The Rise of E-Learning
E-Learning will account for 45% of all IT training by 2004 and will bring in $34 billion, according to the International Data Commission. While the US will remain the largest consumer of E- Learning, the market in Asia/Pacific will grow by at least 20% per year.
Currently no one company holds an overall market share, but the current successes of Educational Multimedia Corporation and IBM Global Services may result in a dominant position in the coming years.
E-Learning has become a hotly contested source of revenue with great importance to the world economy.
Modern changes in the global economy have led to many more technology and service based businesses in an increasingly technical environment–most employees use a computer at the very least.
These businesses need constant updates for themselves and their workforce to maintain their competitive edge and to accommodate new technology applications.
Significantly, there is high demand for technically able employees alongside a reduction in the numbers of people able to fulfill the roles. There is a need for information to be processed and provided to the workforce to enable them to effectively perform their duties.
Technology Takes Over
Traditionally education and information was transmitted in a classroom environment, as this was the forum most educators were used to teaching in and most learners were used to learning in.
Until very recently little had changed in this respect; technology was taught in a classroom. Now one of the final areas to remain unaffected by the technology boom has seen significant changes with the arrival of Technology Based Training (TBT).
Technology was used to provide the training required to operate itself; then other areas of education also witnessed inroads in the use of technology. Soft skills such as customer relationship management, difference awareness and effective communication are available through TBT sources.
The technology itself has evolved rapidly with academia only just beginning to use the benefits of networked systems to train students and E-Learning providers flocking to make their products available via the Internet.
The human resource function within companies has a growing awareness of their training needs. E-Learning provides the answers for them. Their staff can be trained at their own pace, to suit individual learning styles.
Not only is this good for existing business, but it is leading to the rise in E-Learning businesses.
