Is eLearning real training?
August 1st 2007 How widespread is the acceptance of eLearning and is it really training? Training and development director at Praxis42, Mike Stevens takes a look Although eLearning has enjoyed widespread adoption in compliance-based training, within the health and safety industry, it seems there remains some practitioners who insist that true training has to be face to face. At a recent health and safety seminar I was astounded to hear one of the presenters announce that computer based training (CBT) or eLearning isn't training. At the time I thought that this was a rather sweeping statement to make about a training medium that a survey by the CIPD showed over 50% of respondents currently use and a further 39% had plans to use in the coming year. With personal experience in both face to face and eLearning delivery, this statement made me wonder if this perception of eLearning is a common one and whether it does have its merits in health and safety management? Perceptions of eLearning A few years ago the presenter's statement about eLearning would not have seemed as out of place as it is today as back then some of the content, media and delivery methods were rather primitive. In terms of technology even as recently as five years ago many workers, especially older employees, were not as technogically savvy as they are today; few people used computers as part of their job and fewer still had even heard of broadband. People were trained in classrooms and PowerPoint was considered new and exciting. Then, eLearning was the next big thing; everyone was talking about it: few were doing it. Now it is the big thing. Today's workforce consists more and more of people brought up on computers or mobile devices who have used the internet extensively as a knowledge resource. We are increasingly a digital generation, which expects to engage in interactive learning and which can use it to its maximum potential. Yesterday's eLearning courses were perhaps a little bland and one dimensional whereas online training today is a media rich experience that engages, challenges and supports the awareness and learning process. And eLearning content can only get better, of course. As today's digitally adventurous youngsters enter the workforce, tomorrow's computer programmers will be making eLearning programmes that today we can only imagine. The benefits of eLearning The benefits of eLearning are well documented. Cost savings can be significant, even enormous. Tracey Connage, deputy director of HR at Brent Council reported a cost saving of 116,000 when providing health and safety training for 2,500 using eLearning. *(People Management magazine 22nd Feb 2007.) According to Training Magazine, organisations typically save between 50 and 70% when choosing eLearning over instructor led training solutions. Because eLearning can be taken anytime, anywhere, it doesn't interfere with the critical operations of the employee. They can access training wherever they can interface with a desk PC, Laptop, PDA or other mobile device. Learning is available 24 hours a day when and where it's needed. There is good evidence to suggest that learners gaining knowledge online retain more than those subjected to 'death by PowerPoint'. When training is relevant to the job, as in health and safety, there is no such thing as boring content, only boring ways in presenting it. Health and Safety and eLearning In organisations where mandatory or compliance based training is essential, eLearning offers clear advantages: the messages are consistent and high volumes of people can be trained or have their knowledge refreshed across as diverse geographies as the needs of the organisation require. The Health and Safety Executive deploys eLearning solutions to train its own employees and ensure they comply with their own legal obligations. Instantaneous updates, hyper links to other areas of background and research and online help desks, are just a few of the many other benefits of eLearning in the learning process. Couple all this with delivery flexibility and cost reduction, and it is no wonder that eLearning has become a core strategy in improving health and safety performance. So is it really training? The answer is, of course, training. As long as the fundamental principle is met where the trainee either knows more or is better aware at the end of the learning experience, then how can it not be described as training. More articles from Praxis 42 Limited: | 
