Internet supported Certificate in Management: A case study from Malaysia Kylie McKenna Global Network Architects Pty Ltd

Net IQ, a Malaysian company, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Global Network Architects (GNA) Corporation [http://www.gna-corp.net] are delighted to publish our findings of a three-month pilot. The pilot was designed to test the effectiveness of a management oriented Internet-supported program delivered to members of the Malaysian corporate workforce in Penang.

Net IQ [http://www.netiq.com.my/], now the Network Learning division of GNA, specialises in designing, delivering and supporting tailored learning resources for the Internet. These Internet-supported programs are hybrid programs that combine three different delivery methods:

• instructor led workshops

• physical self-study workbooks or CD ROMs

• an online learning environment which combines a library of learning resources with a range of communication tools and an array of interactive learning activities.

Although the subject of delivering online training in Malaysian corporations is much talked about, those involved in designing and delivering education and training today lack examples and models of successful cases such as this.

The pilot's objectives were to:

• Build a case study to demonstrate the power and effectiveness of this training medium

• Provide a realistic "hands-on" opportunity for corporations in Penang

• Develop corporations understanding of this new learning environment and its potential

• Generate, share and build on the information and feedback obtained from this pilot program

Unlike many other online programs this pilot program included structured interactive learning activities and events to help members develop and test their understanding. In addition the online case studies and examples were tailored to the Malaysian audience.

The program content was based on proven management materials published by HDL Training and Development, part of Pearson Professional (UK), and used by a number of well respected UK Business Schools in their distance learning management qualification programs.

We started the pilot program with an orientation day where members became familiar with each other, the online environment and Net IQ staff. At the start of the pilot program the majority of members:

• Were familiar with the technology and felt their computer skills were adequate, had used a chat room before and were confident about joining the online conferences.

• Had not participated in a self-study or online program before.

• Joined the program not only to develop their management and Internet skills but also to explore something new and evaluate this new learning environment. They were also interested in how to use the Internet as an effective information resource.

General findings

1. The necessity of introducing members to the environment via an orientation workshop was confirmed and contributed to a relaxed and friendly relationship between the Net IQ team and members.

2. Everyone enjoyed taking part in the pilot program. The course had met their learning expectations except in the area of online conferences. This is because some members had trouble accessing the chat room due to internal company security issues. However, most members reported that they consider this learning platform as an effective way of delivering soft skills and management training in their organisation. Some felt computer application skills could be delivered using this platform. Members mostly agreed that they would like the Internet platform to support their next training and would recommend the Internet platform as an effective way of presenting training materials.

3. Members were involved in other training at the time of the pilot program. This meant that time constraints allowed for only an average of 1-2 hours studying per week. This is about 50% of what was required. Members were concerned, feeling they had not fully used the potential of the online environment. However, none of the members dropped out of the program and in summary the achievement targets are higher than those usually seen in traditional distance learning delivery. In addition, members felt they were able to explore the new online environment by themselves after completing this pilot program.

4. The hybrid approach to training was seen as realistic and an appropriate method of enhancing the effectiveness of training delivery within the candidates organisations. It was both interesting and encouraging that on average members felt the appropriate balance was 17.5% instructor led, 37.5% printed materials and 45% online. The latter was higher than expected and incorporated into the design of Net IQs First-Line Management program.

Strengths and weaknesses

This confirmed Net IQ predictions that all materials should eventually be tailored to the local market for maximum effectiveness. Given member's time constraints it would be more efficient if examples were within member's experience.

Members were very enthusiastic over the flexibility of the online environment. Being able to access training materials in the office or at home was considered to be a huge benefit. The lack of fixed classroom hours meant a degree of unheard flexibility, which allowed members to structure their learning around their work obligations.

Time constraints being considerable, members were pleased to take advantage of the lists of WWW references illustrated with Net IQ reviews. Feedback indicated that members were keen to investigate the web but were unable to spend much time navigating by themselves. The references provided by Net IQ offered a glimpse of resources available on the Net.

The two key weakness of the program was seen to be lack of participation in the online conferences and a few website visual and navigation improvements were recommended.

In terms of the former issue this is mainly an issue of obtaining more commitment from the members and perhaps running sessions more frequently and for shorter times. Although the online conferences were perceived as the most useful learning resource, most members did not carry out the pre-conference work and had found meeting the conferences times difficult. However, they still preferred conferences to be set at an agreed time and did not recommend a preferred meeting time.

Online contact hours should be shorter than traditional class times. The one hour period given to each online conference was clearly too long. Against all expectations, members found it quite easy to adapt to virtual communication and lively discussions were held. Shorter conferences of twenty to thirty minutes will be more effective as long as members can be relied upon to do the preparation. Otherwise there is a danger that conferences merely become online lectures given by the tutor.

The latter issue confirms the need for the online learning environment to be visually appealing, easy to use and navigate and quick to download. Functionality is more important than pretty pictures that take too long to download. Designers must allow for user's browser preferences. Although members in this pilot were given the software to access the online materials, other companies may not wish to go to such efforts. This means that design must be robust and flexible.

Summary

Online learning can be a lonely experience. Although all the members agreed the Net IQ team was friendly and helpful, they would have liked more interaction with their fellow members. To take full advantage of this new learning environment it must be remembered that members themselves are instrumental in creating an online community. To build a community members must be prepared to contact each other at regular intervals. This contact will take the place of contacts made which from group identity during traditional classroom learning.

A point related to this is motivation. Members used to being motivated by taking part in-group learning need to learn self-motivation. Anyone designing online courses should consider including discussion on strategies for self-motivation during orientation day.

Tailoring proven content is the foundation of strong and efficient materials. Members confirmed that tailored materials were perceived as more useful than UK centred materials. This confirmed Net IQ's prediction and confirms that the company's emphasis on tailored materials is a proper one.

In conclusion the pilot program provided an effective and realistic hands-on experience for all those involved. All of the members enjoyed the program and felt it really helped them evaluate the potential of this learning environment. The mixture of members from training and line management was appropriate as the program was evaluated by trainers and users.

We are happy to sharing our other experiences in delivering Internet supported programs in the Asia Pacific region, and welcome questions and comments. Email [KylieM@GNA-corp.net].

Kylie McKenna Global Network Architects (GNA) Pty Ltd Level 5 / 116 Queens Street, Melbourne 3000, Australia Ph: +61 3 9642 2399 Fax: +61 3 9642 2010 Email: KylieM@GNA-corp.net http://www.gna-corp.net/ Please cite as: McKenna, K. (1998). Internet supported Certificate in Management: A case study from Malaysia. In C. McBeath and R. Atkinson (Eds), Planning for Progress, Partnership and Profit. Proceedings EdTech'98. Perth: Australian Society for Educational Technology. http://www.aset.org.au/confs/edtech98/pubs/articles/mckenna.html