Digital Signposts: Digital Signage and E-Learning
Mar 26, 2012 9:57 AM,
By Vern Freedlander, Vice President, Production, X2O Media
For corporations, providing continuing education and training for employees is an essential way to maintain a motivated and skilled workforce. But how can this be accomplished efficiently and cost effectively for thousands of employees scattered across multiple locations? The answer is e-learning. E-learning is a very well- established method of training employees and making sure their skills are constantly being updated. And by integrating e-learning into a digital signage platform, both administrators and students can realize some valuable benefits.
By using digital signage as the delivery means for e-learning, employees can leverage video, realtime data, and social media to supplement traditional e-learning solutions. This allows for a more engaging, interactive educational experience. With digital signage, corporations can deliver a variety of educational material directly to employees’ desktops, from simple presentations to complex, fully interactive coursework. This content can be created for and easily delivered to specific departments, teams, geographic locations, or individual employees.
For administrators, digital signage makes it simple to track course progression and which videos employees have watched, and allows them to administer testing for certifications. For employees, it provides an unprecedented level of convenience. By taking courses or watching training videos right on their desktop, employees can learn at their own pace and on their own schedule; and thus are more likely to participate in educational opportunities. The ability to interact with course content via their computer’s mouse makes for a more engaging and productive learning experience. Further interactivity can be created by utilizing social media to promote mentorship and collaboration with other students. And for employees on the road, this same content can be repurposed and accessed on their tablets and smartphones.
Vern Freedlander is vice president of production services for Montréal-based X2O Media, a full-service provider of technology, network management, and content services for professional digital signage applications. With more than 20 years of broadcast television experience as a producer, director, and executive, Freedlander oversees all of X2O Media’s content initiatives. He can be reached at [email protected].
