Forum Discussion
Validating e-learning investment?
I'm making a pitch for investing in e-learning, and I know my organizational leadership would like to see research that connects e-learning to real behavior change in a learner. Does anyone have a ...
@trevor
My response will be less thoughtful than Steve's, 
but I'm of the mindset people should start moving away from calling it "online learning" at all. It's really "connected learning" by either connecting through Internet capable devices/databases or connecting with individuals/experts through those devices.
I know it sounds somewhat flippant, but if you've read an email and learned something new you've participated in effective online learning. If you've checked a potential job candidate out on Facebook/Linked In and learned something to help make your decision, you've participated in effective online learning.
The list could go on including finding a meeting location through online maps, getting a question answered in an online forum, etc. I realize decision makers want data, but sometimes the best data for making decisions is your own real world experiences. They just don't consider it "online learning" now, but I can't for the life of me figure out why going online and learning something you didn't previously know quickly and easily is not "effective" learning whatever name you want to place on it. To paraphrase Confucius,
"You cannot access the Internet without learning something".
Todd
