Key Practices in e-learning

Jamie Barron (2006) is of the opinion that “successful e-learning initiatives are no
accident. They are the products of strategic planning, powerful content, and committed
personnel who are passionate about what they are doing. They follow predictable patterns
of behavior that can be captured and replicated.” This relates to the creation of the
appropriate climate which will enable desired learning to occur. However, it remains
subject to high variability due to people’s direct involvement in the creation of this
environment. It is where people would share a particular concern or interest, a set of
problems which would allow then to deepen their knowledge and expertise through
interaction on an ongoing basis- a process technically referred to as communities of
practice. This is where, new knowledge and learning are located (Tennant; 1997).

The effectiveness of this system also lies in the flexibility of such knowledge acquisition
process. The interaction that occurs, along with the allowed margin of freedom of
interpretation, fused by a common vision, gives sufficient space to the learner. Indeed, it
is said that human knowledge is created through social interaction between the tacit and
explicit (Nonaka and Takeuchi; 1995). With this power, some organisations like IBM and
American Management Systems were able to intentionally nurture internal CoPs to
increase learning and knowledge management.

Wenger et al., 2002 suggest that there are three important components to be emphasized
in this process :

 The Domain

The area of knowledge that provides a common focus and relates to the critical
business of the organization has to be identified.

 The Community

Significant importance is to be given to the relationships among people which would

enable collective learning to occur in organizational contexts.

The implementation of an e-learning culture April 2011

  The Practice

The activities that anchor the knowledge in what people do have to be identified and
implemented.

Andrea Cruz is Implementation and Support Manager at SH!FT, an e-learning

company which is the result of and international cooperation between Costa
Rica, the US and Canada. Cruz (2007) is of the opinion that there are some
factors which are important to the success of an e-learning strategy
implementation:

1. Corporate objective training

The e-learning project should not be an isolated effort. It should be in aligned with the
corporate objectives which should be clearly communicated.

2. Corporate culture training

It is important to inform the employees of the new benefits resulting from e-learning and
develop a contingency plan to anticipate change resistance.

3. Management or department levels in charge of user training

Management involvement in the training makes it easy to achieve greater employee

commitment.

4. Start training with firm leaders

Leaders are not necessarily linked to positions but to their personality and characteristics
since they are natural leaders followed by their colleagues. Preferably, these leaders
should not belong to the training department.

The implementation of an e-learning culture April 2011

 5. Easy training access

Technological investment is needed to provide the organization with adequate training

infrastructure.

6. Policies and Procedures

Defining project boundaries, guidelines, and scope is related to the definition of policies
and procedures used in training development.

7. Training on competencies and partner personal development

The use of e-learning training for the benefit of employee competencies and real needs
helps the user enjoy the use of a new method.

8. eLearning internal marketing

E-learning marketing helps to create expectations about the training, motivate, and
provide information on the topic. The marketing strategy is very company-specific.

9. Follow-up

Methodology used and acceptance have to be evaluated. There should also be an

assessment to determine whether users are transferring the acquired knowledge to their
jobs the right way.

10. Recognition

It is important for the employee to feel motivated and be recognized as a result of the
training. The recognition could be group-based so as to create healthy competition within
the organization.

The main objective in the transition process is that its benefits, in terms of wider
possibilities, drive the move. As stated by the Cisco Company, specialized in e-HR

The implementation of an e-learning culture April 2011

activities, "moving from the one-room schoolhouse to the one-world schoolhouse is now
a reality."

The implementation of an e-learning culture April 2011

References so far

 Barron J, 2006, Ten top secrets of effective e-learning, Vol. 38, No. 7, Capella
University, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, pp. 360-364.

 Retna K.S, Tee Ng P, 2011, Communities of Practice: dynamics and success

factors, Vol. 32, No. 1, Victoria University of Weillington, Wellington, New
Zealand, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, pp. 41-59.

 Cruz A, 2010, Key success factors for e-learning implementation resulting from
proper planning.

http://www.shiftelearning.com/key-success-factors-for-elearning-implementation-
resulting-from-proper-planning/

The implementation of an e-learning culture April 2011