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According to Olka, "blended learning is an ideal approach, providing an environment that promotes both independent and interdependent activities" (Olka, 2005, p. 14). This is important and it is why the eLearning Campus leverages a blended-learning environment. Interaction with an instructor is important but having an opportunity to learn outside the classroom is equally important.
Research from Dobbs and Kupritz indicates that 70% of learning is informal, occurring outside of the classroom between the spaces of formal training events (Dobbs, 2000; Kupritz, 2002). Our approach allows students to take the knowledge they learn in the classroom back into the workplace and apply it and then return back to the classroom to continue learning. This approach is very different from the classroom experience where students are forced to learn concepts in rapid succession with no interaction with the workplace. Retention of knowledge is low under these circumstances. In the eLearning Campus environment, retention of knowledge is very high and students find practical application in what they learn.
Olka continues to say that, "Adult learners need to see a personal benefit in education and understand how information relates to settings that are familiar to them. Learning is unsuccessful without relevancy" (Olka, 2005, p. 14). Our courses encourage students to apply the knowledge in their environment, to make it relevant, to solve problems they face in the workplace.
Dobbs, K. (2000, January). Simple moments of learning. Training, 135, 52-57.
Kupritz, V. W. (2002). The relative impact of workplace design on training transfer. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 13(4), 427-447.
Olka, K. (2005). Technical communicators as teachers: Creating e-Learning that matters. Intercom, 52(7), 12-15.
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