E-learning 16 years on

Articles, Improving Performance

A quick look at the changes of e-learning since it began and what will it be like in the near future.


PAST
While I was exploring “e-learning” as my next article topic, I was going through my previous write-ups on the topic of e-learning and Learning Management System (LMS). One in particular caught my eye. It was a business case that I had put up to a management team at a manufacturing MNC that I was working for. It was in 2002. I had provided them with the list of business, training and learner benefits of having a LMS / LCMS (Learning Content Management System) and e-learning, as well as the recommended stages of implementation and its implications. Although e-learning is relatively new then (the word “e-learning” was coined in 1998), the benefits and advantages of this learning platform still rings true now.

In fact, the information to be gathered, the analysis, the implications and the stages of implementation that I have specified then are still very valid now in 2014! The only major difference is that we have so much more choices now and the quality of technology (including the overlapping features of LMS/LCMS and TMS (Talent Management System)) and e-learning have improved tremendously (even though, I must admit there is still room for big improvements in the e-learning courses). In addition, like with all changes, there is higher acceptance of e-learning and the different types of technology in this area.

PRESENT
We have more choices in LMS and LCMS and of course now, we can also select to have a SLMS (Social Learning Management System) instead. We can choose enterprise technology or move towards the trending cloud technology. There are more e-learning as well as m-learning courses, providers and authoring tools. These will continue to grow and improve as investment in e-learning continues.

According to Bersin & Associates, the LMS market alone is reaching $2 billion worldwide and based on a new research from Elearning! Magazine Group, investment in e-learning had increased to $4.9 million annually, up 9 percent over 2013. It also found that e-learning, virtual training, and blended learning will continue to grow in adoption. The top priorities have shifted to engagement and collaboration-oriented solutions like mobile learning (35 percent); video solutions (31 percent), gamification (23 percent), and virtual classroom (27 percent).

I continued to do a little more research and had posted this question into a few discussion groups here in LinkedIn. And many thanks to Patrick Appleyard, Sifiso Nhlanhla Myeni, Jenni Reid, Gloria Moletsi, Andy Warren and John Ohrenberger, these are what they’ve said:

Question: What do you like / dislike about your LMS or SLMS if you have one?

Responses:
Key features of an LMS / what’s important:

  • Great flexibility and offers the option for true eLearning and Blended Learning; i.e. offer more than just hosting eLearning content
  • Ability to use HTML script to fully design and embed multiple file/media types to courses
  • Ability to choose between uploading the different Rapid Authoring software via HTML scripting or using the built in WYSIWYG for customising
  • User friendly / ease of use for learners, leaders and administrators / Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication
  • Easy to use reporting functions and flexible reporting ability (including at-a-glance dashboards)
  • Cost effective and efficient
  • Love the in-built email system / notification for learners and staff
  • Enabling automation to remove manual work (e.g. managing scheduling/notifications etc. of classroom sessions), especially for managing compliance/legislative/regulatory learning requirements
  • SCORM compliance
  • Ability to provide input into future system enhancements

Key features of a SLMS / what’s important:

  • Ability to share and connect with other learners in organization around learning achievements
  • Access to online provider courses e.g. Lynda, Treehouse, Coursera, Udemy, etc.
  • Gamification features like points, badges/trophies, points leaderboards, etc.
  • Ability to promote courses or customized learning curriculum to other learners
  • Connecting with SMEs to foster mentor/mentee relationships
  • Ability to create groups around similar interests, work groups, titles or projects and foster discussion forums
  • Increased management tracking to learn who the best learners are in ‘X’ discipline
  • Focused user reviews of courses to better understand what is working and what is not
  • Ability to create or enhance skill breakdowns among employee population to assist with HRIS or Performance Management System efforts

Features that you wish to change / improve:

  • Reporting functions that enable managers to access more information on a self-service. Current systems are either limited or does resolve this to a level
  • Overview dashboard and statistics for managers
  • E-learning courses are not eye catching nor are they something that will draw your attention to want to read
  • A very expensive product from an international HR system provider which did not meet the requirements as compared to a local smaller provider

Concerns:
Cost is an important factor, but in essence a quality LMS does not have to cost the earth!!
Extremely difficult to find one that gave our group of companies exactly what we needed

Big Plus:
Many great features and most valuable of all the features being the support from the company and their willingness to look at our development needs and have made several changes to the platform to accommodate us.

FUTURE
So what will it be like for e-learning in the coming years?
With advances in communications, knowledge management, media and simulation technologies, these will continue to enable powerful tools for training and performance support and impact how we will learn. There will be new levels of flexibility regarding the location, timing and form of learning activities. Gamification will improve e-learning and m-learning will grow further and be used more for performance support. Traditional classroom-based training will increasingly be replaced with blended and social learning as well as technology-enabled approaches that support learning at the point of need, either while learners are performing their jobs, or in the context of technology-based simulations. There will also be better analytics and metrics to align learning goals to business goals.

So what’s next?
Based on the responses given to my question, it is clear that there are a few application features available now that were not available then in 2002. But the basics are still required, like flexibility of the application; ease of use for all parties involved; good reporting and measurements features; cost effectiveness and the growing need for the application to have the ability for customised changes / enhancements.

The choices and quality of LMS, LCMS, TMS, SLMS, e-learning, etc. will continue to grow and improve. There may even be features in the future that you may not even think that you need now. You can get as many opinions and reviews as you like on what’s good out there but at the end of the day, you need to be clear on what you want now as well as what you want the system and applications to do in the future that is aligned to your organisation’s business goals and your employees’ learning needs.

At the end of the day, embrace these cutting edge technology.

Article republished from LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140901062645-5398941-e-learning-16-years-on

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