The Bottom Line
by Donald Clark
Will e-learning replace classroom learning? A learner who decided to experience both types of learning (Training choices and e-learning) reported, "Despite all the technological advances, the computer will never replicate the contextual learning that accompanies classroom learning. But then again, on campus you cannot access the global-networking opportunities that can be accessed in an e-learning context."
E-learning does work, as shown in Computerworld's article, E-learning course helps truck dispatchers boost skills. It reports how dispatchers learn communication and listening skills, as well as multitasking skills.
Will it replace c-learning? No. But it is an effective medium for the delivery of training. So, yes it will remain as a viable option. Probably the prime reason for using e-learning is cost savings (The E-Learning Factor) and dispersing information over a large geographical area.
Again, it is no silver bullet. You can make just as many mistakes developing e-learning programs as you can with conventional programs (Students' Distress with a Web-based Distance Education Course: An Ethnographic Study of Participants' Experiences).
Survival Through Learning
Jack Welch, CEO of GE, said, "An organization's ability to learn and translate that learning into action is the ultimate competitive advantage." He is not alone in his beliefs. Jim Botkin and Stan Davis, authors of The Monster Under the Bed, wrote, "If you are not being educated in your job today, you may be out of a job tomorrow... Employee education is not growing 100 percent faster than academia, but 100 times - or 10,000 percent - faster... Over the next few decades the private sector will eclipse the public sector and become the major institution responsible for learning."
e-Learning does have the power of quickly getting information to learners over a wide geographic area -- of that it is king. And there is no "if" in e-learning, it does work...however, and that is a big "however," it does have limitations. It works best with procedural subjects and minor concepts. But radical paradigm concepts that shift (change), make or break organizations. These concepts are not easily grasped through e-learning; they require the power of human interaction, such as face-to-face Communities of Practice. Indeed, it is often these types of learning groups that are responsible for the paradigm shift in the first place.
Jim Botkin, author of Smart Business: How Knowledge Communities Can Revolutionize Your Company, wrote, "In the knowledge economy (1995-2020), the best strategy is to overinvest in connecting power. Competitive advantage accrues to those who invest more than their competitors to connect to more people and share knowledge faster and farther."
While e-learning does have the power to bring people together in groups that closely relate to Knowledge Communities or Communities of Practice, it still lacks the dynamics of socializing face-to-face. The bottom line -- use the power of Best-of-Breed (also known as blending) learning programs...and stay away from the hype...
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