Module 3 – e-Learning in Practice
Aim
This module will provide students with the opportunity to research and experience e-Learning
in organisational contexts.
Students will be expected to select a focus or topic of inquiry and review case studies from
both international and local organisations.
The students will develop a schema for understanding e-Learning and the current trends in
organisations.
This Module contributes to:
Assignment 3: Case study review group task
Due: Friday 16 October, 2009
Weighting: one-third
Working in small groups, students will research current practices in e-Learning within the
organisational context through the review of case studies. Students will be provided with a
range of recommended topics or issues, while group discussion will develop the key points to
be researched. Each student within the group will select a case study and outline the
relevance to the context being reviewed by the small group. The group work will be presented
in an in-class group presentation. Groups must also submit the results of their review in a
digital format to be decided by the group. Options include but are not limited to: a wiki, a
website, a Wordpress site, a video.
Activities included in this Module
3.1
Current issues in e-Learning in organisations
3.2
e-Learning in an organisational context
3.3
Analysing Case Studies
Activity 3.1: Current issues in e-Learning in Organisations
The issues described here are just a starting point. To establish the point of focus your group
will take in this task, you will need to spend some time reading credible and authoritative
sources of current information on e-Learning in organizations. It may be useful for you to
review the material on finding and evaluating information in UTS Online under the ‘Library’
tab.
Uptake of e-Learning
An OECD Policy Brief on e-Learning in tertiary education from 2005 stated that e-Learning has
been an administrative success, but not as far as learning itself is concerned. Only 5% of
enrolments across 13 countries were fully online. Yet 30 – 50 % claimed a “high online
presence” in their teaching and learning strategies.
“Tertiary education institutions generally feel that e-Learning has a broadly positive
effect on the quality of teaching and learning, although few have been able to offer
detailed evidence. There is much indirect evidence, including student satisfaction
surveys, but these may not be enough to offset the prevalent doubt about the pedagogic
value of online learning among students and academics.” (p.4)
“e-Learning has not really revolutionized learning and teaching to date… “ (p.4)
“For some institutions, and in some countries, key barriers remain. Infrastructure and
funding are among the important ones, but scepticism about the pedagogic value of eLearning and staff development are probably the most challenging.” (p.5)
OECD (2005), e-Learning in Tertiary Education, Policy Briefing, December
http://www.oecd.org/document/28/0,3343,en_2649_39263301_31820060_1_1_1_1,00.html
The changing nature of learning in new digital cultures
The OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) has established its New
Millennium Learners (NML) project, in response to the emergence of digital native learners,
which has major potential implications for education. The objective of the NML is to analyse
this new generation of learners and understand their expectations and attitudes. The impact of
digital technologies on cognitive skills and on learning expectations, and the evolution of social
values and lifestyles are important issues.
http://www.oecd.org/document/10/0,3343,en_2649_35845581_38358154_1_1_1_1,00.html
More and more institutions and individuals are sharing their digital learning resources over the
Internet openly and for free, as Open Educational Resources. The OECD’s Open Educational
Resources project has mapped the scale and scope of initiatives regarding open educational
resources in terms of their purpose, content, and funding
http://www.oecd.org/document/20/0,3343,en_2649_35845581_35023444_1_1_1_1,00.html
The Australian picture
In 2008 the Framework’s Benchmarking and Research business activity conducted the fourth
annual national surveys of the uptake and use of e-learning by vocational education and
training (VET) providers, VET teachers and trainers, and VET students.
The 2008 surveys show that 36% of all VET activity now formally involves e-learning. This
continues an upward trend which has seen e-learning grow from around 3-4% of all VET
activity in RTOs in 2003-2004.
Eighty-eight percent of VET teachers and 91% of VET students now say that their VET
experience includes at least some online access to and downloading of learning materials and
resources, remote and/or classroom use of multimedia interactive learning resources,
electronic submission of work, online assessment, and/or even the use of web 2.0, mobile and
voice technologies.

94% of VET students say that they would like at least ‘a little’ e-learning in their
course. While 33% of students would like ‘a lot’ of e-learning; 46% see ‘some’ elearning as a preferred mix.

62% of students said that e-learning increased their confidence and computer skill
levels.

33% of students thought e-learning and the computer skills they had acquired had
already improved their employment outcomes, and 65% said that e-learning will in the
future help them to get a better job, a promotion or more responsibility in their job.

71% of VET teachers/trainers said that ‘the e-learning resources I access have
enhanced my teaching’ (vs 56% in 2007).

More than half of the teachers/trainers surveyed said that ‘the use of e-learning has
improved learning outcomes for my students’.
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These statistics come from the e-Learning Indicators 2008 report
http://e-learningindicators.flexiblelearning.net.au/survey_results08.htm
The Corporate picture
Figures on the corporate training market are less easily determined. Bersin & Associates 2008
report on Learner Management Systems (LMS) stated that the US market at that time was
valued at US$600 million – an increase of 21% from 2006. And that’s just the LMS market,
that doesn’t account for vendors of authoring software, off-the-shelf products, or
consultancies. Some information on the unique needs of corporations in relation to elearning
is available at: http://www.elearnspace.org/starting/corporate.htm
KEY Resources for current issues in e-Learning
e-Learning Indicators 2008 Report from the Australian Flexible Learning Framework
http://e-learningindicators.flexiblelearning.net.au/survey_results08.htm
http://www.educationau.edu.au
http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au
http://www.becta.org.uk
http://elearningeuropa.info
http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go
http://www.astd.org/lc
http://www.brandon-hall.com
http://www.bersin.com
http://www.e-learningguru.com/
Activity 3.2: e-Learning Implementations in the Organisational
context
READING: e-Learning Strategy: A framework for Success
http://www.astd.org/LC/2005/0805_devries.htm
Based on your research into the current status of e-Learning in the industry sector you are
interested in, what decisions do you expect organisations to address before they implement an
e-Learning program?
Some considerations might include:
 Cost
 Equipment
 Technology infrastructure
 Learner Readiness
 Trainer Readiness
 Management Readiness
 Support staff
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 Venues or Learning Centres
 Buy or build courses
 Maintaining Records – LMS or LCMS
 Keeping material up-to-date / editing or tailoring to specific needs
 Copyright of content
 Scalability
 Trainer contact - or not
 Collaborative environment - synchronous or asynchronous
 What courses / content will be offered online
 Measuring Return on Investment (ROI)
 Measuring outcomes and effectiveness
Activity 3.3 Analysing Case Studies
What questions should we be concerned with when analysing e-Learning in an organisational
context?
Refer to Activity 2.1 & 2.2 to develop your own focus of inquiry – either from the list or choose
an area that is of particular interest to you.
Having developed your focus of inquiry or area of interest, outline and add this to your weblog.
Searching for Case Studies
Answers to the following should be addressed on your weblog and evidenced in your group
case study report.

How do you select appropriate information sources – where do you start?

What key words help narrow your search?

How do you distinguish points of view from facts?

Are your resources: reliable? Credible?? Authentic??

Are your resources biased in any way? What do you do about this?
Use the UTS Library databases to find case studies in the organisational context.
Find out which Australian organisations are using e-Learning – how does the Australia
practice compare to other case studies you have found?
Possible sources of case studies
The Australian Flexible Learning Framework
http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au
The Knowledge Tree
http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au/
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Your Guide to Social e-Learning
http://socialelearning.flexiblelearning.net.au/social_elearning/index.htm
The WikiEducator
http://wikieducator.org
Commonwealth of Learning: Education for Development. Advice, Guidelines, and
Effective Practice from Around the Globe.
http://www.col.org/Pages/default.aspx
IBM have a huge resource of case studies – check they are related to e-Learning – they have
many that aren’t
http://www306.ibm.com/software/success/cssdb.nsf/topstoriesFM?OpenForm&Site=default&cty=en_us
Learning Circuits — http://www.astd.org/lc
The organizations listed in Activity 2.1 – European Union, Becta, CIPD, and other UK &
European organisations linked to those sites will also have case studies.
Many of the e-zines you might have subscribed to in the previous modules will regularly
publish case studies.
Adobe are one of the main software providers for dynamic internet solutions. This is a HUGE
site, but if you spend some time navigating there are numerous product-focused case studies
(they call them Showcases) that maybe useful depending upon your focus of inquiry.
http://www.adobe.com/education/elearning
Do a Google search for Case Studies + e-learning.
Weblogs that have an e-Learning in the organisational context as their focus. To find these try
Technorati http://technorati.com/
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