smlogs

E-learning courses have become a significant part of corporate training through the last decade. The advantages and disadvantages are continually weighed up against each other in an attempt to accentuate the rewards of technological learning.
 
E learning clearly has its advantages in the sense that students are
not pressured to learn immediately and can learn at their own pace in
the comforts of their home. In learning face to face in a formal
classroom environment, there is the social risk of embarrassment and
pressure to fit in with the classroom behaviors and learning styles.
E learning opposes this by providing the freedom of setting pace and
independent ability to research certain information to gain better understanding
of topics. There is a negative to this as freedom promotes laziness
and students may abuse this liberty. The traditional classroom view of learners is as passive recipients that don’t require feedback for successful learning. (Chen, Chung, Crane, Hlavach, & Viall, 2001; Jonassen, 1991; Savery & Duffy, 1995) The added pressure of a classroom environment with peers and lecturers scrutinizing your responses and understanding would lead to heightened awareness and better concentration on the pupil’s part.
In e learning, all the information is delivered using a technological
framework that can be referred back to at the click of a button,
whereas in traditional leaning classroom environment cannot cater
for such a play back device and unreliable human memory is heavily
relied upon.
Because of massive leaps of technological advances in both hardware
and software, the delivery vehicle for information and leaning
materials is a lot more interactive using graphics, diagrams, tables,
pictures, movies, and the internet to make learning more interesting
and entertaining which increases the chance of material absorption and
understanding. Also the pace at which learning can take place can be
of a greater magnitude than face to face due to reading material being
consistent and precise whereas human communication is complex and
could be misunderstood.
The disadvantages of learning through a technological framework
through a home PC is that users cannot ask questions and have them
answered immediately by a professional in the topic. “Current online learning environments ostensibly deliver gains in terms of mass storage of information, yet fall short in optimizing positive student engagement.” (Edwards S L, Watson J, Farrell A, Nash R 2007 Journal of Learning Design; v.2 n.1 p.25-36) With the
traditional classroom environment, students are given a variety of
points of views from students to tutor and using such information,
formulate their own understanding of the topic whereas e learning is
limited in its scope of the topics covered. Human communication is
complex and can cater for many scenarios and learning types through
different means of communication. Face to face communication consists
of 70% body language and 30% verbal communication and being of such a
flexible nature limited only by imagination, teachers can work on
visual cues to identify problem areas in learning and address the
issue immediately by further explanation and changes in teaching styles
whereas e leaning is set (Way J, Web C 2006)
 
 E learning is set in a technological framework and is therefore limited
by the restricted dimensions of technology. If technology were to be upgraded and updated, then the restrictions that have limited e learning could also be updated, one such
problem is the communication barrier of technological interactivity that is
poor compared to the richness to interpersonal communication. Live
video communication would be a plausible solution, as it would allow
students to and tutors to communicate. In the First Aid course context a professional should be available at allocated times to communicate with students in a conference style online classroom.
 
 The first aid course could be improved by improving learner engagement, further developing learning tools and reducing the amount of download to un-restrict learners with slower download speeds. It should also consider placing a professional in a conference like situation, so students can receive feedback correctly and efficiently.

E-learning courses will continue to shift and change to satisfy the needs of the learning community. The advantages will begins to out weigh the disadvantages significantly. The First Aid course was an example of this technological development and assisted in revealing some impediments of the online framework for learning.

This review will address the issues and concepts, which my group and I faced through the research of corporate e-learning. It reflects the common themes, which are related to return on investments and the value of implementing an e-learning culture (despite the initial costs) to create an efficient and cost effective learning system. This review will explore and compare multiple e-learning programs implemented by AUSTRADE, Alcatel, IBM and PepsiCo. Information from this exploration will allow the manipulation and as a result produce a greater understanding about the effects, advantages and disadvantages of implementing an e-learning program.

Return on Investment (ROI) refers to development cost of the E-learning with the result being the comparison of productivity or some form of contribution to the business as a whole. ROI does not essentially refer to monetary value, but the corporate value of the new systems. ROI is considered achieved if the new E-learning platform reduces the overall cost centers of the business (such as reducing IT costs, decreasing training time and difficulty). Corporate E-learning comes with a price tag, which encourages the resistance by workplaces unfamiliar to an E-learning environment. It is often necessary to sell E-learning to management and ROI is a fantastic way, through the comparison of traditional ‘classroom’ training and E-learning, the benefits can be weighed up against the initial and minimal ongoing costs.

The Australian Trade Commission (ATC), is a federal government organization which promotes and assists Australian businesses that are trying to enter the international market through either exports, partnerships and franchising. The assistance provided comes in the form of grants, risk buffers, identification of potential international partners and tailored advice. ATC has applied online training, online course catalogue, training for export facilitation, software applications, business skills and computer format changes to reduce the usage of computer memory. E-learning was a great cost-reducer for this organization as it has increased the availability of training programs and communication processes to employees and external parties.

Alcatel is a telecommunications company, which boasts €12.5 billion of sales in 2003 and locations in 130 countries. The business has halved its workforce, but despite this change the company was able to increase it’s market share significantly and claimed the number one status in the industry. Alcatel also moved from being just a product supplier to a total communications solutions provider with the help of its highly skilled and flexible employees. E-learning was adapted into Alcatel processes due to the significant changes taking place within the businesses structure resulting in the need for efficient and effective training that needed to be implemented with haste.

IBM is an international player of computing functions and is one of the largest corporate giants in the world. It has an astronomical workforce that is evenly distributed to all four corners of the corporate world. IBM trains in excess of 5000 new managers in a year through a grueling 5-day training program. E-learning strategies were adapted after it was shown that the 5-day program was only insufficient and that training needed to take place over a longer period of time and with increased flexibility.

PepsiCo is a multinational corporation known for it’s beverages, outrageous advertising campaigns and their competition against the soft drink juggernaut Coca Cola. Currently PepsiCo has in excess of 160,000 employees and are generating retails sales of about $92 Billion. It is a public company, reflecting the need for the adequate and efficient use of business funds to produce higher returns. PepsiCo chose to incorporate E-learning to increase training provisions without disturbing the company’s core functions. PepsiCo have implemented a training system for basic word processing using Windows 2000 as well as a Learning Management system to allow on-going success for their employees E-learning.

ATC, Alcatel, IBM and PepsiCo are all multi-million dollar businesses that are constantly undergoing structural change to keep up with modifying consumer and stakeholder needs. These businesses share the common theme of international bases. This creates the common need for a consistent training platform and fast communication methods.
The case studies are all striving to discover an E-learning process that will ultimately pay for itself and eventually create greater wealth than the current training methods. The report about e-learning and return on investments clearly shows that E-learning has reduced fixed costs involved with travel, on-site meetings and traditional training methods in all case studies. An indication of this is ATC’s ability to produce it’s own E-learning systems at a low cost.
Despite the differing core functions of these businesses, E-learning has provided an efficient training and communication method for these corporations. In these case studies E-learning has come in a variety of forms including simple training for Windows 2000 (PepsiCo) to the construction of training programs (ATC)(IBM), technological advantage(Alcatel) and the simple trend of sending emails as opposed to making phone calls. It should be noted that the E-learning functions, which are adopted by these businesses are directly related to their current core functions and aid in the processes.

These case studies allow educators, programmers and other businesses to understand the fundamental basics of implementing a successful E-learning culture within a business. Educators can use these statistics to help break down the resistance of other workforces against E-learning. These case studies also raise the issues of how these organisations were able implement a successful E-learning culture and why they are more successful than other counterparts who are also trying to create an E- learning environment. Practitioners and Educators can also question whether it is the business’ organisational structure which allowed the effective implementation of E-learning or rather the implementation process itself. Studies that are conducted using these statistics will allow businesses and educators create and implement perfected procedures. Research should be considered for the implementation process as well as the suitability of certain E-learning training and platforms for particular businesses to create the best return on investments for the business.

Alcatel, IBM, ATC and PepsiCo are four organisations which have successfully implemented an E-learning platform or program that is aiding their core functions. Despite their differences, E-learning has been able to successfully minimise their costs and increase their efficiency. The common themes of ROI are reflected through the four case studies and from these comparisons it is possible for educators and trainers to use this information for future success in implementing E-learning into businesses.