Internet Learning: Options and Alternatives
The impact of learning and work-force development on productivity has often been difficult to demonstrate in the business world. Many decision makers remain unsure exactly how to guarantee that their investments in learning opportunities will be worthwhile. As a result, a deliberate approach to assessing training is critical for ensuring a return or value on investment. Organizations are faced with a multitude of options, including those shown in Figure 1-2. Just picking an option might not suffice, however; that option must be backed with a comprehensive system.
Figure 1-2. Learning Options
The following list describes common types of training or learning available in the industry:Traditional training Traditional, instructor-led (face-to-face) classroom instruction has been the mainstay of most organizational learning. For decades, classroom instruction generated one-on-one relationships between the instructor and the students, stimulated group discussion among peers, and supported an interactive forum for discourse. The disadvantage from the employer's perspective has always been the cost of travel and lodging (and, most importantly, the time employees spend away from work). [8]E-learning E-learning is available in a variety of types and forms. Instructor-led, simulations, and self-paced e-learning are a couple of examples. E-learning is often defined as e-training. Such a definition is limiting in that it portrays e-learning as little more than the components of the traditional classroom converted into electronic delivery. Empirical results on learning and credentialing show that effectiveness of such e-learning compares favorably with face-to-face instruction. Most learners are likely to choose e-learning as a substitute to face-to-face instruction when economic resources are limited. [8]E-learning can be delivered in the following formats:Modular learningModular learning enables an individual to learn in chunks that are most relevant. Practice exercises, virtual mentoring, online lectures, and remote labs and simulations can be delivered to the desktop to enable learners to tailor their learning based on specific needs. [9]Blended learningBlended learning offers the option to integrate traditional instruction and electronic self-paced learning. With an instructor or an online mentor at their disposal, learners can pursue learning secure in the knowledge that a trained expert will evaluate performance and offer relevant feedback along the way. [10][11][12]
Although many are convinced that e-learning presents potential opportunities, converting learning into measurable organizational success has proved clumsy. Many managers across a variety of organizations exhibit a broad understanding of e-learning, but few have been able to incorporate Internet learning robustly into a strategy for productivity gains. Deploying Internet learning with a focus on improving organizational success requires a purposeful "road map"an integrated plan that extends beyond the immediate benefits of e-learning. Without such a plan, e-learning might ultimately prove to be only a cost-saving device or, at worst, an instructional experiment.
Hindsight Is 20/20: Will It Cut the Muster?
The classroom is the only really effective way to learn, isn't it? No, emphatically untrue.Good instructors make classroom learning as good as it can be, but it is not the best way to learn or teach every subject. It is the most common way to teach most subjects, but far from the only effective way. Where is the best place to learn about golf? What is the best way to teach astronomy? Does the best learning happen with the instructor lecturing or during discussion with other students? My freshman psychology class was composed of 1200 students in a very large auditorium with 10 televisions on the walls that showed the instructor on stage 100 yards away. A sound instructional model?We learned more during 40 hours as a counselor's helper at a youth detention center than we did in 60 hours of lecture in that room. In an industrialized society with goals focused on standardized curricula and testing, the classroom was a viable solution. In the school system of my youth, that "sage on the stage" was our portal into the world of history, math, political science, chemistry, and business management. That was the time that came before 7 x 24 access to the largest library in the history of the world: the Internet. Today, you can find out almost anything you want to know, about almost any topic that piques your curiosity, by accessing the web through any number of devices or portals.Even Internet games teach players how to play, or how to use the "graffiti" of your newest handheld PDA, or how to build and manage an amusement park business, or how to manage resources to attain some desired goal (such as the Sims, Warcraft, Roller Coaster, Sim City).There are lots of ways to teach and to learn. No one method works for everyone, every job, or every industry. The learning industry has begun to awaken to the fact that learning is an individual experience. Whether on your own or in the classroom, learning is a personal experience that should be tailored to make the experience enjoyable, effective, and satisfying for the learner.The relevant questions that educators must answer includeWhich medium is best to convey knowledge to a specific audience regarding a specific topic?What kind of connectivity and access do learners have?When do the learners need access to course material?At what stage is information and training relevant to the learners?Should training be offered at the beginning of the class or staged along a development path?
Some topics are best covered in the classroom, and some people learn best in a traditional classroom setting; however, a number of constraints apply to classroom learning that prevent it from scaling, including the number of classrooms and instructors, the location, the number of students necessary to justify the business expenses of the classroom instruction, and the time away from family and job.Even if you still believe that classroom learning is best, do not make the mistake of thinking that it is the only education model for your organization. Traditional classroom education is being supplemented more and more with nontraditional conveyance of knowledge. Younger generations, especially, expect to rely on other tools than just the instructor to gather knowledge (and expect to be able to do so on their own schedule). These young people are used to access and control when it comes to information, communication, and training. They are now demanding it in the workplace, not just in the mall, their classrooms, Starbucks, and their homes. |
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