Towards a unified e-learning strategy
General
The CIPD welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Government
consultation document Towards a unified e-learning
strategy. With over 118,000 members, some 40,000 of whom are
engaged in various roles relating to training and development, the
CIPD is the professional body for those engaged in the management
and development of people. We have consulted with our members and
the views set out are based on their expertise and the research we
have undertaken in relevant areas.
This response should be read in conjunction with E-learning:
the learning curve (attached) that illustrates the CIPD
perspective on e-learning and presents a number of case study
materials.
Key points
- There are fundamental questions that must be answered regarding
the scope and purpose of the strategy.
- Any strategy must be driven by learning rather than technology.
Technology and product, while important to the success of
e-learning, must not dictate what learning takes place.
- The introduction of e-learning is a major change initiative and
will necessitate a significant and ongoing programme to develop the
capability of those teachers/trainers involved.
- Experience in the corporate sector suggests that a
'one-size-fits-all' approach will not be successful.
- There will be limitations to any e-learning approach that is
based on generic materials.
Why is e-learning important?
Within organisations, activity is concentrated on the business
objectives, profitability or the achievement of service delivery.
Training, which involves resources of time and money, is an
intervention by the organisation intended to advance those
objectives. Learning is a process that may or may not occur as
result of training. It lies in the domain of the individual: only
learners can learn. E-learning is a mechanism to achieve and ease
learning by altering and improving the delivery channel.
The distinction between learning and training is made in our
best-selling research report How do People Learn?
Learning is the process by which a person constructs new
knowledge, skills and capabilities, whereas training is one of
several responses an organisation can undertake to promote
learning.
The debate on effective e-learning in any context must be about
relevant learning not about technology. It is an additional
response that can be used to facilitate learning rather than a
solve-all solution.
We would also argue that the importance of e-learning is less
about 'improving the quality of learning' and more about the
personalisation of learning1.
Within member organisations, our research has demonstrated a
shift from top-down training interventions to learner-centered
initiatives. E-learning can be a key enabler in this shift.
'We need to educate people on what is training and what is
learning. We need to show people that it is often the work-based
experience which is the most effective form of learning. The
training department will have changed from being a passive provider
of training to a situation where we can identify and support
learning more generally.' Simon Tisdale, Head of Training and
Development, Salford Royal Hospital NHS Trust
'With e-learning comes an ideal opportunity to change the role
from delivery to support. This will help alter the perception of
the function' Sharon Hughes, Training Manager, Crown Prosecution
Service2.
History of e-learning
The use of technology in training has a long history. The term
e-learning, which takes advantage of the connectivity of computers,
is perhaps five years old. At the outset it was oversold. The
challenge of the change management process involved was
underestimated. Far too much of the initial emphasis was on the
potential for cost saving rather than effective learning.
We are optimistic that e-learning will advance and many of the
problems will be overcome. However, this will be determined by
effective practice in organisations. Within corporate and many
public sector organisations, evidence suggests that such
decision-making is best made through a series of small-scale
experiments, frequently reviewed, and in a structure in which
success is followed up and failure recognised. This same model
could be applied to the education sector.
Experience to date demonstrates that e-learning is very
effective in appropriate circumstances. If it is delivered in
support of a recognised business need that commands attention
throughout the organisation, appropriate structures to support
learning will be put in place. If learners are motivated to learn,
and have good IT skills at the start it is much more likely to be
effective. These issues can only be identified and resolved by the
organisation.
A common message is that the best way forward is to seek out
blended learning solutions that include varying levels of
e-learning adapted to suit different learning contexts.
We would caution that many of the objectives identified in the
strategy will not be realised by adopting a one-size-fits-all
strategy.
Given the above, a key role of government should be to ensure
that all learners have basic IT skills. It should also support
effective standard development.
A unified strategy?
The desire to create an e-learning strategy in order to empower
learners is to be applauded. E-learning undoubtedly creates
possibilities for learning which might not otherwise be possible.
However, the intention to create a 'unified' e-learning strategy is
more complex. At present the recommendations are focused on the
education sector, but the term 'training' is included in the
document. This is reflected in much of the terminology used and in
the lists of 'partners', which will need expanding to include
professional bodies, sector bodies and representatives of the
corporate e-learning market.
As stated above, therefore, there are fundamental questions that
must be answered regarding the scope and purpose of the strategy.
We would suggest a strategy for the education sector that
integrates the considerable experience of private and public sector
organisations rather than a unified approach.
The document as it stands also offers few linkages to recent
proposals including the White Paper on skills and the 14-19
education review. And it takes as given the linkages between
increasing e-learning opportunities and increasing skills, which
are more complex in reality. While we appreciate that timing was a
major factor in this instance, future documents should be closely
aligned with wider Government policy.
Appendix - Received wisdom on e-learning
- E-learning should be regarded as a change initiative, not as a
way of making short-term savings.
- E-learning has to be driven by training, not technology.
Training experts need to have faith in their own knowledge.
- There is a choice to be made between introducing e-learning as
part of a significant shift in approach to learning and proceeding
through a controlled pilot project.
- The proportion of staff who regularly use a computer at work is
a critical factor to be considered in the design of any e-learning
initiative. The sophistication of these computers and any
restrictions on their use must also be taken into
consideration.
- Appropriate strategies must be developed for employees who do
not have the necessary skills to use computers, such as promoting
the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL).
- There may be merit in making an open facility for staff (and
their families) to access e-learning, but this should be undertaken
to demonstrate a commitment to learning rather than as a way of
gaining immediate business benefits.
- Blended learning is seen by many as a process in which
appropriate e-learning modules are a precursor to a training
session in the classroom.
- Generic off-the-shelf material is most useful for IT end-users
or in IT specialist applications.
- Generic soft-skills material will require careful selection and
quality checks to test its relevance and appropriateness for the
organisation. Even then it may be most effective in a blended
solution involving face-to-face training.
- There is considerable interest in the generation of bespoke or
customised material - either in-house through the use of an
authorising system or by commissioning it from a specialist
software supplier. Ease of updating content and monitoring of usage
are critical factors.
- Bespoke material is often created to meet essential business
needs (compulsory training). Other popular topics are performance
appraisal, standard procedures and induction.
- Learners should be given the opportunity to carry out
e-learning in chunks of time that suit them. Some people may like
to work in a concentrated manner and complete a whole programme at
one sitting, while others may wish to complete the programme over
several sessions.
- Online learning is more easily accepted in a culture of trust
and empowerment, rather than in a culture where managers react
against the idea of people being allowed to organise their own time
and work schedules.
- Smaller organisations should enter into partnership over the
running of online learning programmes so as to achieve maximum
economies of scale and other benefits.
- Learning resource centres are seen as a useful facility,
especially where a significant number of employees do not regularly
use a personal computer at work.
- If a learning resource centre is intended to serve a population
which includes those who are not regular users of personal
computers, on-site facilitation is essential.
Extract from the Change Agenda E-learning: the learning
curve
References
- The potential of e-learning to engage those with disabilities
is also an emerging issue and one which will be covered in our
forthcoming research E-learning and disability
- Quotes taken from the CIPD publication Focus on the
learner