US independent e-learning research and consultancy Lguide have produced a comprehensive report into the state and availability of e-learning today.
Lguide say they put the report together because they "believe in the promise of e-learning, but feel that a great deal of work remains before the products available to consumers live up to that promise". Amusingly, Lguide recount the tale of their visit to a US online learning exhibition, where they were inundated with brochures and marketing material and left with a feeling of the confusion experienced by many who visit these events - TrainingZONE knows the feeling!
The report, which runs to 280 pages, gives an in-depth analysis of content from 40 well-known e-learning publishers, providing e-learning in business skills, desktop applications and professional information technology. For each of these three areas, they provide:
- An overview of the key providers in that area
- A detailed evaluation of their course content (two to three pages of A4 devoted to each provider)
- A list of best practice features to look for in that type of provision
- A look at the future for that type of e-learning
- A useful map plotting suppliers against quality of design and delivery
The report also includes a further 'full publisher evaluation', looking at 23 e-learning providers in terms of their company history, products, financial overview, partners and notable clients. It also lists Learning Management System providers who have successfully managed to integrate the providers content into their systems - useful for those looking to use e-learning from several providers. There are also additional brief publisher evaluations of 13 providers Lguide say are 'up-and-coming' within the market - they look briefly at the positives and negatives of course provision from these, and also look at five further companies without evaluating their course provision. Finally there's a list of publishers and a desciption of how Lguide went about carrying out their analysis.
TrainingZONE says: We wondered whether this was going to be yet another report into the projected massive growth and opportunities for e-learning, but we stand corrected - this is excellent stuff. Lguide have been reviewing e-learning for quite some time on their website, and bring some of this into the report - there is masses of detailed information here, of interest to anyone looking to buy into e-learning. BUT here's the catch: the report will set you back $999.99 - around £700. It's a lot of money, but could be justified by someone working for a large company looking to spend thousands on e-learning - it is easily worth the investment as there's a lot of work gone into this, and it would take a very long time to undertake this level of research yourself. We only wish we were allowed to share some more of it with you!
