International House World Organisation Partners with Avallain to Empower the Next Generation of Expert Educators

The partnership confirms Avallain’s traction in the international, accredited ELT market via its customisable digital education solutions that enable educators to create, deliver and manage innovative learning experiences.

International House World Organisation Partners with Avallain to Empower the Next Generation of Expert Educators

Lustmühle, September 12 2024 – Digital education supplier Avallain today announces that it has signed International House World Organisation (IH World) as a client. IH World can now leverage Avallain Magnet, the powerful and customisable learning management system, in combination with Avallain Author’s AI-powered content creation and management features.

IH World will use these solutions to develop, enhance, deliver and analyse world-class digital products, courses, and programmes for teacher training purposes. Avallain Magnet and Avallain Author, both leveraging AI-integrated technology, will equip the new generation of expert educators and learners with the skills they need to succeed. 

IH World is one of the world’s most respected language teaching organisations, with more than 130 language schools operating in over 40 countries. The addition of IH World to Avallain’s client base is a seal of trust from another well-respected education organisation. The partnership sets a new standard for essential digital teacher training in the wider ELT market.

“We’re proud to now be working closely alongside International House World Organisation, integrating our cutting-edge, AI-backed suite of content creation and management tools, and our end-to-end learning management system for the benefit of excellent educators”, says Ian Johnstone, Vice President Partnerships at Avallain. “I am confident that we will see great outcomes from this collaboration,” he adds.

Avallain Magnet is an end-to-end LMS, featuring a fully responsive and customisable interface. Its numerous LMS functionalities range from user and subscription management over virtual classrooms and built-in messaging to grade books, reporting and analytics. The out-of-the-box LMS is seamlessly integrated with Avallain Author, a flexible AI-powered content creation and management tool, with editorial workflows and interactive activity types honed for publishers, institutions, and schools. These capabilities contribute to a more accessible and impactful ELT space, leading to unmatched teacher training outcomes.

Avallain consistently releases new product features, ensuring its clients remain at the forefront of innovation in digital education. A prime example is a re-envisioned Discussion Forums feature, which addresses the specific needs of IH World and goes beyond the isolated boards of the past. The feature enables teachers and students to engage in discussions on both new and familiar topics, incorporate links to relevant courses, and facilitate activities related to the conversations, keeping conversations informed by content, direction and purpose. An AI-powered conversation aide is also in the works.

Avallain is committed to exceeding client expectations. Its Customer Success and Product teams work in tandem to always provide a comprehensive and consistent client experience. 

“We’ve been impressed with Avallain’s personal support every step of the way”, Emma Hoyle, Managing Director at IH World, notes. “Avallain Author and Avallain Magnet accelerate our creative processes and authoring of learning content. The learning management system streamlines learning, delivering quality content and experiences for teachers. We’re excited to see how we will continue to collaborate with Avallain in the future.”

Avallain will now continue to work with IH World to develop innovative solutions that enable teachers, learners, and IH affiliates to grow from the partnership.

Learn more about Avallain Magnet here.

About Avallain

Avallain is on a mission to reshape the future of education through technology. The company creates customisable digital education solutions that empower educators and engage learners around the world. With a focus on accessibility and user-centred design, powered by AI and cutting-edge technology, Avallain strives to make education engaging, effective and inclusive. Find out more at www.avallain.com

Contact:

Daniel Seuling

VP Client Relations & Marketing

dseuling@avallain.com

Richmond Solution, powered by Avallain, receives prestigious ISTE Seal

Richmond Solution has recently been awarded the prestigious ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) Seal for its commitment to excellence in educational technology. At the heart of the Richmond Solution digital offering are two key Avallain systems: the Avallain Unity custom LMS solution powers the Richmond Learning Platform and Avallain Author is used to create most of Richmond’s digital content.

The ISTE Seal serves as a symbol of high-quality product design for educational solutions that enable and guide exceptional learning. By earning the ISTE Seal, Richmond Solution demonstrates its dedication to best pedagogical practices, effective technology implementation, and alignment with the ISTE Standards. This recognition emphasizes the practical usability, digital pedagogical implementation, and exceptional quality of Richmond Solution’s offerings.

“Richmond and Avallain have been working together since 2008 to build truly innovative digital content delivered on a user-friendly, dynamic learning platform. It is an honour to see this collaboration recognised by a body such as ISTE after undergoing the demanding ISTE Seal process.” Luke Baxter, Digital Publisher at Richmond Publishing.

“We are very proud of the recognition Richmond Solution has received through the prestigious ISTE Seal, which underscores Richmond’s unwavering dedication to excellence in educational technology. Avallain is delighted that Avallain Author, our e-learning authoring tool, and Avallain Unity, our custom LMS solution, played a pivotal role in this endeavour.

Witnessing our collaboration acknowledged by the rigorous ISTE Seal process is a testament to our joint commitment to delivering unique digital education experiences.” Alexis Walter, Managing Director at Avallain.

Swiss EdTech innovator Avallain raises 8 million euros from Round2 Capital

Lustmühle, December 14, 2022 – Avallain, the award-winning Swiss provider of cutting-edge e-learning and EdTech solutions, which works with leading premium brands worldwide, has succeeded in securing a second growth financing amounting to EUR 8 million from the European investment fund for revenue-based finance and growth financing, Round2 Capital.

The company’s founders Ursula Suter and Ignatz Heinz continue to control the company as majority shareholders. The aim of this funding round is to provide solid support for the company’s strong growth and pace of innovation.

In the pandemic EdTech boom of recent years, Avallain proved itself as a reliably positioned pioneer and long-standing partner to the education world, enjoying considerable growth as a result.

The award-winning EdTech scale-up Avallain, founded in 2002, pursues the mission of unleashing human potential through innovative, technology-enabled education, enabling quality-driven companies and organizations to create and operate highly interactive e-learning solutions. Round2 Capital recognized the company’s great potential as recently as 2020, when it invested a 7-figure amount in the emerging scale-up.

Now, the Vienna-based investment fund and European pioneer in revenue-based finance, which invests in leading technology and software scale-ups in Europe, has further strengthened the partnership and provided another EUR 8 million in growth financing, on a revenue-based basis as well as with a minority equity component, to the Swiss scale-up. Once again, i5invest acted as advisor to Avallain AG and supported the growth financing transaction with Round2 Capital.

The newly raised capital will enable Avallain to introduce product innovation for customers faster and to expand further into existing as well as new markets, beyond the possibilities of its own profits. In doing so, Avallain will continue to provide holistic solutions to the education industry’s greatest challenges and potentials.

These solutions will follow a broader strategy that ensures they are effective, secure, sustainable and innovative, so that Avallain’s customers are one – or even more – steps ahead of their competition, both now and in the future. Furthermore, Avallain will continue to expand its partnerships and ecosystem to enable customers to implement seamlessly into their digital landscape and benefit from new synergies.

The Avallain founders with the leadership team. © Avallain AG

Ursula Suter, Co-Founder Avallain AG: 

Based on the recent dramatic increase in demand for edtech during the pandemic, Avallain has once again proven itself as a solid, high-quality provider and reliable partner for end-to-end EdTech solutions. In order to consolidate and expand our leading position internationally in an environment of new entrants that often focus on single challenges rather than holistic solutions, we decided to raise additional funds from a strong partner who understands and appreciates our markets and the high potential we have based on the best-in-class technology and market position we have built over the past years. The previous cooperation with Round2 Capital has been excellent and we are pleased to extend the participation of a growth partner with a philosophy that suits us. With this deal structure, the founders retain control of the company and receive sufficient potential for the next chapter.

Stefan Nagel (c) Markus Schlögl

Stefan Nagel, Managing Partner at Round2 Capital: „We are excited to take the next step in our collaboration with Avallain with this transaction. Avallain’s management team, led by Ursula and Ignatz, has used Round2 Capital’s initial 2020 investment to holistically position the company for growth and has begun rolling out its new SaaS application, Avallain Magnet. Following the successful implementation of these processes, we are pleased to be able to further support this expansion with our funding. Education Technology is one of Round2 Capital’s focus sectors, along with Cybersecurity. Avallain is very well positioned to address the further growth potential of the digitization of education.”

About Avallain | www.avallain.com

Founded in 2002 by EdTech pioneers Ursula Suter and Ignatz Heinz, Avallain is an award-winning Swiss provider of EdTech and eLearning solutions, working with leading brands worldwide. The company’s mission is to unlock human potential through innovative and technology-enabled education. Avallain’s team covers five continents and represents more than 14 nations. The company is an active participant in the UN Global Compact and aims to advance the SDGs by being climate positive from 2023 and contributing to positive social change in sub-Saharan Africa through the Avallain Foundation.

About Round2 Capital Partners | www.round2cap.com 

Round2 Capital is a fast-growing European investment fund with €115 million under its management. The Vienna-based company is a strong partner for European scale-ups and companies with digital and sustainable business models. Since its founding in 2017, Round2 Capital has been pioneering revenue-based finance in Europe and is active in several European countries, with a focus on Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the Nordic countries. To date, Round2 Capital has invested in more than 25 different companies.

Avallain & Eaquals: breaking new ground in digital innovation for language institutions

Avallain is delighted to announce a new collaboration with Eaquals, the renowned international accreditation body for providers of language education. Our associate membership offers a unique opportunity to forge meaningful connections with a broad membership of innovative institution, and enables us to pilot products, seek feedback and ideas and share technology and expertise. 

Eaquals is an international non-profit membership association, founded in 1991 with the aim of fostering excellence in language education across the world by providing leadership, guidance and support to governments, teaching institutions and individuals. Eaquals is independent of any commercial group and exists solely to serve the interests of language learners and the language education profession.  

“We are thrilled to be forming an association with Eaquals,” said Ignatz Heinz, President & Co-Founder of Avallain. “It is a natural extension of our deep connections with language education and our commitment to excellence in the field.  Our partnership will facilitate a free exchange of insights and expertise with the exceptional practitioners who make up the Eaquals membership, and the provision of Avallain technologies through piloting and exclusive member arrangements. We look forward to a bright and creative future in the Eaquals family!”

Lou McLaughlin, CEO of Eaquals said: “Eaquals is delighted to welcome Avallain into the Eaquals network as our newest associate member. Avallain’s commitment to delivering the best learning experiences to students and teachers aligns with Eaquals mission to foster excellence in language education and they are a great addition to the Eaquals membership.”

Over the past two decades, Avallain has become the leading technology provider to ELT and educational publishers. Through our white-labeled solutions, we have delivered the very best learning experiences for students and teachers in a range of educational settings. Now, with the release of Avallain Magnet, we have made that unrivaled blend of technology and educational experience available directly to language training organizations of all sizes, whether private language schools, universities or state institutions. 

And because Magnet seamlessly combines digital content authoring and learning management features, it offers innovative institutions – such as those that comprise the Eaquals membership – the opportunity to deliver specialist, tailored or own-branded content programmes, helping them to enhance their educational offer and stand out from the crowd. 

About Eaquals

Eaquals is an international non-profit membership association. Founded in 1991, we are independent of any commercial group and exist solely to serve the interests of language learners and the language education profession.

About Avallain

Founded in 2002, Avallain is an award-winning Swiss EdTEch and eLearning solutions provider that works with leading premium brands worldwide. The company’s mission is to unlock human potential through innovative technology-enhanced education and to enable businesses and organisations to create highly interactive e-Learning content solutions. Co-founders and EdTech pioneers Ursula Suter and Ignatz Heinz lead the international Avallain team, which spans five continents and has staff members from over 14 countries.

The company is an active participant in the UN Global Compact and aims to advance the SDGs by maintaining a zero-carbon footprint and contributing to positive social change in Sub-Saharan Africa through the Avallain Foundation.

Avallain and digital transformation at Eaquals Annual International Conference 2022

The Eaquals Annual International Conference 2022 will be held this year in Venice, Italy, from 28-30 April, and Avallain will proudly join the exclusive lineup of plenary speakers, with the participation of our own Max Bondi, Head of Product Management. Max will take the stage and discuss ways to ensure resilience and flexibility by transitioning to a truly digitally native school.

For more than ten years, Max has worked extensively with ELT and educational publishers such as Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Pearson, National Geographic
Learning | Cengage, and Santillana Richmond to deliver some of the industry’s most trusted digital solutions, used by millions of learners every day. Now, he is focused on bringing these innovations to the institutional market.

Since the onset of the pandemic, there has been a renewed urgency to engage effectively with digital solutions. And yet, all too often, technology brings complexity. Max will explore ways of simplifying: bringing together self-authored and published language courses, virtual classes, apps, messaging, analytics, e-commerce, and other key features of a successful digital programme in one impactful experience.

During the session, Max will introduce Avallain Author, our powerful online authoring tool, as well as Avallain Magnet, the all-in-one learning management system. Both solutions, fully integrated with each other, bring together powerful features honed for language training, enabling the delivery of truly interactive and engaging online courses. Max will also be joined by Chris Moore, MD of Specialist Language Courses, who will discuss how these solutions have helped his institution to extend its digital offering.

The Eaquals conference traditionally provides a rich programme for centre owners, directors, academic managers, teacher trainers as well as researchers and teachers alike. The 2022 conference programme will cover five main themes:

  • Language teacher and learning
  • Course design, CEFR & assessment
  • Staff development
  • Leadership & Management
  • Business & Marketing

“Technology has a crucial role to play in delivering powerful learning experiences, but too often this is done without focusing on the core engagement with the learner. How do you harness technological innovation without the technology getting in the way? How do you embed this in an organisation without succumbing to the destructive power of digital disruption? This is the problem that Avallain Magnet solves. I look forward to a lively discussion with a set of influential practitioners the like of which only Eaquals can bring together” said Max Bondi, Head of Product Management at Avallain.

Want to attend Max Bondi’s presentation?

Make sure to come to Spazio 3 at 2:00 PM CEST, Saturday 30 April, at the NH Venezia Laguna Palace in Mestre, Venice, where the Eaquals Annual International 2022 conference will be held.

Fancy a more personal conversation?

Max Bondi (mbondi@avallain.com) and Ignatz Heinz (iheinz@avallain.com), our President and Co-Founder, are just an email away if you would like to meet them and chat during the conference.

About Eaquals

Eaquals is an international non-profit membership association. Founded in 1991, we are independent of any commercial group and exist solely to serve the interests of language learners and the language education profession.

About Avallain

Founded in 2002, Avallain is an award-winning Swiss EdTEch and eLearning solutions provider that works with leading premium brands worldwide. The company’s mission is to unlock human potential through innovative technology-enhanced education and to enable businesses and organisations to create highly interactive e-Learning content solutions.

Co-founders and EdTech pioneers Ursula Suter and Ignatz Heinz lead the international Avallain team, which spans five continents and has staff members from over 14 countries.

The company is an active participant in the UN Global Compact and aims to advance the SDGs by maintaining a zero-carbon footprint and contributing to positive social change in Sub-Saharan Africa through the Avallain Foundation.

6 Essential Steps to Creating an Online Course

Online courses help businesses and educational institutions make teaching and training more accessible for every kind of learner. But how do you create an effective one?

Online courses are made for a variety of reasons. People use them to learn new skills. Businesses use them to train their employees and provide certifications. Educational institutions use them to create new and engaging curriculum.

Because eLearning is so pervasive in today’s world, you might find yourself having to create an online course for the first time. That can be a daunting task, especially if you don’t have a background in education or instructional design. And it’s even tougher if you don’t have the right tool on your side for it.

We put together these essential steps to help instructors and trainers get on the right path.

6 Essential Steps to Creating an Online Course

 Creating an effective online course takes time and planning. Here’s how to do it.

#1. Pick Your Topic

 What’s your course going to be about?

There are a few ways you can go about answering these questions, but in general, you want to pick a topic that fits an organisational need and has enough information to warrant the creation of an entire course. You’ll also want to pick a topic that you’re passionate and knowledgeable about.

 Depending on your situation, and who you are creating the course for, ask yourself questions like…

  • Does this topic need an entire course or to be an activity within a course?
  • What skills do learners need to succeed?
  • Does it fill a gap in your curriculum?
  • Will learners benefit from this topic being an online course?

Questions like these will help guide your thinking as you go about the initial planning stages.

#2. Start with Learning Outcomes in Mind

Next, before you do anything else, you need to consider what the learning outcomes should be for this course.

  • What do you want your learners to get from it?
  • What value do you want to bring them?
  • What value does this course bring your organisation?

These are critical questions that help focus your content, narrow down your audience, and gives your online course a purpose.

For example, if you have a goal for your learners to become experts in a topic, then you will need to have expert-level content and modules to guide them to that ideal state.

This also ensures that the right learners are taking your course. You don’t want complete beginners taking an expert-level course and vice versa.

#3. Write Your Content

Now it’s time to start creating the course!

Start by creating an outline. This outline will act as your curriculum and your overall course structure. Make sure that you have enough lessons and activities outlined that will last the duration of the course. Give your topics a logical order, making sure each topic seamlessly transitions to the one after.

Then you can start filling in the blanks of your outline by either creating new content. Or if you have applicable content that already exists, feel free to repurpose that existing content. That can save you time and money.

When writing out your content make sure that it’s always focused on your learners and the learning outcomes you set out.

This can also be where you create your assignments, quizzes, and tests.

#4. Produce and Edit Your Content

 With the meat of your course content and structure finished, it’s time to gather and produce the multimedia elements of the course. With the right authoring software, it’s easy.

Gather all the assets you have, and if you find some gaps, then consider producing new elements like images and video. 

Find where each element fits in your course and consider your media mix. It’s best practice to keep content types varied. Add games and interactive activities that will grab your learners’ attention. Consider how those activities will be scored, whether it’s automatically or manually. These elements help your online course stand out, and they also drive engagement. So, get creative!

#5. Share Your Online Course

Now that the course is finalised, it’s time to send it out to your learners. There are a lot of eLearning software packages out there that can help you do this, but these days, a dedicated, all-in-one Learning Management System is the best way to get your courses to your learners. 

Through an LMS, you can easily publish, manage and distribute your courses, communicate with your learners, and offer immersive learning experiences to keep people engaged.

 #6. Track Metrics and Constantly Iterate

Last but certainly not least, you’ll want to track engagement metrics on your online course.

Track statistics like…

  • How many people complete the course
  • How long it took them to complete the course
  • How well they did on assessments and quizzes
  • How much of the content did the watch, listen to, or read

These metrics will show you where your course can improve. If people are tuning out in certain places, then you know where you can work to improve your course so that your learners or trainees achieve the desired learning outcome.

Conclusion

By taking the time to think through these steps, you’ll create an online course that fully covers a topic and serves the needs of your learners and your organisation. eLearning software gives you the tools to create beautiful and engaging online courses that get results.

Ready to create effective online courses? Avallain can help. Contact us today and tell us about your needs.

eLearning Software: 15 Frequently Asked Questions

New to eLearning? You probably have some questions. With so many terms, concepts, and eLearning products floating around, it’s difficult to find the right solution for your organisation’s needs. This list of eLearning software FAQs should clear up some of the basics.

At Avallain, we get a lot of questions about eLearning software. And with the demand for eLearning increasing, organisations are searching for solutions to meet this demand. If you’re the person tasked with implementing an eLearning program, then you’ve come to the right place.

These FAQs will give a level of base knowledge to make an informed decision when looking for an eLearning software solution for your organisation.

eLearning Software: 15 Frequently Asked Questions

#1. What is eLearning?

eLearning is short for electronic learning. It’s a catch-all term for any learning content delivered electronically.

It’s a way of learning that enables publishers, businesses, and educational institutions to distribute engaging and effective courses that help people learn new skills, employees gain new certifications, and students succeed in their studies.

#2. What is eLearning software?

eLearning software is a term that can cover a wide swath of software applications. At a top-level, these are programs that create, administer, publish, and track any kind of eLearning course or activity.

Once delivered offline, these software solutions have taken on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, which offers a higher level of performance and flexibility.

#3. What are the different types of eLearning software? 

There are four main categories of eLearning software. They all fulfill different functions, and they can be used separately or in any combination depending on your needs.

  • Online Authoring Tools – These are tools that are solely used to create eLearning content. They can deliver that content via an API or by publishing directly to a connected learning platform.
  • Learning Management System (LMS) – A software application made specifically for the administration and delivery of eLearning courses. An LMS helps you manage every stage of delivering learning to an audience.
  • Learning Experience Platform (LXP) – A newer application that’s making a splash in the online training industry, an LXP is essentially and LMS with higher level functions to foster a better user experience. These functions include gamification, personalised dashboards, reporting capabilities, and artificial intelligence.
  • Comprehensive or All-In-One Software – These programs deliver both authoring and distribution functions into one package. They allow you to create, deliver, and manage the learning experience from start to finish. Platforms like these have grown very popular because you can get the benefits of two platforms for the price of one. Avallain Magnet is a perfect example of these software packages. It’s a seamless and easy-to-use bespoke LMS and LXP with authoring capabilities built in.

#4. What are the different types of eLearning?

eLearning courses can come in many forms. Some of the most popular include lectures and seminars delivered in audio or video format. eLearning can even be delivered in eBooks and interactive games and quizzes.

#5. What features should you look for in an eLearning software?

Each business has its own goals, and a bespoke eLearning software can help businesses reach their goals. Some general qualities businesses should consider include the ease of use, user experience, level of interactivity, accessibility, security, and customisability

#6. How do you create content with eLearning software?

The specifics on how to create content depend on the software you choose, but there are some general tips to creating great content for learning. 

  • Break It Up – It’s important to keep your learning content organised. Break your content up into courses and modules, that way it’s easily digestible for your audience. Plus, it’s easier to keep track of on the admin end.
  • Use Multimedia – Interactivity has a profound impact on learning outcomes. Make sure to incorporate a variety of media forms into your eLearning courses.
  • Prioritise Interactivity – Make sure to take the time and ask your learners to interact with the material. Whether through quizzes, games, or other tools, getting learners directly involved in their learning always leads to better results.

#7. What sort of media can eLearning software support?

Not all eLearning software can support all forms of online media. That’s why it’s important to find a software that can. Multimedia learning content is a key to keeping your learners engaged.

Whether you’re looking to create engaging infographics, PDFs, video, audio, or even fully functional games,  the right eLearning authoring software can help. 

#8. How interactive can eLearning be?

The quick answer is very interactive! And the more interactive, the better.

With the advancements in authoring software and LXP’s, eLearning is more interactive than ever before. Multimedia content creates plenty of opportunities for the learner to take complete control over their learning experience.

#9. Is eLearning accessible to people with different learning styles?

Definitely! The great thing about eLearning software is that they can support all forms of online media, allowing you to create a variety of learning content that resonates with all learning styles. Be sure to test your engagement to find out what works best for your learners.

#10. Can eLearning software publish content to all devices, including desktop and mobile?

Yes, and that should be something you look for. One of the best parts about eLearning is the flexibility it provides for the end user. And with the right software, they can learn on a tablet at the library. Then they can continue that module at their home office on a desktop computer. Later on, they can pick it back up on their morning commute through their phone.

#11. Can you integrate existing courses or in-person courses with eLearning software?

Yes! In fact, a blended learning environment can be highly effective, allowing you to get the full benefits of eLearning and in-person learning. The best eLearning software provide that flexibility.

#12. Can eLearning software create e-books?

Again, not all eLearning software is created equal. Some eLearning software packages have limited capabilities in this area. It’s important to verify what each software package you’re considering can and can’t do.

The right eLearning authoring tools (like Avallain Author) can help you compile and manage content into cohesive eBooks ready for publishing.

#13. Who can or should use eLearning software?

Anyone can use eLearning, and the right solution will vary, depending on their industry, their needs, and their objectives.

Traditionally, eLearning has been boosted by publishers, educational institutions, and publishers, but small, mid-sized and large businesses are also taking their piece of the cake, after seeing the advantages of online training, bespoke learning content,

#14. How does eLearning software benefit businesses?

The right eLearning solution can spark growth in your employees and, as a result, your entire business. eLearning benefits organisations by providing easy and comprehensive solutions to onboarding, professional development, compliance, culture, certifications, and change management. We cover these benefits in a lot more detail in this blog post.

#15. How does eLearning software benefit schools and universities?

eLearning solutions enable schools and universities of all sizes around the world to develop their own interactive digital education content. These assets can be courses unto themselves, or they can supplement existing courses. They allow universities to enroll students across the globe, expanding their offerings and reach.

Conclusion

There are a lot of eLearning software programs out there, so having a basic knowledge of what’s available and how it can be used to benefit your organisation will help you find the right solution.

Now that you know the basics, ready to find out more about how eLearning can benefit your organisation? Avallain can help. Contact us today and tell us about your needs.

6 Ways Companies Use Online Employee Training Software

Corporate training is more important now than ever. In today’s dynamic working environment, processes such as onboarding, upskilling, corporate compliance, and professional development can be highly optimised by implementing online employee training software. Here’s how.

Online employee training software enables organisations to train and share knowledge with their teams online. A solution specifically designed for the needs of the corporate sector, it makes it easy to build, deliver, and track training efforts through an all-in-one online platform.

In today’s highly remote work environment, this type of solution matters. Online training is independent of location, time, and schedules, which means an unlimited number of employees can be trained at once across different time zones at the click of a few buttons. It’s cost-effective for your business—saving you from travelling and training staff costs—while automating training in a consistent manner across your entire organisation.

The best online employee training software offers interactive training and personalised training paths for employees, boosting engagement and retention—and faster, clearer, and more manageable data on performance and outcomes for organisation leaders.

To see these benefits in action, let’s take a look at how corporates are using employee training software.

6 Ways Companies Use Online Employee Training Software

Online training software serves many purposes. There are solutions available that are suitable for the specific training requirements of the corporate sector.

Different companies across different industries will have their own reason (or reasons) for implementing online employee training software. Here are some of those purposes.

1. Onboarding

Companies use online training software to onboard new employees, ensuring a consistent and seamless transition for any new hire. It helps organisations deliver all pertinent information to newcomers and, at the same time, an acceptable level of understanding and learning about the company, specific processes and tasks related to each accountability, depending on the role of the new hire. Online training software prepares them for immediate success and allows new hires to show up on their first day with a firm grasp on the job and company policies.

 2. Continuous Professional Development

 Companies also use this type of solution after the initial onboarding process to continuously improve their employees.

With the support of online employee training software, companies of any size can upskill employees with no limitations of headcount or skills and easily, accurately, and efficiently train employees on specific areas of interest.

 3. Compliance

Other organisations—namely those in tightly regulated industries like finance and healthcare — rely on online training to ensure compliance on a global scale on topics relevant to their business. Global compliance standards are vital for these industries and easily achievable with online training.  

Regardless of industry, though, most organisations need to care about meeting IT security, work safety, legal, and ISO standards. With accurate data about employees’ performance, organisations can easily identify areas of improvement and quickly assure standardisation and compliance across all branches.

4. Corporate Culture

With an ever-increasing competitive hiring landscape, companies need to work on their corporate culture and level of engagement to attract and retain the best talent in the market.

That’s why more and more companies implement online employee training software, which enables trending benefits such as remote work and personal development.

Above all, companies can reinforce company values and other items that are essential to the corporate culture. Doing so maintains a strong company culture and keeps your employees engaged, dedicated to their work, and aware of their important role in the company.

5. Employee Certification

Since online training software allows companies to train an unlimited number of employees in topics and skills according to their needs, companies use it to speed up the process of employee certification.

This is especially beneficial to organisations that are part of industries where certifications are equal to compliance, or when potential clients base their final decision on the possibility of working with certified professionals.

6. React to Changes

Now more than ever, companies need to be able to react quickly and accurately to rapid changes. An online training platform allows you to quickly create modules or courses related to the latest industry changes.

Whether it’s new hygiene regulations as a part of COVID-19 or new data privacy regulations, training software provides your company with the flexibility to respond to changes in a timely and consistent manner.  

Online Employee Training Software: 6 Essential Features

It’s clear that online employee training software plays an important role for a number of corporate purposes. But to have the benefits described above, you need a suitable and efficient solution that includes at least the following features: 

  • Dedicated Roles: Companies need the power to divide users by roles, such as learner and trainer. This ensures their interaction with the platform is coherent with the company’s and the user’s objectives and hierarchies.
  • Multimedia Content: The use of videos, audio files, images, PDFs, PPT presentations, eBooks, and more is essential for organisations to deliver training that works and keeps your employees engaged.
  • Performance Tracking and Reports: To know what works and what doesn’t, companies need a high level of detail and accessibility on the performance of learning programs. Training software should easily and clearly keep track of metrics like content usage, employees’ learning process, and performance.
  • Secured Access and Storage: Considering how sensitive corporate information can be, the training solution must be secure. Your learning software should offer privacy and protection against any type of threat, including the ones that might even be in the office.
  • White Label: Branding is a very important element of organisations. As such, learning software should offer white label capabilities, allowing corporations to customise their dashboards with the intention of creating a personalised experience for their employees. This allows employees to fully interact and connect with the brand and the company’s identity.
  • Bespoke Content:  It’s vital to be able to create bespoke and engaging training content in order to ensure inspiring and effective learning experiences tailored to the individual company.

Conclusion

With the right solution, online employee training software can help your organisation in a number of areas. Overall, it helps you reach all your training and business goals by making sure your employees are certified, compliant, knowledgeable, and in touch with your organisation’s culture and values.

Avallain Magnet, combined with Avallain Author, offers all the features you need to create custom content, deliver and manage top-notch digital training experiences, and fulfill the training purposes outlined above. Packed in a fully functional suite with no additional setup costs and no risks of lack of compatibility (two common issues many corporates face when implementing training software), Avallain ensures the best outcome for a corporate digital learning strategy.

Ready to meet and surpass all corporate training requirements? Avallain can help. Contact us today tell us about your needs.

eLearning Authoring Software: 4 Reasons Instructional Designers Love It

eLearning authoring software is helping publishers, universities and corporations produce online courses and training programs at an unprecedented rate. In this post, we break down the top 4 reasons why.

eLearning authoring software is a creative tool used by instructional designers to create and deliver high-quality eLearning content.

There are two general types of authoring software:

  • Standalone software that offers advanced authoring capabilities. Standalone authoring tools also have publishing functionality, but they need a destination to deliver the content (learning platform, website, mobile or web application, etc). Standalone software can fully integrate with a learning management system as an all-in-one solution. 
  • Prebuilt authoring tools with limited authoring and publishing capabilities, included in learning management systems or all-in-one solutions.

In this blog, we’re focusing more on standalone eLearning authoring software.

While each type has unique specialisations, having dedicated authoring tools for creating learning content offers a number of benefits for publishers, univeirsities and businesses.

Reason #1: Better Learning Outcomes

The main benefit of eLearning authoring software is how easy it makes the process of creating customised learning content. Using advanced features and multimedia functionality, course designers can rapidly create more engaging and interactive content. And that can have a profound impact on learning outcomes.

In online courses, interactivity is defined as requiring students to engage with content through different senses, tools or actions. Courses with higher levels of interactivity tend to provide greater learning outcomes. 

For example, an exercise requiring students to read a passage, listen to audio and complete a question uses multiple touchpoints to reinforce a concept, producing a better learning result.

Reason #2: Content and Asset Management 

To create better learning outcomes with more engaging and interactive content, you need more than just a way to create said content. You need a way to manage it all in one place. This is where online authoring tools excel. 

eLearning authoring software provides full flexibility and overview of your assets when it comes to storing and structuring your content. This is helpful because you will likely reuse the same content for different learning products in order to stay as efficient as possible and get the most out of each created piece of content. 

Another component of content and asset management is version visibility. This allows you to identify which piece is the latest version so you can quickly update content or even restore an older version as needed. This also provides full control over all your media and other assets. You know exactly when it was uploaded, by who, as part of what content and learning product. Then, you can update or replace the asset with just one click everywhere. 

Lastly, content and asset management needs to be backed by high security and performance. Standalone authoring tools offer state-of-the-art shared or dedicated cloud-hosting solutions, providing instructional designers with the utmost security and performance of their data and assets. 

Reason #3: Production & Project Management

Another benefit of authoring software is that it offers robust production and project management capabilities alongside content creation.

In the same way that marketing teams or video developers use project management software to track their deadlines and resources, authoring software can serve as a production management tool to help instructional design teams.

eLearning authoring software allows designers to work with different stages and workflows to match editorial workflows, such as “in progress,” “final draft,” “approved” and “published.” Also, you can work with different user roles and rights to seamlessly get your offline team processes and responsibilities mirrored online. If wished, you can easily and safely work with outsourced capacities. 

This is particularly useful for design teams and publishers who have to work on concurrent projects, meet deadlines and track the performance of their work. With a more structured way to create and manage learning content, many teams find that their designers can work faster and more flexibly.

Reason #4: Integrations

A final benefit of authoring software is its ability to integrate with your learning management system (LMS) or learning experience platform (LXP) software or solution. Using industry standards such as xAPI or Scorm, most common authoring applications allow you to publish a course to a connected LMS or LXP for users to enjoy.

However, eLearning software integrations are most successful and beneficial to instructional designers when the standalone authoring tool integrates with an LMS or LXP from the same brand. To understand why, let’s look at all possible combinations:

Standalone Authoring Tool + Different Brand LMS/LXP

When you use a standalone authoring tool and an LMS or LXP from different vendors, complications may arise during publishing.

For example, content may not display precisely in the platform in the way it was initially authored, and publishing processes may require cumbersome manual import/export. Also, when it comes to updating your content, you may have to update the same content piece in each single course – instead of clicking once to update across everything. 

Prebuilt Authoring Tool Within LMS/LXP

Alternatively, you can opt for a prebuilt authoring tool within an LMS or LXP, making the publishing and updating process much smoother. However, you miss out on the benefits of standalone eLearning software—including engaging content with a lot of variety, powerful content and asset management features, production, workflow and project management features, and more.

Standalone Authoring Tool + Same Brand LMS/LXP (All-In-One) 

This leads us to an all-in-one solution that offers a standalone authoring tool and an LMS/LXP from the same brand, perfectly tuned to each other and seamlessly integrated. You get the benefits of both worlds: Full features of a standalone solution and smooth and quick publishing and updating processes. 

Conclusion

Instructional designers are creating online courses and digital training experiences faster than ever thanks to eLearning authoring software. From better learning outcomes to project management functionality, authoring software offers a number of benefits for publishers, universities and businesses looking to level up their online courses.

Need eLearning tools for authoring, distributing and managing your content? Avallain can help. Tell us more about your needs today.

What Is eLearning Software?

Demand for engaging and informative online courses has never been greater. But producing these types of content at scale is no easy task. In this post, we’ll break down what eLearning software is and how it helps organisations create better courses. 

eLearning software is a digital tool that a company, organisation or individual uses to create learning content and experiences online. In some ways, eLearning software is an umbrella term that comprises numerous subcategories of specialised learning software.

While researching eLearning software, you’re likely to come across dozens of synonyms for the term. These include, to name a few:

  • Learning management system
  • Online training system
  • Content authoring tools
  • Digital instructional design
  • Digital learning software
  • Instructional design tools
  • Online training platform for business
  • Learning experience platforms

Each subcategory of eLearning software provides unique specialisations or features. But one thing they all have in common is their ability to create or distribute content and learning experiences online.

Traditionally, learning software was delivered offline, but this is becoming less common every day. Now the industry-standard for learning is the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, which offers a higher level of performance and flexibility.

How Does eLearning Software Work?

Producing an online course involves two steps: creation (or authoring) and distribution. eLearning software provides course designers a virtual environment for each.

The administration environment is where platform administrators will manage courses, products and the platform. The environment is also designed to provide the optimal user and learning management experience for the organisation operating the platform.

The frontend environment is where the end users, such as teachers, trainers, students and learners engage with the content and courses, as well as with each other. The design of this environment is focused on providing a positive user experience for the person taking – and the person grading – the course.

Types of eLearning Software

While there are dozens of providers of eLearning software – each with their own specialisation – they all fit into four general categories.

Comprehensive or All-in-One Software

Comprehensive eLearning software delivers both authoring and distribution functionalities in a single package.

This allows you to create, deliver and manage the entire learning experience, from inception to engagement with end users.

All-in-one software has become popular because you get the benefits of two platforms for the price of one, without losing functionality. 

Authoring functionality for all-in-one solutions is usually either built-in, which often limits their capabilities, or achieved through seamless integration with a more robust authoring tool that has better features and functionality.

Some providers also offer solutions that allow you to customise your learning platforms, such as adding your own branding. These solutions check all the boxes of comprehensive software, but allow for a greater degree of customisation and flexibility.

It’s worth noting that a cutting-edge all-in-one solution should offer the capabilities of both a learning management system (LMS) and a learning experience platform (LXP), depending on the individual requirements and demands of its users.

(More on that in a bit.)

Online Authoring Tools

Online authoring tools are solely dedicated to the creation of eLearning content. They cannot deliver the content to end users. However, they do have the capability to export content via API (such as xAPI and SCORM) or by publishing directly to a connected learning platform.

Authoring tools have three main use cases:

  • Publishers use them to both digitalise their educational content and create more interactive digital content
  • Corporates use them to create and maintain high quality training courses for their employees
  • Agencies use them to create content that they can then sell to publishers or corporates

Learning Management System

A learning management system (LMS) is a software application for the administration, and delivery of educational courses and training programs. Put simply, an LMS helps you manage every stage of delivering a learning experience to an audience.

There are standalone learning management systems on the market, but in many ways LMS represents a range of functionality that other applications provide. For example, an all-in-one solution might provide LMS features.

Learning Experience Platforms

A learning experience platform (LXP) is a new type of application that’s having a huge impact on the way the industry thinks about learning content. An LXP is essentially all-in-one publishing software but with a higher level of features and functionality that fosters a better user experience.

LXPs help you create personalised learning experiences through a number of innovative features, including:

  • Gamification
  • Personalised dashboards
  • Advanced reporting capabilities 
  • Artificial intelligence 

Conclusion

Engaging online learning experiences don’t happen by accident. eLearning software makes it easier than ever to create and deliver courses to users anywhere.

Need eLearning tools for authoring, distributing and managing your content? Tell us more about your needs today.