Online Training, eLearning or Live Online Courses: What’s the Difference?

The phrases ​“online training” and ​“eLearning” can mean different things to different people.

For some, it brings to mind a live course with a trainer, a Zoom link, group discussion and a fixed date in the calendar. For others, it might mean watching a recording of a session that has already happened. Or it might mean logging into a learning platform and working through a course independently, at a time that suits you.

All of these can sit under the broad umbrella of online learning, but they are not the same experience. The distinction is important, because the format shapes what the learner can do, how much flexibility they have, and what the training can realistically achieve.

Self-paced eLearning has its own strengths. When it is designed well and chosen for the right reasons, it can be a practical, flexible and genuinely useful way to learn.

What is self-paced eLearning?

Self-paced eLearning is online learning that does not happen at a fixed time – it is asynchronous. There is no live trainer waiting on Zoom, no single date when everyone needs to attend, and no need to travel or block out a whole morning in the calendar.

Instead, learners access the course through an online platform and complete it independently, usually within a set access period. Depending on the course, this might include video, written content, scenarios, knowledge checks, reflection questions, downloadable resources and a certificate at the end.

That sounds simple, but it is easy to see why people get confused. If you are used to booking live training, it is natural to look for the date, time and joining link. With self-paced eLearning, the ​“when” works differently. The course is available when the learner is ready to take it, rather than happening at one scheduled moment.

This is one of the reasons why self-paced eLearning can be useful. It gives people a way to learn around the realities of their work and lives, rather than assuming everyone can be available in the same place, or even the same online room, at the same time.

Why flexibility matters

Learning and Work Institute’s Adult Participation in Learning Survey 2024 found that 17% of adults who had not taken part in learning in the previous three years cited work or other time pressures as a barrier. In the same report, among people who had not learned recently or had not used technology to support their learning, 40% said technology could allow them to learn at a convenient time.

For anyone working in the creative, cultural or heritage sectors, that probably will not come as a surprise. People are busy, but they are not always busy in predictable ways. Staff may be part-time or project-based. Freelancers may be moving between contracts, rehearsals, workshops, events, performances, school sessions, community projects or caring responsibilities. Volunteers and trustees may be giving their time around paid work elsewhere.

Even in larger organisations, finding a single date when everyone can attend a live session can become logistically challenging.

Self-paced eLearning does not solve every single training challenge, but it can make learning easier to access in situations where time, geography or scheduling would otherwise get in the way.

When self-paced learning works well for individuals

For individual learners, self-paced eLearning can be useful when you want to build knowledge or confidence without waiting for a live course date.

This might include:

• refreshing your understanding of a subject
• preparing for a new role, project or responsibility
• fitting professional development around freelance work, caring responsibilities or a busy schedule
• learning in smaller sections rather than all at once
• revisiting content when you need to
• gaining a certificate or evidence of learning

It can also be helpful for people who prefer to take time with new information, pause to reflect, or return to sections that feel most relevant. Not everyone learns best by speaking up in a live room, and not every subject needs to begin with group discussion.

There is also something useful about being able to learn privately, particularly with subjects that ask people to think about their own practice, assumptions, responsibilities or confidence. A well-designed self-paced course can create space for reflection without putting someone on the spot.

When self-paced learning works well for organisations

For organisations, self-paced eLearning is often most useful when a group of people need the same foundation of knowledge.

That might include:

• onboarding new starters
• training volunteers, freelancers or trustees
• providing annual refreshers
• supporting people across different sites or working patterns
• giving everyone a shared starting point before live training
• keeping a record of completion

This is particularly relevant for subjects such as safeguarding, equality and diversity, unconscious bias, sexual harassment, or other areas where organisations need people to understand key principles and responsibilities.

In these cases, the value is partly in consistency. Everyone receives the same core messages and essential principles. For an organisation, there may also be a practical benefit in being able to evidence who has completed the learning, especially where training forms part of wider governance, risk management or induction processes.

Where live training may be better

Self-paced eLearning works best when it is chosen for the right reason. It is not simply a cheaper version of live training, and it should not be treated as a direct substitute in every context.

There are things a well-designed self-paced course can do very effectively. It can introduce key concepts, explain responsibilities, set out good practice, prompt reflection, test understanding and give people a clear starting point.

There are also things it is less suited to doing on its own.

Live facilitator-led training is usually the better option when people need to discuss complex scenarios, ask questions in real time, compare different perspectives or work through more nuanced areas of practice with a trainer and peers. This is especially true in areas such as safeguarding decision-making, leadership responsibilities, managing people and projects, or applying policy to real situations.

A self-paced course can help someone understand the principles, but a live session can give them space to test those principles against the real-life situations they may actually encounter.

This does not make one format better than the other. It means they do different jobs.

Choosing the right format

A useful way to think about training is to start with what the learning needs to achieve.

If someone needs a clear introduction to a subject, a refresher, a certificate, or a flexible way to build confidence before taking on a role or responsibility, self-paced eLearning may be the right fit. However, if a team needs to talk together, practise decision-making, ask sensitive questions or work through how something applies in their specific organisation, live training may be more appropriate.

In many cases, the strongest approach is to use both. Self-paced eLearning can give people the foundation, while live training can build on that foundation through discussion and applied practice. An organisation might use eLearning for all staff and volunteers, then provide live training for managers, designated safeguarding leads, trustees or people with more complex responsibilities. An individual might complete an introductory course first, then attend a live session when they are ready to explore the topic in more depth.

This blended approach can also make live training more valuable. When everyone arrives with a shared understanding of the essentials, a facilitator can spend less time covering basic definitions and more time exploring the questions and challenges that benefit from being discussed together.

What to look for in a good self-paced course

Of course, the quality of the eLearning matters.

A self-paced course should not feel like a policy document dropped into a slideshow, with a quiz at the end to prove someone paid attention. Good eLearning needs structure, clarity, engaging activities, and a sense of progression. It should explain ideas in accessible language, use examples that feel relevant, and give learners opportunities to pause and think about what the content means for their own work.

This is especially important in the creative, cultural and heritage sectors, where generic training can sometimes miss the point. Safeguarding may be built on the same fundamental principles across different settings, but it needs to be explained in a way that makes sense for creative and cultural work. A youth arts project, theatre, museum, gallery, festival, heritage site or community music programme may all involve different relationships, environments and ways of working.

Learners need to recognise how safeguarding applies in the kinds of situations they are likely to encounter. Otherwise, the training may be technically correct but still feel distant from the decisions they actually have to make.

A good self-paced course should also be clear about who it is for. An introductory course for volunteers is not the same as advanced training for someone with designated safeguarding responsibilities. Learners and organisations should be able to understand what level they are buying, what the course covers, how long it is likely to take, and what they will be able to do with the learning afterwards.

The experience around the course matters too. A strong eLearning offer should make it easy for learners to access the platform, understand how to begin, return to content where appropriate, and receive evidence of completion. For organisations, it may also be important to know whether licences can be purchased in bulk, whether progress can be tracked, and whether the course can support wider induction, compliance or professional development plans. Whilst these details may sound administrative, they have a real impact on whether training is actually completed and used.

The most useful self-paced eLearning is practical, accessible and flexible, while still being comprehensive enough to take the subject seriously. It should give learners what they need to know without overwhelming them, and respect their time without reducing the learning to a tick-box exercise.

Finding the right mix

At Artswork Professional Development, we offer self-paced eLearning alongside live facilitator-led training because different learning needs call for different formats.

For some people, eLearning is a flexible way to refresh knowledge, build confidence or access professional development without waiting for a live course date. For organisations, it can provide a consistent and cost-effective way to support staff, freelancers, trustees or volunteers across different roles and schedules.

It is not always the whole answer, and we would not want to pretend that it is. Some topics need conversation and deeper exploration. Some teams benefit from being in the same room, even if that room is online. But when self-paced eLearning is well-designed and used in the right context, it can remove some of the friction that stops people learning in the first place.

The question is not simply whether online learning is ​“as good as” live training. A better question to ask yourself is: what do you need the learning to do?

If you need flexibility, consistency and a clear foundation, self-paced eLearning may be the most practical place to start. Whereas if you need discussion, challenge and shared decision-making, live training may be the better fit. And if you need both, the two formats can complement each other well.

Artswork Professional Development offers a growing range of self-paced eLearning courses, as well as live facilitator-led training for individuals and organisations working in the creative, cultural and heritage sectors. Many of our courses can also be adapted for organisations, whether you need a flexible eLearning route, a live session for your team, or a blended approach that combines the two.

Explore our self-paced eLearning courses and upcoming live training to find the format that best fits what you need your learning to do.