As Easy as ABC

The e-learning market is growing and growing. HRM caught up with Walter Orechwa of Projections Inc, GeoLearning’s Will Hipwell and Vcom3D’s Carol Wideman to find out what this means for traditional forms of teaching.

HRM. Essentially, what are differences do you identify between teaching in traditional classrooms and teaching through e-learning methods? What major benefits can e-learning offer?
WO. While you could go on and on about the advances in technology and all the ‘cool’ features of e-learning, for most companies, it boils down to two things: convenience and consistency. Traditional classroom teaching is a thing of the past, even in traditional classrooms. With interactive custom e-learning programs, employees are engaged in the process and made to understand through realistic training scenarios. The training is available whenever and wherever they may be. Additionally, every employee gains the same knowledge, which is a definitive competitive advantage. Across the board updates are simple and can be done as necessary.

WH. Physical classrooms are both time and place dependent. You have to be somewhere at a specific time. E-learning, on the other hand, whether it is done as an asynchronous course or as a synchronous online event, radically changes that dependence on time and location. Individuals can learn and progress – and even review – at the time and speed of their choosing. It makes true on-demand learning possible. Web technologies can make the entire learning experience more interactive, personal and specific. Traditional in-class training certainly still has its place, but it can be used more surgically and be more powerful and effective when used in conjunction with other modes of learning and information sharing.

CW. Classrooms have traditionally been the only venues to offer a face-to-face setting for local students to learn and share ideas. E-learning is leveraging the continuing innovation in communication technology to rapidly improve the ability of learners to collaborate and learn in real time with colleagues anywhere in the world. Where it surpasses traditional models is in its ability to also offer individualized and independent study that complements this collaboration via mobile job aids. Key to this expansion beyond traditional classrooms will be the ability to develop content that will be compatible with multiple delivery systems such as Flash and iTunes while still being chronologically and financially economical.

HRM. Many companies and institutions continue to be slow in adopting e-learning technologies. How do you explain this reticence?
WH. The retail sector used to lag slightly behind other industries, but that is quickly changing. In many cases dispersed retail locations faced challenges related to Internet access and even desktop computers. But today most retail organizations have their locations linked very tightly via other systems that leverage the Internet, which has made it possible for web-based learning to be made available across the enterprise, even to remote retail stores. Large retailer companies like Cabela’s, Academy Sports & Outdoors, Ace Hardware and AMC Theatres using GeoLearning’s e-learning platform.

CW. Reasons for resistance to adoption are as varied as the organizations in question. For some it’s a matter of bandwidth or perceived development cost. Others face the apprehension of traditionalists in leadership roles regarding new methodologies and tools. Some reasons, like bandwidth or entrenched leadership, will resolve themselves as bandwidth increases and older leaders leave the workforce. Those of us in the industry can address other obstacles. Specifically, we need to do a better job of providing scientific data to potential adopters so they can understand the benefits as well as confidently build business cases to encourage adoption within their organizations. Research should not only clearly define benefits, such as ROI, but also provide insights and techniques that are proven to be successful in improving learning outcomes. At Vcom3D, we have been working with some of the best e-learning and psychology experts in the US to address this need.

WO. Reluctance to adopt e-learning comes from the technology of the past, and a lack of good information on current e-learning. The past haunts anyone who invested in proprietary systems and got burned when the technology died. Today, few companies realize that e-learning is as simple as using the internet. This fear of the unknown – the fear that new technology will be a stumbling block – is what keeps companies from exploring the power of e-learning. Every potential client should be able to go to the e-learning provider’s website and test-drive the product, to not only see how easy it is to use, but how good the actual training is that will be provided. Projections is able to reassure our clients that e-learning is an asset to their company that will save them money and time.

HRM. How are advances in technology affecting the e-learning market and what do you consider to be the current trends within this market?
WO. Non-proprietary, web-based e-learning with heavy video, animation and 2D graphics is the way we’re moving today, as rigid SCORM compliance and complex LMS systems become a part of the past. Compliance reporting for HR or management purposes now includes simple tracking of which employees completed the course and when. Beyond the e-learning program itself, the increased connection speed experienced by users is paving the way, followed by cheaper and faster computers and laptops. E-learning is even accessible to wi-fi users today. At Projections, we pride ourselves on employing technology to offer e-learning with interactivity and more engaging scenarios than our competitors, and the ability to include higher quality graphics, video, and audio has made a tremendous impact on the e-learning we develop for our clients.

CW. The globalization of business along with an increasing influx of echo-boomers (those born between 1982 and 1995) into the workforce is driving a paradigm shift in e-learning. Echo-boomers are team oriented and readily use web-based and multi-media tools for finding information, creating multi-media content and well as collaborating and communicating globally. Their ability to absorb information via multiple media channels simultaneously requires that new tools be examined and e-learning adapted to train and mentor them. Not only are professionals participating on increasingly diverse teams, they are collaborating with those teams across time zones and cultures. Today’s global workforce demands easy to use culturally appropriate visual interfaces and “chunked” (short) media, especially on mobile devices that provide access to information and communication at their fingertips anytime, anywhere.

Corporations are turning to tools and technology for cost-effectively creating realistic multi-lingual culturally appropriate virtual characters that act as experts and mentors as well as in role playing scenarios, and online learning games. With these tools, character-based media developed for team-oriented role playing can readily be reused in smaller chunks as quick references on hand-held devices or edited for other languages and cultures.

WH. Very quickly we are seeing Software as a Service (SaaS), also known as on-demand, overtake traditional behind-the-firewall or on-premises software when it comes to e-learning. Organizations of all sizes are increasingly finding the many benefits of on-demand technology to be a compelling, bottom-line business decision. SaaS effectively eliminates all the headaches, hassles and risks associated with traditional hardware and software implementations. For learning organizations, this greatly simplifies and streamlines the deployment of enterprise-wide training and performance initiatives.

HRM. What kinds of e-learning solutions does your company offer? Can you tell us a little about any significant new developments planned in the near future?
WO. Because our roots are in employee communications, Projections’ e-learning is unique in its approach. Our true specialty is reaching employees through development of custom training solutions. This includes complete onboarding programs for new employees, compliance training, job-specific instruction and more. Our programs offer truly engaging video, professional narrators, and interactive exercises that require the learner to demonstrate understanding. In order to meet the needs of our often geographically diverse clients, ongoing developments at Projections include additional features that further address adult learning styles, as well as attributes that take full advantage of improvements in connection speed and personal computing.

WH. GeoLearning provides on-demand learning and performance management solutions to corporations, government agencies and non-profit organizations around the world. The latest version of our platform, the GeoMaestro 5 Series, enables organizations to capture, create, manage and share knowledge to improve workforce productivity, accelerate critical business processes, and drive organizational performance. GeoMaestro is a known for its powerful functionality and ease of use. Whether you’re creating new roles and permission sets to match your business rules, pulling a custom report, automating performance planning, or stepping through an online wizard to spawn a new LMS domain featuring multiple languages and e-commerce storefront, users will quickly appreciate GeoMaestro’s robust functionality and ease of use. Some of our clients include Dell, Edward Jones, Palm and Adecco.

CW. Vcom3D’s innovative and cost-effective tools enable training and content development, as well as accessibility for the deaf and hard of hearing. The Vcommunicator Authoring Suite enables users to easily create life-like 3D characters for engaging platform-independent media across a variety of applications. The award-winning Sign Smith product family utilizes similar technology to assist developers of educational and training content and internet websites in making their work accessible to those who require American sign language. The company also offers content creation and development services ranging from custom character creation to scenario-based online learning and serious games.

Our growing client list includes insurance, healthcare and media companies that are authoring with Vcommunicator to add interactive virtual humans to their corporate online learning and visual Web-based information. Universities are also creating content for students and for use in research and other public education projects. Vcom3D’s services are being tapped for online game development and integration with application suites developed by other companies. Vcommunicator Mobile mission aids were initially supplied to soldiers deploying overseas. In the future, we envision mobile products being used by corporations to offer language and culture training and communication tools to their employees.

Carol Wideman is co-founder and CEO of Vcom3Dcoming to the role after leveraging her experience as an educator and engineer to become a technology business leader at GE. Her education parallels her career, beginning with a BA in Education and Mathematics, M.S. degree in Engineering and Executive Training from GE’s Corporate Training Center.

Walter Orechwa is CEO of Projections Inc. With a background in production, he’s spent over 25 years helping thousands of companies communicate with their employees. Today at Projections, Walter provides clients with the resources they need to maintain positive employee relations through powerful communication.

Will Hipwell is responsible for GeoLearning’s worldwide marketing operations, including the overall positioning and promotion of the company, its products and services. He also oversees GeoLearning’s product management function responsible for evaluating market needs, defining new products and product requirements, translating feature requirements into engineering specifications, and bringing new products and services to market. He has a BA in Economics from York University (1994) and his MA in Marketing from Drake University (1995).