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eLearning, Pro and Con

 

 

The Future of eLearning, 2004, Emerald.

Corporate CEOs are finally telling the truth when they say

“People are our most important assets”. Intellectual capital has

become the primary factor of production. To raise their

“corporate IQ”, managers treat workers as if they were

customers of learning. This article explores why people learn

much more about their jobs in the coffee room than in the

classroom. It hypothesizes that equipping people intellectually to

prosper will become a corporate discipline every bit as important

as marketing or finance. Web services will mark the advent of

workflow learning in real-time organizations.

 

An Informal History of eLearing, 2004, Emerald.

eLearning: snake oil or salvation? Changes in the world are

forcing corporations to rethink how people adapt to their

environment. How do people learn? Why? What’s eLearning?

Does it work? This paper addresses these questions and recounts

the history and pitfalls of computer-based training and

first-generation eLearning. It traces the roots of CBT Systems,

SmartForce, Internet Time Group, and the University of Phoenix.

It takes a person to five years of TechLearn, the premier

eLearning conference, from dot-com euphoria to today’s realtime

realities. The subject-matter here is corporate learning, in

particular mastering technical and social skills, and product

knowledge. The focus is on learning what is required to meet the

promise made to the customer. While there are parallels to

collegiate education, the author lacks the experience to draw

them.

 

Enterprise Learning, Friday the 13th, 2003

"Best of breed" vendors must differentiate themselves as innovators and rapid responders to changing customer needs in order to survive. Blah, blah, blah. Five years ago we were mouthing the same words as today.

 

The DNA of eLearning, by Ian Hamilton and Jay Cross, 2002.

Corporate eLearning is a powerful technology, but it has strayed from its

inspired beginnings. Poised to become a driver of business performance,

eLearning lost its way as vendors reached for quick economic gains at the

expense of long-term strategic position. eLearning devolved into quick-to-sell IT-only content libraries, bland Web

course designs, and unfocused, minimally tailored portal solutions.

 

Learning Content Management Systems (and LMS), 2001.

 

Frontline: eLearning Forum, Learning Circuits (2001). "Cliff Stoll caught everyone's attention by loudly proclaiming, "E-learning is a fraud!' Unquestionably, Stoll took control of the floor. He asked the group, 'If you were hiring a plumber, which would you choose: one with an online degree in plumbing or one who learned firsthand?' Muttering that simulations were a great way to avoid the person sitting next to you, Stoll said that the designers of flight simulators spent more time making the clouds look right than getting to what the pilots really need...."

 

The very first white paper on eLearning ever written: Learn Fast, Go Fast. (for SmartForce, 1999). "eBusiness needs an eBusiness approach to learning itself, something we call eLearning. eLearning is to traditional training as eBusiness is to the five-and-dime. eLearning puts the learner in the center of the equation instead of the trainer."

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