The
future is 'e'
 The
potential contribution e-learning promises to make
organisational learning is huge, and the sector continues
to grow at an extraordinary rate.
Adrian
Snook answers the following questions posed by Simon
Lelic for an article published in Volume 4,
Issue 6 of Knowledge Management Magazine
How is knowledge management affected
by e-learning practices?
What
benefits does e-learning offer over conventional training
measures?
What
are the limitations of e-learning practices?
Will
e-learning ever totally replace conventional training
practices in a corporate environment?
In
which industrial sectors will e-learning make the
biggest impact?
Which
technologies will have the greatest impact on the
e-learning industry?
Is
the future of the e-learning industry threatened by
the downturn in the fortunes of online businesses?
In
general terms, how do you see the e-learning industry
developing?
Are
there any other issues that you think are important?
 Q.
How is knowledge management affected by e-learning
practices?
A.
If
you flip through the pages of specialist Knowledge
Management publications it sometimes seems an un-stated
assumption that knowledge is the key to organisational
effectiveness. The two words that are nearly always
absent are skill and competence.
The
objective of all organisations is not simply to have
knowledgeable employees, but to have competent ones.
In other words people need to have the correct combination
of both skills and underpinning knowledge needed to
carry out the tasks listed in their job description.
Where
individuals face a significant personal development
challenge they require carefully devised learning
resources designed on pedagogical principles by experts
in instructional design. These must incorporate integrated
exploratory and practice activities as well as tests
and assessments designed to build and measure both
knowledge and skill.
E-Learning and other structured forms of training
and development are vital to ensure that employees
have both the knowledge and skill needed to fulfil
their roles As a result individuals successfully develop
a general framework of competence within which they
can place the information they access from knowledge
management systems.
Knowledge
management specialists need to recognise that e-learning
courses and knowledge management systems are both
here to stay. In fact the boundary between the two
is actually becoming increasingly blurred.
For
example, the Discuss feature within all DigitalThink
courses provides access to a set of asynchronous threaded
discussion groups where learners can post FAQ's, raise
issues and enter into debates with fellow learners
located around the world.
Course tutors moderate the discussions groups and
are available to be contacted 24 hours a day, seven
days a week.
The
general move to embrace learning objects is driving
all e-learning vendors to create increasingly modular
courses that offer access to ever shorter, ever more
specific course units.
The
Syllabus function within DigitalThink e-learning courseware
allows learners to jump directly to any course element,
providing accessibility for just-in-time reference
as required.
The
DigitalThink Glossary function provides definitions
of any relevant technical terms.
All
our courses also incorporate a Resources function
that provides facilities for learners to download
and print supplementary course resources. There are
links to an on-line bookshop where optional publications
can be ordered as well as links to web sites that
provide further information about the course topic.
These course features owe more to established knowledge
management principles than they do to the mechanistic
world of CBT that was familiar just a few years ago.
E-Learning vendors and knowledge management vendors
both have to accept that they will become increasingly
interdependent as time goes by and that standards
for system interoperability will be become increasingly
important. Corporate clients who are seeking to implement
integrated knowledge management and e-learning solutions
are already approaching me for advice, as are knowledge
management vendors seeking strategic alliances.
Q.
What benefits does e-learning offer over conventional
training measures?
A.
If you accept that structured forms of training and
development are here to stay, then you have to recognise
that e-learning has a great deal to offer.
Clients
describe the following key benefits when comparing
e-learning with conventional training methods:
- Improved
accessibility-at the time, place and pace that suit
the learner best
- Enhanced
assessment of learning effectiveness through integrated
tests assessments, assignments and the provision
of automated record-keeping
- Improved
management facilities thanks to the provision of
real-time reporting on learner progress and activities
- Simplified
logistics through the elimination of physical resources
such as CD-ROMs, cassettes, books or conventional
classrooms
- Complete
consistency and no problems with version control,
since all content is updated centrally
- Improved
performance because learners ascend the learning
curve and become productive more quickly.
Where
businesses train customers in the use of their products
and are growing rapidly, e-learning allows the organisation
to decouple the ratio between the size of their training
function and the size of their ever expanding customer
base.
More
specifically DigitalThink customers have experienced
a wide range of quantifiable business benefits including:
- Time
spent in training - reduced 70%
- Travel
costs - reduced 50%
- Overall
training costs - reduced 75%
- Number
of sales meetings - cut in half
- Sales
team productivity - increased 40%
- Added
revenue stream - $150 million
- Training
completion rates - tripled
- Number
of employees trained - 25% higher
Q.
What are the limitations of e-learning practices?
A.
At present e-learning deals superbly with content
incorporating elements that are either IT related,
are knowledge-based or that are otherwise simple to
simulate on a VDU screen.
The embedded on-line tutor services that DigitalThink
pioneered have opened up a whole range of options
in terms of providing soft skills training.
The
challenge of addressing complex psycho-motor and craft
skills still remains and until some new form of ubiquitous
interface and simulation technology is developed it
will remain a struggle to do this kind of training
via a mouse and keyboard.
Q.
Will e-learning ever totally replace conventional
training practices in a corporate environment?
A.
Forever is a long time when it comes to technology.
A few years ago I was telling people that workable
speech recognition software was not going to be available
in my lifetime!
I think blended learning solutions that incorporate
the full range of technologies with the human instructor
will be around for the foreseeable future.
Q.
In which industrial sectors will e-learning make the
biggest impact?
Whilst
banking and financial services organisations led the
way, industries that suffer from the highest levels
of staff turnover combined with maximum geographical
dispersion will ultimately reap the greatest dividends
from the low cost of delivery that e-learning offers.
Retail businesses, hotels, restaurants, and the construction
sector are potentially huge markets and they are all
maturing fast.
For
example the giant US electronics retailer Circuit
City recently partnered with DigitalThink to create
their Circuit City Learning Center which delivers
more than 50 custom-produced e-learning courses dealing
with product training and selling skills to over 50,000
Sales Advisors at over 600 locations across the USA.
In
a business like Circuit City that experiences rapid
technology changes, product complexity, and a constantly
changing workforce with fewer and fewer full-time
associates, results-oriented sales training has become
a strategic imperative.
Circuit City recognized the advantages of using e-learning
to deliver a single and consistent message to its
geographically dispersed workforce and, most importantly,
measure the results.
Q.
Which technologies will have the greatest impact on
the e-learning industry?
A.
The development of e-learning is intrinsically
linked to the evolution of new telecommunications
technologies that offer the promise of ubiquitous
and relatively cheap bandwidth. The advent of ADSL,
3G mobile and GPRS all examples that have great potential,
but these are just some of a raft of competing technologies
that are emerging at present.
Q.
Is the future of the e-learning industry threatened
by the downturn in the fortunes of online businesses?
A.
I can't speak for other e-learning vendors but
there are a number of key differences between DigitalThink
and other Internet related businesses.
DigitalThink was founded in 1996 and has a breadth
of commercial experience unrivalled by most of the
e-commerce start-ups that launched over the last couple
of years.
Many
online businesses focussed on the business to consumer
or "e-tail" market. Whilst consumers are able to register
for DigitalThink catalogue courses via our web site
or reseller network our value proposition is squarely
focussed on meeting the needs of major global organisations.
Most
of the e-commerce start-ups launched over the last
couple of years were based on the simple premise of
replacing salespeople, catalogues, order forms and
stamps with internet technology. The order fulfilment
side of the business remained expensive, completely
conventional, and often tended to be neglected. E-Learning
specialists like DigitalThink have a sales force of
dedicated human beings and use the Internet to deliver
all other business services.
There are also especially beneficial conditions at
play in our market place. A recent survey carried
out by the analysts IDC predicts that the corporate
e-Learning market in Europe will grow by 96% in the
next five years (see: http://www.emea.idc.com
).
Q.
In general terms, how do you see the e-learning industry
developing?
A.
Some of the most interesting developments will be
the result of converging technologies.
At
present we tend to associate e-learning almost exclusively
with IBM compatible PC's but large numbers of people
are already accessing the Internet via alternative
technologies such as Interactive TV or WAP phones.
This convergence looks likely to accelerate, creating
potential for high bandwidth two-way interactive learning
at home via digital television. Portable Personal
Data Appliances (PDA's) such as G3 mobile phones,
Palms, and eBooks will also open up opportunities
for what industry pundits are already calling mobile
or m-learning.
The
key challenge remains the development of some common
standards. This is vital so that e-learning developers
and other vendors can make long-term investment decisions
with a degree of confidence that the platform they
choose will not disappear or become obsolete.
Q.
Are there any other issues that you think are important?
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.
The industry has grown exponentially and is crying
out for individuals who understand Internet technology
as well as education, training and development.
Most
of the institutions offering degree courses in new
media produce individuals with basic competencies
in standard graphics and authoring tools, rather than
the specific mixture of learning-related knowledge
and skills required to carry out effective e-Learning
development. Unless the education lead bodies take
some steps to ease this growing skills shortage the
e-Learning sector within UK plc is likely to fall
behind our competitors in the US and elsewhere in
Europe. Until then, DigitalThink will continue to
scour the world and pay a premium for the very best
talent.
Knowledge
Management is published by Ark Group. For further
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