I came across this recent NYT article and thought you might enjoy it, too. Not surprisingly - at least not to me! -- the study finds that in a comparison of studies over the past 12 years, they can now say with some degree of qualitative certainty that: "On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction".While the study related to the academic sector, and not specifically to corporate settings, it's safe to say that these students represent the future corporate learners. These learners will soon expect quality online learning as a key method of gaining the knowledge to perform and excel in their jobs. We predict that as the title of Corporate Trainer evolves into Knowledge Facilitators -- who will support the transfer of knowledge through multiple delivery modes -- a blended learning approach will also emerge.
A combination of classroom or face-to-face community interaction and networking, along with video/online training to facilitate consistently available, virtually monitored and cost-effective training will evolve that both pleases all constituents and accommodates all types of learners. It would be the best of both worlds.
Beyond the initial findings, the article, in summary, says:
•Online education can be better tailored to individual students than classroom training
•Students find online training "more engaging and useful"
•Students can "learn by doing" more effectively with online training than in a classroom setting
•Online training will evolve much more rapidly in the next few years, because of social networking
•Eventually, online learning will create communities of learners, who will help each other, by teaching each other, online as well as in the classroom
This clearly shows the benefits of online learning. If you haven't already done so, check out the benefits of online learning.




