Greg Kearsley

For years, many large corporations have relied on e-Learning to train their employees more effectively and efficiently. How widespread is the trend of businesses using online training? A 2005 study by the e-Learning Guild indicated that 73% of their members were using some form of online training. Furthermore, the same study found that over 95% of employees were able to directly transfer the knowledge and skills they learned via online training to their jobs. For management, a compelling advantage of e-Learning is that it drastically reduces training time, often by as much as 50% or more; this means that employees are back on the joband productivemore quickly. And employees appreciate the convenience of e-Learning because it allows them to receive training where and when they want it, at their own pace.<br /><br />But the convenience and cost-effectiveness of e-Learning has long been established. Recent research on e-Learning from a variety of sources, including the Gartner Group and Forrester, identifies some of the latest trends:<br /><br />1. There is increasing convergence between e-learning and other enterprise-wide software tools such as Human Resource Information Systems, Recruitment Tracking Systems, Enterprise Management Systems, and internally developed information databases and reporting systems. Historically, e-Learning systems were stand-alone applications strictly under the auspices of an enterprise's Human Resources Department. Now the trend is to employ e-Learning more broadly throughout the enterprise. For example, a weekly webinar on new product development might be intended primarily as employee training but may also be made available to select customers by the Marketing/Sales Department or used by senior management to assess R&D opportunities. As a consequence of this convergence, companies are looking for online learning systems that can interface easily with other software and that are available in components, allowing enterprises to purchase only the subsystems they need.<br /><br />2. E-Learning is being assimilated into traditional classroom training and vice-versa. The proliferation of such "blended learning practices reflects the awareness that classroom instruction and e-Learning can work together to increase the effectiveness of workplace training. Traditional hands-on classroom instruction can be enhanced by pre- or post-class e-Learning coursework. E-Learning can also be used to support more informal on-the-job learning through such electronic media as newsletters and databases. Forrester researcher Claire Schooling remarks: "Blended learning will become an integral part of the daily workflow, blurring the line between work and learning.<br /><br />3. More small businesses are using e-Learning. Until fairly recently, only large corporations had the staff and financial resources to purchase and implement e-Learning. But as prices of off-the-shelf courses and Learning Management Systems have dropped substantially in the past 5 years, smaller businesses and non-profit organizations can now afford to incorporate e-Learning into their training programs. And given the fact that Learning Management Systems have become so easy to use, little or no IT support is needed.<br /><br />4. The entry of the "Net Generation into the workforce is speeding up the expansion of on-the-job online training. A recent issue of Innovate (www.innovateonline.info), an online education journal, outlined the learning characteristics of the generation that grew up with the Internet and the implications that their joining the workforce will have on training practices. As one would expect, this population is used to being online and accepts e-Learning as the training medium of choice. Furthermore, "GenNets expect online learning to include the collaborative and multimedia aspects of the Internet that they are accustomed to.<br /><br />5. In this "Do It Yourself Age, training managers want to be able to create and tailor online courses to their own needs and manage e-Learning themselves. In the past, authoring tools used for the creation of online courses were complex and used only by instructional designers with specialized knowledge. The current generation of authoring tools is no more difficult to use than word processing programs, making it possible for instructors or subject matter experts without advanced programming skills to create their own courses. Additionally, Web-based Learning Management Systems are so user-friendly that administrative staff can assign courses and track employee progress with no special technical expertise.<br /><br />What does this all add up to? E-Learning is well on its way to becoming the principal form of training in all organizations. CEOs, trainers, and employees all want it. Now the question is no longer if e-Learning will be used but rather when, how, and in which format it will be launched. <br />