The Evolution of Workplace Training

Recently I started a job that had the most pointless training class. I received stacks and stacks of paper and I have not looked at it or even thought about it since I got hired and started working; half of the training is in a face-to-face class, and half of the training is online. The company I work for has even been on the news for their excessive paper usage in training classes, so now they are gradually moving to the eTraining method of orientation for new colleagues. What led to this change? The topics in this article explain why companies are migrating towards the eTraining method, and the trends in training that got human resource managers using this new technology to teach new workers. Challenges for training include different training styles, generation gaps, and other cultural barriers so moving to a more generational-friendly method of training is becoming a best practice for firms. eTraining methods are easier to update, they move quicker, and information is available at any time on a self-paced basis. These characteristics align with our ever-changing technological culture.

http://ehstoday.com/training/evolution_workplace_training

The Growth of MOOCs

 

“Over a little more than a year, Coursera in Moutainview, California – the largest of three companies developing and hosting massive open online courses (MOOCS) – has introduced 328 different courses from 62 universities in 17 countries (left). The platform’s 2.9 million registered users come from more than 220 countries (center). And courses span subjects as diverse as pre-calculus, equine nutrition and introductory jazz improvision (right).”

From the data I have posted above, we can all see how diverse and large MOOCs is growing to be. This has to be because it is efficient. MOOCs is fairly new; it became relevant to academia in the summer of 2011. Through some reading I have found out more about MOOCs and its growth.

According to Waldrop, The ferment is attributable in part to MOOCs hitting at exactly the right time. Bricks-and-mortar campuses are unlikely to keep up with the demand for advanced education: according to one widely quoted calculation, the world would have to construct more than four new 30,000-student universities per week to accommodate the children who will reach enrolment age by 2025 (see go.nature.com/mjuzhu), let alone the millions of adults looking for further education or career training. Colleges and universities are also under tremendous financial pressure, especially in the United States, where rocketing tuition fees and ever-expanding student debt have resulted in a backlash from politicians, parents and students demanding to know what their money is going towards.

This gives me reason to believe that MOOCs is only going to continue growing in the steady pace seen above in the chart to the left as time goes on. How do you feel about this? Do you like this idea? Or would you rather continue with a traditional learning environment?

 

Sources: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=massive-open-online-courses-transform-higher-education-and-science

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massive_open_online_course

ARE WE REALLY ALL THAT MOTIVATED IN THE CLASSROOM?

As I sit through majority of my classes, it never fails to amaze me the level of extracurricular activities going on with students. I must admit that I have also been guilty of the occasional 'cat-nap' during class, but then I have a 40 hour workweek in addition to the 12 credit hours I am taking. However when I see fellow students playing poker online, texting, watching videos on Youtube, shopping; most online activities you can name; it begs the question...'How focused are we in the classrooms as college students?' Most of us would agree that the benefits of traditional classrooms far outweigh the online setting, but are we reaping the most out of these benefits if we are not really in-tuned with the learning going on in class. The bigger question is why most students don't feel motivated to focus and interact with the teacher in class? This article brings up some interesting points about what causes the lack of motivation and focus and what teachers can do to try and conquer the issue.  http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/motivating-students-with-teaching-techniques-that-establish-relevance-promote-autonomy/. I know for me, the lack of focus at times is simply out of exhaustion but for the rest of us, what are our reasons?

IS UNCC KEEPING UP IN THE E-LEARNING RACE?

As a transfer student from a two-year college where virtually every class had an online option, I was quite taken aback when I found out that UNCC did not offer as many classes online. In my three years as a UNCC student, I’ve only had one class that offered an online option. This begs the question as to why our much esteemed institution doesn’t offer as many classes online. I haven’t found the answer yet but I believe perhaps cost may have something to do with it. I found this article which talks about how ‘As MOOCS Move Mainstream, Universities Must Pay to Play’ (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/buck-goldstein/as-moocs-move-mainstream-_b_4170524.html) and this kind of reinforced this theory for me. An encouraging tidbit though is an email I received recently stating that an Economics class I took last summer will be offered this summer as a hybrid course (part online and part in person). Too late for me obviously but for all you hopefuls out there like me who are hoping for more online classes, maybe our prayers will be answered.

ARE EMPLOYEES GETTING THE MOST OUT OF eTRAINING?

For most companies, e-Training lowers the cost of training new hires and existing employees. Before e-Training, a company might have to shut down a manufacturing plant in order to train workers on new processes and procedures. Nowadays, due to the flexible and ubiquitous nature of e-Training, employees can be trained without having to resort to such measures. I personally think that for some companies though, e-Training is causing them to not provide as much training as required. For example, I have an e-Training session coming up with the company that I work for. I currently take calls for two major wireless companies and the training will allow me to be able to handle three other lines of business. When I first started working for the company, I received about 3 weeks worth of training but now I will only get 2 days of training to learn about the other businesses. This is far from adequate and I think that had it not been for current e-Training methods, I probably would have received more training in a brick and mortar setting. So with the many benefits of e-Training, are companies making sure that employees are getting the most out of it?

WILL E-LEARNING REPLACE THE CLASSROOM?

As Karen Cator said ''This is education's internet moment. Are we ready?'' I certainly am ready for it. As a 32 year old mother who works full time, e-learning would be the answer to a lot of my issues in trying to balance work, home and school obligations. The flexibility that comes with being able to take classes online is priceless for a lot of young adults who face the same obstacles. What about those for whom the whole college experience is about physically being there to soak in all the good and bad that our college campuses have to offer? How many high school grads will actually give up the opportunity to experience that once in a lifetime experience of being away from home for the first time if we no longer have the traditional classrooms? Questions like these make me think that no matter how much technology advances, the traditional classrooms are here to stay. With recent inventions like MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) whose model is to deliver learning through technology to anyone who is able and capable of taking it, e-learning will definitely continue to play a significant role in our educational system. (http://www.educause.edu/library/massive-open-online-course-mooc)