The Value of Anonymity in the Age of Remote Learning
Is remote learning via an avatar or AI-type program as beneficial as person-to-person learning? That is the question that both students and adults seeking career development opportunities have asked during this current age of remote learning. For many types of learners and individuals, AI or avatar-led programs may be more effective and even preferable. Feedback from users of development tools with AI-type technology often points to the value of anonymity they experience with avatars.
Remote Learning Allows for a Needed Flexibility Component
Taking into account that most career development opportunities have shifted to focus on webinars, expert videos and scalable e-learning classrooms, workplaces now have the ability to offer more wide-spread options to employees as these virtual choices tend to be more cost-effective and more efficient for their staff than in-person options such as major conferences. These pre-recorded, classroom options mean that someone has the ability to watch at a time that is convenient for them, which allows for a more focused learning experience. It also means that the learner can start and stop at their own pace, allowing them to absorb more, ask questions when needed and take a deeper dive into the provided content. No more awkward hand-raising questions or getting passed a microphone at a luncheon with 200 of your peers.
The CDR team is proud to defy the odds by providing an avatar coaching platform that shares deep self-awareness that other assessments and coaching options are not. CDR-U Coach is the first platform of its kind, allowing users to experience a personalized, face-to-avatar coaching feedback interaction that is unbiased and led at their own pace. Many virtual coaching and training options utilize style inventories that are quite popular, but fall short in developing people in an authentic, deep and personalized way. Webinars may also excel in training employees, but participants are taught as a group instead of as an individual. Webinars cannot be tailored to meet every participant’s individual needs, nor do they have the capability to dive into each participant’s profiles or interests. An avatar or AI-type coaching platform, however, does have these capabilities and the time and flexibility to fit each person’s schedule.Who Thrives in Remote Learning Opportunities?
For certain individuals, CDR-U Coach’s platform that uses avatars or AI-type characters instead of a real person allows for a more intimate and vulnerable experience. Those who tend to be more critical about themselves, for example, may find that an avatar allows them to dive deeper into the results without feeling the same judgment they might from another person who is reacting to them in real life. Those who often find themselves at risk of being detached might also thrive in this environment, as an avatar will remove the pressure of feeling like they must make a personal connection and can instead focus just on the development training at hand. In addition, it can also be a wonderful learning experience for those who might classify themselves as perfectionists, as this option gives them full control over when they complete the feedback session, how quickly or slowly they move through it and how deep they dive into the given information.
The feedback from the beta testing program revealed that many welcomed the anonymous feedback provided by a remote learning program that uses avatars or AI-type characters. In fact, a number of employers and HR professionals stated that their technical staff prefer this method because they do not want to talk to another person face-to-face to discuss themselves so in-depth. Those who have gravitated toward technology industries and tend to be more introverted may especially benefit from this type of training.Zoom Fatigue Aside...
Just because people who are more introverted or have deep self-awareness may thrive in a remote learning environment does not mean that those who flock to social situations will not. In fact, Zoom fatigue can be worse for people who have high sociability traits, as seeing colleagues’ faces but not having the ability to feed off of the energy that being in the same room as their peers create can be exhausting. For these individuals, an avatar leading them through a development training or coaching session may alleviate some of that fatigue. Especially if this avatar is speaking to their personal traits or needs.
Personalized, Virtual Coaching to Fit Your Schedule
CDR-U Coach allows employees at every level of an organization to benefit from in-depth and personalized coaching. These virtual learning programs offer a budget-friendly and knowledge-rich experience that team members can complete in their own time and at their own pace. Blending together video modules and in-depth assessment feedback, these development tools are perfect for parents juggling working from home with their children and give those who do not have time to squeeze in yet another lunchtime webinar session into their calendar.
