CIPD - E-learning: progress and prospects

Learning, training and development

Revised July 2009

This factsheet gives introductory guidance. It:

considers the scope and types of e-learning
reports progress to date based on findings of our learning and development surveys
gives the CIPD viewpoint on e-learning implementation
provides links to case studies on implementing effective e-learning.

Definitions

There is no universally accepted definition of e-learning, but the following is used by the CIPD in our surveys: ‘learning that is delivered, enabled or mediated using electronic technology for the explicit purpose of training in organisations’.

This can be described as an inclusive definition: it includes the use of distributed technology products (mainly CD-ROMs) which do not require the user’s computer to be connected to a network. An exclusive definition would exclude these products and include only products delivered through the Internet or an intranet.

The term e-learning first emerged in late 1999. Suppliers of computer-based training were full of optimism and were considering the implications of delivery through the web. The US-based supplier CBT systems rebranded themselves as ‘Smartforce – the e-learning company’ and held a satellite broadcast to announce the change a month later. However, if distributed technology products are included, it could be argued that e-learning stretches back several decades.

Types of e-learning

Since 1999, the advance of e-learning has taken a number of different forms. Much of current experience is based on the use of web-based modules which are accessed at an individual’s personal computer. In fact, as a learning tool e-learning is much broader. In their CIPD publication How do people learn?¹, Cambridge Programme for Industry identified three examples of current e-learning practice.

Web-based training: In corporate training, technology is used primarily to deliver content to the end user without significant interaction with (or support from) training professionals, peers or managers. A significant industry has grown up around this form of e-learning, spanning content authoring, content asset management, instructional design and learning management.
Supported online learning: In higher education, the majority of the content of the course may be delivered through lectures or through distance-education textual material, but the course is categorised as e-learning because the interaction with the instructor, the dialogue with other students, the searching for resource materials, the conduct of collaborative activities and the access to course outlines and supporting material are all conducted online. This approach is being extended to professional communities (see, for example, the CIPD communities available to CIPD members).
- Visit the CIPD communities
Informal e-learning: Beyond these ‘course-based’ approaches to e-learning are the growing opportunities for technology to support informal learning in the workplace. In many knowledge intensive organisations it is linked with knowledge management.

Another classification has been articulated in a somewhat different form by the leading US commentator Allison Rossett of San Diego University². She used the terms ‘stuff’ and ‘stir’.

The ‘stuff’ is the reusable web objects which are deployed on a corporate Internet.
The ‘stir’ refers to the collaborative tools of e-learning: the online discussions and virtual classroom.

Web 2.0 or social networking

Most recently there has been a considerable interest in the ‘stir’ and we have witnessed a huge increase in the use of 'social networking'. However the term is used imprecisely and often interchangeably with Web 2.0 and we need an accepted vocabulary if we are to progress in our understanding. At present there seems to be a clearer definition of Web 2.0 than of social networking. Web 2.0 is a term given to the second-generation of internet-based communities that encourage collaboration between users. A 2005 conference developed the idea that there were emerging changes in the way software developers and end-users were using the web as a platform, so:

'Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform.' (From Wikipedia and attributed to Tim O’Reilly as well-known US writer and author).

At the heart of the change are new opportunities for collaboration, co-creation and sharing of content and enhanced communication. What is new is that such sharing can take place through the Internet. This gives rise to exciting possibilities. It is beyond dispute that certain activities which can be included in social networking have shown exponential growth. A CIPD research project produced a discussion paper with some case studies of current use.

Go to the discussion paper on Web 2.0 and HR

The research report Web 2.0 and human resource management: groundswell or hype? pointed out the many opportunities that the tools of Web 2.0 offer to HR - for example for learning and knowledge sharing or involving employees in innovation - and gives guidance on how to use it and cope with the potential risks.

Find out more about Web 2.0 and human resource management

Progress to date

Our 2008 Learning and development survey included a special section on e-learning which recorded steady progress in the acceptance of e-learning and although the more detailed questions were not repeated in the 2009 survey, the picture so far seems to be:

Take up of e-learning

The spread of e-learning might be slower than some experts would like but the technique is still much more widespread in the UK than in many other countries in Europe. 47% of UK employees have taken part in e-learning compared with only 24% in France. The European average is 40%.
E-learning has gradually grown in popularity as a medium for training. More than half of the respondents in 2008 (57%) reported that they were using e-learning. This was the first time that the proportion had topped 50%. In 2009 26% reported that they do not use, or no longer use, e-learning, 26% said their use had stayed much the same and 42% intended to use it more over the coming year.
According to the 2008 results, in those organisations that are using e-learning it accounts for about 12% of 'total training time'. This is far below the 30% figure reported for the United States in 2006 by the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) who are remarkably sanguine about about progress and prospects.
Optimism for the future of e-learning is rife. As well as asking what percentage of training time is currently delivered through e-learning (12%) we asked what this figure would be in three years time. This produced the answer 27%. This phenomenon - 'we'll all get it right over the next three years' - has been observed in previous CIPD surveys and earlier ASTD surveys.
In organisations using e-learning, it is likely to be offered to about 60% of the employees, but taken up by only 30%.
In the survey 'Who learns at work?' 26% of employees interviewed had taken part in electronically delivered learning in the previous 12 months.

Effectiveness of e-learning

Two statements in 2008 seemed to command near universal support. One is 'e-learning is effective when combined with other forms of learning' (95% support) and the second is 'e-learning demands a new attitude on the part of the learner' (92% support).
Respondents to the 2008 survey were asked 'Which of the following training and development practices do you believe are most effective?' and were invited to choose three practices from an extended list. E-learning came next to bottom with 7% of respondents including it as one of the three – by contrast the more ‘human-touch’ interventions of in-house development programmes and coaching attracted 55% and 53% respectively.
When asked 'How effective do you think e-learning is as a learning and development intervention?' only 8% stated 'very effective' with the majority (64%) saying that it was 'fairly effective'.
Employees' opinions of the least favourite ways of learning include 'from the Internet' (disliked by 21% of respondents) as opposed to the 46% who preferred 'being shown how to do things and practising them'.
- View the findings of our Learning and development surveys
- View the 'Who learns at work?' survey

Benefits of e-learning

The benefits of e-learning include:

Available 'just in time' and can be used continuously for learning and reference.
Flexibility of access from anywhere at anytime.
Ability to reach simultaneously an unlimited number of employees.
Uniformity of delivery of training.
Can achieve cost reductions.
Reduction in the time it takes to deliver training.
Ability to log or track learning activities.
Possibilities of global connectivity and collaboration opportunities.
Ability to personalise the training for each learner.

However, it has become clear that making e-learning available to unprepared and unsupported learners will not work. E-learning must be appropriately presented and adequately resourced.

Perceived barriers to the effectiveness of e-learning in organisations include:

Limits of current technology infrastructure.
Ensuring learners have time and space to participate.
Providing appropriate support for learners.
Finding attractive, relevant and high-quality content.
Gaining line manager support and commitment.
Employee hostility towards e-learning.
Motivating learners to complete courses.
Lack of basic IT skills in the workforce.

CIPD viewpoint

Far too often any discussion of e-learning is surrounded by over-statement and hype. Our CIPD view is that the following principles should underline any strategy for e-learning.

Start with the learner - recognise the limitations of the population that you are trying to reach.
Relevance drives out resistance - if the e-learning material is seen as relating to something that matters in the organisation, people are more likely to try to use it.
Take account of intermediaries - Much learning requires an intermediary to advise and direct the learner. This is just as true of e-learning; it will not be successful if taken in isolation from other learning.
Embed activity in the organisation - this is a subtler point but follows from the previous one. E-learning modules should be seen as one element in an organisational learning strategy; where possible their use should be linked with instructor-led courses and other human resource management systems (for example performance appraisal).
Support and automate - this final catch-all point reinforces and underlines the others. E-learning does not offer us the opportunity to automate all our learning processes. Instead it is a powerful new element in a wider strategy which requires support for learners in the context in which they learn.

Case studies

Our 'Helping people learn' web pages have a number of case studies on making e-learning effective – these are contained in the technology, systems and e-learning group of cases. Organisations offering interesting perspectives include: Hilton, B&Q, Reuters, BBC, Sport England, Cable & Wireless and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Go to our Helping people learn web pages

References

REYNOLDS, J., CALEY, L. and MASON, R. (2002) How do people learn? Research report. London: CIPD.
ROSSETT, A. (2002) The ASTD e-learning handbook. New York: McGraw Hill.

E-learning: progress and prospects