tarynshae

We determined our focus to be the existence of learning centres in an organisational context. Our cast studies can be viewed at http://elexp.wikispaces.com/genY

We decided to focus on the following questions:

• What is a ‘Learning Centre’?
• Key Benefits of Learning Centres
• Why establish a Learning Centre?
• The Success Factors of Learning Centres
• Case Studies
• The Future of Learning Centres

While our focus was on organisation learning centres and I found a good case study that related to a specific organisational learning centre and the British company SunLife, I also found an excellent community based Learning Centre toward the end of my research. After reading through this case study, I decided to also review it and put it on the Wiki, as while its fundamental reason for establishing the Learning Centre was similar to that of the Learning Centre established at SunLife, I thought it was a veyr interesting concept and a good piece to through into the mix!

After Sophie, Rachel and I formed our group, we tossed around a few ideas and areas of interest to focus on. Firstly, we considered exploring the concept of mLearning. This was a new concept introduced to us during the second block and I can definitely say it was a term I had never heard of, even though I was familiar with the concept of mobile learning and mobile technology. We then talked about the concept of learning centres. This was a topic we all agreed on and decided to pursue. I was interested in the idea of learning centres as it was a concept I had heard of before but had not been entirely sure of their existence and success. So it was decided, learning centres in organisations and the community was our topic!

How do you select appropriate information sources – where do you start?

I started my research by searching in Google. I did this to get a broad idea of the concept and see what sort of information was out there before I started to search for my case studies.

After getting a very brief and not really a very comprehensive background on learning centres, I began my search of case studies. Websites I visited included Learning Circuits, the Australian Flexible Learning Framework, Adbobe, IBM and the Australian Training Magazine. I also then searched on the UTS databases.

What key words helped you narrow your search?

I used words such as ‘learning centres’, ‘learning environments’, ‘organisational learning centres’, ‘corporate learning centres’ and ‘community learning centres’.

What UTS Library databases or journals might be useful?

I searched in both Education and Business databases including EBSCO and ERIC.

How do you distinguish points of view from facts?

After determining the credibility of an article, either by viewing its origin (e.g. a recognised educational institution, a government body, or a peer reviewed piece) I then read through the article or case study and look out for any ‘facts’ or references. If the piece has a link to a reference, I might go and check that out too. If the article does contain facts I may research those further to gain a better idea of the concept and to further determine its accuracy and credibility.

Are your resources reliable, credible and authentic?

The case study I selected was a recognised and long established community initiative. I had also found reference to it in other web sites. Due to this, I was comfortable in the knowledge that it was reliable, credible and authentic.

Are your resources bias in any way?

As the topic of my case study, the Queensland Open Learning Network, is a government initiative, I do not believe it is bias. The case study presents many facts and information about the Network, it does not go in to great detail on feedback of the program or personal recounts and experiences with it. After finding some case studies from the IBM and Adobe websites that were based on their products and were very bias, I believe my case study was not at all biased.

What questions should we be concerned with when analysing eLearning in an organisation context?

• Can the organisation justify the cost?
• Will the technology infrastructure be adequate to support the new initiative or must a new infrastruce be developed?
• What support networks will be created?
• Are all staff, learners and trainers alike, ready for and able to handle this new initiative?
• How will all content and data be checked and verified prior to implementation?
• What measures will be used to determine outcomes and effectives? How will feedback be integrated?

What decisions do you expect organisations to address before they implement an eLearning program?

In the second block class we discussed some factors associated with the implementation of eLearning programs. Some of them included:

• Cost
• Technology infrastructure
• Learner and trainer readiness
• Support staff
• Venues or learning centres
• Buying or building courses
• Measuring outcomes and effectivess

Support

I believe one of the critical factors organisations must address prior to the implementation of an eLearning program is support. What level of support will they provide prior to and after the implementation of such a system? Will a support network be created? Will ‘topic champions’ exist within the business or within the organisations? When eLearning initiatives are introduced on a large scale, support is absolutely critical. Support networks can field queries and problems prior to and post implementation, and can out-source or redirect queries to appropriate people. Creating a support network that is communicated to employees will remind them that they are not alone and they do have people they can turn to for support. As is the nature of eLearning, technology issues and problems are sometimes unavoidable. The introduction of a new eLearning initiative may also be daunting for employees. It is for such reasons that support is a critical factor that must be addressed by organisations when thinking about eLearning programs.

Maintaing records

There is no use introducing a new eLearning program if training records cannot be tracked or saved. Tying into to concept of support, a system such as a LMS should be addressed prior to the creation of an eLearning program, a system that can support training records and accurately reflect what training each person has undertaken. Within many large organisations today online training is compulosory. It is for such reasons that it is necessary that any education or training courses be accurately tracked and available to all employees.

Technology infrastructure

Before introducing a new eLearning program, an adequate level of technological infrastructure must exist to support it. As a new eLearning initiative is a big enough change for most, the introduction of a new technology infrastructure just to support it may result in an unsuccessful and erroneous attempt at introducing too much information at once. The technology that will support an eLearning system must already be established, tried and tested so that its ability to support the new program is never in doubt.

Content

The content of all eLearning programs must be correct. While the implementation of new systems can be difficult, it is absolutely imperitve that all data and information that is going to be made available by the eLearning program be checked and any problems or mistakes be reported prior to implementation. There is nothing worse than a new system being launched that is riddled with erros and mistakes, and often once an eLearning program has been introduced it is very difficult to go back and change content. When being made available on a large scale it is critical that all data and information stored in an eLearning program be correct.

While many other issues must be addressed prior to implementation of an eLearning program, the above few are very important and critical to ongoing success within an organisation.

What is the current status of eLearning?

The status of eLearning is continuing to increase in organisations. With more tools and technologies becoming available that reduce the cost of implementing and maintaining eLearning initiatives, the uptake of eLearning is becoming increasingly more rapid. Organisations are beginning to see the success and benefit from eLearning so are finding new and more effective ways to implement eLearning tools. The many benefits of eLearning in organisations, such as flexibility, the engaging nature of eLearning and the rapid and large spread of information it offers, is becoming more attractive to organisations in their attempt to train, upskill, educated and essentially retain employees.

Relate the general findings and comments to your industry

I work within a global financial services organisation who has been using eLearning tools as a form of training and education for a while now. Recently however, more and more training is now available on-line, and with a large number of staff constantly at client sites, this increased flexibility has allowed for the spread of mesages and information to reach them offsite while also allowing them to undertake training modules while offsite. The fact that the spread of eLearning is increasing is evidenced by a number of things within my organisation, such as the use of ‘learning centres’, an area designated for a group of people to ‘log-on’ and complete training programs and courses together in an environment that fosters interaction and collaboration. The introduction of a new LMS system also highlights the increased use of eLearning. The new LMS system gives users complete ownership of their learning, allowing them to search, book and even complete courses online, pre-book and waitlist themselves on upcoming courses and view and manage their training history. eLearning is contstantly evolving and the dynamic nature of eLearning can be seen in many organisations.

During the second block class we brainstormed and explored both the advantages and disadvantages associated with eLearning.

I personally believe that the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages, and this was reflected in the amount of points we had under the advantages heading compared with the disadvantages.

 Here are some of the things we came up with:

Advantages

• engaging
• rich media resources
• diversity of access – anywhere anytime
• flexibility
• information spread – ability to transfer large amounts of information quickly and easily
• consistency in information and messages being transmitted
• emergence of a learning community
• can be tailorable to suit learner – self-paced/directed, on-demand availability

Disadvantages

• motivation
• isolation
• possibility of inappropriate content / negative learning experiences
• technology issues
• decreased social interaction

A simple easy-to-read article that reflected many of the ideas and concepts we discussed in class is good as it discusses not only advantages and disadvantages associated with learners but also with organisations – http://www.e-learningguru.com/articles/art1_3.htm

So while some of the disadvantages of eLearning are completely valid and are relevant in a range of situations, the fact that the spread of eLearning is increasing and it more and more individuals and organisations are adopting eLearning technologies is evident that the advantages and benefits outweigh the drawbacks and limitations.