Implementing E-learning in Organizations

IMPLEMENTING E-LEARNING IN ORGANIZATIONS
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Implementing E-learning in Organizations
Organizations are constantly searching for ways of gaining and maintaining a competitive advantage by adopting more efficient and effective means. One way of being more competitive is by focusing on intellectual capital. In the current business environment, organizations are more aware of the value of qualification, competence, health level, and skills to apply knowledge as basic elements, which form new economic relations of innovative production (Osadchy, and Akhmetshin 2015, p. 1013). Understanding the importance of intellectual knowledge is key in reaching certain company goals. Employees are required to process large amounts of data in very little time, mainly because new knowledge is being developed constantly. Since knowledge workers today are not traditionally concerned with in space and time, employees are more concerned with completing the job regardless of the method used. Such changes demand contemporary training methods as well. Human Resources value the act of training their employees when at work since it enables the company to foster the skills that it needs the most to boost productivity. E-learning involves studying that incorporates information technology (Jokic, Pardanjac, Eleven and Durin 2011, p. 1). This means offering educational content through various forms of electronic media such as videotapes, intranet, internet, and interactive television (Pandey 2012, p. 12).
Although e-learning is important, organizations should learn to implement the program properly. Since the manager is planning to replace team leader skills training, classroom-based training, and new product knowledge with e-learning, there are certain approaches and factors to be considered. The company can either apply approaches such as PC-based training which is delivered through a stand-alone software or using modern approaches like web-based systems and Learning and Content Management Systems that make it possible for the manager to avail training and development activities on the employee’s desktop through the use of internet-based platforms. The company should also be able to categorize their e-learning program as either synchronously or asynchronously depending on whether the manager would want their employees to follow an instructor or learn at their own pace. The company should consider the environment in which they will deliver their program as well. These approaches are dependent on the company’s environment. Nonetheless, it is most important for the company to consider the underlying pedagogy carefully. In the context of this, the discussion seeks to explain how the manager can implement the e-learning strategy successfully and the principles to consider in tackling any pedagogical issues in the system.
Choosing and Appropriate Learning System
For the manager to successfully implement an e-learning system, the company would need to select an appropriate e-learning system. The main contemporary approach includes the Learning and Content Management Systems (LCMS). The LCMS involves a multi-user environment, which allows developers to create, reuse, store, and manage digital learning content from a central location (Jurubescu 2008, pp. 92-93). The system will be useful in keeping records of various activities and present a catalog of online training opportunities for the employees as well as allow for participation in the activities at their convenience. The manager can choose a synchronous or asynchronous mode of delivery. The synchronous program allows employees to follow a schedule developed by an instructor and the employee can interact with the instructor during the training course (Zornada, p. 63). The asynchronous program is self-paced and allows for the employee to progress at their own pace and independently. The synchronous program, however, is more effective since it blends with the more traditional classroom-based method (Zornada, p. 63). Individuals who take part in synchronous programs, also known as blended learning, are more likely to perform well in real-world environments (Thompson 2003). The manager would, therefore, need to consider a blended e-learning system.
Effective Principles of Ensuring the Success of E-Learning
Besides the approach and mode of delivery chosen by the manager, the success of the program is extremely reliant on the pedagogy and psychological aspects of e-learning principles. To effectively use LCMS online, the company would need to consider pedagogical principles. Developers face problems in developing tools for making the system more effective and efficient. Pedagogy principles are necessary for the successful application of e-learning (Simuth and Sarmany-Schuller 2010, p. 4454). E-learning has shown to be less effective in cases where there is a lack of communication between the learner and the instructor when there are limited materials and activities for studying, and when there are barriers in communication (Simuth and Sarmany-Schuller 2010, p. 4455). Based on this study, it would be important for an e-learning program to be based on a strong pedagogical foundation. This can involve incorporating pedagogical attributes across five parameters as explained by Govindasamy (2002, p. 289). They include developing content, storing and managing, packaging content, employee support, and assessment.
Developing Content
The application of e-learning in the company would require the manager to transform the organization and reconstitute roles. Once the program is initiated, the company trainers seize to be mere instructors and transform into content experts, graphic artists, programmers, and media producers (Govindasamy 2002, p. 292). The instructors would need to undergo training to be equipped with knowledge on how to develop e-learning content. The instructors can form teams and be tasked with specific content to develop. The e-learning content should be managed in small portions referred to as learning objectives. Learning objectives are reusable, small sized instructional components that are designed to be shared across the internet (Alonos, Couchet, Manrique, and Soriano 2006, p. 1). Their small size allows the instructions to be easily shared and stored.
Managing and Storing Content
Once the learning objectives have been built, the next step would be to assign the predetermined shelf life of the objective’s classification category. The manager should ensure that a system is employed to take care of publishing workflow of content (Govindasamy 2002, p. 294). An additional feature can alert the instructor that the training program has reached its shelf life. Alternatively, the program can be transferred to the instructor of the committee for a review and re-posted. By doing so, the e-learning system will have updated training programs. The system will also ensure that it has ample space for new training programs by deleting the old programs after some time.
Packaging Content
The employees and instructors should also be able to offer and access information in the form of plain learning objectives. Trainers can offer training sessions and employees can sign up for the programs for a certain period. Such kind of training can happen when the employee is seeking to make a career advancement. The programs can combine some learning objectives, which means that they need to have intrinsic features to allow for integration.
Employee Support
The system for learner support differentiates itself from that of the classroom-based method. In the traditional system, the trainee received support only when they asked for it. This allowed the employee to air their views and get instant feedback. However, in the e-learning system that the manager plans to introduce, the employees would be interacting with instructional systems that are programmed. This means that the system would have to foresee future types of issues that the employees might face to be able to incorporate features for supporting the program’s performance. The support system should also be responsive to the needs of the individuals being trained. Moreover, the support system should be monitored continuously to ensure that the organization constantly improves the system through innovations (Chattopadhyay, p. 1). Continuous improvements will enable the company to effectively carry out their e-learning activities while satisfying the needs of employees.
Assessment
Assessment is useful in reinforcing the learning approach adopted by the employee. Assessment can either be summative or formative. Summative is about making an ultimate judgment of the learner about some pre-arranged objective, whereas formative is useful in identifying areas that need to be improved. The assessment is also important when incorporated into the human resource database. According to Zornada (p. 62), the e-learning system supports the processing of quality by ensuring that employees are given tasks based on their level of skills. The means by which the company can identify the level of skills that employees have after training is through the assessments. Hence, the assessment is important in ensuring that the e-learning system is effective in supporting the company’s productivity.
Incorporating the Principles of E-learning
Aside from incorporating the five pedagogical...