We have now experienced ten years of e-learning
and this is a good time to reflect on its impact. Sloman's (2009)
paper entitled "Learning and technology - what have we learnt?"
explores the progression of e-learning and its possible future
directions. It extracts research conducted by the Chartered
Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), in the UK, from 2001
to 2008.
CIPD's research found that 57% of the responding
organizations had used e-learning in some form, highlighting how
e-learning has become an essential part of training delivery today.
Although organizations seem to recognize some advantageous benefits
of the delivery method, training managers on the other hand, did
not consider e-learning to be as effective. Only 7% of training
managers chose e-learning to be the most effective practice. This
disparity highlights that organizations perceive greater benefits
in e-learning than learners and trainers do.
This incongruity in perspectives acts as a great
reminder of what organizations should be doing when designing and
implementing e-learning programs for their employees. With a decade
of experience in this subject matter, there is greater awareness of
successful practices, which needs to be leveraged to help the
future of e-learning. My article highlights the CIPD's view, that
the following principles should be adopted to underlie any
e-learning strategy, program, or intervention:
Start with the
learner: Know your audience - acknowledge the needs,
preferences, strengths and limitations of your target
audience.
Relevance
drives out resistance: Learners are more likely to engage
with the e-learning program if they recognize its bearing to the
organization.
Take account
of intermediaries: Regardless of delivery methods,
learners need both support and challenge. Intermediaries are
essential in achieving this, even with
e-learning.
Embed activity
in the organization: E-learning cannot take place in
isolation; it has to be integrated with other training courses and
human management training
systems.
Support and
automate: E-learning should be used as one element, within
a range of formal and informal support mechanisms which can help
learners to work and learn.
Reference:
Sloman, M. (2009). Learning and technology - what
have we learnt? Impact: Journal of Applied Research in
Workplace E-learning, 1(1), 12-26.