Isabelle Dremeau is the author of the e-elearning Bretagne blog where she shares experiences and points of view. This month Isabelle is presenting a pdf titled “State of the art of training and education in the Web 2.0”.

The categories are: Networks educational videos, Learning tutorials sharing, Community and languages, Flash Cards, Mind maps, Tutoring and online courses, Course notes online, Universities 2.0, Second Life, Serious Games, Mobile Learning 2.0, Services & Tools 2.0, Education 2.0.

Very pleasant to read! However synchronous tools are not that much emphasized. I mean the virtual classrooms, software and services dedicated to collaboration and instant messaging often associated to VoIP and video. These features make it possible to establish a direct and synchronous relationship between trainees and trainers… A relationship vital to the process for accompanying the training. These features allow to produce at distance the same quality as in traditional training.

These technologies must be accompanied by a strong leadership change so that users do not feel technology and distant training as a bad point.

Years after, elearning remains worthwile. The elearning meets indeed several strong companies’needs:

• geographical constraints: grouping all participants in a single classroom
• planning constraints: impossible to stop the production / matching the schedules of all participants
• the most effective in the shortest time

The synchronous technology meets the first constraint by allowing the organization of sessions with participants from different geographical areas. However, the animation of a collective session in elearning is not that easy. Many of the “signals” that the trainer is usually aware of won’t exist in virtual classrooms. The animation of a 10 people group is not easy in physical meetings, you can imagine the difficulties that may arise in elearning!

The solution preferred by the majority of companies is therefore to organize short and individual courses. Is it financially worthwile? The elearning will eliminate costs generated by the training attendance (lack of office, transport, lunch, accommodation), the financial gain is so important that individualized elearning training turns out indeed to be worthwile.

It should be noted that these tools won’t do everything! They are however interesting additions to any other educational solution. Used before or after traditional training or asynchronous training, these technologies help to enhance the interaction between participants and trainers.

These allow technology to individualize training and meet the needs of the learner in the most efficient way possible. For all these reasons, the elearning surely has many good points to offer!

I invite you to read these 2 posts (in French) from les z’ed:

• formation continue, enseignement, e-learning… bref, l’apprentissage
• formation continue, enseignement, e-learning… la suite en liens