The effectiveness of e-learning: More than what you would expect!

Culture plays quite an important role in nurturing a nation; it is equally important in determining how people of a particular country decide on microeconomic – but major issues. For example, in Western countries, the decision to, say, implement e-learning, is mostly dependent on the product. In the East, particularly here in the Philippines, decision-makers first study very closely the success of other companies/schools before "jumping on the bandwagon." Of course, there are other main reasons why companies and schools implement e-learning. It is very reassuring that a good number of institutions realize their intentions. But it is the "bonuses" that bring pleasant surprises.

So what are the main reasons why some Philippine companies/schools go into e-learning?

For corporations that we work with, like Aboitiz, Lepanto Mining, Matsushita Panasonic, Johnson and Johnson, Allied Bank and Unilever, to name a few, it boils down to the bottom line – savings. E-learning is approximately one-fifth the cost of other forms of training – this is just the calculable savings. On the other hand, the staff do not have to leave their workplace just to go on training; courses are readily accessible to them through their PC, they can learn whenever time permits. This is the intangible savings. Put these two together and the company saves beyond what is recorded on the financial statement. And that is why companies decide to invest in e-learning.

Now we look at schools. For Assumption College, Lyceum of the Philippines, La Consolacion College and Mapua Institute of Technology, the need to be abreast with technological advances is critical. This is the main reason why they implement an e-learning system within their campuses. As one of the IT professors at Assumption College, told her students: "If you do not embrace such a technological breakthrough as e-learning, how will you compete in the IT world?"

For STI and the Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP), the need for standardization of content propelled them into the e-learning world. Both schools decided that despite having several campuses with different faculties, graduates should be able to achieve equal-leveled and global standard knowledge through the use of e-learning.

Meanwhile, St. Benedict College and San Sebastian College realize the primary importance of having their curricula aligned with vendor-accredited courses that lead to global certification. Both institutions stress their desire to be the best in IT in their geographical areas. And e-learning would assist them in achieving this goal.

In Cebu, the University of San Carlos (USC) has cited Yapster’s e-learning courses to be a complete package of the required standard of IT courses set by the school, especially for its high school students. Coupled with instructor-led sessions, e-learning has become a higher level of learning and enhancement for budding future leaders.

To quote La Consolacion Manila’s Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Ronald Pastrana, in a recent press statement, "E-learning will greatly enrich the learning experience of our students, making the school one of the pioneers in implementing e-learning, and more importantly bringing us up to par with world standards."

These companies and schools not only achieved all their unique goals for going into e-learning, they later discovered that there is an "icing to the cake."

Aside from being technologically advanced and the first Philippine college to implement Accounting e-learning courses, Assumption now also boasts of e-learners with a 93 percent average grade in Accounting in just one semester.

Lyceum of the Philippines achieved a 181 percent average learning curve from its computer classes.

Icon (a division of Smart) achieved not only savings but an increased and measurable learning capability absent in other forms of training. E-learners showed a 54 percent learning curve from their Call Center Training Curriculum.

The STI faculty cites that e-learning makes it easier for them to teach because e-learning courses guarantee standard content across 120 sites. In addition, it provides a detailed lesson plan and complete online manuals. The system checks test papers and simulates the actual software, allowing the professors to concentrate on what they do best – teach.

Continuing to be the best IT school in the Alabang area, the St. Benedict College has a learning curve of at least 30 percent. St. Benedict College is the first college in the Philippines to provide its students and faculty with a full-scale e-learning implementation in all its IT subjects. According to Diosdado Aler II, IT and IM chairman, "I have found Yapster e-Learning’s courses to be engaging and interactive. This new technology will allow St. Benedict to continue to be the best for decades to come."

In their first year alone, on top of standardizing their content between two campuses, TIP was able to save on over a hundred software licenses for some laboratories. Simulated e-learning courses are now used as a tool for teaching and learning. E-learning achieved the same – or at times, even better – results with extra money in the bank.

Apart from savings, Allied Bank realized that e-learning is a renewable resource. This means that even after a learner has completely gone through the e-learning courses, the content is still available for further review at any time. Training at Allied Bank has then become a resource that can be renewed whenever the learner needs or wishes to.

Together with savings, e-learning has helped the Phinma staff become more computer-savvy. Cecil Sese, Phinma’s HR specialist, related, "…Our people make better reports and presentations from taking Yapster’s Microsoft Office e-learning courses. This helps them be more efficient and productive."

University of San Carlos students have tackled all aspects of Basic PC Operations in their first year of e-learning. USC is in the process of expanding its e-learning course offerings to include not only the basic computer series but also programming languages for even high school students. This is to further encourage the growth of IT within the school system.

Like I mentioned in my last article, implementing e-learning does not result in overnight success. It has to be done properly and thoroughly. And often, the main objective in implementing e-learning will be realized. The exciting part is experiencing the "bonuses" that you never imagined possible. Achieving the main goal to implement shows e-learning’s effectiveness but numbers reveal that there are so much more benefits to uncover. It’s like having your cake and eating it too. It just does not get any better than that.

* * *

Arlene K. Yap-Tan is CEO of Yapster e-Learning Inc., a member of the Yapster e-Conglomerate Inc. You may contact her at [email protected].