e-Maturity & Adoption of eLearning
Should you embrace eLearning as an alternate/additive means of
imparting learning to the employees of your organization? The correct
answer to this question lies not in the cost of development vs.
the cost of implementation; neither does it lie in the cost of eLearning
content development vs. the cost of classroom training development.
The answer to this oft-asked question lies in the level of e-maturity
that your organization enjoys.
Let us first understand this new term and its implications. Let
us begin at the basics.
We all know that there is a lot of discussion going on about lowering
the age for consuming alcohol. The discussion exists because of
a subjective parameter, which cannot be measured in numbers. You
are right…it isn’t the magic number of either 18 or
21; it is the maturity level of a person. Mature in this context
is the second definition given in “The New International Webster’s
Collegiate Dictionary of the English Language, 2002 Edition.”
It describes Mature as “fully developed in character and powers.”
The term maturity is defined subjectively as each of us would explain
the meaning of development of character or powers, differently…and
hence the discussion!
Similar discussions warm the corridors of organizations that are
standing at the threshold of a major change. The decision-makers
stand at the threshold uncertainly, wondering whether they should
move forward and embrace eLearning or they should continue with
their traditional, time-tested classroom trainings. The decision
of course, depends on the e-maturity displayed by the employees
of the organization.
I define e-maturity as follows:
“E-maturity is the development of a person’s/organization’s
ability to make effective use of electronic technology.”
And according to me, the e-maturity of any organization is the
sum total of the e-maturity of all its employees.
The parameters that combine to result in e-maturity of an individual
can be listed as:
- Overall comfort-level with the use of technology
- Ability to differentiate between useful and not useful information
- Faith in the strengths of technology and an acknowledgement
of its weaknesses
- Ability to use technology as tool for enhanced effectiveness
and efficiency
- A lack of “awe” for technology
- A propensity towards self-direction
But how do you, as a training head, decide upon the following questions:
- Whether or not should I “digitize” the content?
- Whether my audience is prepared to learn through the electronic
media?
- Whether I should go for complete eLearning or blended eLearning
with instructor-led trainings?
- What kind of content can be effectively changed into eLearning?
- Should I produce the eLearning content in-house or should I
outsource it?
- What kind of team I should be setting up?
- If I outsource eLearning content development, what are the
important parameters on which I should evaluate the vendor’s
capability?
These and other such questions haunt those who should make decisions…hopefully
the right ones!
- How do I determine the e-maturity of my organization?
- How should I determine what content should be changed into
eLearning?
- How do I decide what support structure is required?
These questions should be answered before you take the first step
towards creating eLearning content. The training management professionals
of any organization that is currently experiencing the birthing
pangs of eLearning implementation “feel” the worry that
these questions give rise to. However, finding the right answers
is not easy.
Let us attempt to answer the above three questions.
- How do I determine the e-maturity of my organization?
- Whether or not I should “digitize” the
content?
- Whether my audience is prepared to learn through the
electronic media?
This is a tricky question. How do you determine the e-maturity
of your organization? Well. Simply speaking, determine the e-maturity
of the target audience group; sum it up; and you have the e-maturity
level of the entire group. Similarly, if elearning implementation
is an organization-wide initiative and if it would impact the
different hierarchical levels and roles in your company; then
conduct an e-maturity survey that includes people from different
departments, levels, and roles.
Thus, evaluate people to determine how comfortable they are
with the use of technology, how much they trust and respect
technology, and whether they’ve reached beyond thinking
of technology as a “field-of-study” to a “tool-of-convenience.”
If they have, they are e-mature.
If you find that your organization is e-mature, you can confidently
go ahead with the implementation of eLearning.
- How should I determine what content should be changed
into eLearning?
- Whether I should go for complete eLearning or blended eLearning
with instructor-led trainings?
- What kind of content can be effectively changed into eLearning?
Instructional design can answer this question for you. You know
that there are three learning domains and that all our learning
can be classified into these three domains. Your cognitive skills
related trainings should be considered first, when you think of
eLearning. Any skill that is cognitive would require less physical
training on one end, and less time/personal intervention on the
other.
Evaluate content to determine it constitution in terms of the
types of skills being enabled, the simplicity orcomplexity of
the learning process, and also the extent to which personal feedback
is required. These and other such factors can help you decide
how you should structure the digitization of your content.
- How do I decide what support structure is required?
- Should I produce the eLearning content in-house or should
I outsource it?
- What kind of team I should be setting up?
- If I outsource eLearning content development, what are the
important parameters on which I should evaluate the vendor’s
capability?
This is a difficult question to answer. The primary support that
you require is either in-house or external expertise that spans
all phases of ADDIE, including implementation and evaluation.
eLearning uses technology, and the use of technology should always
be need-oriented. The rule that one applies while buying household
gadgets applies to technological implementation of eLearning too.
Don’t buy what you don’t need. If your need is met
with a simple mixer-grinder; don’t buy a fancy electronic
grinding machine that also performs ten other functions that don’t
suit your culinary requirements.
Thus, if you are able to harness experts who’ve been through
the entire eLearning lifecycle, you will not commit technology-selection
and content-deployment errors, that usually lead to unhappy and
technologically demotivated learners.
About vendor-selection:
At the beginning, select vendors who have the ability to guide
the initial process of transformation at your organization. Cost
saving at this stage may lead to cascades of costs in future.
Select vendors on their ability to provide instructionally sound
solutions for your needs. Of course, vendor-selection is a complex
process that would require its own article :)
Therefore, there are three important ingredients that make a palatable
eLearning solution, and that organizations should remember:
- e-Maturity
- Instructional Design
- Structure & Technology
Today, almost every organization has either implemented eLearning,
is in the process of implementing it, or is contemplating its implementation.
If you are involved in this evolution, see to it that your organization
doesn’t don and shed eLearning as an ill fitting restrictive
costume; ensure that eLearning enhances the abilities of your organization
by captivating the audience.
Author: Shafali R. Anand
This work is licensed under a Creative
Commons License.
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