|
|
TO COMPETE IN today's lightning-fast business world, your
employees must be up to speed on the latest and greatest technologies,
whether they're getting Cisco-certified training or Java programming skills.
IT admins, managers, sales staff, and field technicians need to stay current
to do their jobs accurately. And if training is a core value in your company,
you can attract new employees and retain those already in your workforce.
Because traditional, instructor-led classroom training is expensive, often
costing thousands of dollars plus the price of travel, companies are
investing in electronic learning options in record numbers. They're opting to
create the content themselves, contract an LSP (learning service provider) to
create the content, or participate in the vast array of learning portals
available either on the Web or that can be hosted internally. If Web-based
training doesn't suit your employees, you can provide them with CBT
(computer-based training) courses. E-learning is an extremely cost-effective,
efficient method for providing training, giving employees the chance to learn
at their own speed and take a class when it won't interfere with
productivity.
When embarking on Web-based e-learning for your staff, you first must decide
whether you want to sponsor courses hosted by an outside service, such as
ThinQ.com or click2learn, or build content that you host internally, with a
product such as Lotus LearningSpace or gForce Systems. Web-based training
courses range from less than a hundred dollars to as much as $4,000,
depending on the length and depth of the course. Certainly, the cost of
implementing and maintaining an e-learning solution will depend on whether you
install it, plus the cost of developing and maintaining that course.
Installing a system is best suited for companies that offer a wealth of
internal training, such as HR-provided courses. Hosting the e-learning
solution internally gives companies complete control of the content, and most
high-end solutions, such as Lotus LearningSpace (see review, "LearningSpace
enlivens online training"), offer tools to track and manage
employees' performance.
Training
portals bring classes home
Considering the wealth of information on the Internet, you might find it
easier and more cost-effective to encourage employees to enroll in Web-based
courses offered by an outside vendor, such as DigitalThink (see review, "Two
approaches to Web-based learning". Regardless of your
company's industry or your employees' specialties, they'll be able to find an
appropriate online class. Depending on their learning styles and preferences,
they can choose a class that's either self-paced or taken live.
The number of Web sites offering training is staggering -- I encountered at
least 50 sites that link students to courses, host a learning portal for your
organization, offer products for creating content, or create content for you.
Depending on your budget and users' learning styles, employees are bound to
find a course to fit their needs. To make it even easier, some learning
marketplaces, including Digital Think and ThinQ.com, link professionals to
learning courses supplied by various partnered content creators, such as Netg
and SkillSoft. In addition, requests for proposals can be submitted to
providers to find the most appropriate courses.
Students access Web-based training from their Web browsers and can interact
with instructors and other students. Many experts claim that true e-learning
can take place entirely within a Web browser without requiring downloads or
additional software. It is available anytime and anywhere, offering
collaboration among students and between students and subject experts.
Self-paced courses can be taken independently at a student's convenience from
any Web browser. Students can collaborate with the instructor and other
students through e-mail and discussion groups, rather than live and
in-person, so to speak. Instructors provide feedback to students in response
to questions, quizzes, and tests. This type of Web-based course is perfect for
those who prefer to get training as their schedules permit.
During my research, I found myriad classes at all price levels, ranging from
courses on management skills to programming training to professional
refresher classes; for instance, ThinQ.com offers one called Pulmonary
Function Refresher that helps medical professionals stay current with
industry schooling requirements. Also, I searched for a course on managing
Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0 and found several, ranging in price
from a self-paced Web course for $149 per module to a 3-day virtual course
for $1,275.
Learning portals range from public sites offering courses from well-known
course providers, such as Skillsoft, to corporate portals that host classes
specific to an individual company's needs. For instance, a corporate training
portal may offer Web-based courses for learning desktop applications as well
as corporate benefits and the company's manufactured products.
Some of these portals offer Web-based courses plus provide videos, audio
tapes, books, and CBTs to further the education experience. In addition,
sites such as click2learn.com have easy-to-use authoring tools that, say,
your HR staff can use to create basic courses.
The second venue for Web-based training is scheduled virtual classrooms, in
which students are in class at the same time and can view slides, streaming
video, shared whiteboards, and shared applications from their Web browsers.
This type of training simulates being in a classroom, and students can ask questions
and get instant feedback from teachers or other students; many universities
now offer such classes.
If you choose this method, be prepared to supply users with additional
equipment, including conferencing software such as Microsoft NetMeeting. And
these online classrooms may introduce other drawbacks, including creating
bandwidth bottlenecks with streaming video and online conferencing.
These types of courses are great for individuals who want to communicate with
other students or who cannot attend a university; they can attain the
education they need through distance learning alternatives from sites such as
HungryMinds and Onlinelearning.net.
Taking
the CD-ROM approach
CBT was one of the first methods of e-learning, and, although it may seem
outdated, it can still be extremely effective, especially for individual
training and courses that rarely change.
CD-ROM-based courses are best suited for self-motivated employees because the
courses are self-paced and do not offer any instructor feedback. This may be
a particularly suitable e-learning approach for members of your IT staff who
want to beef up their programming skills, with courses such as those offered
from IDG Books, including "Teach Yourself Linux," or "Java
Programming" by Deitel and Associates; both cost $68 through Amazon.com.
Another CBT I came across was "Managing Users, Groups and Security
Policies," a 5-to 6-hour course by ComputerPrep for $299.
The course I viewed from Deitel and Associates included a 1,400-page book
covering many topics concerning programming for the Internet. The
accompanying CD-ROM is a duplicate of the book, with additional self-reviews,
practice exams, and exercises for every chapter. The content provided a
wealth of course material including sample code. To track my progress, this
class kept a log of the modules I completed plus test results.
In general, CD-ROM courses make tracking your employees' performance
difficult because, unlike systems you host internally, they are not
associated with management systems. Therefore, they're not suited for
continuous course changes or for those that require evaluation.
CD-ROM-based classes also can get quickly outdated, requiring individuals to
download upgrades or purchase an additional course to stay current. This is
not only a hassle for the student user but also a distribution nightmare.
Every time a course is updated, new CDs must be burned and mailed out to
participating students, the costs of which can really add up.
The e-learning industry makes great use of the Internet as a means for
conducting and distributing courses to corporations and individuals.
Regardless of the e-learning approach you deem best for your employees,
training will help keep your employees and company competitive. Corporations
with a high volume of internal training may opt to implement an e-learning
solution in-house, which will also provide a management system for tracking
the employees who meet (or don't meet) training requirements. But if you want
to make it easy and affordable, support your employees enrolling in distance
learning or self-paced courses over the Web -- they'll stay current as well
as continue wanting to work for you.
Related
information
Additional
e-learning resources: With such a vast array of solutions,
you're bound to find the right one for your employees.
Bandwidth
hogs? Some Web-based learning solutions can eat bandwidth. The
following table illustrates the average amount of bandwidth required on a
network per concurrent client for each LearnLinc conferencing option.
Senior
Analyst Lori Mitchell (lori_mitchell@infoworld.com)
covers online training, Web conferencing, and project management and is ready
for some online learning.
|
BOTTOM LINE
|
|
|
E-learning solutions 
BUSINESS
CASE
If your employees' skills are frequently updated, your company has a
better chance of staying competitive, and e-learning tools offer an
efficient, convenient alternative to traditional classroom training at a
lower cost. If you choose to host a solution internally, buy one with a
management system, which gives employees' managers the tools they need to
track performance.
TECHNOLOGY
CASE
Web-based e-learning tools can be updated and managed from a Web server
or hosted portal, for a lower cost of distribution and support compared
to CD-ROM-based solutions. But they may require some additional equipment
for video conferencing, such as microphones and conferencing packages.
|
|
|
|
|
PROS
+ Gives employees current skills, gaining companies a
competitive advantage
+ Training programs attract and retain employees
+ E-learning tools eliminate travel
+ Students have access to others around the world taking
the same course
CONS
- May create bandwidth issues
- Some courses, such as team building, not suited for
online training
- CD-ROM-based training is inflexible
|
|
|
|
