02-04 E-Learning

If I was to be a little simplistic and try to compare the economic systems of the developed societies of Europe and Asia vs. North America over the years, I would say North America has been more creative, but Europe and Asia have been more productive.
And again, being a little simplistic, the big difference is that training of small firms and their employees in Europe and Asia has been institutionalized. In these societies governments work more closely with the private sector in funding bricks and mortar training facilities. And I am talking about thousands and thousands of classrooms. In North America the government-business relationship is more adversarial.
It was in the mid 1990s, when I was a member of a federal task force examining the future of Internet technologies, that I saw the great potential of on-line learning. There were only two US companies developing this kind of technology at the time, and they were focused on the training of employees of large corporations.
There was no question that this technology, as it improved, would be very economical compared to classroom instruction either in a plant or a local college. And so much more productive with employees accessing content day or night from any location.
But I saw a larger dimension, and that was small firms and their employees combining learning with the day to day practices within their business. For example, learning how to prepare a proper cash flow plan before going to the bank to negotiate a loan. Learning how to maintain a safe and healthy workplace. Learning how to attract and retain customers. Stuff like that.
On a societal basis, I saw e-learning giving the small business communities of North America a new dimension of productivity that would match the formal training systems in Europe. It promised productivity without the heavy hand of the state.
I created the Learning Institute for Small and Medium Enterprises in 1998, which was a not-for-profit organization, and we subcontracted for the use of a Learning Management System, or LMS, which allowed for the courses to be delivered.
And our first clients were the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, and the Certified Management Accountants Association.
But, it soon became evident that we needed to raise capital to finance the development of our own content and our own LMS if we wanted to control our own future.
Working with Jim Rapino, the head of the Business Department of Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Ontario, we created Vubiz Ltd, (Virtual University for Business), which was a for-profit corporation and raised $2M to build our own assets. Brother Peter developed our LMS.
Jim became the President and CEO of Vubiz Ltd and expanded the company as a major producer of content with sales operations operating from Oakville, Ontario and Santa Monica, California.
And as part of our plan to create a “learning by doing” environment for small firms, we developed generic Small Business Certificate courses in Management, Health and Safety, Marketing and Sales, and Human Resources.
And in partnership with professional and trade associations we have prepared trade specific training materials. We have over a hundred Canadian and US clients.
Any student of enterprise will agree that to grow and prosper, employers and their employees must become increasingly entrepreneurial in terms of making things happen, increasingly technological in adapting to new information technologies, and increasingly international in expanding outside normal domestic markets.
And the application of e-learning technologies in a “learning by doing” environment is the key to moving into the future.
That’s the way I see it anyways