The E-learning evolution education & business. (c2004)

Abstract

In the 21st century the world is rapidly changing into the Information Technology; global communication through new technology like computers has been increasing drastically. The Internet, in partirular, has emerged as a prominent new technology that has pervaded all aspects of educational, business, economic and social sectors of the present world. The Internet and the World Wide Web provide vast and ever growing amounts of data with possibly great value. However, it is also a very messy place, and there is clearly demand for tools that can help clear away the rubble and transform the data into useful information for a particular user. As life-long learning is becoming more and more essential in proessional life, learning via Intra and Internet will more and more succeed, mainly with the increase of open and distant learning. The benefits of distance education include: time and location independence and the advantages of the Internet include: fast irformation, easy communication and cooperation possibilities. Many businesses are taking their first tentative steps m ELearning. In many compames E-Learning is already happening in a very formal way. How many of your employees are already getting "trairing" by searching for support, documents and papers that they can download off the web? You may not be concerned about this a8hoc training. After all, there's nothing wrong with an eager employee getting the training he/she thinks he/she needs, when he/sre needs it, for free. However, there are questions that should be asked here. How much time did he/she spend finding that education? How do you, or he/she, know that it was right for his/her job? Did it contain the right message, or give him/her the righ1skills? And we haven't even begun to talk about how to integrate this kind of training into your well though accreditation and certification program. It may well be a good thing for empowered employees to be responsible for their own education plan.