Blended learning produces maximum business benefit
April 29 2004 - A recent survey of 35 major learning organizations
shows that multi-pronged learning initiatives - an approach commonly known as blended learning
- produces the greatest business benefit. The 2004 e-Learning Trends survey was conducted
by THINQ Learning Solutions, Inc.
92% of respondents rated e-learning programs as the most effective element
in their learning activities, followed by instructor-led training courses at 86%. Most organizations
surveyed also included programs such as virtual classrooms and
on-the-job training within their blended learning initiatives - far more frequently than
face-to-face tutoring and mentoring.
Along with a range of delivery methods, organizations surveyed were
also making the most of varied content offerings. This included commercial
off-the-shelf content (COTS) from major vendors such as Thomson NETg and SkillSoft.
Virtually all respondents said that their organizations had
more than 100 e-learning course titles in circulation or available to their
trainees.
But COTS is not adequate for most organizations - 80% of respondents
said that they used custom content created specifically for their own needs. Over 90%
of the organizations using custom content designed it in-house using authoring tools such as
Macromedia's Flash and Dreamweaver technologies.
"There is no one size fits all in a progressive learning organization,"
said Ray Maskell, CEO of THINQ Learning Solutions. "To optimize the return on
investment in training initiatives, organizations are integrating a variety of
programs thereby catering to a broader portion of their workforce. E-learning
may be beneficial to one group of employees whereas live instructor-led
sessions may be more conducive to the learning habits of others. Blended
learning allows industry-leading learning organizations to accommodate
individual learning styles while ensuring that critical content is delivered
and understood."
Other significant findings included:
* Standards. 75% of respondents said they were SCORM (Sharable Object Reference Model) 1.2 compliant
and 66% complied with AICC HACP (Aviation Industry CBT Committee HTTP AICC Communications Protocol).
* Mobility. This is a hot topic in the learning industry but fewer
than 15% of surveyed organizations were currently using wireless technology in the training
environment.
* Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS).
34% of respondents were currently using a Learning Content Management System.
A further 28% expected to adopt or implement an LCMS in the next two years.
The THINQ website is at
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