E-Learning: The Big 8 - Questions to Answer in Planning
& Implementing E-Learning:
July 27th, 2001
By Paul Stacey
E-learning
has passed through the awareness stage. Corporate
executives, human resource professionals, and trainers
everywhere are aware of the potential and promise of
e-learning. Awareness is now pervasive.
Many
organizations are transitioning from e-learning
awareness and fact-finding to e-learning planning and
implementation.
Over
the last little while I've been helping a number of
organizations plan and implement e-learning. Mostly I've
been helping senior management with visioning, strategic
planning, funding applications, and market research.
Out
of this work a consistent set of questions have emerged
that virtually every organization has to answer. I've
distilled these questions down into what I call the
"Big 8".
Think
of the Big 8 as pragmatic questions for planning,
managing and implementing e-learning. You might also
think of them as sections or structural elements of an
e-learning business plan.
Each
of the Big 8 questions have a number of subordinate
questions.
Question
#1
How
will e-learning be governed, planned, and managed?
-
Is e-learning strategic for the organization?
-
Is there an executive level champion?
-
Is e-learning an extension of existing business units or
something new?
-
Will e-learning report up through HR?, Sales/Mktg?, IS?
Engineering?
Question
#2
What
is the optimum business model for the provision of
e-learning?
-
What funding is available?
-
What is the Return On Investment (ROI)?
-
What kinds of successful e-learning business models are
there?
-
Is the e-learning revenue generating?
Question
$3
Who
are the resources that will create, deliver, and support
the e-learning?
-
How will the production and delivery be done?
-
Do you have existing resources or will new resources be
required?
-
Is your Information Technology dept. involved?
-
Will you outsource or hire?
Question
#4
What
are the e-learning success models and pedagogies?
-
Who is the target learner and how do they want to learn?
-
Use of asynchronous vs. synchronous?
-
Replicate traditional classroom model online or new
models?
-
What are the research results?
-
Blending and integrating online with face-to-face?
Question
#5
What
curriculum and content can be targeted for online?
-
Does e-learning make sense for all subjects?
-
What is available off-the-shelf and what might I have to
build myself?
-
Where can I get early returns?
Question
#6
What
educational technologies will be used to develop and
deliver the e-learning?
-
Learning Management Systems?
-
Course Management Systems?
-
Authoring tools?
-
Delivery tools?
-
E-commerce components?
-
Integration of several systems?
Question
#7
What
is the production process for development and delivery
of e-learning?
-
Lone ranger vs. team?
-
Digital rights?
-
Production process and scheduling?
-
System Design process?
-
Software engineering process?
Question
#8
How
will e-learning be evaluated and revised over its
life-cycle?
-
What does success look like?
-
How will you measure ROI?
-
How will it be scaled? extended? transferred?
-
Is there a plan/budget for life cycle
revisions/maintenance?
Looking
for even more resources to help you plan/implement
e-learning? Here are a few more:
Six
Steps to E-Learning - Where Are You?, Brandon Hall, http://www.brandonhall.com
Build
a Business Case for Online Learning Projects, Saul
Carliner, Learning Circuits, February 2000, ASTD
http://www.learningcircuits.org/feb2000/feb2000_
Are
You Ready for E-Learning?, Samantha Chapnick, Learning
Circuits, November 2000, ASTD http://www.learningcircuits.org/nov2000/chapnick.html
All
these questions and suggestions can seem a bit
overwhelming. The key is to use them as guides to define
a structure and approach that will work for your
organization.
Answering
the Big 8 questions ensures you've done your homework.
The answers you come up with build a business case and
plan for your e-learning initiative.
Paul
Stacey is the Director of Corporate Education and
Training at the Technical University of British
Columbia, a long time education professional in the high
tech private sector, and an e-learner.
Contact: Paul
Stacey
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