Not all e-Learning is delivered in a way which uses good teaching and learning practice. It can often be just a slide presentation or electronic page-turning exercise. The result of this approach to e-Learning training is that learners are not motivated and are not able to apply or remember what they have been taught.

Therefore your organisation wide guidelines need to include policies for trainers who are delivering e-Learning on what constitutes good practice.

Without specific reference to learning you are in danger of concentrating on the 'e' and forgetting the all important learning. You have to remember that whatever the technology, learning is the vital element of e-Learning.

e-Learning, like any learning, needs to have:

• a clear purpose
• measurable activities
• defined outcomes.
• activities which actively engage learners
• a way of providing feedback on the activities they undertake.

An important part of your policy should include learner feedback on e-Learning to find out if the approach is working.

Other organisations have adopted e-Learning guidelines and consideration should be given to adopting and adapting these; for example the National Learning Network (NLN) guidelines which are based on Robert Gagné's instructional design model and which include reference to:

• gaining attention (reception)
• informing learners of the objective (expectancy)
• stimulating recall of prior learning (retrieval)
• presenting the stimulus (selective perception)
• providing learning guidance (semantic encoding)
• eliciting performance (responding)
• providing feedback (reinforcement)
• assessing performance (retrieval)
• enhancing retention and transfer (generalisation).

Related Resources

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  Learning Technologies
  

  This website offers real insight and discussion of the difficulties faced when trying to capture data to prove that e-Learning can change attitudes and improve employee loyalty. The website is a compilation of articles from many e-Learning enthusiasts who describe their own experiences of using e-Learning in the workplace.

  http://www.learningtechnologies.co.uk
•  
  NLN Page - Pedagogy
  

  Page from the NLN website which lists the pedagogical elements to consider when developing materials

  http://www.nln.ac.uk/?p=Pedagogy
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  Robert Gagne Instructional Design Model
  

  Information about the Robert Gagne Instructional Design Model.

  http://www.nwlink.com/~Donclark/hrd/learning/gagne.gif
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  NLN materials
  

  A National Learning Network website containing adult and community e-Learning materials.

  http://www.nln.ac.uk/?p=Home