30 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • MAY 2014
TRAINING & EDUCATION: ELEARNING
O
nce a question has been care-
fully analyzed and a reliable
answer has been found, it is
time to use this new knowl-
edge to help answer the next series of
important questions. This is the current
situation in some parts of the maritime
industry surrounding the question of
whether eLearning works.
To illustrate, some months ago there
was a familiar discussion on an on-
line maritime group debating whether
eLearning works. Arguments on both
sides cited anecdotes and conjecture on
topics for which we already have solid
answers informed by real research. This
highlights the need to broadly dissemi-
nate what is already known about this
question. Therefore, this article provides
some of the most compelling evidence
on the question of whether eLearning
works in the maritime industry. This
knowledge can then be used to contrib-
ute to the discussion of other pressing,
yet unanswered, maritime training ques-
tions such as how to cross cultural and
language barriers in training, how to
raise the standards of all maritime train-
ing without increasing costs, and how to
support a culture of safety through atten-
tion to training.
The Quick Answer
We will cover the evidence in a mo-
ment, but fi rst let me clearly state the
answer to the question, “Does eLearning
work”? The answer is an unequivocal
“YES”. But as with any complex topic,
there are many parts to that answer. So
here are a few quick, but very important,
considerations.
Not All eLearning
Experiences are Equal
Neither are all classroom experiences.
There are excellent and poor examples
of both online and classroom-based
training. We don’t abandon the class-
room just because we had a terrible in-
structor once. Likewise, we should not
abandon eLearning just because we have
encountered poor implementations (of
which there are many). So when consid-
ering the question of whether eLearning
works, we are comparing offerings of
roughly equal quality.
The Difference Between
Knowledge & Skills
Maritime industry workers require
both knowledge and skills to do their
jobs safely and effi ciently. It is important
to realize that effective training tech-
niques for knowledge are not the same
as those for skills. Having said that, keep
in mind that all skills are built on a foun-
dation of knowledge. Therefore even if
you believe you are only teaching a skill,
there is always a strong knowledge com-
ponent to that training. So both must al-
ways be considered.
Blended is Best for Knowledge
The evidence will be presented below,
but here is the quick fact. All else being
equal, when comparing online learning
with classroom-based learning, they
come out roughly equal for teaching
knowledge, with eLearning offering a
slight advantage. Yes, this is surprising,
but it is a fact. More importantly, if you
combine online and face-to-face training
(a technique called “blended learning”),
you get signifi cantly better training out-
comes than by employing either online
or face-to-face training alone. This is
very important as it gives us an opportu-
nity to make real training improvements
that were simply not available to us 10
years ago.
No Replacement for
Hands On Training
This is one of the most common argu-
ments I hear against online learning. I
believe that the statement is completely
true, but it is in no way an argument
against on-line learning. Hands-on train-
ing for skills provides the context, ex-
perience, environment and tactile feed-
back that a simulation will approach, but
never fully match. However, simulations
will provide variety in, and control of,
the training scenario that hands-on train-
ing can never match. Each approach of-
fers something the other one does not.
Therefore in this case we can use mul-
tiple, complementary training approach-
es to yield excellent results - better than
either one approach can produce alone.
Technology Offers Unique Benefi ts
In addition to improving training out-
comes, adding a technology component
to your training yields benefi ts not avail-
able otherwise.
For example, eLearning systems are
excellent providers of deep learning met-
rics and analytics. This is real-time data
about how well your trainees are per-
forming and where the gaps are. This al-
lows you to continuously improve train-
ing at your organization and close gaps
in training outcomes before they become
safety or performance issues.
Another example is how technology
can bring training to the trainee. This has
the effect of improving access to train-
ing, bringing it to those who might not
otherwise have the opportunity.
Technology also supports more fl ex-
ible training delivery models. A very
common and highly effective approach
is to have trainees pre-train using eL-
Does e-Learning Work?
It’s time to put that question behind us.
MR #5 (26-31).indd 30 4/30/2014 3:15:27 PM
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