Modes of Elearning for Employee Development

Elearning has been at the forefront of employee development ever since its inception. The world has been relying on computers and employee development is just another field in which this kind of system and technology can be successfully taken advantage of.

Computer based training/learning
Computer based learning software elearning tools are pretty common. It is not as complicated as online learning tools but it also lacks some of online learning tools' features. This can be downloadable or may simply come in a compact disk format. For companies that wish to use this kind of electronic training method, it can still be quite easy. All they have to do is to provide the employees with a copy of the software. There can still be some evaluation in this kind of training course which will have to be submitted by the trainee. It is also possible to reach employees in far flung areas but the distribution must be done through the network if not through carrier service in case the software is in compact disk format. One of the best features of such a format is that the training module can be as large in terms of memory as can be. When dealing with online based tools, one must consider the weight of the memory requirement. It must be as light as possible since the operation is done online. However, with a computer based training tools this is not much of a problem since the whole software may just be uploaded to one's personal computer or it may just be read by the pc if it is inserted as a compact disk.

Online based training/learning
Online based training or learning is more prevalent in the academic field. However it is also a great tool for employee development. Online based training is a better tool for evaluating employees' skills and knowledge since it can give back direct feedback through the internet as to how much time tests or lessons take for them to finish. Scores from the online quizzes are of course one of the biggest determinants of whether the employee has learned enough. There is also another great advantage to online based training and learning. For those companies who want a certain expert to share his or her lesson to a broad group, this could be done through online based training because of its network capability. Classes or sessions can be held online which breaks the problem of time or schedule constraints as well as the problem of distance.

Elearning is truly something that many companies cannot afford to ignore. The primacy of the internet and computer technology is creating a new competitive field. This means that if a business decides not to compete by making use of these new systems and technology, then that company will be sorely missing on many opportunities to improve employee performance, productivity and utilization, and eventually, return on investment. They will inevitably be left behind while their competitors who take advantage of these new tools for employee development will prevail and completely dominate the service market.

Maria Lopez is a professor of Media studies and Sociology at the Iowa University and does freelance journalistic work in her free time.

For more information about ELearning, you can visit Intelladon.com website.