"E-Learning: the Learning Curve"

Given e-learning's visibility, and the potential promise for teaching and learning, it is scarcely surprising that perceptions about its significance differ. Early on, we witnessed a series of claims that e-learning was the ultimate panacea, but many commentators are suggesting that this early optimism was grossly misplaced. There is now sufficient evidence to show that the growth of e-learning in corporate organization has plateau flowing a variety of implementation problems.

It is therefore appropriate to ask what is currently happening. What is taking place in those organizations that have made a firm commitment to the use of e-learning as part of their portfolio of training interventions, in particular:

What is currently on their agenda?
What strategies are they employing?
What problems have they encountered?
How are they seeking to overcome them?
What advice would they offer others who might be thinking of implementing e-learning.

Keynote Presentations by:

Martyn Sloman -- Martyn Sloman was appointed to his current position of Adviser, Learning, Training and Development at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in January 2001. From 1997-2000 he worked as Director of Management Education and Training for Ernst & Young, one of the largest business advisory firms in the world.

As author, lecturer and conference speaker he has contributed to the development of modern human resource concepts and practice. His book ‘The E-Learning Revolution - from proposition to action’ was published by the CIPD in April 2001 and presents twenty-one separate propositions which will shape the introduction of e-learning. A US edition was published by the American Management Association in May 2002. His earlier best selling book, "A Handbook for Training Strategy" (Gower, 1994), received wide critical acclaim and has now been reprinted and translated into Polish and published in India and China. A second edition appeared in autumn 1999. His new book "Training in the Age of the Learner" considers the implications of the shift from training as an intervention to learning as an activity. It will be published by the CIPD in October 2003.

Martyn is an Honorary Teaching Fellow in the Department of Organizational Psychology, Birkbeck College, University of London and an Industrial Fellow at Kingston Business School. From August 2003 he will be an Honorary Professor in the School of Management and Languages, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh.

Martyn has written a number of papers. To view a couple, please follow the links here.

This is called "The Change Agenda".

This document is "CIPD Report Shows No Blueprint for e-Learning".

A handout that was distributed prior to the webinar can be found here: "Received Wisdom Propositions."

Jessica Rolph -- was appointed to her current position as CIPD Adviser, Learning, Training and Development, in July 2002. Since joining, Jessica has developed the CIPD's first survey on career management practices (Managing employee careers: issues, trends and prospects) as well as managing the production of the CIPD annual Training and Development Survey.

Jessica has a BSc in psychology (University of Manchester) and a MSc in occupational and organisational psychology (University of Surrey). Before joining the CIPD, Jessica worked as a Senior HR Consultant for Norwich Union Healthcare and a consultant at William M Mercer specialising in performance and development projects