Next generation education

We sit down with three experts in the field of online learning to find out how it beats classroom-based teaching. With Global Knowledge, Universal Knowledge Solutions, and Edutech

What are the benefits to employees of receiving education online rather than classroom-based teaching?
Maher Thompson The benefits of online learning are not only felt by the employee but also the employer. There is a mutual benefit to both parties, especially in the context of the current global economic scenario. Employees really benefit from online learning where consideration has been given to the contents pedagogy. Factors such as time efficiency, the structure of objectives and sub objectives and pre and post assessments to measure the assimilation of knowledge by the learner lay the foundations for successful online learning. When the employee engages with content that is learner centric the employer is further reassured that the learner is immersed in the experience as an active participant; ensuring an experience that can be measured in terms of its ROI. This is achieved by embedding dynamic activities that utilise a full range of media including, but not limited to, audio, video, reading and writing, that report back a user's experience to a learning management system for further analysis.

Mazen Jabri. Employees can save time and money by combining the convenience of training at the place of their choice with the excellence of instruction. They can learn from their desktop, conference room, or anywhere with global knowledge assurance of a consistent and exceptional learning experience. What's more, training without travel is a great way to support your organisation's green initiatives. Within the majority of organisations, e-learning is now a well-accepted means of increasing skills and knowledge across the enterprise. Early adopters no longer think of themselves and their organisations as pioneers of a new and unproven method of training. For the most part they have seamlessly integrated e-learning into their training strategy along with all the other methods of delivering training available to them. Even those organisations that waited until e-learning was proven are now enjoying cost efficiency, accessibility, flexibility and the many other benefits that e-learning brings. To sum up benefits, you can save time and money by training without travel, learn from the convenience of your desktop, interact with peers and expert instructors, support corporate green initiatives, gain consistent high-quality instruction for a geographically distributed workforce, and finally get hands-on labs practice.

Dr Demetra Katsifli. The benefits to employees in receiving online education as opposed to classroom-based teaching are manifold. For one, learning online is more effective because it caters for employees' diverse learning styles and objectives. The actual learning can be carried out at convenient times for both the employee and the employer. It can even take place in the learner's home, which can be a more relaxed environment than the office. As the whole experience is self-paced it allows the employee flexibility over time and a number of attempts to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills. Online education also saves significant training costs because employees learn to help themselves and each other. Moreover, participating in a peer network over a significant period of time is very valuable to learners. An additional benefit in an online learning environment is that supervision and mentoring will be carried out over a longer period of time than a classroom-based scenario, allowing for better reflection and feedback mechanisms. It also helps the employees to improve their effectiveness as they learn from their own work experiences and actually apply their learning in their places of work.

How much demand is there for e-learning solutions from Middle East companies?
MJ. E-learning grew by 10 percent in 2008, and by 2011 the e-learning market is expected to increase at a compound average growth rate of 32 percent. Middle East employees genuinely like e-learning and the experience is enjoyable - research proves this. And 93.5 percent have enjoyed the e-courses they have taken while 87 percent can give tangible examples of how they have applied their e-learning application. More than half pass on what they learn to someone else. The whole e-learning experience is engaging, with 98 percent saying they would recommend e-learning to a colleague.

DK. The demand for e-learning among companies in the Middle East is high on account of the region's potential for economic growth. The recent global financial meltdown has further enhanced the need to stay competitive in the changed economic order. Organisations are looking at strengthening their market positioning by focusing on strategic initiatives like incorporating best practices and inculcating quality improvement processes. In this context, most organisations have also understood the merits of having a knowledgeable workforce and have started looking at learning and development as a strategic initiative. Companies have also realised the significance of standards based education/ training, which is a pre-requisite for student success. In sectors like BFSI where there is a renewed focus on statutory and compliance norms (like BASEL II, AML, etc) the need for e-learning is quite evident. 'Assessments' is one another area in the e-learning eco-system that is gaining prominence amongst organisations. This is on account of the huge demand for a certified workforce.

MT. UKS has worked with a number of major national and international brands to provide solutions that meet their e-learning requirements. Middle Eastern companies are now looking at e-learning as a viable solution that addresses the need for training and development whilst reducing cost. Another major factor besides cost is the logistical hurdle faced by many organisations when training a large workforce; especially those organisations that have a number of employees in the field. Since the onset of the current global financial scenario that most organisations are battling, UKS has seen a significant increase in the enquiries for online learning. The UKS portfolio supports organisations with comprehensive e-solutions to map, diagnose and monitor skills and competencies for improving personal and company development plans, and compliments that process with tools for creation, development and management of content for the enhancement of skills and competencies.

What factors should companies take into account when choosing their e-learning provider?
DK. The financial stability, subject matter expertise, strength and quality of workforce, market share in terms of the established list of satisfied and reference-able customer bases are some of the factors that need to be considered while selecting an e-learning provider. Other factors include the provider's product knowledge and its ability to easily integrate the solution with the company's existing management information systems, capability to customise the solution to extend and add functionality seamlessly without affecting its core code etc. The provider should also be able to predict and manage the costs associated with maintaining the solution and delivering the required level of service. At the product level, one should take in to account factors like ease of use, scalability, resilience and supportability while selecting the solution provider.

MT. As mentioned in the answer to the first question an organisation should assess their e-learning provider on the benefits to the learner. Pedagogy is crucial to how the learner engages with any material, be it off the shelf or bespoke. Many learners that have already experienced e-learning normally report a linear experience that becomes more of a page turning exercise without much interaction. The content should be up to date and current with business practice either in the context of the theories and ideas presented or even simply in the imagery and presentation of the material. An e-learning provider should be able to adapt to your technical environment to provide a solution that can be accessible to existing infrastructure as well as interoperable with future ones.

MJ. Important factors to consider are credibility of the institution offering e-learning, quality assurance or quality management systems, pre-enrolment information and guidance, course costs, support for the e-learner, individual preferences, certifications, content and course design.

How much of a return on investment can companies see from investing in e-learning solutions for their employees?
MJ. Without effective ongoing training, the ability of any organisation to compete successfully is under threat. Its competency and efficiency is reduced and the development of its intellectual capital is restricted. In an ideal world, a mix of classroom and online learning is acknowledged as the preferable route for employee development. But these are not ideal times, and the undisputable fact is that e-learning can equip far greater numbers of employees with the skills and knowledge they need than the classroom alone.

It should come as no surprise, therefore, that e-learning continues to grow across the enterprise. But the important fact for organisations to bear in mind is what research proves; that e-learning really is delivering. And it is delivering because it offers good ROI; employees like it and, most important of all, it works.

DK. As digital learning has become increasingly commonplace, organisations have been tackling the complex area of calculating their ROI. The Total Cost of Ownership model has 3 components to be measured to yield the ROI:

1. Hardware, software, human resources costs
2. Level of use by learners and those who contribute to learning
3. Level of result / learner outcome

Only the first tends to be measured successfully, as for example, measuring the costs associated with course development and course delivery, which includes the cost of initial development, instructor's time, material, travel, and opportunity cost of the learner. The second and third measures around the level of use and the level of result would involve a very complex and time-consuming analysis, which organisations tend not to carry out. That said, we have substantial evidence from formal research on the benefits of online education, and in addition, it has also been shown that online course development and delivery are more cost-efficient than classroom-based delivery as the number of course learners increases and the course/training is delivered over a number of years.

MT. An example of the impact of e-learning on the ROI of an organisation for UKS was for a project with Abu Dhabi Oil and Gas Company (ADCO). They approached UKS with a brief to develop a web based and intranet based course for their Coiled Tubing division. Universal Knowledge Solutions utilised its bespoke e-Learning skill-set and expertise in addition to its nine years of regional experience to develop a course that is interactive in nature but at the same time providing effective instruction to the learners taking the course. ADCO was subsequently able to save hundreds of thousands of dollars normally invested for classroom based training, as well as reducing the operational costs of taking their employees out of the field for training.

The Panel:

Mazen Jabri is the Managing Director for MEA & Emerging Markets at Global Knowledge. He joined the company last October, coming from 12 years' experience at Cisco UAE. He started his service with Cisco in 1998 as Account Manager and ended as General Manager & Operations Director for UAE.

Dr Demetra Katsifli is Senior Director of Academic Innovation, EMEA at Blackboard. Her research and professional career in education spans 30 years of managing strategies and enterprise technologies that underpin the core business of education. She is qualified in mathematics and computer science, and her research background is in e-learning.

Maher Thompson was born in the UAE. He received a BA in Digital Practice and Design from the University of Hertfordshire and returned to the UAE in 2004 to start a career in education and training. He is the Regional Sales and Marketing Director for Universal Knowledge Solutions.