The effectiveness of e-learning programs

Mike K.

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The effectiveness of e-learning programs

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Abstract

The aim of this section is to establish from various literature, the main points of best practice in implementing e-learning into a large organisation, in particular recent research on the attitudes of the implementation of effective e-learning. It will look at the advantages and disadvantages of e-learning, which may facilitate the successful implementation of future e-learning initiatives within Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. A review of current literature about the benefits and advantages of e-learning shows a definite sustained trait in the consistent use of Internet and computer based learning, workshops and training by companies large and small. The growth of e-learning, as well as the incremental success of e-learning-based programs has been a reflection of the growth of the Internet, computer technology and new web-based applications. E-learning is, in essence, the use of technology to provide guided training for employees, which is often self-guided and maintained through a mixture of stand-alone systems and networked material.

Introduction.
1. A review of current literature about the benefits and advantages of e-learnin.
E-learning is - the use of technology to provide guided training.
1. Incorporation of changes in the internet world.
2. The business of e-learning inside the template of Web 2.0.
Advantages of e-learning.
1. The most training benefit for the smallest expense.
2. The virtual existence of the training material and outlines.
3. The 24/7 aspect of the web and the ability for employees to follow-up on their training when they are away from the office.
Disadvantages.
1. The longer use of eLearning in the UK by comparison to most other EU countries.
2. The persistent issue of human interaction.
Methods of teaching.
1. A look at the material.
2. Technological facilitation.
3. The proper balance of collaboration between instructor, student, hardware and software.
Conclusion.

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[...] Methods of teaching How e-learning is taught can often be the difference between a positive experience for a business and a disaster. That is why e-learning's relationship with its pedagogical approaches needs to be carefully examined before a program can be rolled out to a business. How the classes are taught often depends on how they are developed and which track the company and its internal and external vendors choose to take. The first step would be to look at the material. [...]

[...] Even the most ardent of e-learning promoters can't see a world without the traditional classroom. Adrian Snook, Deputy CEO & Director of Learning & Development Programmes for the Training Foundation in Coventry, UK, said in a recent article: “Three years ago the UK technology-based training industry consisted of just 2000 or so people, mainly employed by small companies numbering less than 30 employees. As a result of the explosive growth in this sector e-Learning development skills are now in incredibly short supply. [...]

[...] Self-paced, e-learning techniques give employees the chance to move ahead when they feel they have a solid knowledge base of the material. The money-saving aspects of e-learning continue with the effect of the training on business productivity. When a trainer is brought in from on- site for large, company-wide seminars, the investment in employee time is often in much greater pieces than the alternative in e-learning. The effect of this trend on business clients comes not just from the technology available, though. [...]

[...] In a survey of businesspeople in the EU of all respondents rated the overall quality of e-learning negatively - as ‘fair' or ‘poor', based in large part on technological functionality and teaching messages. (ELearning Age 2002). This was especially true of UK users: 99% of UK respondents the criterion ‘Functions technically without problems across all users' was considered to be of the highest importance in judging quality. In contrast, only 28% of the UK respondents attributed the same level of importance to technically interoperable with our organisation's ICT systems'. [...]

[...] In their study of the effectiveness of e-learning, Lain and Aston come to the following conclusion about trainees in the UK: relation to trainees' reactions, the research pointed to the importance of the following for a positive result: a positive first experience with e-learning (without great technical difficulties); quality materials and support; a personal rationale for doing the course. In relation to learning outcomes, we concluded that e-learning can have better outcomes than ordinary classroom instruction. It is, however, interesting to note that those individuals with higher computer self-efficacy seem better suited to e-learning.” (Lain/Aston 2004) E-learning, then, is growing as the Internet and the technology grows, but in the end remains a learning resource like any other. [...]

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