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Sep 16
2009

Does eLearning need to have a ROI that’s more than just money?

Posted by Jodi Harrison in TOPYX, Social Networking, Interactyx, eLearning 2.0

Does eLearning need to have a ROI that’s more than just money?

The Adobe Captivate Blog earlier this month reported on a Higher Ed blog - http://blogs.adobe.com/captivate/

“Around 70% of faculty believe that the learning outcomes of online learning are inferior to F2F.”

This got me thinking about business eLearning -

I have seen all sorts of content classified as eLearning and as an educator I have to ask –

Is it important to have learning outcomes associated with eLearning for it to be “Learning”?

Behavior changes, should we expect this to be a part of eLearning? Should there be an expectation of “measurable understanding” obtained from the eLearning content?

Should there be pedagogical tools and standards used to create elearning content? From a business prospective should there be an expected ROI for eLearning?

If a training department saves money on training costs by switching from classroom training to eLearning but gains no business outcomes have they really saved anything?

I know this is more questions than answers, but at the end of the day the education experience can’t be about saving money can it?

Jodi Harrison
Vice President, Business Development and Affiliate Partners
Interactyx Limited

jodi.harrison@interactyx.com
www.interactyx.com

 

 


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Comments (3)

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From my perspective, if it doesn't change behavior, it wasn't learning. Outcomes should be associated with any form of learning.

eLearning involves more than creating content. Sometimes merely providing the environment for collaboration enables self-service learning to take place on its own.

Businesses should not invest in anything unless they expect a return. This doesn't mean they have to measure the results of every investment; common sense will generally suffice.

I'm generally in favor of anything that lowers cost without lowering results. If there's no business outcome, the best course of action would be to offer neither classroom nor elearning.

I don't know anyone making a case for education or learning solely on the basis of money. It's the behavior change that makes the difference.

Perhaps the faculty Adobe reports on should read the recent Department of Education study that found online learning superior to face-to-face learning.

That's just my opinion; I may be wrong.
Jay Cross , September 20, 2009
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While it is true that e-learning does generate significant cost savings, I believe that there is a fundamental shift with specific demographics that actually prefer e-learning. The millennial generation born in the mid 1970s to 1990s actually prefers learning through e-learning because it is a better fit for their learning style and preference. The millennial generation has grown up with technology and is more digitally literate and comfortable with e-learning than any other generation. Shifting to more e-learning may actually achieve intended learning objectives with this group faster than traditional ILT with the benefit of cost-savings.

E-learning does not provide that face-to-face interaction that is a key component in ILT. However, leveraging technology with social media to create the foundation for Communities of Practice and other groups that can provide answers to questions outside of e-learning content is critical. I believe a strong e-learning strategy must have an equally strong performance support model to help provide knowledge that would normally be provided by an instructor.
Joseph B. Tota , September 18, 2009
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Jodi -- Great thoughts, and I pretty much agree. I would say, though, that after watching K-12 school boards, voting communities, superintendents, and others cut, cut, cut, without apparent concern for the educational impact it would have, that those of us who demand to see learning results as part of the ROI are actually in a minority. Sad to say! And even sadder -- if we're to continue to use the K-12 example -- is when standardized tests or other faulty measures are used to determine efficacy.

And those college instructors and profs who say they don't believe elearning result in learning as often or as well as F2F? They clearly haven't read the latest reports and research providing clear evidence that online modalities are every bit as effective, if not moreso. If they're not careful, those instructors/profs will end up in the same spot that many automotive workers are now in -- denial didn't ensure their future, either.

Thanks for a great post!

Ellen
http://alearning.wordpress.com
Ellen , September 17, 2009

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