E-Learning- Factors And Benefits

I thought it best to share with all the professionals in the training and Development space, about e-learning and its benefits. Although a commonly used term, “e-learning” can mean different things depending on the context and the audience.

Definition:
"Instructional content or learning experiences delivered or enabled by computer-based technology."

While general e-learning receives much attention in industry publications and research studies, few studies have focused exclusively on the
application of e-learning for “soft skills.”

Definition:
"Personal and interpersonal behaviors that develop and maximize human performance (e.g., coaching, team building, decision making, initiative). Soft skills do not include technical skills, such as financial, computer, quality, or assembly skills."

THE CASE FOR E-LEARNING

An organization can be motivated by a number
of factors to begin using e-learning. We created
a list of 17 potential reasons, based on a literature
review. We then asked respondents to identify
all the rationale their organization used in its
decision making to use e-learning to develop
soft skills. The resulting analysis yielded four
primary factors.

Factor 1: Improving Learning Efficiency
Increased flexibility of learning was the most
common reason for introducing e-learning
methods. Other benefits, such as just-in-time
delivery, reduced travel, lower costs, and increased
variety, added to the appeal of e-learning.

Factor 2: Extending Global Reach
Although it is a unique benefit that might not
apply to all organizations, e-learning’s global
reach allows organizations to offer a wide variety
of learning options regardless of employee
location. Web-based learning, electronic
performance support systems (EPSS), and
CD-ROMs can be delivered anywhere in the
world, as long as the appropriate equipment
and infrastructure are present

Factor 3: Maximizing Impact and Integration
Some organizations believe that by offering
e-learning they will increase the overall
effectiveness and impact of learning. Given
that learners have different learning styles and
preferences, it makes sense that a greater variety
of options would better facilitate learning.
Additionally, e-learning technology has begun to
blur the lines between learning and development
and other organizational systems.

Factor 4: Responding to Demand
E-learning has become an option requested by
some learners and their managers, partly because
of the high levels of attention it has received in
recent years. With so much media focus on the
advances in learning technology, people are
compelled to investigate it because they don’t
want to feel as though they are being left behind.

E-learning for soft skills development is
working to fulfill its promise.
Many organizations are running into barriers
related to user acceptance, equipment, features,
and quality; however, few would deny that
e-learning offers a great deal of promise for the
future. E-learning is off to a slower start than
many had predicted, but it is growing in use
and acceptance. As barriers fall and adoption
increases, more users will learn to leverage the
primary advantages of the technology.

E-learning success depends on a complex
mix of factors.
In many cases, introducing e-learning requires
experimentation and constant adjustment to
determine what works best. Foreseeing barriers
in the context of new paradigms can be difficult.
Even the best-quality e-learning program can
fail if there is no organizational support or if
learners are not held accountable for applying
their skills. In this sense the process for ensuring
the effectiveness of e-learning is no different
from any other program. Good planning,
careful needs analysis, building support, effective
implementation, and thorough follow-up are the
keys to success.

HR professionals need not fear e-learning
technologies, but there is a lot of learning
to do.
For many HR professionals the introduction
of e-learning has served as a forced primer in
modern learning technology. HR departments
are working more closely with MIS and IS
professionals or hiring technical experts to be
part of their HR teams. As new standards for
quality and delivery develop, navigating the wave
of information and choices might become easier.
Nevertheless, knowledge of technology has
increased and will continue to increase in the
HR function.

E-learning cost savings come from
longer-term use and scale.
In addition to the promise of greater learning
flexibility, many organizations are counting on
the long-term benefits of reduced costs through
e-learning technologies. When the learning
process becomes more automated, it should
also cost less to deliver. Every time an employee
uses an e-learning system, the overall acquisition
costs are reduced. Additionally, the ability to
immediately update e-learning resources
eliminates the need to purchase all new materials.
Scheduled instructor-led sessions addressing
predetermined topics can be replaced by just-intime
application of automated systems over a
broad population. The move toward e-learning
can incur high initial costs in addition to the cost
of the programs themselves; however, the real
payoff appears in volume and ongoing use.

regards

Kenneth Lewis