eLearning, Pro and Con
The Future of eLearning, 2004, Emerald.
Corporate CEOs are finally telling the truth when they say
“People are our most important assets”. Intellectual capital has
become the primary factor of production. To raise their
“corporate IQ”, managers treat workers as if they were
customers of learning. This article explores why people learn
much more about their jobs in the coffee room than in the
classroom. It hypothesizes that equipping people intellectually to
prosper will become a corporate discipline every bit as important
as marketing or finance. Web services will mark the advent of
workflow learning in real-time organizations.
An Informal History of eLearing, 2004, Emerald.
eLearning: snake oil or salvation? Changes in the world are
forcing corporations to rethink how people adapt to their
environment. How do people learn? Why? What’s eLearning?
Does it work? This paper addresses these questions and recounts
the history and pitfalls of computer-based training and
first-generation eLearning. It traces the roots of CBT Systems,
SmartForce, Internet Time Group, and the University of Phoenix.
It takes a person to five years of TechLearn, the premier
eLearning conference, from dot-com euphoria to today’s realtime
realities. The subject-matter here is corporate learning, in
particular mastering technical and social skills, and product
knowledge. The focus is on learning what is required to meet the
promise made to the customer. While there are parallels to
collegiate education, the author lacks the experience to draw
them.
Enterprise Learning, Friday the 13th, 2003
"Best of breed" vendors must differentiate themselves as innovators and rapid responders to changing customer needs in order to survive. Blah, blah, blah. Five years ago we were mouthing the same words as today.
The DNA of eLearning, by Ian Hamilton and Jay Cross, 2002.
Corporate eLearning is a powerful technology, but it has strayed from its
inspired beginnings. Poised to become a driver of business performance,
eLearning lost its way as vendors reached for quick economic gains at the
expense of long-term strategic position. eLearning devolved into quick-to-sell IT-only content libraries, bland Web
course designs, and unfocused, minimally tailored portal solutions.
Learning Content Management Systems (and LMS), 2001.
Frontline: eLearning Forum, Learning Circuits (2001). "Cliff Stoll caught everyone's attention by loudly proclaiming, "E-learning is a fraud!' Unquestionably, Stoll took control of the floor. He asked the group, 'If you were hiring a plumber, which would you choose: one with an online degree in plumbing or one who learned firsthand?' Muttering that simulations were a great way to avoid the person sitting next to you, Stoll said that the designers of flight simulators spent more time making the clouds look right than getting to what the pilots really need...."
The very first white paper on eLearning ever written:
Learn Fast, Go Fast. (for SmartForce, 1999).
"eBusiness needs an eBusiness approach to learning itself, something we call eLearning. eLearning is to traditional training as eBusiness is to the five-and-dime. eLearning puts the learner in the center of the equation instead of the trainer."
