Jess’ E-Learning Blog

This is a summary of Jennifer DeVries 2005 article, ‘E-Learning Strategy: A Framework for Success‘

An e-learning strategy is useful to set goals and measure the success of e-learning in the organisation. The goals are the main component of an e-learning strategy.

 Developing and Setting Goals:

1. Needs Assessmentaddresses the audience’ s needs and characteristics. Issues can include attitudes towards e-learning, computer literacy, motivation levels in regards to being trained, Internet connectivity and associated costs and hardware/software issues.
2. Review Team Readiness Training It is important to know how ready your team is to develop and initiate e-learning, both individually and collectively. These two steps will reveal skill gaps that need to be filled in order to have a successful program.
3. Obtain Management Direction This can be done in two ways:

• Top Down – Where management has instigated the process of creating an e-learning program you will want to be collaborative, asking if they have any particular programs in mind and why they want it.
• Bottom Up – If management has not instigated the development of a program, you will need to fit the program with the organisation’s strategic objectives and show examples of programs similar to the one that you are proposing.

Elements of an E-learning Strategy:

• Technology There are generally two categories that e-learning technologies fall into:

• Synchronous Technology – Interaction between the learner and educator with these technologies occurs in real-time. Examples include webinar, webcasting and chat technologies.
• Asynchronous Technology -Technologies in which the learner controls the time, place and content that they view.

Learning Management Systems (LMS) can be used to monitor both synchronous and asynchronous technologies and both types of technology can be blended into a learning program.

• Content This concerns what content you are going to design and how you are going to design it. Issues here include outsourcing, prioritising courses and how the instructor will perform. It is also important to evaluate the content now and also to develop a system of feedback for development once the program has been initiated.

•   Administration and Support need to be addressed to anticipate and address issues as they arise.  An e-learning strategy should include ways to “assign, track, manage, support, and report on your training course usage” (para. 25)

• Communication There are two issues regarding communication that need to be addressed in an e-learning strategy: change management and marketing communications. The change to an e-learning program needs to be handled carefully to avoid as much ill feeling towards the program as possible. Marketing is an issue as it is what draws students to the course and keeps the program viable.

•  Financial Analysis  Three words: Return on Investment (ROI). This is the ultimate reason that a program will or won’t be funded and it therefore needs to be considered. Issues that need to be considered include costs for development and maintenance, course prices multiplied by expected participation rates and estimates on how long it will take to break even.