E-Learning has many advantages and has unhinged traditional education settings like “bricks and mortar” classrooms.  The obvious advantages are flexibility to learn anywhere and anytime.  Learners can log in to virtual classrooms wherever they are.  They can also collaborate with learners from around the globe.  Learners are not bound to carry around heavy textbooks and can almost instantly communicate with their instructors.

However, there are some draw backs as Lynch & Roecker point out in their handbook, Project Managing E-Learning.  Take for example, “failure to dedicate full time support to the e-Learning initiative” (Lynch & Roecker, p.12) Creating an online e-learning platform and publishing or going live is not enough to effectively close the chapter on training employees.  Many organizations often assume that a “productive or effective” worker will make a good trainer.  However, this is not always true.  An organization should clearly identify who their trainers are, and should invest in their trainers before investing in an e-learning platform.  I experienced this first hand while consulting with a specialist from construction tool manufacturer in the UAE.  The specialist works on an asset management product and software that is meant to digitize the way construction companies monitor and maintain their assets.  The company failed to adequately identify trainers and did not provide structured training sessions, needs assessment for training, or state clear deliverables and outcomes for training sessions.  Instead, the under resourced Learning & Development team hastily put together a training module based on commonly received customer complaints and chose a specialist who achieved his monthly targets and was generally liked by colleagues.  While these are good starting points for identifying characteristics of a trainer, they are not indicators that an employee will make an effective trainer.

Organizations and institutions must recognize that learning has to change, just as the nature of work has changed due to globalization, digitization, advancements in manufacturing, technology and artificial intelligence.  Workers require structured well planned training that integrates effective e-learning methods like blended learning, structured on the job training, and remote learning led by qualified instructors.

References

Lynch, M. M., & Roecker, J. (2007.) Project managing eLearning: A handbook for successful design, delivery, and management. Routledge. Chapter 1.

Jacobs, R. L., & Park, Y. (2009). A Proposed Conceptual Framework of Workplace Learning: Implications for Theory Development and Research in Human Resource Development. Human Resource Development Review, 8(2), 133–150.

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Avoid Common e-Learning Mistakes