Direct Contact and Distance Training: In contact-training programs trainers and learners are face to face. This limits the number of participants in a program. Distance training can respond more readily to the need to train large numbers and with the introduction of new technologies, it is becoming increasingly important. It can reach participants wherever they are and hence spread new information rapidly. It also incorporates the advantages of keeping people on the job, letting them learn at their own pace, and greatly simplifying requirements for different organizations to collaborate in training. The rapid spread of electronic technologies, such as videotaping, closed circuit and responsive television, and rapid data processing for virtually instantaneous feedback have made "distance learning" highly attractive. Correspondence courses and reading programs, humble predecessors of advanced technology, are conceptually similar.
Formal and Non-formal Training:As an alternative to training in formal programs at a particular place or in a program set at a distance with a fixed syllabus, training can be planned and conducted through various "non-formal" modalities.
In the non-formal modalities emphasis is on conscious and guided experi-ences. Many innovative devices are used to convert routine experiences into learning opportunities and also to create new experiences from which participants can learn. Plans are carefully made to ensure graded experi-ences and guidance. The mix of action and of learning from it can be adjusted to an organization's needs.
Centralized and Dispersed Organization of Training: Training modalities can also be differentiated along organizational lines. In a simple centralized model, for instance, one institute is formally charged with planning programs, staffing and funding them, ensuring their conformity to standards and often selecting participants. This pattern still predominates in developing countries with just sufficient training resources for one or two central institutes but an urgent need to provide training in many places.
Content and Process Modalities: Six OrientationsTrainingstrategies vary depending on the learning outcomes they seek to achieve. At one end is training for new or improved proficiency in carrying out a particular task, such as operating a machine, applying new software, or product making, which is content. At the other end are processed learning such as improved teamwork or leadership, heightened readiness and ability to mobilize organizational support for a planned innovation, better morale, or a more effective consultant-client relationship. Six orientations are narrated by experts.
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