E-Learning's Next Wave

Collaborating on course development will help librarians make online learning all it can be

By Marilyn Gell Mason, Sarah Chesemore, & Rachel Van Noord -- Library Journal, 11/15/2006

In Iowa and Maryland, the state libraries are making e-learning work. Both have embraced blended learning strategies, with minimum in-person time and maximum e-learning coursework, to advance training statewide. These initiatives illustrate the power of collaboration to make e-learning a viable benefit for libraries that likely could never create courses on their own (see “Maximizing E-Learning”). Both are models to consider as e-learning in libraries across the country takes off.

It seems that takeoff is imminent. An independent survey commissioned by WebJunction in 2005 found that libraries are at a pivotal point in their use of e-learning. In fact, 70 percent of the 651 library organizations responding plan to use e-learning within the next three years. The survey respondents—primarily from public libraries, though other library organizations, including academic libraries, state libraries, special libraries, and associations/consortia were represented—also identified benefits, barriers, and strategies—collaboration chief among them—necessary for successful implementation of e-learning.

WebJunction has been offering online courses to the library community since 2003. Last year, with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we began working more intensively with our partners, members, and others in the field to develop strategies for the effective and productive use of online learning. The survey was conducted to provide baseline data for the field, and the full report, Trends in E-Learning for Library Staff, is available at tinyurl.com/yfbr9y. This article summarizes key findings of the survey, together with reports from the field.

Benefits and barriers

E-learning describes electronically delivered learning, using tools like web conferencing, web-based tutorials, message boards, online assessments, and more. The term e-learning includes self-paced learning; asynchronous facilitator-led learning, where the students and instructors interact at different times; and synchronous facilitator-led learning, where the students and instructors interact at a set time. The current trend among e-learning developers is to blend self-paced and facilitator-led modules to create a single, interactive experience.

When fully realized, e-learning programs can provide convenient, high-quality opportunities for a broad array of staff at a substantial savings over conventional face-to-face training. This is especially true when one factors in the indirect costs of travel and missed time at the library. Staff in rural and small libraries can now have easy access to a broad range of training options.

As with any new program, getting started can be a challenge. Setting up an e-learning program requires time, money, and expertise. Many libraries find that in spite of the promise of a long-term benefit, start-up funding can be unpredictable.

But barriers to initiating an e-learning program can vary significantly depending on whether an institution plans to create its own courses or buy courses already developed by another institution. Most of those taking part in our survey were engaged in developing online courses, and their responses reflect the high cost of development. Smaller libraries that choose to offer courses developed by others will find that barriers to entry are fewer. (See “E-Learning Benefits,” for more detail.)

The trouble with course development

The importance of course development cannot be over-emphasized. Our presurvey interviews revealed that when an individual has a bad experience in a conventional course, she is likely to blame the instructor. When she has a bad experience in an online course, she is likely to blame the format and will be unlikely to pursue additional e-learning experiences.

Seattle Public Library's Mary Ross, who has been developing online courses since 2001, notes that creating online courses takes more time than face-to-face courses because online work has to be good enough to stand alone when there is no instructor to compensate for a weak design.

On the other hand, online workshops are a lifesaver for librarians in rural communities with limited travel budgets and time. For example, it's nearly impossible for a librarian in South Dakota to take part in multiple face-to-face training sessions that require four hours commuting each way for a one-day workshop, especially when she may have to incur additional hotel costs. Thus, while the expense to the learner for an online seminar or course may go down, as in the case of our South Dakota librarian, costs to the developer are often high.

Ross believes that the price and time of developing e-learning can be reduced if the online learning is designed to be scalable and generic enough to be easily customizable for many different institutions. She recently developed a course on intellectual freedom that has been used by the Seattle Public Library and Illinois State Library and in Montana and other states—reusing the course in each of these situations was possible because Ross thought about customizing the course to meet each state's laws regarding confidentiality and CIPA compliance early on in the design phase.

Ross's experience speaks to the importance of trainer expertise, which is just beginning to appear on the profession's radar. We've found that the library field currently lacks widespread training programs for trainers to develop skills and experience in e-learning design, development, and delivery, though change is coming.

From January through October 2006, WebJunction conducted a small pilot program that provided library organizations with the tools, training, and support to develop their own synchronous and asynchronous e-learning activities. As part of this program, we gave participants training on instructional design and facilitation for the online environment. Initially, there was some dissatisfaction about spending time on course design, rather than devoting that time to new technologies. However, as the participants developed their own courses, they all recognized the value and importance of the design and facilitation training they received.

Ross also emphasizes the importance of “purposeful instructional design” in the online environment. In her experience, it's easier to build a completely new online course than to modify an existing face-to-face course, since the modifications required to convert in-person courses successfully are so extensive.

Given the cost and experience needed to pull off good courses, it is no surprise the survey results showed that library organizations most likely to develop e-learning have at least one of the following characteristics: budgets over $10 million, more than 200 staff people, or more than 300 member agencies.

Library organizations with smaller budgets are more likely to purchase e-learning developed by others or have not yet pursued e-learning in any form.

Software needs

In the survey, course developers, once identified, were asked specific questions about what they consider when choosing software. Not surprisingly, cost was at the top of the list, but features offered ranked almost as high. Asked to specify features required, respondents overwhelmingly ranked ease of use for learners and instructors as their top software requirement (see “Thinking Software,” below).

Recent technology has expanded the potential of online learning. For instance, advancements in web conferencing software have enabled greater levels of online interaction and VOIP communication, which eliminates the need for conference calls via the phone. Course developers want to use as much of that functionality as they can to create high-quality and interactive study. Budget limitations mean organizations have to make trade-offs. While some functions, such as screen capture software, can be relatively inexpensive, others like web conferencing software and learning management systems (LMS) are often beyond the reach of a single library organization.

When software costs are added to staff time, the number of organizations that can afford to develop and deliver e-learning drops sharply. While many library organizations debate the benefit of high-quality technology, libraries reporting budgets of under $1 million indicated that cost is always their primary consideration as they consider developing e-learning.

Collaboration is the key

At WebJunction, we have seen the tremendous potential of e-learning as a way to expand training and education opportunities for the library field. By collaborating, library organizations can ensure easy access to top-level e-learning on a range of library topics.

During our presurvey interviews, we heard a strong desire among e-learning developers to reduce duplication of effort in developing e-learning across all types of library organizations. One participant said, “Why not share? This would be a great opportunity for e-learning providers to further develop and share their expertise more widely.”

Sharing isn't always easy, though, South Dakota State Library's Julie Erickson notes, since there's no easy way to find out what other organizations are doing. More than once, after she put time into creating something new, she found out that another group had created something similar. Erickson finds this frustrating, especially since librarians are so willing to share information when asked.

She and her colleague Colleen Kirby prefer sharing materials, emphatically stating, “We are not going to reinvent the wheel.” Currently, South Dakota uses training materials from both Idaho and Wyoming. It's much easier to tweak something that already exists than to create it yourself, they note.

Collaboration also addresses the issue of many organizations developing the same online course content. Traditionally, library training providers have had to cover the entire spectrum of training to meet the needs of their learners effectively. That means basics get covered over and over again nationwide. Given the possibility of customization and the importance of scalability to reduce development costs, we can break this pattern if we collaborate.

Presurvey interviews indicated that there is a lot of interest in establishing a course development pipeline so e-learning developers could see who is planning what courses in the future. With this information, librarians could focus on producing other content that expands the breadth of e-learning opportunities.

Getting started

Most libraries, especially small ones, will choose to purchase courses rather than develop their own. Respondents purchasing e-learning, rather than developing it, say they do so because it is more cost- and time-effective to buy; they have no in-house experience with e-learning; or they are too small to develop their own content.

For instance, the South Dakota State Library works with database vendors and e-learning providers like the University of North Texas and Minitex to provide online learning opportunities for statewide library staff. However, the state library is also investigating turning a two-week long, in-person training that is held each summer into a blended learning experience, where participants would come face to face for a shorter period of time and then use the state's satellite down-link and web-based training tools to complete the training.

Some statewide organizations develop online courses that may be used by library staff throughout the state. These include LibraryU in Illinois and InfoPeople in California. Regional networks like Amigos and SOLINET (among others) are also course producers that make their e-learning available to libraries within and beyond their regions.

Simply purchasing courses, however, is not enough for e-learning to succeed. Among the barriers survey respondents listed, “resistance from trainers or current training programs” and “management buy-in” are at the bottom of the list of concerns. “Motivation of staff” does not even appear on the list. Yet in interview after interview, experienced individuals have told WebJunction that these three elements are critical to the success of an e-learning program.

E-learning is most effective when:

• It is part of an ongoing in-service training program that is actively supported by management.

• Staff members get the uninterrupted time needed to participate, just as they would be given release time to attend a face-to-face training session.

• The organization gives credit for their efforts, ranging from a certificate of participation to credit toward advancement.

• Learners can use a quiet location with a computer and phone or VOIP headset with microphone.

Next steps

With funding from the Gates Foundation, WebJunction is exploring ways to work with libraries to improve quality and reduce the outlays of e-learning through collaboration. These include:

Course development:Improve the quality and lower the cost of online courses by training trainers nationally and pooling purchasing power for needed software.

Course consumption: Lower the cost of courses already developed through bulk discounts and improve the effectiveness of e-learning through organizational coaching and implementation guides.

Course distribution: Create a national distribution partnership to enable developers to reach a wider audience and give consumers course choices and easy tracking among a variety of offerings.

Grow the community of library trainers: Provide a space for them to share materials and best practices and obtain professional development.

Create a course development pipeline: Enable course developers to communicate about courses in progress and avoid duplication of effort.

Working together, the library community can realize the benefits and overcome the barriers to effective e-learning.