E‐learning: is it really the best thing since sliced bread?

Feels the e‐learning industry has been the victim of a lot of hype, without producing the growth that has been expected by commentators and players within the industry. Seeks to explain why the e‐learning has fared better in the USA than elsewhere, and highlights some of the problems that e‐learning providers and clients face to prevent the expected level of growth. Shows that e‐learning has a valid and beneficial role to play, and outlines some of the areas where it can play a useful role: in particular for training in a regulatory environment, for training large numbers of geographically‐dispersed people, and for reducing time spent on topics such as induction and product training. Discusses the issue of “blended” learning in this context, showing how e‐learning is best used as a complement to traditional methods of training and should not be viewed as a replacement.