The Classroom Trainer In The Online World

The forecasts for the growth of e-learning are becoming more extravagant by the month. If these forecasts are even half right, the effect on the IT training industry will be enormous and even the most skeptical classroom trainer must now be looking anxiously over their shoulder. In this chapter, I examine the implications of the e-learning revolution for those who have made their living delivering learning face-to-face, and look at ways for trainers to make a contribution in an increasingly online world.

Reality check

“The market for web-based training will exceed $6 billion by 2002 (IDC, 1999).”

“Classroom training will fall from 55% of all training to about 30% in five years (Epic/DfEE report, 1999).”

Any classroom IT trainer who’s been ‘treading the boards’ non-stop for years, surviving only on adrenaline and the occasional whiff from their flip chart pen, is entitled to display more than a little cynicism when informed of the amazing predictions for the future of e-learning.

“Who do these people think they’re kidding?”

“We’ve seen it all before. Remember videodisc? Anyone still got a CD-I player?”

“It’s just another problem looking for a solution.”

“No-one ever learned anything from a computer.”

“The classroom is the only natural place to learn.”

Sound familiar? Heard it in the bar after the course? Of course you have. But you haven’t participated in these discussions because you’re open-minded. That’s why you’re reading this book.

It’s time for a reality check. Just what are the real prospects for e-learning in the field of IT training? If e-learning takes off, what effect will that have on classroom training? Should I be looking for another job?