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  • Essay / Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Training

    Online learning is the hottest trend currently being adopted in the education and business sector. E-learning means learning over the Internet/intranet and it can be done at the learner's pace or in real time (LiNE Zine, 2001). Regardless of the flexibility and self-paced learning, online learning has been a “shot in the back” for many organizations as they have spent millions of dollars on technology infrastructure to implement learning online, but most of the corporate learners had joined the classes and they did. not stay to finish it. At Motorola University, 69% of students had dropped out (The New Corporate University Review, 2003). The attrition rate (the number of students enrolled in the course is declining) was alarming for many companies, including Toyota, GE Capital, New York Online University (NYUonline), Corporate University Xchange Inc and others. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay According to Workforce Management (2003), many online learners neglect their courses by complaining that they don't have enough time, as some courses might do. was only visible on the company intranet and the distraction of other colleagues made it impossible to complete the course during working hours. The importance of completing the course was not clearly emphasized by the management and immediate supervisor and the course instructor did not check the performance of the learners, which resulted in demotivation for the students. The courses were poorly designed and some aspects of the modules were not relevant to employees' work. The course could not be personalized according to the preferences of the learners, for example, they were not given a choice between the delivery of the information, i.e. in audio or textual form. Online learning technology is new to most employees and a shocking number of them haven't tried it. I didn't know how to use the program because the instructions were brief and insufficient, especially for the computer illiterate. Students could not rely on their instructors because some were then inexperienced and therefore not an ideal source of knowledge for students. Additionally, many corporate learners felt isolated during the learning process. In particular, those who took asynchronous courses went quite far and boredom began to envelop them, whereas in synchronous courses, the employees' completion rate was far better. At Sun Microsystems and NYU, online completion rates reached 75% with synchronous courses, however, the remaining students felt the level of participation, interaction, and collaboration was low. To further enhance the findings of Workforce Management (2003), The Learning Guild (2003), and the University of Glasgow (2003) used Vincent Tinto's retention model to explain that learners withdraw from their courses either at the point from the point of view of academic or social integration. Academic integration is when they decide whether the subject interests them, whether it is enjoyable, whether it allows for career development, and whether they are currently satisfied with their results. Social integration refers to the peers students talk with, their comfort with them, and their relationship with instructors. Having positive academic and social integration would result in a high probability of course completion. (See Appendix 15, page 3 for diagram). In order toTo overcome the alarming rate of student attrition, it is essential to analyze the concept of how adults learn. By understanding the concepts of various adult learning theories, businesses will have the opportunity to design a course that will provide learners with a more meaningful learning experience. Malcohm Knowel's approach was known as andragogy theory, defined as “the art and science of helping adults learn” (Nova Southeastern University, 2003). Knowels explains that adults will want to know why they are learning something, how it would apply to their job and the effect of learning a particular course. Adults are eager to learn and will then want to immediately apply the knowledge and skills acquired, otherwise they will tend to procrastinate their online learning. Adult educational learning should include interactions and case studies rather than memorization. Finally, adults are highly motivated by intrinsic factors such as job satisfaction, self-esteem, and quality of the work environment, compared to extrinsic factors such as higher pay and promotions. Knowels' theory is used for traditional courses, but it also applies to online learning and organizations should take note that an adult's learning style does not change even if the means of imparting knowledge change (Learning Circuits, 2003). Other adult learning theories are similar to those of Knowels, such as Cross's Characteristics of Adult Learners (CAL) model which explains that regardless of personal characteristics (age, life stages, developmental stages) and situational characteristics (full/part-time learning and voluntary/involuntary learning). learning), learners still need some flexibility, control and feedback in their learning process. As imperative as these theories are, they do not discuss the interaction or communication aspect which is one of the basic needs of online learning (Nova Southeastern University, 2003). Additionally, businesses will need to determine the motivator that would motivate them. learners to complete the courses. Some learners are active and continue to learn all the time. They can plan and organize their learning structure and are motivated primarily by intrinsic factors. As for passive learners, they need to be “spoon-fed” because they lack personal motivation, so they need to be rewarded by extrinsic factors to continue their training. To determine the type of learners, companies can provide questionnaires; they can therefore act accordingly to motivate different types of learners (Vuepoint, 2002). To keep online learners learning, companies need to motivate them before starting the course, during the course, and after the course. When preparing the course or modules, companies need to know who the learners are and what their goals are by carrying out a needs analysis. It is important that learners see that what they are studying is relevant to their task. Companies will need to determine whether the course learned will actually meet the learners' objectives (Vuepoint, 2002). A culture of online learning should be developed in the company. Support from management and colleagues is necessary to design the course. Management can provide a short presentation on the importance of online learning or an orientation to the course so that potential learners have the willingness toparticipate in online learning (Learning Circuits, 2003). For example, at NYUonline, the vice president of training gave a pep talk with learners to inform them of the importance of the course and the positive results they would get from the organization (Workforce Management, 2003) . Companies must ensure that there are no distractions from other staff and that the immediate supervisor is trained to accept new skills and abilities of employees (Vuepoint, 2002). Push strategies should be used to promote course completion. This includes learner tracking, for example, instructors can use Archipelago software to check when students logged in and logged out and how long it took them to complete the assignment. At GE Capital, the supervisor tracks the learners' performance and informs them if they are falling behind. Dashboards are displayed to show student performance and results. Pull strategies can also be used in providing inspiration for the learner to complete the course. This can be done using managers as role models, for example senior managers would also follow the course. Stories of students who complete courses should be posted so that potential learners know that they too can succeed (Workforce Management, 2003). Give the learner 20 minutes of detailed learning. According to Centrax Corporation of Chicago, this measure has proven effective for employees. Keep learners entertained with animations, photos and videos, eye-catching backgrounds, but don't create a distraction that might cause the learner to deviate. Provide interaction to keep the learner paying attention, for example by using hovers and drag-and-drops. Standardize all pages and text, provide tutorial and help features to make it user-friendly. Enable the personalization feature so that information can be presented in text or audio form, or they can change colors or certain images to suit their preferences (Learning Circuits, 2003). Interaction needs to be improved in online learning. In traditional classrooms, the completion rate is close to 100% because students are able to communicate freely when they see each other, trust is built because they can determine the nonverbal gestures of other students. Instructors can tell if students understand the topic through expressions and emotions. But in online learning, student support is essential. An interest group can be formed by discussing issues and issues via live chat rooms or video conferencing. Management could provide support by setting up alumni for online learners so that those who have completed the course but are still having problems can interact with other learners. (LiNE Zine, 2001). According to Fastrak Consulting Ltd (2003), a “buddy system” should be incorporated into online learning so that each learner works in pairs, thereby building trust and loyalty. The pressure of having a chaperone would force the learner to complete the course. However, this can create problems as each learner has different approaches to learning and may be overly dependent on their buddy, hampering their efforts to work alone, particularly when skills need to be transferred to the organization . Provide immediate feedback to the student. Chat sessions, virtual classes, emails are ways instructors can respond to.