This style blends the characteristics of the other two styles. A group of students meet with an instructor over the Internet and can communicate. But they are not necessarily online at the same time. Students act alone to study the student materials and interact with the instructor and with other students by leaving messages that [...]

“Self-directed learning” asks a student to act alone while working through a step-by-step arrangement of student materials. This is the “teach yourself” type of training. There is no instructor or group of peer students to communicate with. Tell Me More Let’s look at a typical scenario for self-directed learning. We’ll say you want to learn [...]

With synchronous learning, all the students and the instructor are “there” at the same time. This is much like the traditional classroom experience, except the “there” is online instead of being physically together. Tell Me More The word synchronous means “all at the same time” and refers to the gathering of all the students at [...]

There are three basic styles for e-learning that depend on how the learning event is scheduled and how inter- action with other people occurs. The three basic e-learning styles are: Synchronous learning Self-directed learning Asynchronous (collaborative) learning Tell Me More The style of an e-learning experience is “how it feels” to the student. Do you [...]

James Sharpe is Director of E-Learning Technology in IBM’s Learning Services group. He is currently responsible for leading IBM’s Worldwide E-Learning Technology Strategies and Worldwide E-Learning Technologies Competencies. Mr. Sharpe joined IBM in January 1991 as a services consultant. Question: What do you see as the impact of e-learning on companies and enterprises? James Sharpe: [...]

Andrew Sadler is Director, IBM Mindspan Solutions, and is responsible for IBM’s e-learning business. His stated vision and passion is “To change the way that the world learns.” He has worked in the learning field for twenty-four years, and in adult education for twenty-one of those. Prior to joining IBM Mindspan Solutions, Andrew was vice [...]

Steve Rae, Worldwide Executive for IBM’s Mindspan Services, specializes in applying proven business models to the world of e- learning, a perspective that helps clients implement successful distributed learning and knowledge management solutions. Steve has responsibility for a worldwide team of e-learning specialists and content-development resources deployed worldwide in over forty locations in twenty-three countries [...]

Janis Morariu, Ph.D., is the Principal for Learning Strategy and Design at IBM Learning Services. Janis has over twenty years of experience in maximizing individual and organizational performance through training and performance support strategies and solutions for a wide variety of audiences and industries, ranging from healthcare professionals to international bankers, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, [...]

Elliott Masie is an internationally recognized speaker, futurist, humorist, author, and consultant on the critical topics of technology, business, learning and workplace productivity. Elliott is the editor of TechLearn Trends, an internet newsletter read by over 41,000 business executives worldwide, and the editor of Learning Decisions, a subscription newsletter. He heads The MASIE Center (www.masie.com), [...]

If your e-learning will have a global reach, you need to think long and hard about: Language Time zones Cultural differences (learning styles, humor) Tell Me More If your company is a global business, then you already know that communication within a global company is significantly different from communication within a company that operates within [...]

Teaching an e-learning course is, in fact, harder than teaching a classroom course. Instructors who have honed their skills toward the classroom experience will need to learn new “how to teach in an e-learning environment” skills. Tell Me More Teaching in an e-learning environment isn’t easier—it’s harder. For example, one challenge for an instructor in [...]

Learning is work, not entertainment. E-learning is even more work than learning in a class- room environment. Many people are accustomed to learning only in the traditional classroom environment and find it hard to learn “on their own.” Tell Me More Except for the fortunate few, learning is work, not fun. This means that, at [...]

E-learning will be a “different experience” for many of your employees. It will feel different. Some people enjoy trying things that feel different. Others don’t. You will have to deal with e-learning challenges such as unfamiliarity, lack of self-motivation, lack of time, and the perception that it’s contrary to company culture. Tell Me More Perhaps [...]

No. Use what you have in the short term. You can blend together classroom and e-learning in the medium term, and move exclusively to an e-learning approach in the long term. Tell Me More Classroom learning does not conflict with e-learning. They are really complementary approaches. One is not a bad approach with the other [...]

Using leading-edge technology is important but not critical. The bottom line is the soundness of the instructional design. Students can learn from a simple presentation if it’s instructionally sound. Students don’t learn from a jazzy-looking multimedia experience if it’s NOT instructionally sound. Tell Me More Using leading-edge technology is important but not critical. Sometimes it’s [...]

Employees take their cues from management. Managers will need to keep realistic expectations, pro- vide leadership, provide support, and manage the change that e-learning will bring to your company. Tell Me More Your company’s management needs to give e-learning what it gives everything else: leadership and support. The success of e- learning in your company [...]

If you have any experience at all with implementing and rolling out new things in a company, you know that there are always barriers and that it’s best to know about them up front. Barriers to e-learning range from people’s natural resistance to any kind of change, to new technology, to budget constraints. Tell Me [...]

An e-learning success has to be in business terms, not in training terms. The entire reason you’re involved with training is for business improvement. Tell Me More Some people think an e-learning success is lots of people attending the class. Others think that a success is getting students to learn a lot of stuff. In [...]

Costs for an e-learning solution provider will vary depending on the complexity of your problem and the quality you demand in the final solution. It also depends on when you’re reading this book since costs of almost everything dealing with computers tend to fall over time. This is not much different than asking what it [...]

There are several e-learning elements that you can decide to make or buy: Courseware Instructors Learning management system (LMS) Hosting Tell Me More As in many other areas of your business, one of the big decisions you make about e-learning will be whether to build your own (make) or get it from someone else (buy). [...]

An ROI is a analysis tool. You use it as input for your business decisions. Think of an ROI as a speedometer on your car—it doesn’t control how you drive but gives you one measurement that will influence how you drive. Tell Me More It’s reassuring to look at the numbers and pick the answer [...]

You can’t avoid risk, but doing a return on investment (ROI) analysis lets you quantify the risk. There are two types of ROI analysis you can do for e-learning: Cost analysis: how it saves money (if you already have existing training you’re running). Value analysis: how it improves value (lets you do things you couldn’t [...]

The biggest thing influencing your e-learning costs is the size and complexity of your training problem. There are only a handful of factors that make up the remaining dimensions you need to think about. Tell Me More Perhaps the biggest thing influencing your e-learning costs is the size of your problem. Think of it this [...]

The cost components for e-learning include the course-ware, the course delivery expenses (including instructors), marketing/promotional communications with the students, and administration and support expenses. Tell Me More You can make better business decisions about e-learning if you have a good grasp of what the cost components really are. (In the same way, knowing that the [...]

The costs for e-learning can vary widely, just as the costs of buying a car vary widely. You could spend hundreds, or you could spend multi-millions. Tell Me More One of the first questions I hear when I talk about e-learning to business managers is “What does e-learning really cost?” And the answer is always [...]

You are the HR manager for Consolidated Call Centers, Inc., and your company outsources call centers for other businesses around the world. You have 5,000 call-center employees in seventy-five different locations. You need to train the call-center employees on a number of legal compliance issues such as sexual harassment, bribery, corruption, privacy, and diversity. You [...]

You are the head of research for ChemCALResearch Associates, a chemical research firm with about 1,500 chemists and chemical engineers at five research locations in three time zones. Your training goal is to communicate leading-edge research among all your chemists. This is beyond the communications that happen in formal scientific publications. You’re aiming for something [...]

You are the HR manager for CrescendoForte, Inc., a management consulting firm with 4,000 consultants working at consulting engagements with clients at geographic locations all around the world. You have been negotiating with several healthcare providers over the past six months to improve the health- care benefits for CrescendoForte’s employees. Negotiations have been successful, and [...]

You are the HR manager of We-Do-Lots-of-Important-Stuff, Inc., and your company hires about 700 new employees each year— about half directly from college and about half as professional hires with related job experience. Most of these employees will be mobile workers, and you will seldom see them in a company office. Each employee needs to [...]

You are the sales manager of Really Kool Hardware Products, and you hire at least fifty to sixty salespersons each year who need training in the basics of “how to sell.” This is not just training in “how to sell your company’s products” but training in basic sales techniques. These new employees are generally college [...]

You are the CEO of Worldwide E-Consultants, a services company specializing in all manner of IT computer services and consulting. You have 3,000 employees at seven different locations in six time zones. Many of your employees, although not your key employees, were recruited primarily for their technical skills with the hopes that their professional skills [...]