SAP and Microsoft go hand in hand in this digital learning environment!

Blended learning is the future

The world is changing rapidly. Classroom-based training no longer meets today’s needs for flexibility, because it is too restrictive, too time-consuming and leaves little room for gaining the necessary new skills. “You often learn them too early or too late, rather than precisely when and where you really need them,” says Dimitri Roman, Lead Expert Learning at delaware. The delaware Academy set out to solve this. “In April, we shifted up a gear in terms of digital learning and blended learning within delaware,” says Joyce Mervielde, Learning Specialist at the delaware Academy. “Besides increasingly transforming our regular training courses into virtual and interactive sessions, we also made use of new ways of learning during the bootcamp to facilitate information sharing and online collaboration.”

One of the biggest projects within delaware is the roll-out of SAP and Microsoft. “They are actually two different products, but we combined them for the bootcamp,” continues Joyce. “Microsoft Learning Pathways, which is a new Microsoft SharePoint application for setting up and structuring online documentation around a specific theme, made it really easy for us to make videos, assignments and extra information available as part of our SAP training.”

Thanks to that digital portal, our bootcamp rookies – grouped into small clusters around different SAP themes – could set to work quickly and at their own pace. They watched the accompanying videos on the platform and built a demo together for a variety of assignments. If their demo was successful, they could move on to the next online micro-module dealing with a slightly more complex flow within SAP. They could enlist extra help at any time, either by accessing extra documentation or by chatting with or calling any of the numerous coaches who were just a click away. Another advantage was that, thanks to the user-friendly navigation, the participants were able to find information quickly or refer back to the previous module if necessary. That helped them to maintain a clearer overview of SAP as a whole. “So rather than having to hunt through a huge PowerPoint presentation, they benefitted from a more personalized approach, at each team’s own pace, and in a coronavirus-proof environment,” adds Elyne Gilles (Microsoft SharePoint consultant).

“This micro-learning approach enables you to plan and dose the learning according to personal needs. This offers better support than classroom-based training, particularly for starters.”

What’s more, the platform is easy to maintain, which means that future new colleagues and all #peopleofelaware will be assured of a learning environment that is always up to date. Dimitri is pleased with this new development: “This micro-learning approach enables you to plan and dose the learning according to personal needs. This offers better support than classroom-based training, particularly for starters.”

SAP and Microsoft hand in hand

Elien Tack (SAP Operations consultant) was another member of the training portal team, alongside Elyne and Joyce. Elien worked in conjunction with a number of colleagues in the Netherlands to produce videos in SAP, and Elyne used the Microsoft Learning Pathways to further develop the platform structure. Joyce coordinated the duo’s activities. “What’s great about this technology is that it’s very user-friendly,” says Elien. “I found it really quick and easy to use the Learning Pathways in SharePoint to upload the training videos.”

“Our participants’ feedback on this approach has been very positive,” adds Joyce. “We can definitely say it was a successful experiment. We’re now looking at how we can use this new learning platform to support our other delaware training programs too. And this platform offers lots of potential for training our international colleagues.” Elyne and Elien fully agree. “Moreover, this project is also a great reference case for our customers, who like us are increasingly looking for new ways to further shape digital learning – and we can certainly help them with that!”