Climate of change (e-learning), by Julian Dable, Training Journal, October 2009

I chose this article because I am interested in the issues and the trends around e-learning but, after reading it, I found myself focussing on what was missing rather than the points that were made. The other problem with the article is the lack of definition of what is meant by e-learning, for instance it appears not to embrace delivery by Virtual Classroom technology which, in our view, can be much more flexible, interactive and cost effective than the more conventional e-learning packages.

The basic argument of the article is that e-learning is on the increase because of desires to cut costs and avoid travel during the recession. At first sight this seems logical and likely until you think about a longer term perspective.

I realise that our own focus on management learning may give us a different view from those involved in training at lower levels but, from our perspective, e-learning has been around for a long time now. Our first experiences in partnership with Unilever were in the mid nineties yet the author implies that this technology has only just arrived.

Our other impression is that e-learning has a part to play within blended learning solutions but there are all sorts of issues and barriers which impact its wider use as an alternative to face to face delivery, none of which are addressed in this article, for instance:

• For which topics is the e-learning approach most suitable?
• For which levels of management and age groups will it work best?
• How best can you simulate the sort of interactivity that allows learning to be retained?
• How do you persuade busy managers to give valuable desk? time?
• How do you create a culture that makes giving desk time OK?
• How do you assess learning retention?
• How do you track completion?

The article does make the valid point that there are new authoring systems that make e-learning more affordable and easier to tailor but it is still not likely to be cost effective unless it is done well and the questions above are answered positively. There is a danger that people will start to think that e-learning is easy to develop and you end up with a cost driven solution that does not meet the learning objective. This happened with the early ‘text on screen’ computer based learning packages that were no more effective than text books.

We would also question the article’s assumption – without much convincing evidence from top companies - that e-learning has ‘increasing popularity’. Our feeling is that, at least in a management training context, it may have peaked and that on line trainer delivery via the Virtual Classroom is now seen as a preferred solution. The capital investment is usually less and the flexibility so much greater.

This is an article that shows the narrow perspective and limited experience of the author rather any new insights.

To read this article go to http://www.trainingjournal.com/tj/2469.html