Information Your Way
Online classrooms take lesson plans to an entirely new level.
Back in old-school days, we had classrooms with blackboards and chalk, students seated in plastic chairs aligned squarely in rows, and an instructor at the front of the room wrestling lessons plans and poster board-sized visual aids. How the classroom has changed. Now, any business professional with a computer and Internet access can foster his education with online learning. No more transparencies and projectors — today’s classroom uses rich-media technologies, wikis, blogs and podcasting.
Welcome to the world of online learning. Online learning (also known as electronic learning and e-learning) for business professionals meets the needs of a wide variety of learners, regardless of their location or schedule. Online classes can be adapted to multiple styles and disciplines, and nearly any topic can be adapted and taught via the Web.
The evolution of e-learning can be attributed to two major developments — less travel and more technology, explains Janet Clarey, a researcher with Brandon Hall Research, an independent firm. In her report, “E-Learning 101: An Introduction to E-Learning, Learning Tools, and Technology,” Clarey says that in the wake of 9/11, companies tightened travel budgets, heavily affecting corporate education because workers weren’t flying around the country to further their professional skill sets.
Couple the reduction in travel with the ever-growing breadth and depth of technological training tools, and it’s easy to surmise how e-learning has become a mainstay in the corporate landscape. Cost, access and convenience — three characteristics of online learning and three variants that keep business chugging along.
In her research, Clarey outlines the general objectives of online learning:
• To provide remedial training or certification
• To support organizational initiatives
• To provide training for disparate personnel
• Coaching and mentoring
• Standardizing training and knowledge
According to Kathryn Hallenstein, director of instructional design for the Tax and Accounting business of Thomson Reuters, online courses can also be a great equalizer, providing a way for busy professionals to learn the basics, work as a team on a particular case study or even attend a webinar to explore a topic further. For tax and accounting professionals, online courses run the gamut of beginner’s topics to updates about regulatory information, standards, and policy changes.
“The online format is great for foundation courses where professionals are learning or reviewing the basics because learners can go back over content as often as needed until they understand concepts,” Hallenstein says.
And, for industries where information changes frequently, online learning moves with speed and agility.
“Online learning is also good when reviewing codes, policies, guidelines and changing laws,” Hallenstein adds. “Learners work through examples, scenarios and case studies about real-life situations and check on the codes and other reference materials in our Thomson Reuters online tools section or connect through online links.”
As the tax and accounting field changes, it’s imperative that professionals stay current for their clients. For practitioners, the ability to take a class at any time from anywhere can be more than just a convenience; it can be a lifeline.
And online learning can make access to information easily attainable because it is not bound by the same time and space constraints as classroom education. Because learners can move at their own pace, learning can keep pace with the rate of change, a crucial variable particularly in a heavily regulated field such as tax and accounting, where the rules are complex and evolving.
“E-learning is a quick and easy way for busy tax and accounting specialists to get the CPE credits that are essential for maintaining their licenses,” Hallenstein says. “They can identify the courses that meet their needs and take the courses when it is most convenient to their schedules — no waiting for classes to come to their cities and no expensive traveling to work into their busy schedules.”
Because online learning uses a variety of rich media tools to communicate, messages are delivered with the same consistency every time. Further, e-learning can be delivered to the audience in real time — or at any time.
“Online self-study learning will never replace live learning but it does fill a needed spot for learners who are looking for NASBA certified training to complete on a ‘just-in-time’ basis,” explains Hallenstein. “It is training that is consistent for everyone, every time. It is not dependent on the skill of the facilitator, nor can it be derailed by a disruptive participant. Well-built online learning can make live classroom training more enriching and fulfilling by covering the basics so the live session can be filled with hands-on and team-based activities.”
With webinars, participants can provide feedback to facilitators and administrators on the spot. This immediate availability of communication allows for continual improvement and dialogue between learners and the teachers so that the information presented will have the greatest impact on the audience.
As the needs of today’s business professional evolves, so will online learning. And regardless of subject matter or topic, the lessons taught via online courses are designed to culminate into one ultimate goal, as outlined by Hallenstein: “To help with the transfer of skills into the workplace so that the ultimate measurement is change of behavior that results in performance improvement.”
Written by Laurie Dent
|
