E‐learning: a service offering

Abstract

In Finland, both public and private organizations are actively applying information and communication technology (ICT) in adult education. Providing ICT-supported education, e-learning, requires focus on the virtual setting, but also on physical and human factors. Studying the e-learning phenomenon from a service perspective gives new insights into how to provide better learner satisfaction.The article presents a qualitative two-case study. The cases come from Finnish organizations: one case from a polytechnic and one case from a large company. The choice of cases gives an excellent opportunity to compare practices between public and private sector. The cases have been studied using participative case simulation, an action research method. This method enables gathering of rich data, since all key players from the real-life case gather together to share knowledge on a case that was realized in the near past. The researchers get to know how the case was executed in its reality, and not an ideal version about how it should have been realized.After analyzing these cases from a service process point of view, a framework of e-learning as service provisioning is presented in this article. This framework emphasizes the fact that e-learning is a mixture of physical and virtual servicing. The most important service element is the interaction between the learner and the tutor. The technology has not removed the importance of the human face; the role of a tutor is reshaping itself.

Beyond the learning frontier and the human capital development: New and old technological opportunities for the competence‐based enterprises

“…Moisio and Riitta, 2004). In particular, it was confirmed that the educators should assist users to recognise the value (usefulness) of the e-learning programmes and assist in making them easy to use.…”

“…According to Moisio and Riitta (2004) e-learning is a complex activity which combines a mix of both face-to-face and online activities. Their study revealed a gap between tutor expectations on learner behaviour and the actual learner behaviour.…”

The Use of Problem‐Based Learning to Enhance MIS Education

“…Second, as was discussed in the Theoretical Foundation section, PBL is most often associated with groups, although Moisio and Smeds (2004) found that students can and do work alone for part of a PBL task. Additional research might investigate how this type of class could employ PBL using groups of students, perhaps even examining group size to determine if that variable might make a difference.…”

“…Accordingly, it might be argued that some of the PBL benefits might be lost due to the lack of group interaction. However, one PBL study stated that students worked alone for much of the task (Moisio & Smeds, 2004). Also, Harland (1998) pointed out that students who work together in groups or teams can encounter difficulties that include differential workloads and failing to delegate properly, implying that team‐oriented assignments are not necessarily perfect.…”

Dynamics of e‐learning: theoretical and practical perspectives

“…Further, e‐learning does not have the same time and space limitations and also has the potential to address regulatory compliance, meet business needs, retrain employees, and offer customer support, all with a low recurring cost. According to Moisio and Smeds (2004), the rise of e‐learning has had an interesting side effect in some organizations: it has forced management and instructors to rethink the training process. E‐learning is believed to have an important role in empowering learners with employees having on‐demand access to asynchronous learning at any convenient time.…”