the many courses on offer here at e-Careers? Providing you choose the right course, it is sure to put you on the fast-track to career success. Get started today.