Holly Denney
OMDE 0605
Final Project
December 18, 2001

Proposal: eLearning for Forinstance Inc.

Introduction

eLearning, which is a combination of web-based training ("WBT") and a self-directed learning environment, is an exciting training and development option. Learning takes place independently of time and place. If Forinstance is to maintain its position as the premier software provider of Internet-based service process, optimization solutions must include a coordinated training plan for its employees and clients. This report addresses the benefits of eLearning, issues of developing a successful program, recommends the sequence of course development, and includes a timeline for development of the program. Today's employees are knowledge workers. In addition,

(a) new language is spreading through the business community, constructed from theories of organizational learning, knowledge management, intellectual capital, and organizational intelligence. At the core of these ideas is the compelling notion that an organization is the aggregate of its knowledge and its ability to learn. Many organizations have built learning architectures to capture the benefits of better learning in a manner reminiscent of continuous quality improvement. … (T)hese organizations want education to be delivered to the right people at the right time in the right way: just-in-time. (Kull, 1999)

The Benefits of eLearning

Properly developed, eLearning provides a higher level of training at a lower cost than a traditional face-to-face training model. What makes eLearning efficient and cost effective are its combined benefits of anytime / anywhere learning, individualized instruction and group work capabilities, on-going learning, and economies of scale. By adding high-quality fee-based eLearning components to its training for clients, Forinstance will generate fee revenue which will underwrite the cost of developing additional programs.

Higher Level of Training at a Lower Cost

Many studies have been done to determine the effectiveness of eLearning. The majority of the studies to date are indicating that learning gains are comparable to face-to-face instruction and that learners are mastering the material faster, taking on average 50-70% of the time for learners in a traditional face-to-face lecture or seminar environment (Hasebrook, 2000).

Another significant savings with eLearning involves the costs associated with travel. Not only does Forinstance incur the obvious, hard costs of transportation, lodging, and meals, but also there is the soft cost of employees being away from their jobs (Hasebrook, 2000). eLearning enables each employee to be current on needed, or desired, training without having to leave work. Even if training is done during working hours, the savings realized by a more rapid rate of learning and no travel costs is still significant.

Hasebrook (2000) cites comparative costs for face-to-face and eLearning: "if 100 employees participate in a three day face-to-face training, the costs will be between $420 and $840. eLearning may be provided for a rate between $360 and $660 per participant." These figures are for eLearning training with limited interaction between the trainer and the learners. The addition of on-line tutors and moderated chats or bulletin boards provide a higher quality of training and user satisfaction with enhanced learning gains that more than offset any additional costs.

Anytime / Anywhere Learning

As previously stated, eLearning enables a learner to access learning materials and course discussions at a time and place that is best suited to his/her individual schedule. With eLearning, training schedules are instantaneously responsive to a learner's needs and not bound by pre-set dates. In particular, training is needed whenever promotions, transfers, and new hires happen. Forinstance's staff will always be prepared to anticipate our clients' needs, whether for product training or for new products to interact with the rapidly-changing global marketplace.

Special training is needed before the announcement of new or upgraded products. In this case, the training development team will work in conjunction with the product development team. Interactive training materials will be available electronically in advance of the product introduction date, which means that employees, whether sales, executive, or administrative, will be prepared to answer customer inquiries promptly, thoroughly, and intelligently.

The asynchronous environment of eLearning allows the learner to post comments or questions and discuss the material with other participants without being restricted by the boundaries of class times.

The use of eLearning facilitates "the transfer of information learned from eLearning into practice" (Hasebrook, 2000). The availability of training at the employees' home or work site means that an employee can learn a new concept or technique and apply it the same day. Learning leaves the artificial environment of a classroom and becomes an integral part of the work environment. Application of theory is immediate, while the employee is enthusiastic about the new learning, rather than delayed until after the employee returns to work.

Individualized instruction and group work capabilities

eLearning provides the flexibility of addressing different learning styles. A learner can select the presentation format (whether text-based or enhanced with audio/visual or a combination of both) to best suit his/her needs. In addition, a learner can interact with the on-line materials, add or delete materials, to enhance his/her learning experience - all without impacting the learning experiences of all the other learners engaged in a particular course.
As an international company, it is important for all of Forinstance's employees to be comfortable working and interacting on-line. Virtual teams require interaction skills both similar to and different from those used for face-to-face teamwork. eLearning will develop that skill and comfort level. We are fortunate that a corporate culture of freely shared information exists; this culture is a major component for the success of eLearning (Hasebrook, 2000).

On-going Learning

Periodic, formal training situations are no longer adequate. What is needed is "an on-going learning process which permanently delivers information, learning, and communication services to learning stations and work places" (Paul & Siewert, 1996, as quoted in Hasebrook, 2000). Not only does eLearning provide this structure, but also it can verify the employee's "transition from learning to working and (check) the sustainability of learning outcomes (Hasebrook).

Economies of Scale

eLearning is a cost-effective way of developing and delivering training, whether to individual learners or to groups of any size. Training materials are available electronically, and each learner makes the decision of whether to read on-line or to print out materials. With electronic delivery of training materials, it is not necessary to print and store materials or to invest the time and money in packaging and shipping.

Currency of Information

eLearning with its links, enables a learner to move from the course text to related background materials without ever leaving the learning environment. Updates to training materials are done quickly and easily; and learners, both currently enrolled and "graduates," are notified electronically whenever a section is updated.

Considerations for the Development of Effective eLearning

Needed are careful planning and development. Part of the planning process is an in-depth evaluation of our employees' and clients' training needs and desires. Once those factors are determined, development of the program will progress at a reasoned pace. In addition, learners must be comfortable with the eLearning environment, have appropriate equipment and access, and have the necessary support structures including tutors and 24/7 technical support. Because our employees may use personal time for training purposes, suitable rewards should be factored into the plan.

Of equal importance is the time-to-market cost. It is not necessary or desirable to develop these programs in-house. There are several companies that have developed programs of eLearning and that have developed expertise in the customization of these programs to meet the specific needs of individual organizations.

Determination of Training Needs and Desires

Forinstance has an established training program. Conversations with the trainers and a review of their usage data from the past six months indicate that our employees are utilizing the training that is offered and have expressed interest in training more specific to personal growth and to advancement opportunities within the company. The computer-based training courses are always fully subscribed, and there is often a waiting list. Post-course evaluation forms express a preference for eLearning opportunities for the existing courses and for the availability of a wider range of courses.

Based upon this data, I did conduct a sample survey of employees (n = 200). Employees expressed a need for the following courses, ranked by number of requests:

As the training is developed, we will set learning (strategic and operational) goals, which will enable us to measure learning and productivity gains (Hasebrook, 2000).

I've also sampled the call logs (n =1,000) from our customer service support area. There are certain categories of questions which come up frequently and which indicate a need for a more user-friendly method of providing our clients with basic (n=500), intermediate (n=350), and advanced (n=150) tutorials. Previous planning meetings have determined that it is economically feasible to provide face-to-face after-purchase support only for those customers whose purchase exceeds a stated amount. While I am not disputing the basis for that decision, I would suggest that superior customer training for purchasers at any level could not only expand our customer base but also encourage existing customers to upgrade or expand their purchasing decisions regarding Forinstance products. To support my position, I examined the "declined to purchase" forms filed for the past six months. Of the 500 forms examined, 65% of the "cold calls" stated that the time-of-purchase training provided would be inadequate for their needs, and 73% of our existing customers who declined to purchase additional software expressed the same opinion of inadequate training.

Team Approach to Development

Forinstance already utilizes a team approach for its product development. For the purposes of developing the eLearning program, the team will be comprised of one of our product developers, one of our trainers, a representative from the developer, and me. This eLearning team concept will be used whether existing face-to-face courses are being adapted or new courses are being developed. It is important that all members of the team be full participants in the development, because each brings his or her individual expertise. One of the common problems with eLearning is that "most of the hypertext systems are implemented by computer scientists and technical staff. Therefore, they focus on the technological side of the site and not so much of the psychological and pedagogical aspects" (Hasebrook, 1999). In a team, we all learn together; awareness of how psychology and pedagogy interact with technology may carry across into future versions of our software.

Comfort with eLearning Environment

Forinstance's employees are all computer literate. However, eLearning requires skills different from either working with computers or learning in a face-to-face environment. Fortunately, there is an excellent course available, titled "Learning with New Media," which was developed for the purpose of familiarizing people with eLearning. The course contains many examples and learning aids, and the end of each section has a self-test which enables the learner to determine how he/she has done with the material (Hasebrook, 1999). In addition, a learner may return to the material for review at any point during the self-test exercise. Feedback in the form of a percentage grade is automatically provided upon completion of each self-test exercise. A learner then has the option of reviewing the questions; this time, the point value for each of the options is provided, and the maximum number of points that can be earned is shown along with the number of points actually earned.

Appropriate Equipment and Access

Employees should be granted the use of their equipment and Internet access at work, because these programs involve developing or upgrading their familiarity with our programs or with the Microsoft suite of programs. Completion of training would be under the same parameters as are granted employees who enroll for daytime classes at the local university, namely that they may attend one course at a time without penalty regarding time away from the job. With in-house eLearning, employees should be able to complete their training faster.

Many of our employees have personal computers and Internet access at home, particularly those who live in the U.S. Course design would take into account the limitations of less-robust hardware, slower modems, and dial-up access. In addition, I've contacted several of the PC manufacturers to ask about purchase discounts, all of whom have expressed interest in working with us and in making the program available to our employees as well as our clients.

Tutors

Tutors for eLearning utilize different skills from trainers in a face-to-face seminar. This is not to say that our trainers cannot become excellent tutors, and I fully expect that they will be. I recommend that the trainers be a part of the first cohort of learners. The trainers are familiar with the course materials, and they will experience first-hand the learning environment and the importance of the various support features. These tutors will be available during normal working hours to answer questions regarding the non-technical aspects of the courses. The other members of this first group should be our "help" desk staff. They will be answering the questions of our training customers, and they should be familiar with the eLearning environment.

Much of the tutoring will be done by 'intelligent tutors,' "a question-driven navigation system that guides the user to the answers he/she seeks. This navigation system operates by using the results of the responses of a student to questions and problems to identify the concepts that are not understood and to point a student to the locations on the site where material related to those concepts can be found" (George & Lush, 2000).

24/7 technical support

Our existing "help" desk staff should be able to handle the additional call and e-mail volume from our first groups of training customers. Part of my review of the call logs included plotting the frequency of calls in each one-hour block of time. Obviously, there are peaks during the times that business are open, but the volume falls off significantly after businesses close. Anticipated usage by training learners would be during the current periods of lower call volume. Because we have 24/7 "help" desks in each of our office locations, time zone differences were not considered in the survey. In addition, all the "help" desks have automatic forwarding of calls should an unusually large surge of calls result at a location.

Part of our outreach to our communities includes a very active relationship with the local colleges and universities. We already hire student trainees, some of whom have become full-time employees upon graduation. As has been demonstrated with the existing customer service support area, college students are an excellent choice for staffing the "help" desk, particularly for nights and weekends. Our work studies earn above minimum wage, so we should not have any difficulties attracting additional qualified people should the need arise to do so.

Platform

The platform which supports the eLearning must be easy to use yet sophisticated enough to provide the full range of multimedia and hyperlink learning. It should be accessible through any ISP and run on any browser, and it should be a secure site with password protection.

Rewards

When surveyed, our employees expressed an interest in receiving recognition for their accomplishments (e.g., framed certificates, congratulatory notices in ForInstance!, and departmental receptions when a certificate is achieved). Monetary reward could be in the form of larger annual merit increases. Another way to reward our employees would be to offer opportunities for advancement to those who have completed appropriate levels of training when openings arise and before the openings are advertised externally.

Opportunities for Training - Clients

Because of their familiarity with the development and the marketing of the products, I would recommend that the next group of learners be comprised of key members from the software development staff and the sales staff. These employees could then serve as beta testers for those programs that are developed for marketing to our clients.

Certification Program

In conjunction with the external programs would be a certification program, with stepped levels of accomplishment. Certification programs can be lucrative and provide a steady fee revenue stream for the vendor. Training fees are determined by the complexity of the course and whether or not a certificate is earned. As an example, on-line training for the Microsoft MCSE certifications is priced between $1,400 and $2,000 per person (Avatar, on-line).

I sampled the customer support center call logs from the past six months (n=500). Of the calls requesting advanced training (n=150), 75% of the records indicate that a number of our customers, particularly those with larger and customized versions of our programs, have asked about the availability of such certificate programs. They are interested in having in-house capabilities for trouble-shooting and for making programming changes as their own markets evolve. Based upon industry averages, it is reasonable to assume that 45% of those requesting the training would send at least one employee each within the first year of such a program's implementation, or

150 calls x 75% requesting training = 50 potential trainees

50 potential trainees x $1,500 per trainee = $75,000 potential fee income

Recommendation

After careful analysis of the costs of in-house development, purchasing existing programs, and contracting for external development of custom programs, it is my recommendation that we contract for external development of custom programs. Appendix A, attached to this report, contains my cost estimates for each of the options.

While purchasing existing programs represents the lowest initial investment, it is also a short-term solution, and it gives us the least amount of control over the content and quality of the programs.

In-house development is the highest cost of the options, because it would require additions to staff of editors and programmers in order for us to attempt to achieve the same rate of course development that is offered by the recommended vendor. In addition, we would require more time for testing after the courses are developed and before they could be offered to employees or clients.

Therefore, it is my recommendation that Forinstance begin the process of conversion to eLearning by contracting with the BankAcademy, the developer of "Learning with New Media." BankAcademy will provide us with a modification of "Learning with New Media," that will include introductions to the concepts that will be developed in Effective Teamwork On-line and Netiquette and On-line Communication. BankAcademy will work with us as we prepare e-Learning versions of Intermediate and Advanced Windows 98/2000, and Intermediate and Advanced Microsoft Office 2000.

Implementation

Because many of the preliminary steps have been accomplished, implementation can begin upon approval of the supervisory board. Two weeks after the contract is signed, we will be able to offer our employees a customized version of "Learning with New Media." During this same two-week period, development of the next courses, Effective Teamwork On-line, Netiquette and On-line Communication, Intermediate and Advanced Windows 98/2000, and Intermediate and Advanced Microsoft Office 2000, can begin. The next two courses will be on-line within a month and a half, and the other four the month after that.

Thank you for this opportunity to present this plan for the implementation of eLearning at Forinstance. I look forward to working with you on the development, implementation, and future growth of the program.

References

Avatar Computer Solutions, Inc. (2000). Training. [On-line]. Available: http://www.avatar-cs.net/ - select "Training"

George, D.L., & Lush, G.B. (2000). A web-based tutor for asynchronous learning with intelligent feedback. Session #62C2, ASEE Conference.

Hasebrook, J. P. (1999a). Searching the web without losing the mind - traveling the knowledge space. WebNet Journal, 1(2), 24-32.

Hasebrook, J.P. (1999b). Web-based training, performance, and controlling. Journal of Network and Computer Applications, 22, 51-64.

Kull, M. D. (1999). Corporate universities: Just-in-time learning. On The Horizon, 7(2). [On-line]. Available: http://horizon.unc.edu/horizon/online/login.asp - [Issue 7 no longer available on line (October 12, 2002)]

* All links verified as of October 12, 2002.

Comparative Cost Estimates:

Purchase Existing Programs
Contract for External Development
In-house Development