E-LEARNING
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A
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E-learning is
the unifying term to describe the fields of online learning, web-based
training, and technology-delivered instruction, which can be a great
benefit to corporate e-learning. IBM, for instance, claims that the
institution of its e-training program, Basic Blue, whose purpose is to
train new managers, saved the company in the range of $200 million in 1999.
Cutting the travel expenses required to bring employees and instructors to
a central classroom account for the lion’s share of the savings. With an
online course, employees can learn from any Internet-connected PC, anywhere
in the world. Ernst and Young reduced training costs by 35 percent while
improving consistency and scalability.
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B
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In addition to generally
positive economic benefits, other advantages such as convenience,
standardized delivery, self-paced learning, and a variety of available
content, have made e-learning a high priority for many corporations.
E-learning is widely believed to offer flexible “any time, any place”
learning. The claim for “any place” is valid in principle and is a great
development. Many people can engage with rich learning materials that simply
were not possible in a paper of broadcast distance learning era. For
teaching specific information and skills, e-training holds great promise.
It can be especially effective at helping employees prepare for IT
certification programs. E-learning also seems to effectively address topics
such as sexual harassment education’, safety training and management
training – all areas where a clear set of objectives can be identified.
Ultimately, training experts recommend a “blended” approach that combines
both online and in-person training as the instruction requires. E-learning
is not an end-all solution. But if it helps decrease costs and windowless
classrooms filled with snoring students, it definitely has its advantages.
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C
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Much of the
discussion about implementing e-learning has focused on the technology, but
as Driscoll and others have reminded us, e-learning is not just about the
technology, but also many human factors. As any capable manager knows,
teaching employees new skills is critical to a smoothly run business.
Having said that, however, the traditional route of classroom instruction
runs the risk of being expensive, slow and, oftentimes, ineffective.
Perhaps the classroom’s greatest disadvantage is the fact that it takes
employees out of their jobs. Every minute an employee is sitting in a
classroom training session is a minute they’re not out on the floor
working. It now looks as if there is a way to circumvent these traditional
training drawbacks. E-training promises more effective teaching techniques
by integrating audio, video, animation, text and interactive materials with
the intent of teaching each student at his or her own pace. In addition to
higher performance results, there are other immediate benefits to students
such as increased time on task, higher levels of motivation, and reduced
test anxiety for many learners.
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On the other hand, nobody said
E-training technology would be cheap. E-training service providers, on the
average, charge from $10,000 to $60,000 to develop one hour of online
instruction. This price varies depending on the complexity of the training
topic and the media used. HTML pages are a little cheaper to develop while
streaming-video presentations or flash animations cost more. Course content
is just the starting place for the cost. A complete e-learning solution
also includes the technology platform (the computers, applications and
network connections that are used to deliver the courses). This technology
platform, known as a learning management system (LMS), can either be
installed onsite or outsourced. Add to that cost the necessary investments
in network bandwidth to deliver multimedia courses, and you’re left holding
one heck of a bill. For the LMS infrastructure and a dozen or so online
courses, costs can top $500,000 in the first year. These kinds of costs
mean that custom e-training is, for the time being, an option only for
large organizations. For those companies that have a large enough staff,
the e-training concept pays for itself. Aware of this fact, large companies
are investing heavily in online training. Today, over half of the 400-plus
courses that Rockwell Collins offers are delivered instantly to its clients
in an e-learning format, a change that has reduced its annual training
costs by 40%. Many other success stories exist.
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E-learning
isn’t expected to replace the classroom entirely. For one thing, bandwidth
limitations are still an issue in presenting multimedia over the Internet.
Furthermore, e-training isn’t suited to every mode of instruction or topic.
For instance, it’s rather ineffective imparting cultural values or building
teams. If your company has a unique corporate culture is would be difficult
to convey that to first-time employees through a computer monitor. Group
training sessions are more ideal for these purposes. In addition, there is
a perceived loss of research time because of the work involved in
developing and teaching online classes. Professor Wallin estimated that it
required between 500 and 1,000 person-hours, that is, Wallin-hours, to keep
the course at the appropriate level of currency and usefulness. (Distance
learning instructors often need technical skills, no matter how advanced
the courseware system.) That amounts to between a quarter and half of a
person-year. Finally, teaching materials require computer literacy and
access to equipment. Any e-Learning system involves basic equipment and a
minimum level of computer knowledge in order to perform the tasks required
by the system. A student that does not possess these skills, or have access
to these tools, cannot succeed in an e-Learning program.
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While few people debate the
obvious advantages of e-learning, systematic research is needed to confirm
that learners are actually acquiring and using the skills that are being
taught online, and that e-learning is the best way to achieve the outcomes
in a corporate environment. Nowadays, a go-between style of Blended
learning, which refers to a mixing of different learning environments, is
gaining popularity. It combines traditional face-to-face classroom methods
with more modern computer-mediated activities. According to its proponents,
the strategy creates a more integrated approach for both instructors and
learners. Formerly, technology-based materials played a supporting role in
face-to-face instruction. Through a blended learning approach, technology
will be more important.
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Questions 1-6
The reading passage has six paragraphs,
A-F
Choose the correct heading for
paragraphs A-F from the list below.
Write the correct number, i-xi, in
boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
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i
overview of the benefits for application of E-training
ii
IBM’s successful choice of training
iii
Future directions and a new
style of teaching
iv
learners’ achievement and
advanced teaching materials
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limitations when E-training compares with traditional class
vi
multimedia over the Internet can be a solution
vii
technology can be a huge financial burden
viii
the distance learners outperformed the traditional university learners
worldwide
ix
other advantages besides economic consideration
x
Training offered to help people learn using computers
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1
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Paragraph A
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2
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Paragraph B
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3
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Paragraph C
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4
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Paragraph D
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5
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Paragraph E
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6
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Paragraph
F
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Questions 7=10
The reading Passage has six paragraphs
A-F
Which paragraph contains the following
information?
Write the correct letter A-F, in boxes 7-10
on your answer sheet.
7
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Projected Basic Blue in IBM achieved great success.
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8
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E-learning wins as a priority for many corporations as its
flexibility.
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9
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The
combination of traditional and e-training environments may prevail.
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10
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Example of fast electronic delivery for a company’s products to its
customers.
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Questions 11-13
Choose THREE correct letters, among A-E
Write your answers in boxes 11-13 on
your answer sheet.
A
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Technical facilities are hardly obtained.
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B
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Presenting multimedia over the Internet is restricted due to the
bandwidth limit.
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C
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It is
ineffective imparting a unique corporate value to fresh employees.
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D
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Employees need to block a long time leaving their position attending
training.
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E
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More
preparation time is needed to keep the course at a suitable level.
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