When we talk about e-Learning, we mean "Effective Learning": A sucessfull e-learning program is actually a re-engineering program where the learning process is reviewed and optimized, by leveraging the opportunities that internet technologies bring to the process. The tools must not be confused with the solution: Web technologies are just a portion of the equation.
A successfull e-learning program starts by dianosing the current needs for the organization in terms learning, skills development, as an enabler for achieving the organization's goals. We need to evaluate how are we enabling those processes and how we could do better by leveraging from internet and related technologies.
Normally this comprises a re-engineering effort, with a blend of web-based and on-site learning offering.
An effective learning program provides key benefits for the business:
- Lowers the barriers to learning. Now everyone in the organization can take an initial class by connecting to a Virtual Campus portal. Learning is available 7x 24x365.
- Employees and other stakeholders can now improve their abilities at their own pace and enrich their skills by complementing them, providing them awareness and new opportunities for growing in their careers.
- The organization has better feedback of which employees are proactive and willing to go further, and synergize with those attitudes.
- Thanks to its electronic nature, powerful feedback could be collected from each class and attendant, allowing measures such as attendance, churn, demographics, etc.
The key concept is to optimize the Total Cost of Learning (TCL) while improving the speed and reach of access to knowledge.
Social Networks and Communities of Practice
With the prevalence of Web 2.0, now e-Learning could be taken to the next level, by combining it with the Social Networking paradigms, to enable Communities of Practice. These are professinal communities, in-company or cross-company, where professionals across different areas share their expertise about certain their specialty, propose solutions to new problems and think, right from their jobs, how they could do better at their specific activities.
By implementing special software that provides a Social Networking interaction model, we could facilite and promote de interaction and knowledge sharing.
