E-Learning Leadership: September 6, 2002
By
Paul Stacey
E-learning
has evolved from early day proof-of-concepts and prototypes, to current day
pilot projects, small scale initiatives and program offerings.
Growth
is taking e-learning from current levels where it represents approximately
twenty percent of education and training to a new era where it will be fifty to
one hundred percent. I predict e-learning demand will exceed supply.
E-learning
must move from serving hundreds of students, to thousands. The vision is for
e-learning to reach everyone on the planet. Anyone, anywhere ought to be able to
take e-learning.
E-learning
is set to go. Large scale, enterprise wide e-learning initiatives are ramping
up.
As
e-learning climbs the adoption curve those involved in producing e-learning need
to SET - Scale, Extend, Transfer.
Scale
Scaling
an e-learning initiative is critical. Early pilot deliveries of e-learning are
typically done to relatively small numbers of students, say ten to a hundred.
The full target audience is often hundreds or thousands of students. Therein
lies the scalability challenge - how to scale the e-learning up to reach larger
group of students.
Scaling
up has technology, production, and logistic considerations.
On
the technology side your server, network, and underlying e-learning architecture
need to be able to support large enrollments and the accompanying increase in
traffic.
Production
processes that worked for small e-learning projects need to be scaled up.
Achieving high levels of efficiency and quality require careful attention to
engineering work flow and process. Scaling e-learning production means moving
away from "lone ranger" methods of developing courseware to team
approaches where subject matter expertise is appropriately complemented with
instructional designers, media developers, and other key resources.
Invariably
there are logistical issues too. How will class sizes be managed? Online
instructors, like classroom instructors, have a limit to the number of students
they can manage. Indeed to scale up you may need more instructors, a major
logistical concern.
The
best e-learning utilizes extensive peer-to-peer and cohort interaction between
and among the students. Logistically how will cohorts of learners be structured
into teams? What is the optimal team size?
Another
common logistical issue is time zones, especially if synchronous e-learning
methodologies are being used. A live synchronous e-learning event held in
Vancouver at 9 a.m. may be taking place in the middle of the night in another
part of the world. Most learners aren't keen about learning at 2 a.m.
Extend
I
think extensibility is a key consideration in ramping up e-learning. An initial
e-learning pilot often focuses in on a particular topic or domain area - say
information technology skills. A successful pilot in this area invariably leads
to considerations for other areas. How can e-learning's domain areas be
extended? Can e-learning also be used for soft skills, product training,
customer self-service? If e-learning is really good for teaching business skills
can it be equally effective for teaching math or English?
Extension
can also mean reaching out to a broader target audience. If the pilot focused
only on a subset of all employees or a particular job category how can it be
extended to reach a broader range of employees or jobs? If the pilot worked here
in Canada can it be extended to Europe, Asia or other regional offices?
Virtually
every e-learning pilot generates a wish list of improvements to be made. Often
these involve extending the e-learning technology or infrastructure to have
additional capabilities. Extending e-learning may mean acquiring new or
different e-learning technologies. It may mean integrating several technologies
together. E-learning pilots that focus on content may want to extend benefits by
adding administration features like registration, scheduling, tracking and
online help.
Other
improvements may have more to do with the learning model being used for the
delivery of e-learning. A pilot that used strictly asynchronous e-learning
methods may need to extend its learning model to consider synchronous methods to
keep learner interest and motivation high.
Transfer
Transfer
is perhaps the biggest challenge in ramping up e-learning.
A
large part of the transfer challenge is skills transfer. Many e-learning pilots
are done with keeners - staff and instructors excited and motivated by
e-learning. E-learning pilot team members acquire new skills in designing,
producing, and delivering e-learning. Ramping up e-learning means transferring
those skills to a larger group of people who may be less keen or adverse to
change.
Transfer
can also mean the distribution of e-learning capability from one location to
another - from the Vancouver office to a branch office in Calgary or Singapore
for example. Transfer of this sort involves not only skills transfer but the
careful planning and assessment of what aspects of e-learning should be
centralized vs. decentralized.
Another
critical component in e-learning transfer is localization. Purchased e-learning
courses may need to be localized for each company, examples made specific to
particular corporate practice. E-learning transferred from North America to
Europe or Asia may need to be localized to fit the particular culture and
language in which it is being deployed.
As
e-learning ramps up - get ready, SET, go.
Paul
Stacey, is an e-learning specialist in corporate and higher education. A
frequent e-learning speaker and workshop leader Paul works in Simon Fraser
University's eLearning Innovation Centre (eLINC). Paul is interested in the use
of e-learning to support lifelong learning and the development of e-learning as
an economic sector locally, nationally, and internationally. Contact:
Paul Stacey
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