the studio of |
e-learning |
ideas and |
Orignally appeared in the Potomac Tech Journal, March 18, 2002.
So you’ve heard about this e-learning thing. Can it work in your organization? Before you make an assessment, consider these issues.
Learn the lingo. Like most e-things, e-learning has spawned a vocabulary of its own. By familiarizing with it, you can knowingly converse with vendors and ask intelligent questions. Some key concepts:
Get past the false objections. Three of the most common objections to e-learning are that it does not work, that it is impersonal, and that it only works for dry, rote material. Neither is true; in fact, nearly all comparison studies show that e-learning is as effective as classroom instruction.
E-learning is impersonal if you fail to provide an e-coach for learners-someone learners can contact when they have questions and who checks up on learners as they go through courses. E-learning is also impersonal only if managers fail to recognize and reward employees for participating in it. Therefore, if you start an e-learning program, you might look at your incentive program.
Finally, nearly any topic can be taught through e-learning. The effectiveness depends on the imagination of the course designer. But that’s really no different than classroom training.
What e-learning offers is efficient training that’s available on demand-no more waiting for a class to be scheduled and, for those employees who have access to a network, exceptional convenience.
Be realistic about outcomes. Although e-learning is effective, like most business tools, it has its limitations. Although students do learn more efficiently (the safest estimate is that material can be learned online in one-third less time than needed in a classroom), more learners drop out of e-courses than classroom courses.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing-because learners only take the content they need and do not need to sit through material they already know or that is irrelevant as in a classroom. But for people who measure the effectiveness of training by course completions, the measure could drop.
Before developing e-courses, try out e-learning. As the best writers are experienced readers, so the most effective e-learning designers are e-learners themselves. So try out courses:
Use your experience as an e-learner to guide later e-learning strategy. Repeat what you liked and fix what you didn’t.
Start small. Although you might have heard claims that more than 50 percent of all training is going to be online, that hasn’t happened yet (it’s less than 20 percent). So rather than thinking of converting your entire curriculum from the classroom to the computer, start with just one course.
Choose one that is likely to be a success: material that will work online, and you have supportive managers and learners. See how people in your organization respond to the first course, learn from your experience, and then formulate a larger strategy if it seems appropriate.
Knowledgeably invest in software. One of the first questions about e-learning is its cost. The choices are boundless and expensive, and vendors’ claims often exceed the actual capacity of the software. Therefore, become a knowledgeable consumer before you begin the purchasing process. Your software purchase might include some or all of the following:
But rather than indiscriminately purchasing software, first plan your strategy for moving training online, then choose software that supports the strategy. As significantly, because your IS department must support this software, include them at the earliest possible point in your research process. Your colleagues in IS can offer valuable advice as you work through this expensive and complex purchase.
Try it! Having experienced e-learning first hand and overseen development of a first course, develop your strategy and start on the path to e-learning, and provide e-learning for your organization.
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(c) Copyright. 2002. Saul Carliner. All rights reserved.