Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Dynamics of e‐learning: theoretical and practical perspectives

2010; Wiley; Volume: 14; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1468-2419.2010.00348.x

1468-2419

Tanya Bondarouk, Huub Ruël,

Educational Technology and Optimization

The shift from a product-based to a knowledge-based economy has resulted in an increased demand for knowledge workers who are capable of the higher-order thinking and reasoning required to solve intricate problems in the work place. This requires organizations that can educate and train anyone, at anytime, and from any place. At the same time, technological developments are altering the training and development landscape (Welsh et al., 2003). Researchers and practitioners observe that the increased use of Internet technologies to deliver training has resulted in a 'download' generation (Downes, 2005), and pronounce the 'e-Learning Revolution' (Galagan, 2000, p. 25). Indeed, the Internet and network-centric computing provide a strong foundation for experimentation with e-learning, and extend traditional learning and training methods, through electronic and web technologies, towards dynamic training models (Gunasekaran et al., 2002). Although e-learning usage in organizations varies, the practitioner literature argues that companies have increased, and will continue to increase, their use of technology for learning and training purposes (Welsh et al., 2003). In parallel, e-learning applications are found to dominate (alongside e-recruitment) the field of digital personnel management (Bondarouk & Ruël, 2009). E-learning generally refers to instructional content or learning experiences delivered or enabled by electronic technologies, including the Internet, Web 2.0, intranets and extranets. Although e-learning is given a variety of definitions, in this special issue we will adopt the one offered by Zhang and Nunamaker (2003) and Welsh et al. (2003) and define e-learning as any type of learning situation in which instructional context is delivered through the use of computer networked technology, primarily over an intranet, or through the Internet, where and when required. We put an emphasis on training being delivered through networked technology, as opposed to in educational settings, and see training as planned efforts to enhance job-specific competences. Before talking about where e-learning is going, it is worth reflecting on where e-learning is now. When we think of learning's content and context today, we probably think of a learning object. Originating in the world of computer-based delivery systems, learning objects were depicted as being like lego blocks, bits of content that could be put together or organized. Today, e-learning mainly takes a form of online training courses. From the resources distributed by MIT's OpenCourseware project to the offerings found from various training institutions around the world, the 'course' or 'training module' remains the basic unit of organization. As a consequence, the dominant learning technology employed today is a form of system that organizes and delivers online courses, sometimes referred to as a training management system. Such systems take learning content and organize it in a standardized way, dividing training courses into modules, tests and discussions. A literature review on e-learning in the organizational and training context results in a concept map where e-learning integrates such concepts as technology-based learning, blended learning, distance learning and open learning (Figure 1). e-Learning concept map. According to Welsh et al. (2003), in organizations today, most e-learning is asynchronous in nature. It involves e-learning situations where the training modules are prescribed and available to employees at any time from any location (Rosenberg, 2001). A less common variant was synchronous learning that required all learners (and possibly instructors) to be in front of their computers at the same time. It was acknowledged that the distinction between synchronous and asynchronous e-learning was blurred in many organizations, with many companies using a mix of delivery options for their e-learning (Welsh et al., 2003). Today, we see that such a distinction is becoming even less relevant with the rapid emergence of Web 2.0 facilities for training purposes in companies. Asynchronous applications, such as simulation games, videos, graphs and audio components, have been shown to be insufficient to meet the dynamic requirements of on-demand employee training. Even sophisticated asynchronous and interactive e-learning applications cannot fully satisfy the growing needs for social interactions between learners. Therefore, in our view, the widely recognized concept of blended learning (various mixes of synchronous, asynchronous and classroom training) (Elliott, 2002) needs to be nuanced. In our view, the rise of multinational and global corporations changes the emphasis in blended learning towards a new accent on social media-based interactions. As such, classroom learning gets largely replaced by a new generation of networked e-learning options that offer same-time, video-supported social e-learning. Organizations choose e-learning for a variety of reasons. Gunasekaran et al. (2002) argue that an e-learning business case is often justified by four motives: improving the quality of learning, improving access to training, reducing training costs and improving the cost-effectiveness of training programmes. Indeed, the quality of learning can be improved through providing consistent training across multiple locations and by delivering training to many people quickly or even just in time. Welsh et al. (2003, p. 248) give an example of Nokia's delivery of new product information to its employees using e-learning: 'with a two-stage process of content development and translation, Nokia develops and makes available, via the Internet, product specifications in 22 languages. The entire process takes only 12 weeks'. Further, e-learning does not have the same time and space limitations and also has the potential to address regulatory compliance, meet business needs, retrain employees, and offer customer support, all with a low recurring cost. According to Moisio and Smeds (2004), the rise of e-learning has had an interesting side effect in some organizations: it has forced management and instructors to rethink the training process. E-learning is believed to have an important role in empowering learners with employees having on-demand access to asynchronous learning at any convenient time. However, the aforementioned benefits of e-learning should be carefully balanced against its potential drawbacks. Careless and unplanned e-learning implementations may result in electronically encoded information overload without delivering the essential training processes of feedback, practising, debating, guidance, etc. The high upfront costs of e-learning projects may outweigh management commitment and increase disappointments and, as a result, push e-learning towards being no more than an information provider. In our view, e-learning should be viewed as an investment in learners' competences and as organizational talent management rather than being seen as having to be justified by an immediate and short-term business case. Approximately one decade into the twenty-first century, the natures of the Internet and, equally importantly, the people using the Internet are changing. These changes are sweeping across entire industries and, more specifically, influencing training programmes within and across organizations. Indeed, in many ways, training has lagged behind the latest trends and is just beginning to be drawn along in their wake. One trend that has caught attention is the changing nature of Internet users themselves. Sometimes called 'digital natives', employees and managers work and learn in new ways, and create new standards for organizational learning. Organizations are now dealing with workers who absorb information quickly, as images and video as well as text, from multiple sources simultaneously. They operate at 'twitch speed', expecting instant feedback and responses. They seem to prefer 'on-demand' training and access to media, expecting near-constant communication with peers and colleagues, and they are likely to create their own training environment as to purchase a book or a CD through an online shop. Technology-enabled training can be seen as the integration of information technologies into training and learning processes within organizations. In general, a great variety of information technologies are able to foster learning within organizations. There are e-learning approaches that support communities of practices, where learners interact and learn together. Here, interactions typically occur through discussions, comments, collaborative writings or working together on projects (Strijker & Collis, 2002). Recently, tools such as 'wikis' are being used to support such community aspects of e-learning. Originating from Nupedia, Wikipedia is the best known and largest wiki system. It consists of more than 4 million articles, which are provided in about 200 languages. Around 10,000 users regularly contribute or edit the wiki content (Leuf & Cunningham, 2001). Further, learners themselves are becoming involved in the production of the learning content (Downes, 2005). This concept reflects one of the most outstanding changes in the learning and training processes – a move towards learning object-oriented approaches. Moreover, employees themselves are changing their own training environment as they find they can get better information and quicker responses from their colleagues through the Net than from their instructors. Typically, these approaches are based on tools such as weblogs and podcasts. A weblog, or blog, is a 'log of the web', with its key feature being the presentation of content in reverse chronological order. Blog software provides opportunities for comments and trackbacks – links back from the sites. In such ways, a distributed, collective and interlinked blogosphere is created. Whereas wikis are used for collaborative work, blogs are a personal form of published content. As far as training benefits are concerned, we can identify at least the following: the promotion of critical, creative, intuitive, associational, analogical and analytical thinking; the potential provision of increased access to information; and exposure to quality information and the possibility of social interactions. It is not, however, the purpose of this editorial to explain or describe all the Web 2.0 possibilities. What is important to recognize is that the emergence of the Web 2.0 is not a technological revolution in training as such but rather its social reconstruction. It enables and encourages employees to participate through open applications and services. Whereas e-learning initially was very focused on the content of social interaction and on assisting informal learning, it has since gained an important role. Instead of placing a limitation on social interactions and topics within a given training programme, it is now commonplace to interact with employees worldwide on a wide range of topics. Although the social aspects of existing e-learning training software applications, such as messaging and forums, are still important, other possibilities can now be considered. For example, the concept of web-sharing applications is becoming popular (Ebner, 2007). These open up the possibility for employees to share their bookmarks and tag web sites (social bookmarking), and social media (such as Youtube) provide the possibility to share multimedia files. The majority of today's e-learning applications enable and encourage employees to actively participate in training courses, to share and structure the data, and to determine and plan their own training objectives. We see a range of modern technological possibilities, including Web 2.0 applications, that support and encourage a different form of social interaction among trainees and between trainees and instructors. The first contribution, by Garavan, Carbery, O'Malley and O'Donnell, opens the special issue with the results of a large-scale empirical study on the understanding of participation in e-learning within organizations. Understanding why employees are willing to participate in e-learning is an important first step in an overview of the state-of-the-art on e-learning research. Built on theories of planned behaviour and instructional design, their findings suggest that general human characteristics, motivation to learn, self-efficacy and perceived barriers/enablers play an important role in explaining participation in e-learning. Instructional design characteristics of e-learning not only relate directly to participation in e-learning, they also mediate the relationship between perceived barriers and enablers and participation. Motivation to learn is shown to be significantly related to participation in e-learning, suggesting that those who offer such training activities should make every effort to ensure that the target audience is appropriately motivated. The contribution by Hernández, Gorjup and Cascón considers the role of the instructor in the training and learning context. The emergence of e-learning has challenged both the role and the value of an instructor. The authors present the results of an experiment with two groups of learners, one with a face-to-face instructor and one with an online instructor, tackling a business game. The findings support the proposition that learners who receive face-to-face instruction see the instructor's role as more relevant and of higher value than those who receive online instruction. Moving on from the role of the instructor, this special issue then considers the role of the learner. In an e-learning setting, the learner is not a passive receiver of content but an active participant. Granger and Levine present a literature review on learner control and its impact on learning and transfer. Following this, Fisher, Wasserman and Orvis take the 'learner issue' further and report on their empirical study on the relevance and usefulness of learner control features in an e-learning programme. They conclude that increased learner control is not always beneficial when it comes to affective reactions, cognitive skills, and skill-based learning and the effective use of training time. The findings from this research suggest that the complexity of the training content is an important intervening variable in the learner control–outcomes relationship. In their study they found that learners would overwhelmingly choose to use learner control features present in an e-learning programme, liked using them and found them effective in improving learning. After the discussions on the roles of the instructor and the learner in e-learning, this special issue turns to the question of how to design an e-learning environment. Mueller and Strohmeier conducted a systematic literature review of design characteristics and carried out an expert study to rank them and determine the most important characteristics. 'Reliable' was rated as the most important system-related design characteristic, followed in turn by 'secure', 'learning process supportive', 'interactive', 'appealing', 'transparent', 'structured', 'standard supportive', 'accessible' and 'platform independent'. 'Understandable' is the most important information-related design characteristic, followed by 'consistent', 'credible', 'challenging', 'multimodal' and 'enjoyable'. An e-learning issue that clearly should not be ignored is e-learning outcomes. Baudoin presents an empirical study covering four e-learning cases and their outcomes in a French multinational. The key finding was that employees participating in the same e-learning course can reach different levels in terms of learning outcomes. Learning outcomes were classified into one of eight categories: procedural information acquisition, declarative information acquisition, skill acquisition, skills automation, content understanding, understanding of the work environment, self-understanding and no perceived learning. The final article of this special issue is a practice-oriented paper. The contribution by Bedwell and Salas challenges conventional beliefs about the effectiveness of computer-based training (CBT) through a multidisciplinary literature synthesis and then suggests 10 practical considerations relevant to CBT. The authors offer practical advice on aspects that could enable effective CBT, such as the establishment of a clear purpose, a sound design and effectiveness measures based on organizationally relevant criteria. With its multifaceted nature, e-learning is a dynamic phenomenon combining technology, learning content, learning context and learners. As it has developed over the years, all these facets have changed, and they will go on changing. Certainly, e-learning as a phenomenon seems here to stay. When selecting articles for this special issue, we developed three criteria that in our view build a sound basis for a good e-learning academic study. First, the study should clearly address the multidisciplinary nature of e-learning and attempt to assimilate IT and instructional/learning knowledge domains. Second, such studies should elaborate on the e-learning conceptualization that enables shared symbols, language and epistemological boundaries within this research area. Third, research should clearly contribute to theory building and (if applicable) to the practice of e-learning. It should specify the level at which it contributes to theory and its target group.