Opening the door to e-learning Pt 3

e-Learning in the workplace.

It was not long ago that people who used a computer at work did not have a computer at home. Today one would think that most people that use a computer at work have one at home, but there are still a lot of people that use a computer at work but do not have one at home. Also there are a lot of people use a computer at work and have one at home, but they do not use it much: primarily this computer is for the kids.

Many people are exposed to e-learning for the first time at work. Most of this training is formal training and is conducted by an instructor using e-learning tools for training enhancements. But there is a growing trend of modular-based programs which is designed for an employee to use at their work station. If they do not have a permanent workstation there is usually a training room that has computer stations for training.

In one organization I worked at, I went through an ethics training program that consisted of 14 modules. These modules were on a number of DVD. Each DVD had one to four modules, depending on the length of the modules. The length of the modules was from 20 to 90 min. At the end of the modules was an assessment test.

I have also been in training sessions that were conducted over the organization’s intranet. This consisted of three groups in three different cities. This type of setup is becoming more common in corporations but there are some limitations. One specific limitation is the time factor. Many organizations are global and not only have business units in other cities but also other countries. Coordinating through the different time zone can be challenging.

While much of the e-learning that goes on in organizations is through formal training, many organizations are encouraging informal training by supplying opportunities for employees to utilize the training if they desire to do so. Usually the organization allows the employee a certain amount of time on the job towards e-learning. This type of e-learning is almost always informal and independent. Training on different software the company uses is a good example of this. Most employees may have rudimentary understanding of how to uses these programs but often they can learn more efficient ways (the tricks) of using these programs.