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In another write-up I discuss a few of the Many Challenges of Online Learning. While I believe in the dictum, "Let he who has the heart to criticise have the cardiovascular system to help", this time I thought I'd unfold what I believe are the ingredients of an Internet/intranet Online Understanding System (OLS). If you'd like a copy, you should email me), although (I've produced one OLS as a cross-functional stream chart too large to feature here. Learn More Here….


Methods of on-line learning (OLL) have been used for at least 2 decades. However, OLL provided via Internet is fairly new, thinly reviewed (because it's so new), and flagged as the way for the future. It certainly has loads of potential among the pitfalls. Two of which are:

It isn't as easy as it appears

It requires considerable resources

It is possible for firms to adopt a minimalist approach and simply hire someone else to handle the whole process from start to finish. Means that they lack total control, although this is the cheapest technique and makes sense. Nonetheless, it's a good starting place and there is an increasing number of application service providers (ASPs) willing to contract OLL services.

Those businesses that are well resourced, or for whom confidentiality is a problem, may take a whole method, in-home approach. It is this process on which I concentration.

My model pinpoints five distinct levels that are: preparation -enrolment - delivery service - assessment/reporting - analysis. These are linear and other to the traditional instruction model. Stakeholders in this model are clientele who become individuals, administrators including IT, accounting, and standard administration staff, and training staff.

The 1st phase requires growth of marketing, instructional and curricula and other materials, and system design and development. Central on the stage are systems for clients to enquire about courses being offered. This necessitates multiple methods of reacting eg, email email autoresponder, fax-on-demand, static HTML files online, post, or mobile phone enquiry handling.

Whichever ways you choose to notify your prospective clients, the information needs to be faultless, complete and delivered swiftly. People expect immediate information and will go elsewhere if they can't get what they want.

Phase two occurs when prospective clients, experiencing read what you must offer, decide to buy your program (or perhaps register if in an market training environment). This needs to bepainless and swift, and efficient also.

Aside: How many times do you have completed an online signing up form, clicked the submit button and waited, and waited, only to receive a message telling you that the username you provided currently exists? So, you try once more ... and again ... and again ... and eventually move ahead. Frustrating isn't it?

There are numerous software packages, thirdly-party Vendors and others who present an online purchasing and payment system for you personally. Clickbank, whom I personally use charges a smooth percentage per financial transaction and $1 and absolutely no other fees. You can established your site up to take credit cards within thirty minutes, perhaps less. As soon as the credit card transaction is authorized, an email information is sent to your client advising of password and entry details to the plan purchased. Make sure instant access is available or your consumers will begin emailing you.

The most critical phase, phase three is next. Having read the course information advising them how wonderful your programs are, paying the bill, and getting ready to start operate, your clients - now participants - should access their study course notes, email, dialogue groups and whichever without having to stretch their technical ability, determination or budget any further.

Participant routines need to be managed,. That is having recently experienced online learning having a university said to be one of the leaders in the field, my view. Don't show them how to locate their course remarks and forget about them, by this I mean. Be assertive. Unless your plan is completely automatic eg, learning how to use a computer program, make sure a true live human being keeps in contact with your contributors and makes stuff happen. As some wise person stated, "Some people make things happen, some watch what happens, among others say 'what happened? If someone doesn't take control of the learning agendum, '" There will be most of the latter.

First of all, contact every participant and find out that everything is working good, though monitor improvement, program discussion teams and feedback. Yes, they can use the email system, they have identified the discussion group of people, the course information are downloading, and they also don't have any techno-problems.

Your OLS will probably have some type of assessment method, or be geared to give certificates of finalization. Within the last phase, results are acquired either automatically from online assessment programs, or from instructional staffs. They are entered into a database from where certificates are granted. The same process can be designed to maintain skills certification, payroll and review and other databases automatically.

Evaluation, or good quality control mechanisms inside my model are applied at every stage of design and shipping. It's no use getting to the end of any process before you find out it doesn't job. If each part of the system is proventested and operating properly, there's a significantly greater chance that anytime the components are introduced together, a synergy will exist to deliver the top rate program we all wish for.

Evaluation in the educational sense might be carried out. Good training suggests it should be accomplished at least on the initial occasion each pair of instructional media is utilized.

As you will appreciate from your rather brief treatment method above, there is very much to do to apply online learning. However, you can find quite a few options that ought to be considered when accomplishing your feasibility review and cost-reward analysis. Visit Link…


And whatever you decide to do, there are some requirements you need to know about. Try to find my article "Online Learning as well as the Australian Railway Blunder" covering among the most relevant standards.

Copyright laws Robin Henry 2005.

Robin Henry is an educator, human resources specialist and Internet entrepreneur whose firm, Wasteland Wave Enterprises, aids businesses and individuals enhance their performance by using clever processes, smart technological innovation and personal development. They have a number of tertiary skills including a Master of Education degree majoring in education technologies and online learning. He lives at Alice Springs In Main Australia.