Learn without leaving your desk

Convenience and cost are making Web-based learning increasingly popular with logistics professionals.

By John Shanahan Associate Editor -- Logistics Management, 7/1/2003

This is a test. You have three choices for getting job-specific training that will enhance your career path. Each of these choices, for the purpose of this example, will result in a professional certification that's on target with your job requirements.

Choice One necessitates travel to seminar after seminar, regardless of where they are, incurring travel expenses and losing time at work.

Choice Two requires you to take classes at a local university one or two nights a week—or more—after working all day.

Choice Three calls for logging on to a Web site, either at the office or in the convenience of your own home, at a prescribed time or at a time of your choosing, along with other students who are remotely accessing the same site or on your own.

If you're like a growing number of logistics professionals, you're opting for Choice Number Three. Long-distance learning, particularly through Web-based programs, has grown in popularity and availability over the past few years. From individual classes to full-blown certification programs, if your job requires it, chances are the course you need is available online.

Are online learning opportunities right for you? Here's a look at how they work and what they have to offer.

Educators who provide online training say it fits the changing needs of today's transportation and logistics managers. "There are three things that make long-distance learning appealing: convenience, cost, and certification," says Frank Breslin, dean of the Institute of Logistical Management (ILM), a provider of transportation and logistics professional education since 1923.

Convenience is the top attraction for students, who can "attend" from home or from work at a set time or whenever they choose. "With people being busier than they've ever been, many professionals understandably don't have the time to be going to school after work," Breslin observes.

In addition to solving the time issue, distance learning gives educators the ability to deliver, on demand, programs that had only been offered periodically in a limited number of locations. A case in point is the American Society for Transportation and Logistics' certification course. "It used to be offered twice a year," says Executive Director Laurie Hein. "On top of that, for some it wasn't easily accessible because [students] had to find places to take it. Now they can take it in their office with an AST&L-certified supervisor in their own company acting as their proctor."

Online training also jumps easily over geographical barriers. No matter where you are located, you're always just a few keystrokes away from the classroom. "We now have contracts signed in Singapore, Hong Kong, and China," Hein says. "They've been wanting to offer our certification for years but it hasn't been feasible [until now]."

Employers are also drawn to Web-based training for its cost advantages. Although there are very good seminars and educational programs going on at any given time all over the country, the problem is just that: they're all over the country. Sending an employee to attend a traditional seminar involves not just the cost of the course itself, but also the cost of airfare, hotels, and time away from the job—which means lost money and productivity. "A seminar may only cost $300, but when you figure in all the costs, it's much higher," says Kevin Maloney, owner of GISTnet.com, a provider of online transportation and logistics training. Basic tuition costs for online courses usually are on par with those for traditional seminars, but that's typically the only cash outlay involved, he adds.

Cost and convenience alone, though, aren't enough to justify taking classes over the Internet. It also has to provide quality content. Although some may worry about the quality of online training, it appears to stack up well against most standard seminar or university programs. Many online educators offer professional certification and college-level credit hours. Some are also approved by national and state accreditation boards.

With online training, the price is usually right and the information solid. What remains to be decided is how you want that information delivered.

There are two basic models of online training: synchronous and asynchronous. In synchronous training, several students "meet" with an instructor at a Web site at an appointed time using a Web-conferencing medium such as WebEx or NetMeeting. Asynchronous training, on the other hand, allows a student to study at his or her own rate at a convenient time. Both have their benefits and drawbacks.

For an employer, the biggest drawback to asynchronous training is cost. The production costs for such training tend to be more expensive because every aspect of the course curriculum has to be anticipated and laid out ahead of time.

When a class is taught in a synchronous forum, there's no need to anticipate every question that might come up because it's done live. If there's a question, students can ask the instructor directly. This results in lower production costs for the class provider, and thus a lower price tag for tuition. If costs are spread out over a long period of time, though, the asynchronous model may be more economical, Maloney says. "For standard training in frequently-used subject areas, the asynchronous model is more cost-effective because over enough uses, it will deliver out at significantly lower cost," he explains.

Employers save money and avoid workplace disruptions with asynchronous training because the training doesn't have to be done on company time. Employers can arrange for employees to do the class work at home. Since many of these courses reward students with some form of industry-related certification that will stay with them throughout their careers, it's not such a hard sell. "It's quid pro quo, " Maloney says. "The employer is investing in [the worker's] career. It's something that goes on their permanent record, so there's a real incentive for the employee to study on his own time."

Cost benefits aside, individually-paced asynchronous training may not be the best choice for every student. Some prefer synchronous training, which offers more of a classroom "feel," with students and instructors able to interact and exchange ideas in real time. "Many people learn by listening to others ask questions they hadn't thought to ask," says Maria McIntyre, executive vice president of the Council of Logistics Management. "They learn from the responses and the interaction from the group."

The downside is that students have to stick to a schedule or they could get behind. "They generally require that you check in at a certain time to get the assignment or have discussions," notes ILM's Breslin. "If you miss that window, it's like missing a class. It moves on, and you're playing catch-up."

The premium many logistics professionals place on time and their desire for interactive learning have given rise to a hybrid form of online education. Known as "blended training," it combines aspects of both synchronous and asynchronous learning. One method of blending involves taking students through a lesson online and then pausing while they show a designated coordinator what they've learned. Another combines Web-based instruction with tools such as videos, which the student watches before returning to the computer.

A third approach is that used by Schenker, an international logistics service provider and GISTnet client. Schenker links classroom education with online testing to standardize training and ensure that every certification has been legitimately earned. "There's no wink-and-nod pass," says Maloney. "The students know they have to work with the instructor because they have to take the online assessment."

Blended training may also include hard-copy materials like textbooks. Breslin says ILM's students like that approach. "We constantly survey our students to ask how they would prefer the courses," he notes. "They tell us they prefer using a text because when the course is over, they still have the book as reference material as they go along in their career."

Regardless of how convenient or inexpensive distance learning is or which learning method you choose, what truly matters in the end are results. That is, if a company is going to expend time and money on training, it wants to get some benefit form that in the future.

Maloney says Web-based training really works. He cites the example of a company that converted from classroom training to an asynchronous format, expecting only that it would save money.

"What they discovered, to their surprise, was that the people using the asynchronous model retained nine percent more information on average than those who were classroom-trained," he says. "And the online learner was completing the training in 42 percent of the time that they would otherwise have sat in the classroom."

That's a winning proposition in today's business environment, where time is precious and knowledge is power. Online training offers the chance to maximize both of those commodities while enhancing professional growth. All it takes to get started is a computer, an Internet connection, and a will to learn.