RESOURCE: The Growing Popularity of Asynchronous Learning: A corporate learning perspective
The meaning of the word ‘asynchronous’ is ‘not at the same time’. In the context of learning, it is used when a learner completes a learning initiative on his own time and schedule – without the intervention of an instructor. As technology advanced, the modes of delivery of Asynchronous Learning have evolved from one-to-one communication i.e. via telegraph and telephones to one to many through radio or television broadcasts to the current trend of many-to-many through networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
In corporate learning, the success of Asynchronous Learning has been tremendous. The prime reason for this is that Asynchronous Learning has been able to bring learning to a large audience across vast geographies – as per their convenience. Also corporate learners are mature and are inclined to learning more in order to succeed in their career. So they do not always need an instructor to keep them motivated. They also like to be self-directed and learn at their own pace. In addition there are some other benefits of Asynchronous Learning which have proven it to be increasingly popular for organizational trainings.
Written by Brian S McGowan, PhD
Brian is a research scientist and educational technologist. He helped transform Pfizer’s Medical Education Group and previously served in educational leadership roles at HealthAnswers, Inc.; Acumentis, LLC.; Cephalon; and Wyeth. He taught graduate medical education programs at Arcadia University for 10 years. Dr. McGowan recently authored the book "#socialQI: Simple Solutions for Improving Your Healthcare" and has been invited to speak internationally on the subject of information flow, technology, and learning in healthcare.
