Should PDF Be Your New Favorite Training Format?
New PDF features and functionality make for more effective and convenient training – as well as better reinforcement options.
It’s amazing to consider that Adobe’s now-ubiquitous file type, which accounts for more than 80% of the documents exchanged online, first appeared way back in 1993. The history of the format dates back even further to 1991 when Adobe Systems started “The Camelot Project” to solve the problem of exchanging documents across different computers and software systems.
PDF today is something of an inevitability in the business world. Only, despite constant evolution of its features and functionality, many users continue to assume that the only – or at least primary – purpose of a PDF is hassle-free file sharing, perhaps especially for web downloads.
Fact is, through the efforts of both Adobe itself and a range of third-party developers, PDF is now a fully viable “platform” for a much wider range of uses and applications, including training and reinforcement – all within the same convenient, sharable file method.
Here are just a few of the features that make PDF an especially attractive performance development option for property & casualty companies:
1. Fully-Featured Interactivity.
The ability to fill out a PDF like you would a web or paper form no longer a revelation. But a small extension of the same functionality can now make feasible quizzes, check-lists, and other kinds of learner participation.
2. New Access & Security Protocols.
Perhaps most game-changing new feature for PDF-based coursework was developed by third-party providers to supply the kind of access management and monitoring more commonly associated with the training department LMS. Security is enhanced, and manager tracking is enabled.
3. Multimedia Capability.
Did you know that videos can now be embedded in a PDF file? That feature alone makes the format a real contender for immersive, engaging courseware.
Training in critical business communication skills like selling and negotiating will always benefit from the practice-oriented interactivity offered by the classroom environment. But research into new training modes such as “micro-burst” learning suggests that training interspersed across multiple channels and formats is not only a more practical approach, it’s likely to be more effective for retention, skills transfer, and behavior change.
NEW! Interactive iWorkbook Versions of our Popular Self-Study Courses
PRISMS self-study courses are based on the original workshop content and can be used for foundational training or highly effective reinforcement of any previous training covering similar topics.
Now in convenient PDF file format.