Abstract
About the Study
Today’s world, especially in the business, government, and military sectors, is shrinking. There is a direct connection between the success of an organization and the effectiveness of its personnel. A competitive organization must do the following tasks daily: analyze volumes of information, make business decisions based on the information analysis, assign tasks to personnel, and ensure assigned tasks are completed. One effective method is the use of computers and multimedia in training personnel, located anywhere, on almost any subject. Computers and machines can assist personnel in completing their tasks but an organization’s success is based on a simple question. “How effectively do personnel perform their tasks?”
One way to enhance the skills and increase the effectiveness of personnel is through good training. Traditional classroom training is expensive and it normally cannot be repeated locally, at a worksite. Organizations can reduce training costs without effecting training quality by adding Computer Based Training and/or eLearning courseware to their training curriculum.
For this study, two types of training methods are going to be discussed and studied: Instructor-lead training (ILT), where the course is conducted on-line in a group setting (via a chat room or bulletin board) with a teacher; and E-learning (or Self-study), where the student can either download the course guide or learn through a web site, and work at their own pace.
Both types of training have their advantages. Most instructor-lead courses set very small class sizes, and students can benefit from the questions and comments of other students. Formal instructor-led training is the most structured of all the training methods. This method ensures that techniques are taught in a uniform manner, in an environment free from distractions by an instructor who is an expert in the course material. It is probably the best training method for presenting a new or complex subject. Formal instructor-led training also provides your help desk techs a break from their daily routine, which can help prevent burnout. Unfortunately, these many benefits don’t come cheap. Instructor-led training is the most expensive of all the training methods. It’s not uncommon for a course to cost over ,000 per person. You must cover not only the cost of a professional instructor but also the cost of having your staff away from work. In the UK, companies can be quite cost-conscious, and such an outlay is often the first to go when they are looking to save money. (Dray, 2002)
On the other hand, e-learning allows students to complete the training when they have the time, versus having to be online for scheduled meetings of an instructor-lead course. It minimizes the opportunity cost involved in training in terms of the following: the cost of a company expert to teach a course instead of developing his/her job, the cost for the students to attend the course instead of carrying out their tasks, and the cost of logistics and travel. In E-learning, the time devoted to training is reduced by 30-50% due to the use of technology; consequently, specialists and students can go back to the frontline faster and carry out value-added tasks for their organizations. Moreover, E-learning allows training consistency. It incorporates the best instructional practices in the industry and the client’s expert knowledge in the field to recreate everyday situations allowing the students to “learn by doing”. The E-learner confronts true experiences in a risk free environment that later empowers him to improve his performance on the job. Furthermore, E-learning provides a 1 to 1 student/professor ratio vs. 30 to1 on traditional training. This allows a greater level of concentration. A combination of audio, video, image, text, animation and music in the computer increases students attention and improves knowledge transference since they use most of their senses to perceive all the information and data they are exposed to. (Rosenberg, 2000)
After getting a brief background of these two types of instructional methods, the researcher wanted to find out if there is a significant difference between the effectiveness of E-learning and Instructor Lead Training for the Microsoft Computer Professional (MCP) Exams administered by IBM’s IT training department. The test results from five different exams given to respondents who need MCP certification were used as data for this study.
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