The lure of the learning centre

For many learners, neither the desktop nor the home is a suitable base for e-learning. Perhaps you don’t work with a desktop PC or find the office environment too intrusive. Perhaps you don’t have a PC at home or struggle to compete for access with other family members. The answer is a tailor-made self-study environment – the learning centre.

Internet Exchange is the UK’s largest chain of Internet access centres, with outlets in both the high street and in libraries. James Golfar is Training Director: “We started offering training in our centres in 1994. We found that learners feel more comfortable having someone in the room who can give support. Our courses are primarily technology-orientated, so our on-site personnel are able to provide both technical support with using the computers and answers to questions arising from the courses themselves.”

What distinguishes the Internet Exchange customer? Golfer explains: “70 per cent of our learners are aiming to upskill so they can move job, and are paying for the courses themselves. These people simply can’t do this training with their existing employers. Learners prefer working with the broadband access that the centres provide, which they may not be able to obtain at home or at work. They also enjoy the more social environment of a centre and the increase to motivation that comes from booking a formal time to carry out their learning.”

Learndirect has long appreciated the importance of learning centres, believing that human support is key to success. For every 20,000 learners, there are 5000 learning centre staff providing face-to-face support. As a result, course completions are encouragingly over 50% and rising.

It would be fair to say that learning centres have had a chequered history. For every thriving environment, packed with eager learners sporting headphones, there would appear to be many more cavernous empty spaces, filled only with shiny new PCs. So what makes for a successful learning centre?

It seems clear that support provided by real human beings is critical. Learning IT has training centres in Stirling and Glasgow and is Scotland’s largest independent IT training company. Duncan Macleod is Managing Director: “The whole point of e-learning is that it doesn’t really matter where you do it – although the fewer distractions there are the better. But learning at a desktop hasn’t always caught on in the way people thought it would and we believe that being completely isolated when e-learning is not necessarily a good thing. Training centres, where there are other people to provide useful, relevant feedback and interaction can provide a much more conducive environment. Even when the learner is provided with a range of computer-based support tools such as online tutor support, peer-to-peer chat rooms and discussion forums, face-to-face participation as part of the total learning experience remains important.”

Case study: Factiva.com

Founded in 2001, Factiva was created through a joint venture between Reuters and Dow Jones. With more than 800 employees located in 58 cities, in 34 countries, Factiva has fast become one of the leading business information vendors. As Factiva began to grow, it developed a new product, Factiva.com, a desktop news and information tool, which was to be installed on every desktop throughout the company. The company had to provide training on the new product to all employees in just five weeks before its launch.

Anne Caputo, Director of Knowledge and Learning Programs for Factiva, developed a solution that included web conferencing sessions, using WebEx software, discussion forums, downloadable resources and e-mentoring, and delivered this at 20% of the equivalent cost of a traditional classroom approach.

Factiva has discovered just how flexible a resource e-learning can be, wherever it is deployed. Says Caputo: “E-learning from home is perhaps the most innovative use of the medium. Learners enjoyed the opportunity to incorporate their learning into their lifestyle. However, learning at home is prone to distraction and learners with children, in particular, often found it difficult to focus for extended periods.”

“E-learning in a learning centre with the aid of qualified, local instructors appeared to result in the most enjoyable learning experiences and Factiva recognises that instructors remain an essential ingredient of the company's learning programmes for years to come. But perhaps the most debated form of e-learning is desktop e-learning. Technology such as Webex enabled instructors to educate large numbers of learners at their desktops. Not only was this cheaper and easier to implement than learning centres, it also enabled participants to gain new skills within their working environment, reducing the time and expense of travelling to a training session. We have concluded that e-learners often gain more from sessions that take place within the working environment, as this is the place where that learning will be applied.”