Access a vast collection of selected and reviewed links to e-Learning resources.

Skip navigation

Building an e-Learning Strategy

This page provides links to general resources on getting started in terms of understanding what is required of an e-learning initiative and devising the strategy.

Articles in date order, most recent first.

Submit a new Library item

| 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 |

e-Learning: a strategic lever

"eLearning is a part of today's business lexicon, but what does it actually mean? To many it conjures up images of staff learning at their desks, to others it's about replacing classroom training. In this article we will explore a much wider definition of eLearning; one that places eLearning in its rightful position as both a useful operational tool and a powerful strategic lever."  David Becker, iFocus

Added: 4 September 2006
Reviewer's Note:
E-Learning Strategy: A framework for success

top

E-Learning Strategy: A framework for success

"An IT department recently asked me to develop an e-learning course about one of its applications. One of my first steps was to contact the training manager of that organization and ask her what type of course would fit into her e-learning strategy. "What do you mean by e-learning strategy," I heard on the other end of the phone. I started to explain, but found that what she really wanted to know was, "Why do I need an e-learning strategy?" Jennifer De Vries, Learning Circuits, August 2005

Added: 20 August 2005
Reviewer's Note:
Reviewer's Note: The purpose of this article is to give you a framework, or outline, for your e-learning strategy.

top

Lessons on e-learning strategy development from the Cheshire Cat

"What happens when your e-learning strategy isn't aligned with your company's other strategies-or worse, you don't even have one? Because it will suffer from lack of coordination and focus, there likely will be a duplication of efforts and inefficiencies. Your organization may experience internal skirmishes, if not full-gear battles. More important, you can count on incurring costs associated with lost opportunities. Here's a nine-step process to help align learning efforts to business results." Lance Dublin, Learning Circuits, September 2004

Added: 27 September 2004
Reviewer's Note:
E-Learning boosts the bottom line

top

E-Learning boosts the bottom line

"In any economic situation, good or bad, employee development and skills building remain essential requirements for success. Recognizing that corporate productivity is directly impacted by employee capability, CEOs will attest that the workforce is the organization's number one asset."  Rajeev Arora, ZDNet, 23 September 2004

Added: 27 September 2004
Reviewer's Note:
Reviewer's Note: "HR executives must create an atmosphere that fosters e-learning, launch programs that promote usage, and clearly communicate the benefits. Developing champions at the top level, and at every level and department within the organization, will help to ensure success."

top

E-Learning strategies for success

"Efficient use of human capital is a priority for organizations large and small. It means knowing that key personnel have the required knowledge and skills to make decisions and succeed in their jobs. Knowledge management becomes a challenge to organizational leaders as personnel take on a greater and more varied burden of responsibilities than ever before. How they manage these responsibilities will translate to the bottom line and, ultimately, the long-term success of the organization."  Gili Gordon, Chief Learning Officer Magazine, May 2004

Added: 20 May 2004
Reviewer's Note:
How to be an educated e-learning customer

top

How to be an educated e-learning customer

"Here are a few strategies for developing cost-effective e-learning solutions that achieve solid business result." Susan Guest, Learning Circuits, March 2004

Added: 24 March 2003
Reviewer's Note:
Reviewer's Note: Also includes 10 E-Learning Derailers to avoid

top

Learning Agendas: Business Models that work

"Learning agendas are usually built around being more effective at what the company does today. For many companies, such learning focuses on adding supervisory skills, sharing knowledge that already exists in other parts of the organization and adding new skills to solve problems in providing existing goods and services, such as by employing statistical analysis to identify the causes of errors. More advanced companies use learning methods to find out best practices of their competitors and suppliers, and use those to build their own improvements to what they do today."  Donald W Mitchell and Carl Bruckner Coles, Chief Learning Officer Magazine, October 2003

Added: 23 October 2003
Reviewer's Note:
Real world e-learning strategies: Three effective low-budget strategies

top

Real world e-learning strategies: Three effective low-budget strategies

"If you feel that many of the great ideas for e-learning are beyond your company's financial or technological means, take note of these three e-learning strategies that even the most cash-strapped organization can implement."

Added: 24 September 2003
Reviewer's Note:

top

How to make your e-learning initiative succeed

"With so much obvious promise, why are there so many disappointments? In reviewing the prior experiences some of Worknowledge's clients had with e-learning, we found four interesting trends." Gili Gordon, Learning & Training Innovations Magazine, August 2003

Added: 10 August 2003
Reviewer's Note:
The strategic impact of corporate learning

top

The strategic impact of corporate learning

"In researching this article I asked a number of chief learning officers to react to the assertion, "Learning is a strategic advantage." Their reactions were consistent; there was a rolling of eyes, mild amusement, but in the end grudging agreement that the statement is true. And these CLOs are speaking from experience. They know that learning really can make a company more competitive, improve employee retention, increase profitability, expand customer satisfaction and increase productivity."  Margaret Driscoll, Chief Learning Officer Magazine, March 2003

Added: 3 April 2003
Reviewer's Note:
Reviewer's Note: Some thoughts on the strategic value of e-learning and how to measure them

top

In or Out? Deciding an e-learning strategy

"We tell you what goes into a great e-learning strategy and the things to avoid. "In or Out?" is a downloadable, e-guide which offers an explanation of e-learning jargon, how e-learning scores over traditional training, how to make the critical decisions in relation to selecting e-learning staff, a Learning Management System, hardware and software, calculating ROI and how to prepare arguments to convince the Board. The e-guide includes a detailed implementation and decision making schedule for your e-learning initiative." e-learning guru Publications Ltd

Added: 27 February 2003
Reviewer's Note:
Online Learning Today: 7 Strategies that work

top

Online Learning Today: 7 Strategies that work

"We tracked down those organizations and people who are making e-learning work today. We studied them, their methods, technologies, and strategies. We weeded out the fads, the hype, and the maybes to distill seven core strategies that will help your online learning work today and in the foreseeable future. Those strategies are: ..." Heather Shea-Shultz and John Fogarty, e-Learning Magazine, 8 January 2003

Added: 12 January 2003
Reviewer's Note:
Reviewer's Note: As the authors summarise: "Technology, statistics, and data will change, however, the strategies are foundational."

top

Dead trainer walking

"Making a business case for e-learning." Darin Hartley, October 2002

Added: 7 October 2002
Reviewer's Note:
Explaining e-learning to executives

top

Explaining e-learning to executives

"Getting management's support for e-learning is tough. This excerpt from Darin Hartley's book, Selling E-Learning, outlines the major elements you'll need to construct a winning business case for your e-learning initiatives."

Added: 16 September 2002
Reviewer's Note:
Reviewer's Note: Describes the major elements of a business case

top

Form a successful strategy

"Your e-learning initiative can and should be an integral component of your firm's corporate strategy. In the knowledge economy, delivering targeted information to internal constituents and the extended enterprise enables an organization to generate thought capital, improve organizational efficiency, and gain mind share of value-chain partners. Given the potential impact of a skillfully planned and managed e-learning initiative, corporate leadership must determine how to effectively align its e-learning strategy to its larger corporate strategy"  Scott Pope, e-learning magazine, February 2002

Added: 21 February 2002
Reviewer's Note:
Knowledge integration equals knowledge transfer

top

Knowledge integration equals knowledge transfer

"Achieving knowledge integration requires analysis, management, and evaluation. But how? Enter the knowledge integrator" Jeffrey Berk, Learning Circuits, November 2001

Added: 2 December 2001
Reviewer's Note:
Reviewer's Note: "Knowledge integrators are companies or individuals who champion the development and leveraging of knowledge strategies."

top

Ten quick wins in e-learning

"When the going gets tough, training departments don't always get the time or the money they need to make long-term investments in order to obtain long-term returns. With competition for funding and senior management attention, trainers will often do better by focusing on those areas of the business where results will not only be visible but quick. In this article, Clive Shepherd captures the ideas of a panel of leading UK e-learning vendors and users, for quick wins in e-learning."

Added: 11 November 2001
Reviewer's Note:
Five tips for selecting a learning solution

top

Five tips for selecting a learning solution

"How do you determine what is the right learning solution for your organization? By learning solution, I mean a continual process of effectively sharing information and knowledge that helps to meet the business objectives of an organization."  John Alonso, E-Learning Advisor, October 2001

Added: 11 October 2001
Reviewer's Note:
Reviewer's Note: 5 key considerations you should keep in mind when selecting a learning solution.

top

What's your web-based learning strategy

"Training has seen its share of technology "bullets"--ballyhooed one day, banished the next. The online learning craze could well follow the same pattern-unless training wises up." Tony Driscoll, Learning Circuits, February 2000

Added: 8 September 2001
Reviewer's Note:
Strategic plans from scratch

top

Strategic plans from scratch

"Two key themes at ASTD 2001 were the need for training to demonstrate value and the lack of clarity regarding the role of training within organizations. A strategic plan helps organizations address those issues. Unfortunately, strategic plans are uncommon among many training departments. Here's some help writing a basic plan." Margaret Driscoll, Learning Circuits, August 2001

Added: 7 August 2001
Reviewer's Note:
Reviewer's Note: Support for training departments writing a strategic plan

top

Implementing e-learning: strategies and advice

"These days, everything is 'e' something. The training function hasn't escaped this, hence the emergence of e-learning. But what is e-learning? And what makes it effective? Mike Davies has some suggestions." Training Journal, August 2001

Added: 5 August 2001
Reviewer's Note:
e-learning: strategies for delivering knowledge in the digital age

top

e-learning: strategies for delivering knowledge in the digital age

The companion website for the book of the same name by Mark Rosenberg, 2001. "Learn what companies like AT&T, Cisco Systems, Dell Computer, IBM, Lucent Technologies, Merrill Lynch, Prudential, and U S West and others have accomplished with e-learning. It isn't just the promise of impressive technology that is driving people to e-learning. Businesses need to get rapidly changing information to large numbers of people faster than ever. They need to lower the overall costs of creating a workforce that performs faster and better than the competition, and they need to do this around the clock. It's no longer a question of whether organizations will one day implement online learning, but whether they will do it well."

Updated: 19 July 2001
Reviewer's Note:
Reviewer's Note:  An excellent look at e-learning strategy rather than a how-to-do-it book. Well-received all round.

top

Taking inventory

"To successfully implement e-learning, companies should take stock of their current learning efforts. Here's how." Margaret Driscoll, Learning Circuits, July 2001

Added: 9 July 2001
Reviewer's Note:
How to build a business case for e-learning

top

How to build a business case for e-learning

"In the face of an economic downturn, many business managers will push back development requests that lack a clearly defined business case. Unfortunately, not all HR and training professionals know where to begin to create one. Here's some help." Ed Mayberry, Learning Circuits, July 2001

Added: 9 July 2001
Reviewer's Note:
Reviewer's Note: this is a good article for anyone from a training department to start thinking about a business case for e-learning

top

E-Learning strategy equals infrastructure

"IDC estimates U.S. corporations spent $1.1 billion on e-learning in 1999. Not all of the money was well spent, however. Lessons learned are beginning to emerge: Common among successful organizations is a well documented e-learning strategy that focuses on infrastructure." By Karen L. McGraw, Learning Circuits, June 2001

Added:  25 June 2001
Reviewer's Note:
Building the business case for e-learning

top

Building the business case for e-learning

"How to translate the benefits of e-Learning into language the whole organization will understand. This report has been designed by brandon-hall.com to help you get your message out there so others will support, help, and even pay for the e-Learning initiatives you want to implement."  pdf file to $495 to download from Brandon-Hall.

Added: May 2001
Reviewer's Note:
Reviewer's Note: See also the free Executive summary

top

E-Learning: How to make technology-based training work

A Forbes Special Advertising Section.  Written by Brandon Hall

Added: May 2001
Reviewer's Note:
The foundation of an effective e-learning strategy

top

The foundation of an effective e-learning strategy

Written by Thomas Falkowski, VP of Learning Strategy for click2learn

Added: April 2001
Reviewer's Note:

top

ASTD's Roadmap for E-Learning

A series of resources to help you on your e-learning journey.

Added: February 2001
Reviewer's Note:
Getting IT support for e-learning

top

Getting IT support for e-learning

"IT makes a vital ally in the push for e-learning. But some trainers are going the extra mile and becoming IT experts in their own right." Tom Barron, Learning Circuits, December 2000

Added: January 2001
Reviewer's Note:

top

Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional| Valid CSS!