Workplace Learning

Facilitating workplace learning through Information and Communication Technologies

Chelsea Whitehead, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Problem

The accelerated growth of new tools and equipment have created a problem for employers working to effectively train and retrain employees on “new technologies, products, and services” in the workplace (Harun, 2002, p. 301). DeVries and Lukosch (2009) argued that formal learning environments characterized by formal training programs, are too inflexible and unable to meet the demands of an evolving workplace. They further argued that the knowledge and skills obtained from formal learning experiences fail to reflect the knowledge and skills actually needed to perform in the workplace. Similarly, Fahlam (2013) argued that formal approaches such as face-to-face training fail to meet the professional learning needs of nurses. Accounting for approximately 80% of training budgets, formal learning programs are also costly (DeVries & Lukosch, 2009). DeVries and Lukosch further concluded that formal learning environments are detrimental to the development of more natural and collaborative forms of learning.

Rapid changes in the workplace have also left employers struggling to meet their employees’ demand for information on the job (DeVries & Lukosch, 2009). Without immediate access to information, employees are restricted to learning at specific times and in specific locations (Yoo & Han, 2013). This lack of flexibility further prevents employees from controlling both the content of their learning and the pace at which they are required to process the information (Cheng, Wang, Yang, & Peng, 2011). Traditional learning practices also struggle to support different learning styles as they cannot be customized (Gu, Churchill, & Lu, 2014). As Gamrat, Toomey Zimmerman, Dudek, and Peck (2014) further reported, the “one-size-fits-all” approach to learning fails to take employee skill and experience into consideration (p. 3). Lastly, as Cheng et al., (2011) recognized, if the learning support is perceived as irrelevant, employee motivation and learning can decrease.

Works cited

Cheng, B., Wang, M, Yang, S. J. H., & Kinshuk, J. P. (2011). Acceptance of competency-based workplace e-learning systems: Effects of individual and peer learning support. Computers & Education, 57(1), 1317-1333. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2011.01.018

Cheng, K. (2013). Exploring the gap between a pre-and post-installation of a corporate e-learning program in an accounting workplace. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 12(4), 80-89. Retrieved from http://www.tojet.net/articles/v12i4/12410.pdf

DeVries, P., & Lukosch, H. (2009). Supporting informal learning at the workplace. International Journal of Advanced Corporate Learning, 2(3), 39-44. doi:10.3991/ijac.v2i3.1004

Fahlman, D. (2013). Examining informal learning using mobile devices in the healthcare workplace. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 39(4), 1-21. Retrieved from http://www.cjlt.ca/index.php/cjlt/article/view/754/378

Fuller, R., & Joynes, V. (2014). Should mobile learning be compulsory for preparing students for learning in the workplace? British Journal of Educational Technology, 1-6. doi:10.1111/bjet.12134

Gamrat, C., Tommey Zimmerman, H., Dudek, J., & Peck, K. (2014). Personalized workplace learning: An exploratory study on digital badging within a teacher professional development program. British Journal of Educational Technology, 1-13. doi:10.1111/bjet.12200

Gu, J., Churchill, D., & Lu, J. (2014). Mobile web 2.0 in the workplace: A case study of employees’ informal learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 1-11. doi:10.1111/bjet.12179

Harun, M. (2001). Integrating e-learning into the workplace. The Internet and Higher Education, 4(3), 301-310. doi:10.1016/S1096-7516(01)00073-2

Ley, T., Cook, J., Dennerlein, S., Kravcik, M., Kunzmann, C., Pata, K., Purma, J., Sandars, J., Santos, P., Schmidt, A., Al-Smadi, M., & Trattner, C. (2014). Scaling informal learning at the workplace: A model and four designs from a large-scale design-based research effort. British Journal of Educational Technology, 1-13. doi:10.1111/bjet.12197

Milligan, C., Littlejohn, A., & Margaryan, A. (2014). Workplace learning in informal networks. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 1-11. Retrieved from http://www-jime.open.ac.uk/article/2014-06/pdf

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Wang-Nastansky, P. (2008). Contextual learning on-demand at the workplace: Strategy, model, and practice. International Journal of Advanced Corporate Learning, 1(4), 42-49. Retrieved from http://www.icelw.org/program/ICELW%202008%20Proceedings/Papers/Wang-Nastansky.pdf

Yoo, S. J., & Han, S. (2013). The effect of the attitude towards e-learning: The employees’ intention to use e-learning in the workplace. International Journal on E-learning, 12(4), 425-438. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/38480/

Zhao, F., & Kemp, L. (2012). Integrating web 2.0-based informal learning with workplace training. Educational Media International, 49(3), 231-245. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09523987.2012.738015

Zhao, F., & Kemp, L. (2013). Exploring individual, social and organisational effects on web 2.0-based workplace learning: A research agenda for a systematic approach. Research in Learning Technology, 21, 1-15. Retrieved from http://www.researchinlearningtechnology.net/index.php/rlt/article/view/19089