Time is well-known to be the minimum resource for many SME's trying to arrange the in-service training needed for their personnel. Yet the rapid development of an information society creates a strong challenge for companies to increase their competence in networking and telecommunication skills. The project VIRPI, A Virtual Learning Environment for SME's, aims at helping companies save time and resources by developing new methods of in-service training via the Internet, according to the spesific needs of small companies. During the first year pilot phase of the project, a set of prerequisites and criteria for a successful learning process was collected from three different point of views: the participating enterprises, the educational organisation and the implementation of a learning environment model. In the spring 1999 the virtual learning environment is further developed according to the experiences of the pilot phase and training is arranged for an extended number of enterprises. In our paper we share the main experiences on the developing work of the virtual learning environment, both positive and negative compared to the ideal given by the enthusiasts of information technology.
A Virtual Learning Environment for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, or the VIRPI project, is a developmental project being carried out at the Lahti Research and Training Centre of the University of Helsinki and mainly funded by the European Social Fund.
The VIRPI project is planned to help SME's face the challenge to study the possible advantages of information networks in promoting their business and to increase their competence in telecommunication. The use of the Internet in a reasonable and cost-effective way in a small company is, however, not an easy task, let alone a self-evident one. Training is needed both for the management and and for other personnel. The VIRPI project aims at developing a new learning model of on-line training via the Internet, especially adapted for SME's.
The possibilities created by the rapid development of information technology have been seen as a solution to many of the difficulties that companies face trying to arrange cost-effective in-service training for their personnel. The Virtual Learning Environment for SME's is based on objectives developed according to the needs of the companies, taking into use several advantages for the end user:
The virtual learning environment of the VIRPI project was opened in the Internet at the beginning of the year 1998. In the pilot phase three different training packages were produced:
Seven small and medium-sized enterprises were participating in the pilot phase. They had between one and ten students each. In the extension phase, beginning in the spring 1999, the training will be available for new enterprises. Between12 to 18 SME's may participate. Research and evaluation are an essential part of the project throughout its implementation. The project will continue until the end of 1999.
As a target group, the personnel of enterprises is very different from many other target groups, especially when compared to university students or other whole-time learners. The activity, commitment and motivation of an individual participant of training is closely connected with the commitment of the employer and local support from the enterprise. It is not easy for a company to set its objectives, particularly on the unploughed field of new information technology. If the company has defined its objectives clearly, the student is more likely to be provided with the resources necessary for a successful learning process.
The outward circumstances, as access to the training, have to be checked in an early phase, for example the functioning of the connections, e-mail software and browsers for every student. Is the student allowed to use working time for studying? Is the training considered important for the developing of competencies in daily work?
Pedagogically, connecting training and everyday duties in business life is also a specific situation. While many of the potential problems to be faced can be predicted through the general theory of distance education, unexpected situations cannot be avoided. Eight of the thirty pilot group students of the VIRPI project interrupted their studies for reasons which cannot be affected by any arrangements: disease, maternity leave, changing of the employer, moving abroad.
In-service training for SME's via the Internet has several potential advantages as well as prerequisites and/or potential difficulties, see Table 1. In the Table 1 some of the ideal model objectives are compared with the everyday reality of working life.
For an educational organisation, creating a virtual learning environment for SMEs is a demanding task involving several areas of expertise: speciality on contents, understanding of SMEs, process management; cooperative ability; and technical know-how. The emphasis in the work is transferred from the actual teaching to the planning phase, designing of the materials and construction of the learning process.
Potential advantages (initial objectives of the learning environment): |
Prerequisites and/or potential difficulties (findings of the pilot phase): |
Time and place independency |
The ability to self-directiveness is typically overestimated; especially so when the target group is personnel of enterprises. |
Cost savings |
Cost savings take place in travel and telephone. |
"Just-in-time" learning when the knowledge is needed |
Differentiation of levels in study materials is needed."Just-in-time" learning sets high demands on the relevance and quality of the training material contents and sources available. |
Flexibility: both self-paced and instructor-led study possibilities |
The students of the pilot phase companies clearly preferred instructor-led and tightly scheduled studiesFor more advanced Internet-users a well structured study material can be used for self-paced studies also as well as for rehearsals |
Personal or for the company tailor-made study plans and sets of contents |
Considerable competence and sensitiveness is demanded from the interviewer to ascertain the development needs of companies: they are not necessarily prepared to recognise them, especially in the new field of information technology. |
Table 1.
The success of the project depends on the skills and cooperation of a large team, not only individual educators. All the partners are to know their roles and tasks and be committed to the shared objectives. In a team responsible for the construction of a virtual learning environment and/or course, specialities at least in the following fields are needed: content, pedagogics and instructional design, technical implementation, navigation and interface design, graphics and visual quality, tutoring, administration and project coordination.
All the "normal" elements of a successful course have to be taken into account also in Internet-based distance education as well as in traditional face-to-face teaching. When constructing a virtual study environment for SME's, it is vital to agree on shared objectives - which have to be relevant to the enterprises - and to make commitment to them. Another vital point of design work is utilizing the special nature and all the possibilities of the new media: there is no added value in "transferring a material into the Internet". In that case, the traditional teacher and book combination is probably better.
Interactivity is considered one of the key elements of Internet-based training as well as other forms of distance education. In the pilot phase of the VIRPI project only some of the students were active in using the interactive elements available like discussion groups, which is a phenomenon typical of Internet-based study environments. An obvious result of the pilot phase evaluation was also the strong need of versatility in the modes of action: face-to-face communication and different forms of distance education have to be combined if possible.
The key to new teaching and learning methods is evaluative research. In the VIRPI project the research is in the form of an action research. Based on the experiences of the pilot phase, the Virtual Learning Environment for SME's is thoroughly renewed and further developed for the extension phase. The pilot phase was free for the enterprises but the extension phase will include a participation fee. This creates a new challenge: the virtual learning environment must be interesting and profitable enough to attract investments. As yet, the participation fee is small, since the project is funded by the European Social Fund. However, the aim is to make the virtual learning environment a permanent form of business education which companies are willing to pay for. While a lot of product development remains to be done before the virtual environment is a cost-effective model of in-service training, the experiences give a glimpse of fascinating future possibilities.
University of Helsinki,
Lahti Research and Training Centre, Distance Education Centre
Saimaankatu 11, FIN-15140 Lahti, Finland
E-mail: kirsti.lindh@helsinki.fi
janne.matikainen@helsinki.fi