HANSA 01-2021

SCHiFFFaHrt | SHiPPiNG
Digital Maritime Training in Covid-19 Times
Covid-19 has changed everything in our private and our business world. teaching
environments and techniques have also evolved in response
Like it or not, we have all had to embrace
digital, remote forms of training
- rapidly. The first response was to
employ ad-hoc measures such as delivering
traditional classroom lectures as
videoconferences. But at the same time,
a more fundamental discussion has started
on how to provide quality training if
the pandemic stays with us for longer.
Two key forms
looking at required cost and time, it became
quickly apparent that for us the focus
should be on two key training forms:
live online training (aka virtual classroom)
and self-paced learning using recently
evolved development software which has
brought down development times and
costs significantly, while at the same time
improving trainee satisfaction with the
»look and feel« of the training products.
Most training courses employ a blend
of these options. E.g. self-paced online
training is ideal for resource libraries
with reading material, multiple-choice
tests, and background knowledge. live
online training (using for example, Microsoft
teams or Zoom) for kick-off and
closure of training, Q&a sessions, and
short group activities in purpose-made
virtual break-out rooms. Experience with
customers shows that such a mixture is
very well received.
Comparing traditional training with
digital options, we have a digital equivalent
for almost all modes of training:
reading, frontal lectures, exercises, discussions
and assessment. if a traditional
training is well designed using visually
stimulating material with interspersed
activities for the trainees, the conversion
to digital equivalents is straightforward.
only the coffee breaks with real coffee
and initial social bonding are vastly better
in the real world…
Key risk
a key risk with self-paced learning is
that the trainee does not study, whether
it is with an old-fashioned textbook or an
e-learning course. Purely self-paced online
courses generally have less impact
than classroom training where individual
feedback is possible and where learners
generally have a higher attention rate.
longer courses are generally subdivided
into modules of typically 20-60 minutes’
duration.
due to their longer duration, web
courses generally employ a wider range
of techniques to avoid fatigue. The training
material employs techniques akin to
PowerPoint presentations – text (sometimes
animated), images, embedded videos.
in principle, all the good advice for
designing PowerPoint presentations for
classroom training also applies to designing
e-learning modules. in addition,
some web authoring tools allows information
on demand (e.g. mouse-over popup
explanations, magnifying of images,
links to websites or pdf documents). information
on demand allows decluttering
slides with faster progress for those who
don’t need the extra details.
»I know…«
While not glamorous, downloadable
pdf files and online reading text are often
a good and cost-effective option
in training. Sometimes it makes more
sense to deliver new training content in
the form of a job aid. don’t stretch out a
small amount of content in order to create
an hour e-learning course. transferring
classroom training to digital solutions,
we often include links to pdf files or
websites, where the reference knowledge
can be found, and focus on the learning
goals: »i know this resource exists«, »i
know where to find it« and »i know how
to work with it«.
live online training keeps the trainer
in the loop, with all its pros and cons. a
charismatic trainer can capture any audience,
just as a trainer without charisma
may lose the audience even in a real
classroom. Even in the best conditions,
online training will be more fatigu-
28 HaNSa – international Maritime Journal 01 | 2021