In light of the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, we've already seen a seismic shift in the way we work. While making the transition to online learning and remote training can be difficult, our experience is that learning is greatly enhanced by using digital tools—no matter where your team is. Here's your complete guide to understanding what's out there, and how to make the most of it for your remote team.

Part 1: How we learn versus how we think we learn

When we hear the word ‘forget,’ typically there are negative associations. We often think of ourselves as striving not to forget things. But, as Robert Bjork discusses in this video, forgetting is actually an important component of learning and memory.

Every day thousands of learners use the Cerego platform at school and at work to help them learn faster and retain information longer. Today, our dataset includes 1 billion interactions drawn from over 1.5 million learners and is the biggest of its kind outside of academia.

Through these interactions, we've learned an enormous amount about the intricacies of "how" people learn—from the best time of day to study to the easiest subjects to learn, to the length of time it takes to master a concept, and more. And because we’re dedicated to helping students and employees learn more effectively, we’ve collected the most interesting key insights on learning—and forgetting—and published them all in our first “This Is How We Learn” report.

Part 2: What is an LMS, and why is it important to know its strengths and weaknesses?

Most online teaching software is based on the LMS or learning management system. An LMS allows instructors to create online courses for corporate training, in much the same way as a professor builds a lecture based on a series of slides. The problem with that model, however, is that it's not really about learning—actually, a traditional LMS has more in common with a CMS, or content management system. There's nothing built-in that helps the user actually learn and remember the information.

Part 3: How can you drive measurable learning from a distance?

Millions of learning interactions with the Cerego platform have shown that even performing one review of course material dramatically increases retention versus only studying. That increased retention is a result of what is known as the 'testing effect,' or retrieval practice. And, counterintuitively, that positive effect on retention holds true even if the learner gets the answers wrong. Then, Cerego leverages the principle of distributed learning, in combination with the forgetting curve and the learner's past performance, to determine the timing for the next review.

Part 4: 3 evidence-backed study tactics that effectively improve learning for anyone

There are a lot of different theories on how to learn and retain information out there, and often those ideas are articulated in ways specific to individual experiences with studying, or academic pursuits.

But there are 3 things that are backed by more than 100 years of research that anyone can do to improve their ability to learn and recall information. And that ability to recall information is critically important for success in the workplace—here’s how knowledge retention boosts performance and improves business outcomes. 

Part 5: How do you measure the success of your business training software?

As nearly every industry embraces automation, it has never been more important for employees to re-skill and up-skill to respond to an increasingly complex working environment. This is true even in sectors like manufacturing, where now more than 40% of workers have a college degree, compared with just 22% as recently as 1991.

That means the right training materials are key to building the workforce of the future—one that trains workers to grow with modern-day tech skills so that companies can have a competitive advantage, and stay innovative.

Part 6: Why personalized learning is the key to engaging your remote team

When you blend cognitive science and artificial intelligence, remote learning can increase engagement, and improve performance versus traditional learning practices. 

Here are 3 keys to building an effective remote learning program.

Part 7: Crafting an effective remote learning strategy 

With companies requiring employees to work from home on short notice, managers getting caught off-guard need to move fast so productivity is not lost. The good news is, Cerego has been helping companies upskill remote employees for years, and has put together its key best practices in the 2020 telecommuting playbook: 3 Steps to Creating an Effective Remote Learning Strategy.

This playbook is also in presentation format, so you can use it for yourself!

Part 8: What to do to stay connected with your team in a remote environment

There’s no shortage of advice going around about moving to remote work these days. Lots of it is quite good, too! But we stumbled onto something that seems to work pretty well, and we haven’t seen it described anywhere else—and that’s our Remote Water Cooler. 

If you need a way to optimize your remote learning for long-term retention and behavior change, try Cerego!