Improvement of Training System in KPO Company through Implementation of Blended Learning

Improvement of Training System in KPO Company through Implementation of Blended Learning

Training Programme Evaluation

Blended learning is a prominent trend in corporate training that has implications for distributed learning across a range of venues and constituents. Mantyla [1] defines blended learning as the use of two or more presentation and distribution methods for the purpose of enhancing both the content and the learner experience. Blended learning utilizes a variety of approaches, including print-based materials, instructorled training, and web-based training, to name a few. This article describes training strategies and techniques available through blended learning designs and outlines the advantages and limitations of such options (Martyn, 2003, 18-23). Finally, the authors present a case study on how a nonprofit healthcare education organization, Certified Medical Representatives Institute (CMRI), made the shift to a blended approach in its course product line. The case study highlights both successes and challenges faced in the transition.

Utilization Of Resources

The notion of blended learning is not a new one. Since the beginning of mediated instruction, course developers have sought to find the perfect combination of technology-based instruction and live, face-toface teaching. Computer-based training took hold in the 1970s and, more recently, networked learning environments proliferated via the internet have created the phenomenon known as e-learning, a movement that has attracted widespread interest within the corporate training sector. However, in a 2001 State of the Industry Report conducted by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), Mark Van Buren [2] indicated that the rate of e-learning adoption by U.S. companies fell significantly short of industry projections (Martyn, 2003, 18-23). These projections, made three years out, declined from 23.0 percent for 2000 to 19.8% for 2001 and to 18.2% for 2002. Participants were growing less optimistic regarding e-learning implementation as development time and costs became issues of concern. Because of the resources required, Van Buren found that larger companies were more likely to have the capital needed to invest in such an approach to training. Follow-up interviews with benchmark industries suggested that declining enrollments in existing e-learning instruction were likely due to prior negative experiences that learners had had while engaged in an e-learning program (Graham, 2005).

An unanticipated trend identified by Van Buren was an increase in classroom-based training, a trend that was explained, oddly enough, as the result of an increase in the use of technology for training (Graham, ...