Elearning for Business: solution or problem

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E-learning for Businesssolution or problem?

• Dianne Phillips

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MITERManchester Institute of Telematics and
Employment Research

• Digital Industries
• EU Funded projects
• ERDF DM-U and DM Watch
• Leonardo Sfumato, Community Knowledge
  Management
• Research and evaluation services

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Business Enterprises in the UK

• 4.0 million
• 99.2 SMEs ( lt249 employees)
• 58.2 employment

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Lifelong learning

• Knowledge economy
• Globalisation
• ICT

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E-learning as enabler

• Reduction in costs
• Improved ROI
• Increased flexibility to update and change
• Available to entire organisation
• Consistent delivery
• Monitoring and evaluation capability
• Global reach
• .

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E-learning for business

• "Our members constantly tell us that in UK
  industry as a whole uptake of e-learning is at a
  low level compared to traditional delivery
  methods such as classroom-based, coaching,
  mentoring, and job-based work. This is despite
  the drive towards e-learning from government and
  from technology and e-learning suppliers. Many
  organisations, especially SMEs, have not embraced
  e-learning and may never embrace it, and there is
  some considerable scepticism".
• David Wolfson, BLA, Nov 2004

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• ASPIRE
• (Alliance for Skills Productivity Intelligence
  Research Engine)
• SME use of online learning 23

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Types of online training
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Use of online training by size
Source ASPIRE,2004
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Issues in E-learning in SMEs

• Missing learning/training culture

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Frequency of formal staff training in last 12
months
FSB membership survey,2004B
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Barriers to formal training
FSB membership survey,2004B
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SMEs

• Training does not happen
• no point
• dont believe in it
• dont need it
• no one is interested
• too busy
• Costs
• too expensive
• no benefit
• what do we get in return?
• who will pay?
• no training budget

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SMEs

• Time
• no time available for training
• too busy
• cant give time off
• no staff available to provide cover
• no time to organise any training
• well think about it

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Main issues

• Costs
• Time

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Issues in E-learning in SMEs

• Missing learning/training culture
• Learning paradigms

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Two paradigms

• Formal course
• Target Group
• General topics
• Broad overview
• Lengthy,timetabled.
• Aims,learning objectives and assessment

• Informal
• Tailored to individual
• Particular topic
• Specifics in easy to reference chunks
• Short, just in time
• Immediate job related needs and performance

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Good points about the course

• You can dip in and out whenever you like
• Just in time, just enough and just for me
• I used the parts of it that were appropriate but
  couldnt justify spending time on some parts
• Evaluation report for Broadband project, DM Watch
  April 2004

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Bad points about the course

• Wider than what is needed for a niche or start
  up business
• The principles were relevant but not the
  examples
• Too text bookish

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How do you address skills shortfalls?
Manchester Digital Survey,2004
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Preference for method of delivery
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Issues in E-learning in SMEs

• Missing learning/training culture
• Learning paradigms
• Learning materials

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Lack of learning materials

• Standard software packages and networking
  technologies
• Materials for managers
• Language learning

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Learning needs of employees in SMEs are often
very specific

• if I wanted to learn how to use a particular
  piece of software, then I might do the initial
  work by doing some online training but then if I
  wanted to develop more specialist skills, Id
  probably talk to someone about one-to-one
  coachingso they can help me solve a problem in a
  very specific way.
• Training I need is to get skilled people even
  more highly skilled
• Advanced stuff which is what we need here is
  very hard to find

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E-learning resources?

• The learning materials of the future SMEs may be
  ..the products of employees documented and
  shared enquiry into their own practice.
• G.Attwell,2002.

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Issues in E-learning in SMEs

• Missing learning/training culture
• Learning paradigms
• Learning materials
• Learning infrastructure

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Learning infrastructure

• Assessment of training needs
• Development of training strategies
• Evaluation of learning materials
• Mentoring

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• The problem is not with the technology or the
  delivery of e-learning but with the learning
  culture in organisations and in particular the
  management who have been educated and trained in
  the pre-electronic age
• ETB CPD survey
  2004

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What is your training strategy?

• We shout and they learn

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Options

• Object based e-learning
• Recognise demand for guide to accessible,
  relevant reference material.
• Promote SME development/ownership
• Work with employer bodies/networks

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Object based e-learning

• Repurposing
• Customised learning
• Performance support
• Distributed authoring

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Resources

• The challenge of e-learning in small
  enterprises Graham Attwell,2003 Cedefop
  Panorama Series 82
• http//elearningeuropa.info
• http//e-learningcentre.co.uk
• http//www.etcechb.co.uk
• http//www.dmwatch.co.uk
• http//www.dm-u.co.uk