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Context
This report reflects the need for the implementation of an E-learning training program for the merchandisers of Roadshow Entertainment so that training is accessible and time is used efficiently, regardless of the distance between trainer and merchandiser.

Roadshow Entertainment is a leading film maker and DVD distributor, which has casual merchandisers that set up stock for all mass merchant stores around Australia such as Big W, Target and Kmart. The turnover rate for this position is significantly high due to the pressures associated with the constant need to meet deadlines, instability of hours and inadequate support from administrative levels.

Fifty of the merchandisers are middle aged females with children at home, two are middle aged males and among these ten hold another casual job with other organisations. It is a job requirement that all merchandisers have reasonable computer skills and access to a computer with internet at home, as Roadshow also uses a website to communicate with the merchandisers, providing them with briefs and other updates. Most merchandisers do not receive sufficient training especially with the use of the palm pilot as minimal training is provided due to issues such as time and distance. The palm pilot is the main source of feedback from merchandisers to the administrative team and provides information such as store compliance, stock levels, arrival of stock in stores, photos and time spent in store. Training is also implemented in the form of a two week induction period where new employees shadow experienced merchandisers in a ‘buddy system’ to become familiar with what is expected of them.  

Learning Theory
Hypotheses about educating and learning are based on several stratums of actions and beliefs, these conceptions of human behaviour provide a basis on which we build our ideologies of effective learning and how we think education should take place (Masie, E 2007). Learning theories are designed around the different views that people have about education and how a change in time, place and views of the educator can results in the preference of some theories.

The Socio-cultural approach to learning was prompted by Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky; it views the learner as an object in an environment that requires interaction with other objects to gain intelligence before it can on its own.  Vygotsky conjectured that mental tools such as mnemonics changed “the entire flow and structure of mental functions” (Vygotsky, L. 1981, p.137), a significant observation when placed in the context of modern education. The socio-cultural theory is different to behavioural and cognitive approaches as it doesn’t remove the learner from the current context.  Mental tool in this instance refers to technological applications that relieve the cognitive load of learners such as websites, discussion boards, data bases and multimedia.

Application to Context
The merchandisers require a theory that promotes the sharing of knowledge, skills and encourages team work, as they are ultimately a system that must collaborate with each other and head office to get work finished to a consistent standard. There is minimal time for training on-the-job, especially with feedback reporting, so an E-learning induction program with an emphasis on training the merchandisers in their workplace context would be an advantageous way to reduce training efficiency, cost and time.
“A socio-cultural conception of identity conceives of identity as dynamic and constantly changing across time and place.”(Norton, B. 2006 Identity as a socio-cultural construct in second language education Ed.2, p22-33)
Socio-cultural learning is the most appropriate theory for the merchandisers as it encourages elasticity of knowledge, communication, collaboration, a learning culture and the use of ‘mental tools’, in an unstable environment. “The system depends on people. People have to know stuff. If there were no people knowing stuff, it wouldn’t get anywhere…they have to communicate with each other” (Masie, E. 21-24 October, 2007, Theories of Learning) By creating a culture for knowledge transfer and learning, the training process will become less demanding for the educator, as the merchandisers will be able to provide support to new employees during the cognitive processing of new information.
Although the theory of a socio-cultural learning is clear-cut, the implication of this approach is difficult due to the need for collaborative devices, societal participants and a learning culture.
“Through the use of the e-learning environment, there is potential to establish a collaborative teaching and learning community” (Bates, A.W. 2005. Technology, E-learning and distance Education, London) E-learning provides a flexible platform for communication and collaboration between merchandisers, allowing them to constantly learn in context without having to be on the job. An E-learning program based on the principals of socio-cultural learning can be placed on the merchandiser website for ease of communication and skill development.

Recommendations
“The internet provide significantly different and interesting possibilities for computer-mediated communication and learning from other forms of educational technologies” (McCormack, C., & Jones, D. 1998. Building a Web-based education system. New York: Wiley, p.1) The E-learning program should consist of permanent features that can be accessed at anytime for the maintenance of skills or for management to use when procedures change post initial training.

1.  Virtual World
   A virtual world for merchandisers could be created to keep the education of merchandisers in context and allow them to view how their contributions affect the overall functions of the business. This would include virtual merchandising, quizzes on safety in stores, broadcasts of updates and other relevant features.
2. Blog
   The use of a Blog will allow merchandisers to uphold relationships with each other during busy times and can be a source of stress relief when they need to rant about particular issues that occur on the job. This also gives management a better view of what is happening in-store, giving the merchandiser a sense of ‘team’ support.
3. Discussion Board
   A discussion board will provide a source of asynchronous communication between merchandisers and head office, where anything can be discussed with special feeds for job related discussions and questions. Collaboration and learning from each other is the key to this technology.

The union of these three technologies in an E-learning program will create a Socio-cultural approach to learning and provide new merchandisers with a facility to collaborate and learn from experienced merchandisers, while still remaining very much in an on-the-job environment.

References

Bates, A.W. 2005. Technology, E-learning and distance Education, London

Masie, E. 21-24 October, 2007, Theories of Learning

McCormack, C., & Jones, D. 1998. Building a Web-based education system. New York: Wiley, p.1

Norton, B. 2006 Identity as a socio-cultural construct in second language education Ed.2, p22-33

Vygotsky, L. S. (1981). The genesis of higher mental functions. J. V. Wersch (Ed. and Trans.), The concept of activity in soviet psychology. Armonk: M. E. Sharpe. 

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, E. Souberman (Eds.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 

Vygotsky, L. & Luria, A. (1994). Tool and symbol in child development. In R. van der Veer, & J. Valsiner (Eds.), The Vygotsky reader. Oxford: Blackwell

Wertsch, J. V. (1991). Voices of the Mind: A sociocultural approach to mediated action. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Visual hierarchy assists learners in finding the important information first before seeing the other related information. It creates a logical flow of content, which can be taken in bit by bit keeping the level of interest in the learner consistent at all times.

Visual hierarchy breaks up the information in the text and finds other ways of expressing the informations such as through pictures and other media. The typestyle including font, size and weight also assists in the segregating of information.

Course will relfect the need for efficient and effective training for the use of palm pilots by merchandisers. Palm pilots are a crucial element in the merchandising process as it acts as the only recorded communication between merchandisers and head office, the palm pilots record the times spent in store, feedback and store visits.

The turnover for merchandisers is high and they are people from a range of educational backgrounds, age groups and learning styles. The merchandisers are casual workers who are often juggling other jobs on the side in addition to personal committments. The merchandisers are also situated all over Australia with only one area supervisor per state and a merchandising manager based in Sydney.

Multimedia would be of value when it comes to teaching the functions of the palm pilot as it would be necessay to emulate the steps that need to be taken to do particular things. Situational job-related circumstances should be presented in animation and the learner should be asked to conclude on the situation and provide the correct steps for the input of data into the plam pilot.  

Multimedia could also be of value for the merchandising of stock in a shop, the merchandisers can be presented with an online program, where they can virtually merchandise their allocated shops as a pilot for the real thing. Creating a higher merchandising standard. This program can be given to new employees as a part of their training package.

Multimedia is the collaboration of imagery, animation, text and audio into a virtual tool that assists in engaging people in the message that is to be conveyed. Often it is necessary for the user to engage in movements such as clicks, pressing of buttons or moving cursors to select commands. One prominent example is FLASH.  

Multimedia used in e-learning has extended the technological realms of experiential learning. In the examples shown on the websites, the learner is given the opportunity to make decisions and complete job oriented tasks in a virtual environment, with feedback given for choices whether they be correct or incorrect. This type of learning is advantageous for industries that require substantial training before being able to go on the job due to the risks involved.

Multimedia enhances the Web 2.0 learning experience by creating an engaging environment where the learner can see that if they participate in the activities they will recieve relevant feedback and ultimately learn the correct way to deal with situations.

Web 2.0 refers mostly to social networking sites, wikis, blogs, podcasts and RSS. These are mostly interactive as they involve updates and information that is shared by users.

Meaningfulness results in e-learners who will continue use original cognitive structures and not see the new information that is trying to be conveyed. E-learning must cater to its learners by providing information in different ways, so that learners will be able to see the differences in the facilitated materials and create new cognitive structures resulting in the successful acquisition of knowledge.\

 Advanced Organisers can be in the form of ‘adventure’ style activities where learners are expected to complete certain tasks and acquire certain skills before they can move on to other steps. This sequential learning acts as an advanced organiser as it ensures that the information and knowledge is built onto old cognitive structures.

Generalizing in an E-learning context results in a variety of miscommunications as information is mis-interpreted or completely missed by people who do not have the same reaction or stigmas attached to stimuli. Since E-learning is an experiential learning platform, it relys on the use of stimuli to encourage learners to create associations with learning materials. Generalization in this sense could result in the acquisition of incorrect material and as a result wrong information in terms of what they are meant to learn.

Learning is the process of acquiring information that is being transmitted from a facilitator to the learner. It doesn’t matter what a student is being taught or told unless it is accepted and acquired, this highlights the most important aspect of learning and its process. It’s success is dependant on the delivery by the educator as well as the attitude of the recipient.

Virtual worlds can be used in learnign as they can be the platforms for virtual classrooms and encourage experiential learning through the requirement of self directive learning and social discussion. Students can be encouraged to search for additional learning materials and discussion content with people from aroudn the world who have differing skills, knowledge and experience.

Synchronous communication refers to the forms of communication which occur in real-tme, some examples are MSN Messenger, Parts of SECOND LIFE and Web conferencing.

Synchronous communication is immediate and works almost the same as a normal conversation in that feedbacnk and information is immediately available… examples of this are conferencing in company meetings, web classrooms, communication for distance assignments and distant learning.

Current drivers for synchronous communication include the ability to attin information at anytime anywhere.

Asynchronous communication refers to the forms of communication that are not conducted in realtime and not all participants need to be present at one time to transmit informaiton. Exampels inclue Discussion boards, forums and blogs.

Benefits of this technology are that information transmitted is often stored and can be retrieved for later reference. Some drivers for this technology are the increased needs for collaborative learning in organisations and in schools.

Web-based appilications are technologically based forms of communication and sources of information that can be applied as a complementary component or programs such as facebook.

Web 2.0 refers to a new generation of web-based applications such as Ebay, Flickr & RSS.

Web 2.0 focuses on the facilitation of creativity, information sharing and collaboration.

Web-based applications that I am familiar with include Weblogs, Wikis, Chats, Podcasting, Web conferencing, RSS&Aggregation, Social Networking, e-Portfolios and Virtual Worlds.

Applications that I would like to explore further include Podcasting, e-portfolios and RSS.

 RSS is a group of web feed formats used to publish things such as blogs and websites that are frequentl updated. It is a summary of the text that is in a website so that people can keep up to date with information.

RSS can be used in this subject to provide student with update that can range from lecture material to classroom changes and additional informaton that needs to be known.

Aggregation in the combining of multiple RSS feeds such as in a program like NETVIBES.