Successful models for enterprise vocational education: Distributed learning strategies Mark Keough Managing Director TechWorks

Large enterprises are facing significant challenges in providing equitable access to training in a climate characterised by shrinking budgets, demands for improved corporate performance and changes in industrial relations.

In partnership with customers such as Qantas, BHP, CentrelInk and Air Services Australia and a range of vocational training providers, we have gained a unique insight into the needs of the modern enterprise.

Online learning and team development is a watershed for learning organisations operating strategically to improve personal and corporate performance. Like the Model T Ford transformed the way future generations were to operate, online learning systems will change corporate opportunities and capacity to improve performance.

Traditional institution based education and training was developed to meet the requirements of learners in an environment characterised by stability rather than change (Brennan, 1996). This approach is no longer relevant in an economic environment in which national and international competitiveness not only depends on productivity but also relies on quality, variety, customisation and timeliness (Kearns and Johnson, 1993).

Increase in access to the Internet and World Wide Web, the expansion of communications networks in Australia and other developments are taking place at a time when continuous learning approaches and courses that are flexible, adaptable, portable and interactive are essential. Through the use of new and emerging technologies associated with the Internet, TechWorks' online learning system can deliver customised learning programs on demand, administer individual assessment, manage learner progress, manage corporate learning programs, provide learning support for a range of learning models and provide access to learning resources of unprecedented magnitude.

What does corporate online learning and development look like, why is it a such a landmark, what will happen if decision makers choose to do nothing, how does it impact on IT and HR/Training departments and what are the critical success factors for successful implementation? Answers provided will draw on TechWorks' three years experience implementing corporate online learning systems, including Qantas College On-line.

TechWorks - an overview

1. companies, such as Qantas and Centrelink with whom we partner to provide customised online learning systems

2. a growing number of public and private training providers such as Canberra Institute of Technology, Eastern TAFE in Victoria, OTEN in NSW, Regency Institute of TAFE in South Australia and Deakin University with whom we partner to market and deliver or support online accredited courses which they nominate

3. individuals seeking qualifications or course modules through online learning

4. companies requiring bulk purchase of varied online courses for employees.

Context for learning and development

Environment scan

1. The rapidly developing trend towards globalisation of national economies and the emergence of more complex and competitive economic environments

2. The impact of new technologies on business operations and philosophies

3. An appreciation of the central role of information and communication technologies in meeting the new imperatives of business.
   [ANTA National Flexible Delivery Taskforce, 1996; Kearns, 1994; Palmieri and others, 1994; Kearns and Johnson, 1993]

Organisations are demanding cost effective, flexible continuous learning systems that demonstrably improve corporate performance to give them a competitive edge. New research for ANTA based on linking the national stock of qualifications to international competitiveness revealed Australia lags behind its OECD competitors in the post compulsory and post secondary arenas. [Australian Training, Jan 1998]. Vocational training and education providers must change to meet these needs; discover and apply new and innovative ways to manage, support and deliver learning and qualifications.

Online learning technologies have the potential to transform traditional learning and training. This can be likened to the advent of the Model T Ford in 1908 which transformed the personal transportation industry. This was not the first car, but it was the most successful. It was affordable, reliable, and efficient. It was effective because it was easy to operate, maintain, and handle on rough roads. [Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village Online http://www.hfmgv.org]. Online learning technologies aren't the first electronic learning technologies but they are cost saving, reliable and effective learning tools, easy to operate and the roads are improving.

To push the analogy a little further, the mass production processes initiated by Henry Ford laid foundations for moving from supply driven automotive market to the demand driven market we experience today.

Similarly, the learning and development market in Australia has tended to be supply driven primarily by the nature of VET sector and university funding and limited user ability to purchase from distant suppliers. Online learning is changing both buyers' and sellers' access to the training and learning marketplace. Buyers and sellers of learning are no longer geographically restricted - online training providers can offer nationally and globally while on the other hand learners can select the very best from globally marketed online learning.

In such a demand driven market, a training provider's survival is likely to depend more than ever before on quality of service and ability to respond to client needs. This is quite alarming for many provider institutions that see their traditional domain under threat or genuinely fear the erosion of depth in their university faculties. The tertiary sector in the United States is experiencing considerable disquiet as some tertiary administrators partner with private enterprises to fund course conversion to online form and mandate the use of the web to support learning on their campuses. Called the "Instructional Enhancement Method" in UCLA, students and faculty members alike protested the top down commercialisation of higher education. [Noble 1997].

One is reminded of the quotation, author unknown:

The pessimist complains about the direction of the wind.
The optimist expects the direction to change.
The leader simply adjusts the sails.

Electronic learning technologies: The trends

The potential of electronic learning technologies has been widely recognised for several years. Early commentators and researchers focussed on the role of improving access to learners disadvantaged by distance, work practices or lifestyle. However interest in the new technologies is no longer limited to distance education applications.

Emphasis is now on how they impact on learning per se and their cost effectiveness compared with traditional training methods. In an address at the International Conference on Computers in Education in Malaysia, December 1997, the noted Thomas Reeves claimed information technology improved learning outcomes for 47% of learners at K-6 level, 36% at 7-10 level, 26% at the tertiary level (where learning is not vocational) and 42% at the vocational level.

Data source: Thomas Reeves, ICCE, Malaysia, December 1997.

In TechWorks' experience of cost efficiencies for online learning technology, savings are made on accommodation, travel, course maintenance, training administration and time spent on learning or revisiting learning. This view is supported by documented instances of significant savings by companies using electronic learning technologies [Training and Development, November 1997].

However, the trend in learning technologies is toward online learning. This is borne out in two surveys in USA last year [National HRD Executive survey and Benchmarking Forum survey, as reported in Training and Development, November 1997]. While mid 1997 classroom training was still the dominant delivery method in the States, it was expected to decline from 80% to 55% by the year 2000. By that time it was predicted that 35% of all training would be delivered by electronic learning technologies.

A significant rise in the use of Internet and network based distance learning systems was forecast. Intranets were predicted to more than triple (14%-45%) and use of the World Wide Web expected to soar from 27% to 48%.

A similar trend is emerging in Australia. While classroom based delivery still predominates, the rate of increase in online learning is leapfrogging.

This is not surprising in light of the most recent research into Internet use in Australia by APT Strategies Pty Ltd, First Quarter 1997. Of more than 2,000,000 Australians (or 13% of the population) who accessed the Internet in the last month of the survey, at least 25% were engaging in some form of online learning. [ http://aptstrategies.com.au/rec_inter.htm].

Data source: APT Strategies Pty Ltd Quarter 1, 1997.

Recent Australian internet usage statistics are difficult to find. However a Yellow Pages survey found 23% of small businesses were on the Net, (up from 9% a year ago) - with 18% more expected to connect within the year [The Australian NetNews dated 15 Oct 1997].

It seems reasonable therefore to anticipate a similar escalation in access to the Internet and online learning in Australia as has been forecast for the United States.

What does online learning and development look like?

Online learning; Hierarchy of understandings

There is however a variety of understandings about what constitutes online learning. Anne A'Herran (December 1997) describes a hierarchy of applications. To many organisations 'online training' means just a directory of courses, the courses themselves being delivered by post or conventionally, face-to-face with a phone call or letter to start the conventional enrolment and learning process.

Or perhaps it means you can download lecture notes from the Internet. However there is still a real face-to-face component. Sometimes lecture notes online are supplemented by postage of textbooks. You might communicate by email with your tutor and be assessed as you go. They call this online delivery.

At a higher level enrolment is captured to an administrative system that tracks student data. Few systems go as far as offering RPL and assessment online, courseware progress tracking and the capacity for tutors and administrative staff to view and record/update student progress and attainment.

At its best online learning includes access to collaborative tools, the 'human face of learning'. These include online chat, email and Message Board.

Learning materials online remain only marginally interesting to institutions and enterprises alike unless they are part of a reporting engine, and an administering system. A seriously online system tracks the learner from registration of interest, enrolment, through learning guides, and assessment. It embeds formative assessment activities and summative assessment from which data can be extracted and manipulated for purposes of student tracking and certification.

Learning materials, says A'Herran, have to engage the learner in achieving learning outcomes and in the end, if they excite but take the learner nowhere in terms of skills, understanding and eventually qualification, the learner will leave. They need to sit within a system that qualifies the learner and leaves the learner with a qualification in hand. A comprehensive system tracks who has been using the materials, and reports to the learning institution who has been assessed and how and when they achieved. It guides the learner though the use of the system and offers online and conventional help all the way. It takes into account the training and induction of facilitators in this new mode of delivery, and the new interactive learning in which they will build relationships with the learner.

So it can be seen that online learning means many things to different people.

The TechWorks Learning System look

The TechWorks Learning System has been developed with all three clients in mind. The System therefore has many faces. The face that welcomes clients depends on their purpose for using the system. Some examples follow.

Suppose client Mark from Company Petal Corp, on his own initiative, enrols in Conflict Resolution - a Communications module provided on the TechWorks Learning System by Canberra Institute of Technology. Subsequent to a neat online registration process, Mark will be advised by email that he can start the course. Greeted by name on reentry, Mark will see a welcome message from his tutor and links to all tools he needs to engage in, manage and track his learning progress. For example, Mark will see links to course information (about competencies, assessment requirements and application for recognition of prior learning), links to engage with the courseware itself (such as course modules and assessment events) and he will see links to collaborative learning tools (such as a chat room, notice board and calendar of events).

CIT (Canberra Institute of Technology) is also a TechWorks Learning System client, and a CIT tutor will see a very different face of TechWorks Learning System from the face which welcomed Mark. When the tutor logs in she will see all the functionality she needs to manage and administer her tutorial group members. Apart from tools to broadcast messages, chat with learners, add or delete dates on the calendar, the tutor can drill down on group and individual learner information, tracking an individual's learning. The tutor can edit an individual's learning achievement status subsequent to recorded online self testing and assignments received.

When an Administrator from CIT comes online he will see only administrative functions such as enrolment forms and reports. A CIT Manager will see management reports about tutor workload and achievement for any or all CIT courses on the system.

Employment challenged Jenny registers online for Managing Customer Service an OTEN course that currently uses traditional surface mail delivery of materials, enriched through TechWorks Learning System collaborative communication tools and by online student management. The most significant difference between Jenny and Mark's screens is the absence of courseware links.

In the final scenario an enterprise called Metoo Holdings partners with TechWorks to develop an online learning system like Qantas College Online - just for Metoo employees. When Zia, a Metoo employee logs on to The Metoo Online College from home or work, she will see the mood and essence of her organisation reflected in the graphical look and feel of the site. The Home page is a gateway to specialist areas defined by function, that is there will be separate gateways for the learner, administrator, tutor, manager and perhaps also a Resource Manager (for online library reservations). Through the learner gateway, Zia will see learner functionality and she will not have access to tutor, administrator or manager gateways. Mahummed, the HR Manager will have access to those reports about corporate learning that he asked to be built for him. It is worth noting that the site is secure and neither Mark nor Jenny has access to this password protected site.

Wired for learning: What are the considerations

Improving corporate performance

Online learning adds value to corporate performance as follows

1. There is flexibility in time, place and manner of delivery of learning to suit the requirements of the enterprise and individuals

2. Online learning systems are particularly suited to dispersed populations and so contribute to access and equity objectives and to quality and standards in client service delivery

3. Online learning provides a means of fostering life-long learning and so contributes to continuous improvement objectives and to upgrading and maintaining and growing the skill level and knowledge base of the workplace in changing conditions

4. Online learning enables individual, interactive methods of learning which can be more effective in achieving some learning outcomes or competencies for some learners than classroom delivery methods

5. Learning materials, always available, can be revisited and easily updated

6. Online learning systems provide accountability snapshots of corporate investment in and measured outcomes from learning and development.

What if I do nothing (if it ain't broke don't fix it)

As a learner will online learning bring you benefits? As an enterprise can you afford the missed opportunity to reduce costs, improve your image in the marketplace and add value to your corporate performance? And if you are trading globally can you afford not to train globally? If you are a training provider, what is your future marketplace in the new terrain?

Role changes: What new skills will I need?

IT systems managers and administrators, CIOs
There is little impact on the day to day operations of Informologists and technologists when the system is outsourced - which is the way we operate. TechWorks manages the server and server applications. IT personnel are involved from the outset in collaborative discussions about the most appropriate solution for their enterprise. An outsourced online learning system is an opportunity to enhance the company view of IT (seen as useful because it works) for very little effort from the IT professionals. It is making profitable and productive use of a service already in place to add value to the organisation or enterprise.

According to a July 96 ComputerWorld poll of 100 senior systems managers, 36% were driven from above to source Internet projects subsequent to media reports top management had read and 18% felt that they had wasted money due to unrealistic expectations about the Internet. [E-Commerce: The 8 Corners]

Interestingly few organisations have an Internet strategy; they may toy with a business front - a marketing presence on the Web; they tend to divert their energies to an Intranet to store and access corporate information. An online learning system provides an in house opportunity to rethink the difference between access to corporate information and resources and building corporate learning.

Training unit / HR unit
Content providers and instructional designers are still needed to develop an online learning system. TechWorks actually provides upskilling training to enable this transition to the new media. An additional workshop is conducted to facilitate the change in role from trainer to online tutor. This unit also frequently provides the Project Manager.

Materials development team
For online learning technologies it is a shift rather than a radical change in materials development. The same principles of adult learning and distance delivery apply. For these reasons, website designers with graphic skill but no understanding of education and learning are inappropriate for online education materials development. The production cycle for business presence websites is typically twenty pages of graphics with minimal text. It is not the same production cycle for hundreds or thousands of pages of educational text and associated resources.

Often the course exists as a growing body of practice in a trainer's head with supplementary visuals such as OHPs and hand outs. Crucial to online production is a creative and expert writer who can elicit the content from the trainer and collaboratively write the course to suit online delivery.

Developing online resources requires a team of a content specialist, writer, instructional designer, programmer and graphic designer. The team may be one person or may be more. All our production people work together in teams throughout the cycle of production as the stages of writing, graphics design, programming and instructional design are intertwined. Each contributes ideas about how the product design can best ensure that learning occurs.

Critical success factors

The business plan needs to be an ongoing plan of staged development incorporating an internal and if appropriate external marketing plan rather than a short term project. Around the world training providers and enterprises are partnering with specialist businesses who know how to manage the risk associated with web applications. In an outsourced or partnership arrangement initial time spent building relationships, establishing how to work together and how all involved relate to one another is invaluable. Understanding each other's processes, culture and organisational structure helps. Knowing who supports what and at what stage and establishing support processes for Customer Service is very important as Customer Service is the first point of contact for users.

Of singular importance for effective learning is the learning model applied. Many faculty assume that the WWW is a 'magic box', and that simply putting a course on the Web guarantees better learning. Commercial advertisements for Web authoring tools encourage this assumption, proclaiming that once instructional materials are on the Web, students will learn automatically. Actually the WWW does not guarantee learning any more than the presence of a library on campus guarantees learning [Thomas Reeves, 1997].

A materials development model based on successful learning engagement is critical. Flinging face to face courses online to meet business imperatives may be efficient delivery but it rarely provides effective learning outcomes. Existing courses need to be restructured rather than repacked. Equally crucial in the learning model are the tutors or workplace mentors as they determine to a large extent the experience of the learners.

Use of an Intranet to distribute learning materials to employees is similarly less effective than a distributed learning model which supports anytime anyplace learning and finds ways to share and capture knowledge systematically as work occurs.

Conclusion

References

ANTA National Flexible Delivery Taskforce (1996). Final Report of the Taskforce. ANTA Brisbane.

Bassi, L. J. and Cheney, S. (1997). Benchmarking the Best. Training and Development, November.

Bassie, L. J., Cheney, S. and Van Buren, M. (1997). Training Industry Trends 1997. Training and Development, November.

Brennan, T. (1996). Lifelong Learning - Who will own the system? Paper presented to the European Distance Education Network Conference, June 1996, France.

Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village Online. http://www.hfmgv.org

Kearns, P. (1994). Flexible Delivery for Small Business. Flexible Delivery Working Party, South Brisbane.

Kearns, P. and Johnson, R. (1993). Towards New Alliances for Learning in Industry. Flexible Delivery Working Party, South Brisbane.

Mason, R. (1995). Evaluating Technology Based Learning. In B. Collins & G. Davies (eds), Innovative Adult Learning with Innovative Technologies. Spinger-Verlag Berlin.

Mills, P. (1998). Workskills and National Competitiveness. Australian Training, January.

Noble, D. F. (1997). Digital Diploma Mills: The Automation of Higher Education. October. York University, Toronto.

Palmieri, P., Blansby, V. and Hammond, B. (1995). Flexible Delivery in Action: Success Factors and Case Studies. Open Learning Technology Corporation, Adelaide.

Raybould, B. Performance Support Engineering: An Emerging development Methodology for Enabling Organizational Learning, http://www.cet.fsu.edu/sy2000/piq/raybould.html

Reeves, T. C. (1997). Using the WWW as a Cognitive Tool in Higher Education. Paper presented at International Conference for Computers in Education, Malaysia, December.

Skippington. P, and Keough, M. (1997). Issues in Online Learning - A Way Forward. A white paper. June 1997.

Sumser, J. E-Commerce: The 8 Corners. http://www.interbiznet.com/nomad1/ecom/index.html

Author: After a 10 year Public Service Career in South Australia and Victoria, leading to an executive Admin and Finance role in TAFE, Mark Keough joined the burgeoning computer industry as a Technical Service executive. Eventually owning his own computer dealership led Mark to an understanding of the commercial future of the Internet. In 1995 Mark founded TechWorks and developed a system which manages Training delivery and administration. He and his small team developed Qantas College Online, among the first corporate Internet training systems in the world. TechWorks now employs 15 people and counts among its customers some of Australia's blue chip organisations and educational institutions. Mark Keough Managing Director, TechWorks http://www.techworks.com.au/ Tel +61 8 8223 3599 Please cite as: Keough, M. (1998). Successful models for enterprise vocational education: Distributed learning strategies. 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/keough.html