Well, once again this week, I have been reading e-Learning discussion boards and on several the topic is whether e-Learning is “good”, “successful”, “better or worse than classroom”? How long will we continue to have these discussions? Yes, I work for a custom e-Learning content developer who also has one of the best learning management systems (LMS) around. But long before I became involved in the industry of online education platforms and web based training, I was a learner. Still am.

e-Learning Exactly when You need it

And, I am frankly tired of the endless comparisons to classroom training and questions of the value of e-Learning. Look, it is here to stay and it is a valuable weapon in the training arsenal. I sought out e-Learning before I was involved in the industry. Don’t you? Listen, I have been in sales and related roles longer than I care to acknowledge. I have participated in a number of classroom trainings for sales techniques, processes, behaviors. Some of them were good and some were abysmal. And, I have taken (and created) sales training courseware. Not only have they provided an opportunity to expand my knowledge but they have been extremely effective in communicating that knowledge…exactly when I needed and wanted it!

Stop Wasting Money – Use e-Learning!

I have even taken computer application training in a classroom. And, that, I can tell you flat out, can not compare to the value of taking such training just when I need it as e-Learning. And, how about product training? Sure, you can spend, literally millions in some cases, to roll-out product training to your sales teams in classroom settings. As Dr. Phil would say,” how’s that working for you?” Millions spent, time out of the office for your most important revenue generators, and they will still need support materials to enhance that training. With rapidly changing products and services, the best way to keep your global sales teams educated, is to provide that training online, where they can access it when they need it through a learning management system.

So why do we keep trying to justify e-Learning? I really don’t know the answer to that. It’s value is just so obvious. Implementing e-Learning should be a basic training methodology for any organization.