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Appearing in the journal of the Australian Institute of Training and Development

By Anne Bartlett-Bragg

University of Technology, Sydney, Australia

Introduction

This article will report on two strategic initiatives introduced by the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) to address the anticipated future capabilities of undergraduates and the professional development of current workplace trainers that underpinned the development of e-Learning content into two distinctive qualifications.

The first qualification was introduced in 2000, a Bachelor of Arts in Organisational Learning, with four core e-Learning subjects. An undergraduate degree targeted at school leavers to provide a career pathway for future employees in the learning and organisational development field of an organisation.

The second is a vocational qualification, the Diploma of e-Learning, which is aligned to the Australian Qualifications Training Framework and was launched in March 2003. The qualification is targeted to the existing workplace trainer and organisational learning professional that require the skills and knowledge to effectively implement e-Learning in their workplace. It aims to provide a framework for individuals to design, deliver, support, and evaluate effective e-Learning strategies, underpinned by adult learning and educational principles.

The article will reflect upon the pressures and challenges faced by the Faculty of Education to address the growing demands on trainers in the workplace and the preparation of graduates to reflect currency of knowledge in the organisational marketplace.

The Australian context

The integration of e-Learning into the organisational context in Australia is showing rapid growth. In 2002, 8% of training in organisations was delivered by e-Learning methods, however this is expected to grow to 23% by the end of 2003, (ASTD, 2002).

Executive and board support is responding positively to proposals for the implementation of e-Learning, with business cases that present the learner management system as the key driver achieving high rates of acceptance.

Many organisations view investing in technology as the key to lowering the costs of training and performance improvement. However, this view fails to acknowledge the need for investment in the staff that will be responsible for the design, development, delivery, and support of learners in the workplace.

The challenge for a tertiary institution is how to address this demand, remain strategically relevant, competitive, and innovative in such a rapidly evolving industry and marketplace.

Preparing workplace trainers for e-Learning

UTS has responded to this challenge by approaching the issue from two perspectives: future practitioners – what knowledge and skills will they need for future employment after graduation, and current practitioners – what knowledge and skills will enhance their current practice.

Forman (2002) predicts that the newness and importance of e-Learning will create opportunities for the establishment of guidelines for e-Learning professionals. Forman (2002) clusters the skill sets for e-Learning initiatives into four categories: learning theory and instructional design; software tools and technology; graphic and creative design; and consulting or business acumen.

Clearly, any qualification offered by the Faculty of Education would focus on the first category of learning theory and instructional design. However, a major issue of contention was how to address the remaining three categories. If the target market were future or current learning practitioners, then what would they need to know, what level of skill would be required or expected from them in their workplace roles?

Salmon (2000,  p.viii) contends that “successful online learning depends on teachers and trainers acquiring new competencies, on their becoming aware of its potential and on their inspiring learners, rather than mastering the technology.” But what are these new competencies?

So what subjects does the Faculty of Education include to meet the future needs of these undergraduates? Where do the graduates fit within this framework of skills?

The result of the deliberations and consultations were two qualifications, firstly the undergraduate degree, the Bachelor of Arts in Organisational Learning (BAOL) and secondly, the vocational education qualification, the Diploma of e-Learning.

Initiatives in Action - Bachelor of Arts in Organisational Learning

Independent research was contracted to determine market needs in the field of organisational development. The outcome was an undergraduate degree that draws on subjects from both the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Business. The broad areas covered in the degree include Adult Education, Workplace Learning, Human Resource Development, and Management. The results indicated that e-Learning was a highly desirable field of practice for graduates of this type of degree and directly led to the inclusion of five “e” subjects, four specifically aligned to e-Learning. 

The development of the e-Learning core subjects broadly aims to provide graduates with the ability to: initiate, design, implement and evaluate sequenced learning strategies that integrate individual, group and organisational learning goals; understand and apply the knowledge and skills of e-Learning in organisational learning contexts.

Providing a context and experience for the students to underpin their theoretical base has been a major consideration of the e-Learning core subjects, hands on experience has been an important part of that emphasis. Theory provides the foundations, while application provides the structure for utilising a combination of theory, application and experience that will inform their learning and future practice.

At UTS, we are preparing the next generation of e-Learning practitioners who will have the knowledge and skills to identify opportunities for the use of technology to enhance learning, adopt and/or design content for the recommended technology platform, and manage and collaborate with a project team through the implementation of the e-Learning initiatives.

Industry expectations

What did organisations want or expect from the qualification? An industry advisory group overwhelmingly agreed on the following issues: how to design a course that provide tangible results and achieve the stated learning outcomes, how to engage the learners, options for delivering learning through technology, an understanding of the software capabilities but not to become programmers, and how to apply instructional design and select appropriate learning theories.

The strategic choice that was confronted during the development phase of the Diploma was based on the tension created by a blended qualification that required not only the use of technology, but also the levels of computer hardware and software knowledge and expertise. The target audience for a qualification provided by the Faculty of Education was identified as predominantly being existing workplace trainer professionals, many with limited IT programming knowledge.

The challenge was to focus on the aim of the qualification: to provide a framework in the development of competence to design, deliver, support and evaluate effective e-Learning strategies in the workplace, underpinned by adult learning and educational principles. This informed the decision to not attempt to develop the learners to the level of software programmers, but to immerse participants in the technologies of e-Learning with the intention of enriching the learning experience and introducing the options of e-Learning delivery and technologies.

Delivery methods

Again, informed by extended discussion with organisational practitioners is based on learner demand. All learners indicated the preference for some face-to-face component, which was driven by two reasons: little or no experience with e-Learning technology, and the desire to engage in classroom discussion with other practitioners. The result is a blended program that employs classroom, CD-Rom and UTSonline (a learner management system powered by Blackboard).

Current Challenges

Challenges are abundant for all stakeholders in the e-Learning context. If the recent momentum of e-Learning integration is any indication for the future, then this is going to be a challenge that previous qualifications have not faced.  So, what are these challenges?

• Technology - as software providers continue to upgrade their versions as frequently as twice a year, the challenge is to stay abreast of the changes and determine how these might affect in a negative or positive manner any of the course content.
• Computer literacy – as the software becomes more accessible and in many cases simpler for the front-end user, the levels of computer literacy have been increasing. However, there are still many in the target audience for both qualifications that have limited access and knowledge of computers.
• Speed of change in the e-Learning marketplace – as organisations integrate e-Learning as a mainstream method of delivering training, the demands on workplace trainers to have current knowledge and skills increase. In addition, the need for continual review of current issues and trends requires constant updates of materials and references.
• Currency of qualifications – if the above challenges continue at the pace already noted, how do the qualifications remain current?

Future Challenges

What does the future hold for e-Learning qualifications?

The demand for more courses is not expected to decrease, however, with the demand comes the pressures of maintaining currency of content and the accompanying skills and knowledge.

The demand for more flexible delivery styles is already apparent and although the research undertaken prior to the development of the two qualifications discussed stressed the desire for face-to-face delivery, it is anticipated that alternative delivery demands will be expected by early 2004. Will the products become a totally online or distance delivery format, in response to learner demands? At this point, this issue is being reviewed and more flexible blended options are likely to be introduced.

The implementation of e-Learning has highlighted the way many organisational training professionals consider their professional and personal development status. Even the most experienced classroom trainers have to come to the realisation that re-skilling may ensure future career paths. Perhaps e-Learning has highlighted the need for ongoing professional development that has been previously ignored or considered as non-essential training.

As we attempt to predict the future, a final thought to provoke a reflection on our own practice:

Who is driving the learning need in e-Learning?
Industry and organisations?  Technology and software companies?  e-Learning suppliers and vendors?
Where do the education principles fit into this equation?
When will the ‘e’ in e-Learning stand for education or empowerment?

List of References

American Society for Training and Development, 2002, State of the Industry: ASTD’s Annual Review of Trends in Employer-Provided Training in the United States, by Van Buren, M.E. & Erskine, W., ASTD, USA.

Forman, D. C., 2002, Careers in E-Learning: Taking the Next Step, Learning Circuits, http://www.learningcircuits.org/2002/nov2002/forman.html Last accessed 30 May, 2003.

Salmon, G. 2000, e-Moderating: The Key to Teaching and Learning Online, Kogan Page, UK.