E learning has been part and parcel of education and training in the western world for many years now. In recent times, since the Internet took the world by storm, online learning has become accessible to people in various parts of the world. Now e-learning has found its way into the educational system of developing nations as well. The advancement in technology and communication has made teaching and training possible anywhere, anytime.
This brings us to the question of how relevant traditional methods of teaching like classroom teaching are in the modern world. Will a teacher or a trainer eventually become dispensable? Will textbooks and other reference books cease to exist? Will there be no schools and colleges in future? Will e-learning companies replace traditional publishing companies?
Before we attempt to answer these questions, it is important to understand what it takes to make teaching or training effective? Whether it is traditional classroom instruction or e-learning, the key areas of designing a course and implementation remain the same.
How to bring about effective learning?
A systematic approach is mandatory to any type of instructional design. The major phases of Instructional Systems Development (ISD) are analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. Walter Dick and Lou Carrey in their book ‘The Systematic Design of Instruction’ greatly advocate the systems approach model. “A system is technically a set of interrelated parts, all of which work together toward a defined goal. The parts of the system depend on each other for input and output, and the entire system uses feedback to determine if its desired goal has been reached.”
Let us take the simple example of an air conditioner in your home or office. It is made of many components that work together to produce either hot or cool air. The thermostat in an air conditioner acts as a feedback mechanism and once the desired temperature is reached the system shuts itself off. In the same way, the test administered at the end of the course is the feedback mechanism that helps the instructors to determine if the present method of teaching is effective or not.
(The Systematic Design of Instruction, (Fifth Edition), Walter Dick and Lou Carrey, Copyright Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc., 2001)
Crossing the Classroom Boundaries
Classroom courses represent the type of learning called formal learning because the learning has stated objectives and is supposed to yield predetermined results.
Formal e-learning
Some forms of e-learning – online education and online training recreate the formal learning experience online.
Online education provides adults with limited literacy skills with a safe and patient place to develop basic skills such as reading and mathematical skills. Universities such as Phoenix University and San Diego State University offer online degree and certificate programs. Online training is also a structured event like online education. The only factor that separates online training from education is that the skills and knowledge taught via training are expected to be used immediately.
Informal e-learning
E-learning allows us to explore the potential of informal learning such as Knowledge Management and Electronic Performance Support.
Knowledge Management is basically recorded pieces of corporate information such as
1. policies, procedures and product information
2. documents, reports, presentations and proposals
3. expertise, often recorded in the form of documents like lessons learned, stories and case histories and online interaction with colleagues
4. and can also include online chats, discussions and symposia during which participants can exchange information not yet been recorded.
1. policies, procedures and product information
2. documents, reports, presentations and proposals
3. expertise, often recorded in the form of documents like lessons learned, stories and case histories and online interaction with colleagues
4. and can also include online chats, discussions and symposia during which participants can exchange information not yet been recorded.
Electronic Performance Support (EPS) refers to a work environment on a computer in which performers receive assistance. EPS is used in providing information, training, coaching and monitoring needed for support to customers. (Designing E-learning, Saul Carliner, 2002)
Why companies prefer e-learning?
Web Based Training (WBT) is a viable option for many international companies over instructor-led training. Many companies, especially IT ones, prefer online training because they consider it cost and time effective as otherwise people have to meet half way across the world for training.
On the other hand, classroom training is a very costly business venture, particularly for IT training courses. It requires a staff of highly paid instructors, fully equipped labs, and full-time staff to co-ordinate scheduling of students, instructors, and lab facilities. No-shows, students that don't show up for class, are very common. Printed course materials like textbooks and lab manuals are very expensive, often representing 10-30% of the course cost.
Loose ends in e-learning
E-learning is however not without its weaknesses. WBT places most of the responsibility for learning squarely on the shoulders of the student. Motivated learners do well with online training because it is a stimulating efficient alternative to classroom training, which is often perceived as a waste of time. Unmotivated students either never start or do not finish their online training course. High initial costs, lack of IT infrastructure, lack of adequate computer knowledge in students, little or lack of personal interaction with instructor and other participants are some of the weaknesses of e-learning.
Solution – the blended approach to learning.
Many people still consider classroom training as one of the most effective training methods available. In blended learning the strengths of both classroom training and e-learning are utilized.
Blended learning
The ideal classroom experience should be preceded by successful completion of a web-based course of study to introduce the material so that everyone will be prepared for full participation and no one slows down the rest of the class. Some major corporations conduct part of their management education online. Participants are assigned to work groups online who meet for few hours for several weeks preceding a classroom course to familiarize themselves with the background and policies and work through cases of actual management problems.
The ideal classroom experience should be preceded by successful completion of a web-based course of study to introduce the material so that everyone will be prepared for full participation and no one slows down the rest of the class. Some major corporations conduct part of their management education online. Participants are assigned to work groups online who meet for few hours for several weeks preceding a classroom course to familiarize themselves with the background and policies and work through cases of actual management problems.
The traditional classroom protocols should be abandoned in favor of activities that provide practical application of concepts learned through self-study. There should be very little or no lecture. Classroom time should be dedicated to organized case study, team problem solving, and labs that reinforce concepts learned through self-study.
Why eLearning?
There are lots of good reasons to consider an online training program:
• Online training is more affordable than traditional classroom training, with savings of 60% or more.
• Online courses can be taken in multiple sittings and are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week — to better accommodate your busy schedule.
• Online training is as mobile as you are! Your training can take place on the road, in the café, or any other place you have an internet-accessible computer.
The Advantages of eLearning
Technology has revolutionized business; now it must revolutionize learning.
In the 21st century, people have to learn more than ever before. Especially for global organizations, live classroom-based training is becoming too costly and cumbersome. Even if employees had the time to attend all the courses and seminars and to read all the books and reports they should to remain up-to-date in their area of work, the cost of such learning would be prohibitive. The need to transform how organizations learn points to a more modern, efficient, and flexible alternative: eLearning. The mission of corporate eLearning is to supply the workforce with an up-to-date and cost-effective program that yields motivated, skilled, and loyal knowledge workers.
Anywhere, anytime, anyone.
The Internet can offer the logical solution for a company's education and training objectives. Approximately 80% of the professional workforce already uses computers on the job. Technical obstacles, such as access, standards, infrastructure, and bandwidth, will not be an issue in a few years. The growth of the World Wide Web, high-capacity corporate networks, and high-speed desktop computers will make learning available to people 24 hours a day, seven days a week around the globe. This will enable businesses to distribute training and critical information to multiple locations easily and conveniently. Employees can then access training when it is convenient for them, at home or in the office.
Substantial cost savings due to elimination of travel expenses.
When delivered through technology based solutions, training is less expensive per end user due to scaleable distribution and the elimination of high salaries for trainers and consultants. The biggest benefit of eLearning, however, is that it eliminates the expense and inconvenience of getting the instructor and students in the same place. According to Training Magazine, corporations save between 50-70% when replacing instructor-led training with electronic content delivery. Opting for eLearning also means that courses can be pared into shorter sessions and spread out over several days or weeks so that the business would not lose an employee for entire days at a time. Workers can also improve productivity and use their own time more efficiently, as they no longer need to travel or fight rush-hour traffic to get to a class.
When delivered through technology based solutions, training is less expensive per end user due to scaleable distribution and the elimination of high salaries for trainers and consultants. The biggest benefit of eLearning, however, is that it eliminates the expense and inconvenience of getting the instructor and students in the same place. According to Training Magazine, corporations save between 50-70% when replacing instructor-led training with electronic content delivery. Opting for eLearning also means that courses can be pared into shorter sessions and spread out over several days or weeks so that the business would not lose an employee for entire days at a time. Workers can also improve productivity and use their own time more efficiently, as they no longer need to travel or fight rush-hour traffic to get to a class.
Just-in-time access to timely information.
Web-based products allow instructors to update lessons and materials across the entire network instantly. This keeps content fresh and consistent and gives students immediate access to the most current data. Information can be retrieved just before it is required, rather than being learned once in a classroom and subsequently forgotten. Training Magazine reported that technology-based training has proven to have a 50-60% better consistency of learning than traditional classroom learning (c-learning).
Higher retention of content through personalized learning.
Technology-based solutions allow more room for individual differences in learning styles. They also provide a high level of simulation that can be tailored to the learner's level of proficiency. With 24 x 7 access, people can learn at their own pace and review course material as often as needed. Since they can customize the learning material to their own needs, students have more control over their learning process and can better understand the material, leading to a 60% faster learning curve, compared to instructor-led training. The delivery of content in smaller units, called "chunks," contributes further to a more lasting learning effect. Whereas the average content retention rate for an instructor-led class is only 58%, the more intensive eLearning experience enhances the retention rate by 25 - 60%.1 Higher retention of the material puts a higher value on every dollar spent on training.
Improved collaboration and interactivity among students.
In times when small instructor-led classes tend to be the exception, electronic learning solutions can offer more collaboration and interaction with experts and peers as well as a higher success rate than the live alternative. Teaching and communication techniques which create an interactive online environment include case studies, story-telling, demonstrations, role-playing, simulations, streamed videos, online references, personalized coaching and mentoring, discussion groups, project teams, chat rooms, e-mail, bulletin boards, tips, tutorials, FAQs, and wizards.
Web-based products allow instructors to update lessons and materials across the entire network instantly. This keeps content fresh and consistent and gives students immediate access to the most current data. Information can be retrieved just before it is required, rather than being learned once in a classroom and subsequently forgotten. Training Magazine reported that technology-based training has proven to have a 50-60% better consistency of learning than traditional classroom learning (c-learning).
Higher retention of content through personalized learning.
Technology-based solutions allow more room for individual differences in learning styles. They also provide a high level of simulation that can be tailored to the learner's level of proficiency. With 24 x 7 access, people can learn at their own pace and review course material as often as needed. Since they can customize the learning material to their own needs, students have more control over their learning process and can better understand the material, leading to a 60% faster learning curve, compared to instructor-led training. The delivery of content in smaller units, called "chunks," contributes further to a more lasting learning effect. Whereas the average content retention rate for an instructor-led class is only 58%, the more intensive eLearning experience enhances the retention rate by 25 - 60%.1 Higher retention of the material puts a higher value on every dollar spent on training.
Improved collaboration and interactivity among students.
In times when small instructor-led classes tend to be the exception, electronic learning solutions can offer more collaboration and interaction with experts and peers as well as a higher success rate than the live alternative. Teaching and communication techniques which create an interactive online environment include case studies, story-telling, demonstrations, role-playing, simulations, streamed videos, online references, personalized coaching and mentoring, discussion groups, project teams, chat rooms, e-mail, bulletin boards, tips, tutorials, FAQs, and wizards.
Distance education can be more stimulating and encourage more critical reasoning than a traditional large instructor-led class because it allows the kind of interaction that takes place most fully in small group settings. Studies have shown that students who take online courses are typically drawn into the subject matter of the class more deeply than in a traditional course because of the discussions they get involved in.2 This engagement is further facilitated by the fact that instructors do not monopolize attention in an online environment. Another study found that online students had more peer contact with others in the class, enjoyed it more, spent more time on class work, understood the material better, and performed, on average, 20% better than students who were taught in the traditional classroom.
Online training is less intimidating than instructor-led courses.
Students taking an online course enter a risk-free environment in which they can try new things and make mistakes without exposing themselves. This characteristic is particularly valuable when trying to learn soft skills, such as leadership and decision making. A good learning program shows the consequences of students' actions and here/why they went wrong. After a failure, students can go back and try again. This type of learning experience eliminates the embarrassment of failure in front of a group.
With all of these advantages of taking classes online, it is hard to imagine why anyone would opt to sit in a lecture to learn new information. There are online classes available free on a multitude of topics, just start surfing, find one to your liking, and start learning!
Students taking an online course enter a risk-free environment in which they can try new things and make mistakes without exposing themselves. This characteristic is particularly valuable when trying to learn soft skills, such as leadership and decision making. A good learning program shows the consequences of students' actions and here/why they went wrong. After a failure, students can go back and try again. This type of learning experience eliminates the embarrassment of failure in front of a group.
With all of these advantages of taking classes online, it is hard to imagine why anyone would opt to sit in a lecture to learn new information. There are online classes available free on a multitude of topics, just start surfing, find one to your liking, and start learning!
ENDNOTES
1 Jack E. Bowsher, "Revolutionizing Workforce Performance: A Systems Approach to Mastery," 1998; D. Peoples, Presentations Plus, 1992; Training Magazine, 1998.
2 Greg Kearsley, A Guide to Online Education, 1997; Dennis A. Trinkle, "Distance Education: a Means to an End, No More, No Less," The Chronicle of Higher Education, 1999; Colin McCormack and David Jones, "Building a Web-based Education System," 1997.
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