Corporate Elearning Solutions Are No Passing Fad

Many educational theories come and go faster than they can even be fully implemented. Instructors just begin to get their mind wrapped around a concept before it becomes old news. It seems that education is always in flux, and those in the field need to be ready to buckle up for the “next big thing” at a moment’s notice.

Every once in a while a theory comes along that really makes sense. It’s not just in theory, either. The application is so worthwhile that an instructor knows this one will be around for the long-haul.

This is the case with corporate elearning solutions. The value of employee training delivered in this manner is widely accepted and will only continue to expand as time goes on.

But corporate elearning didn’t just appear on its own. The precursor to what is currently happening in the corporate world was quite a bit different, and interestingly enough, was used mostly in schools.

Elearning’s origins

The actual term “elearning” has only been in use since 1999 but the principles have been around for much, much longer.

Here’s a quick timeline of elearning, from its very beginnings up to what it is recognized as today.

1800’s. Correspondence courses were used to teach certain skills. Assignments would be sent through the mail, completed, and then mailed back to the instructor. The instructor graded the assignments and sent the next lesson.
1924. Ohio State University Professor Sidney Pressey invented a device that gave students the ability to test themselves. Dubbed, “The Automatic Teacher,” this device looked like a typewriter but only had four keys. The questions were displayed with four multiple choice answers. The student was to press the key that corresponded to their answer choice. Pressing the key recorded the answer on a counter inside the machine. The machine would not advance to the next question until the student chose the correct answer.
1954. B.F. Skinner, at the time a professor at Harvard, invented a “teaching machine” that allowed instructors to give programmed directions to their students. It consisted of a box that actually gave out content at a pace that could be individualized for different learners.
1960. The first computer-based training system came onto the scene.
1970’s. This decade brought the advent of interactive computer training systems. Until this time, alternatives to traditional education were only one-way communication.
1980’s. People began acquiring their own personal computers in their homes for the first time.
1990’s. Schools started to offer education that was strictly online. It was a cheaper option and made education accessible for people who may not have had the opportunity before.
2000’s. Corporations introduced e learning solutions as training programs for their employees.

Corporate elearning solutions thrive

Advances in technology continue to materialize at a rapid rate. While a boom in technology is a threat to some industries, the exact opposite is true for the elearning community. Better technology is equal to better elearning programs and improved systems. Progress in technology leads to progress for elearning in all its avenues, especially in the world of corporate training.

There is no doubt that even more innovations will come. As they do, corporations will continue to weed out the strategies that don’t work and retain the ones that do. Whatever theories and new ideas that come and go won’t have a significant negative effect on elearning because it has already proven its value.

The industry shows no signs of slowing down and the statistics for 2016 show that the market is expected to hit $2.8 billion.