Posted by : trraju on Apr 27, 2004 - 09:20 AM WebTechnology

ELECTRONIC learning is viewed as an opportunity to learn at one's own pace from home, or other remote locations using the Internet. For working individuals who did not have the opportunity to pursue tertiary education when they left school, e-learning is like a second chance to obtain higher qualifications at their own convenience.
According to International Data Corp (IDC), the United States is the largest market in terms of the number of users and e-learning vendors.

The research firm states that e-learning in the US was generated during the dotcom boom with many companies spending on large e- learning systems. However, when the bubble burst, e-learning, like many other online services, became to be viewed cynically.

IDC says e-learning market in 2001 was valued at US$5.2 billion (RM19.76 billion) and poised to grow to US$23.7 billion in 2006, an increase of 35.6 per cent worldwide.

However, when the market crashed, these forecast were revised down. In 2001, IDC forecasted that the e-learning market in the Asia- Pacific to grow 97 per cent over five years. However, the growth was revised to 15 per cent over the same period.

According to IDC, one of the main drivers for successful e- learning programme is the infrastructure. This includes technical issues, scalability, interoperability convenience, efficiencies or effectiveness, quality of service, security and privacy.

Research firm Gartner, meanwhile, says e-learning demands careful, strategic planning by chief information officers, training managers and business units because it includes many different technologies, each with its own pace in the adoption cycle.

It adds that as technologies mature at different rates, most enterprises will ultimately build an e-learning environment that closely integrates e- learning technologies.

Gartner says an enterprise's competitive circumstances and business processes may require it to adopt individual technologies before they have matured and been integrated with other technologies.

E-learning can provide direct business benefits and a rapid return on investment, therefore faster-than-normal implementations often make sense, it adds.

Content is a characteristic that sets e-learning apart from other technologies, so delay in acquisition of content would impede the progress.

According to Gartner's study, the Japanese government offers incentives to local governments to adopt e-learning as part of a wider effort to spread e-government. Large global enterprises have also joined the government's effort to promote e-learning throughout Japan.

Gartner says e-learning may benefit enterprise, especially if they want to compete in global markets or have a workforce that's widely dispersed throughout the region.

E-learning, it adds, can keep workers' skills up-to-date with minimal travel, but successful projects demand attention to local needs and conditions.

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