Training Employees Online: Industry Overview

Executive Summary.

The current economic climate coupled with advances in technology and the desire for increased employee productivity have resulted in some fundamental changes in corporate training. Most notably, e-learning, or learning online via the web, has become a major force in commercial education.

There are two distinct modes of e-learning via the Web. The first is live interactive sessions between an instructor and students via a web conferencing tool such as GoToMeeting. The second is totally automated e-learning through a web-based, next generation e-learning technology, sometimes referred to as an online learning management system (LMS) or learning content management system (LCMS).

Web Conferencing.

Web conferencing is arguably the most prevalent means of delivering electronic commercial training. Through Web conferencing an instructor can deliver instructional materials, video, etc. as well as conduct live lecture style instruction. This mode of instruction also allows live participation by the student.

Advantage: The primary advantage to this mode of training is the elimination of travel time and expense for both the students and the instructor. In general, this training mode does a credible job of simulating the classroom experience while minimizing costs.

Disadvantages: Studies have confirmed that the online attention span is significantly shorter than that of students attending live instructor led sessions. Students have a habit of multitasking during learning sessions more so online than a live classroom setting. This, of course, reduces retention.

Another disadvantage is the lack of reinforcement. . In the academic setting, quizzing, testing and homework assignments are provided. There are two reasons. The first, of course, is to get a grade. But the second reason for quizzing and testing in the academic environment is knowledge retention. Studies have shown that reinforcement through quizzing and testing increase knowledge retention by up to 70%. In live commercial classroom training and e-learning, the emphasis tends to be on the delivery of maximum knowledge in minimum time, eliminating perceived extraneous activities, thus saving cost. This is often done at the expense of knowledge retention.

The leading providers of Web conferencing include:

• Adobe Acrobat Connect
• BigBlueButton
• BrightTALK
• Citrix Online
• Dimdim
• Elluminate
• Epiphan Systems
• Fuze Meeting
• Genesys Meeting Center
• Glance
• Google Wave
• IBM Lotus Sametime and IBM LotusLive
• MegaMeeting
• Microsoft Office Live Meeting
• Mikogo
• MSN
• Netviewer
• Nefsis
• OmNovia Technologies
• Openmeetings
• Oracle Beehive
• ooVoo
• PGi
• RHUB Communications Inc.
• Saba Software
• ShowDocument
• Skype
• TalkPoint
• TimeBridge
• Tokbox
• VenueGen
• WebEx
• WebTrain
• Yuuguu
• Zoho

Fully Automated, Web Based E-Learning.

The fully automated e-learning market appears, on the surface, homogenous, but in reality, a closer look reveals it to be a confusing hodgepodge of technologies.

• Recorded course delivery,
• automated quizzing and testing,
• certification, and
• permanent student record-keeping

are all individual functions lumped under the category of automated, web based e-learning systems.

Recorded Course Delivery. This is the ability to create lecture style course material using a variety of online display media (such as Flash video). A best practice in this area is the ability for the e-learning system to assemble a course from a series of individual, short modules. While a classroom session can last as long as two hours, our research indicates that the patience level of an e-learner is demonstrated to be no more than 20 minutes, after which the e-learning students must switch tasks, take a break, or perform some other function, lest they become mentally disengage from the course modules.

Automated Quizzing and Testing. Numerous technologies exist which are capable of delivering test questions and capturing answers online. However, very few applications exist which combine all of the following functions:

1. Offer multiple question types including essay, fill in the blank or multiple choice.
2. Enable mixing and matching of alterable question types.
3. Automated scoring.
4. Intersperse quizzes and tests between course modules.
5. Distinguish between the intermediary tests and final exams.
6. Store permanent records of student test and exam history.

Many applications provide one or two of these functions, but very few include more.

Certification. A rare capability of an e-learning the is the ability to define a series of courses, with their associated tests, the completion of which results in a particular type of certification. For example, a company may have 20 online courses with over 100 individual modules. However, certain combinations of courses, such as courses in programming languages versus courses in systems analysis and design, may, in combination, lead to specific certifications. It is a best practice to: identify courses associated with a particular certification, maintain permanent records of achieved certifications, and identify and track certification expirations.

Permanent Student Record-Keeping. This is basic functionality included in most e-learning system. However, what is not usual, and does a best practice, is the ability to keep track of courses completed through the e-learning system as well as maintain records of educational experiences obtained outside the purview of the e-learning system.

Providers: the following is a list of fully automated e-learning systems:

• Articulate Presenter
• blackboard.com
• Camtesia
• Captivate
• FlexTraining
• intuit QuickBase
• Joomla*
• Kaplan Atlantic link
• Lechora
• mindflash
• Moodle*
• Rapid Intake
• TrainingJumpstart
• YouTube*

* Open source / "free" solutions.

The bottom line.

• Learning management systems have been around for a long time. Using the Web as a delivery vehicle for courseware and record-keeping is relatively new.
• Online meeting software has predominated the e-learning space, providing a way to offer education without the need for travel. However, a short student online attention span limits the efficacy of such systems for long sessions. Furthermore, the effective Time zones, the affect on work schedules, and the need to get people together at the same time regardless of location are still problematical.
• Prerecorded, self-contained e-learning, while highly effective for the majority of types of corporate training is still treated with suspicion by many corporate educators. This is in spite of it's excellent success record.
• Very few e-learning systems include up the combination of: multimedia course delivery, quizzing and testing, certification and record-keeping. That unique combination of attributes is an industry best practice.