Learning about electronic learning

Keywords Learning styles, Internet

Three out of five Internet users have searched the Internet for training and one in five users have discovered training information online not found elsewhere. Those who have looked for training on the Internet say it is an effective medium for making training more available and to encourage lifelong learning. But most users find that information is not organized to make comparisons easy. These are among the main findings of a survey of the impact of the Internet on training in the UK, carried out by online training marketplace bookacourse.com

Aasim Khalid, the company's managing director, commented: "The research shows that the Internet is already the primary source of training information,but users demand more sophisticated search engines. The research identifies a clear need for the information to be presented in a way that allows an objective comparison so a user can make an informed decision." More than seven in ten Internet users think the Internet is an effective medium for increasing the availability of education and training and almost three out of four believe the Internet has the potential to encourage lifelong learning. Almost three out of five users said they would welcome and use a central Internet source of training information.

Meanwhile, a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development survey shows that trainers in the UK are using new technologies such as the Internet and intranets in ever-increasing numbers. The survey shows that use of CD-ROMs has grown by 12 per cent in a year, the Internet by 13 per cent and intranets by 17 per cent. Mike Cannell, the CIPD's adviser on training and development, said:"These findings show that new technology is playing an ever-more-important role in delivering training in many UK firms and organizations. At these rates of growth, it will not be long before such technologies are almost as important as traditional techniques such as face-to-face training and on-the-job training."The survey also reveals that some 89 per cent of organizations have training budgets – 12.5 per cent more than last year's result. In addition, over half said they expected to see an increase in their organization's spending on training over the coming year. There is an increased awareness among trainers of the need to be aware of business objectives and to integrate training into the overall business strategy. When asked to rank the skills required by training managers, the top two were cited as "knowledge of people management" and"knowledge of business objectives". Some 78 per cent of respondents also said that linking training to performance is very important.