In its early days, E-learning promised much but delivered much less, largely because of the inflexibility and costs of outsourced programming. E-learning expert Mike Alcock, MD of Atlantic Link Ltd, argues that technological developments in rapid e-learning software over the past three years are releasing e-learning to fulfil its promise and that as a result it is enjoying a renaissance.

Where it went wrong for e-learning

Throughout the technology revolution, e-learning has been a promise waiting to happen. Great things have been forecast and industry leaders have been keen for their company to be at the front of the revolution. However, despite the industry’s best endeavours the revolution has never quite arrived.

Looking back, the principle reason for this has been that e-learning hasn’t proved to be the cheap quick training solution that was promised. Creation of e-learning for bespoke purposes has proved to be complex and costly. The involvement of outsourced providers was always necessary and programming expertise does not come cheaply. E-learning has found itself cursed by the same problems that have dogged other IT projects over the past twenty years. Namely:

• Long planning and commissioning cycles

• Expensive programming costs

• Programming time overruns

• Inflexibility of projects to cope with changing demands

• Expensive amendment and extension of projects

Training and HR departments have experienced frustration in procuring the e-learning they require within the right timeframes and budgets. This frustration has acted as a drag on the development of e-learning as a training solution – until the advent of rapid e-learning.

What is Rapid e-learning

New technologies have been developed - collectively dubbed "Rapid E-learning". This software has been developed to allow non programmers to author e-learning quickly and simply, using intuitive user interfaces to create highly professional e-learning. The users are typically subject matter experts in the courses being written. These trainers have been liberated from the straight jacket imposed by traditional e-learning authoring and now have the tools to create what they have always wanted. Indeed rapid e-learning authoring tools have been described as "handing e-learning back to the trainers".

Rapid e-learning tools vary in their functionality but the best of them allow the creation of learning which is indistinguishable from learning sourced from the top e-learning consultancy houses. Simple integration of audio and visual options such as flash, mpeg, pdfs and PowerPoint presentation materials allows courses to be authored in double quick time.

In my view the most effective tools are those based on server side authoring, which allow collaboration on projects across the world. Also important in the purchase decision is finding out whether the authoring tools allow integration of disabled accessibility tools. There will undoubtedly be many claims against companies under disability discrimination legislation on the grounds that training was not equally accessible to the disabled as it was to the able bodied. A good rapid e-learning tool which includes accessibility options will ensure that your company is not a test case.

High quality learning at vastly reduced costs.

The advent of rapid e-learning authoring has led to a revolution in the cost and lead times of producing e-learning for corporations. In-house teams are able to produce courses at a fraction of the cost of commissioning external consultants and the rigidities of communication, which plagued the outsourcing process, are eliminated as the author is normally part of the in-house team requiring the software.

Authoring in-house also means that any amendment, or extension of the e-learning courses are also carried out in-house, eliminating the need for hefty payments to consultants for outside contract additions and amendments.

The ease of authoring software is also leading to imaginative new applications for e-learning courses, often replacing costly training methods. One example is the reduction in the need to bring outstationed employees into a central location for ongoing training. Such activity has traditionally been at high cost in terms of travel, accommodation, training facilities and training personnel. This is quite apart from the opportunity cost of time off the job for travelling and training. The availability of low cost e-learning on central servers means that distributed teams are able to be trained without being drawn together. If they work from home the e-learning can be accessed from the home base or if in remote offices they can undertake the learning on office facilities.

The possible applications of such technology are numerous:

• Sales teams being updated on the last product or service features

• A dealer network being trained on the latest update of dealer software

• Field engineers being briefed on the latest changes in supplier equipment

• Shop workers being trained in-store for new till systems

The possibilities are vast.

The delivery of courses need not be PC based. Of increasing importance will be personalised learning delivered via mobile phone or PDA. The more advanced rapid authoring tools allow courses to be specifically designed for the small screen of mobile devices. Similarly in a retail environment, rapid authoring tools allow courses to be designed for the very EPOS terminals that staff will be using.

Rapid e-learning technology is now out of its infancy, it is proven technology that major corporations are now embracing to deliver training in an increasing range of situations. As development costs are now much lower and the development process more streamlined, these corporations are finding new ways of using the technology to write e-learning that is eliminating costly classroom learning, workbooks and the risks of "learning on the job". It is no coincidence that early adopters are some of the most innovative businesses, successfully establishing competitive advantage over their more leaden footed competitors.

Mike Alcock is Managing Director of Atlantic Link Ltd, European leaders in Rapid E-learning technology, and a Committee Member of the E-Learning Network. www.atlantic-link.co.uk 0115 906 1375