Conflicting signals in eLearning
London (UK), September 2011 - (by Bob Little) According to a report by virtual learning worlds and serious games' specialists Ambient, there is a general slow down in spend on self-paced e-learning due to three market factors: 1) The commoditisation of platforms and tools, which reduces market price. 2) Pricing pressures in the corporate eLearning sector caused by the slow economic recovery. 3) The growing tendency for buyers to buy other types of learning technology products - such as virtual classroom technology - rather than an eLearning module.
Steve Rayson, of Kineo, has gone on record as saying: "Ambient's market report says there is slow down in the market for self-paced eLearning. We don't see it yet, though we see the rationale."
In response, the well known eLearning consultant, Glynn Jung, has commented: "There are reductions in generic content reported to me by most suppliers plus a lot of activity finding channel partners other than box shifters. I had lengthy discussions in March and April with CEdMA (IT commercial training managers). They are experiencing slowing in demand in certification upgrades (including eLearning). ITL and PRINCE2 continue to grow, however."
"So the pattern is there but training hasn't stopped. It's just different and more focused - also more pull-based by learners."
Meanwhile, in the related sector of eLearning within the academic (education) sector, one source in Australia has revealed that, in recent months, 'we've had a veritable tsunami of brilliant UK academics applying for positions out here.'
That would seem to make it 2 - 1 in favour of those seeing a slow down in the UK eLearning market or 3 - 1, if that slow down is allied to a change in focus in the market. The '1' has come from the supplier sector. Of course, this sector may be thought to have a vested interest in promoting the idea that, if not continuing to boom, business isn't at all bad.
Nonetheless, this is an interesting and illuminating insight from the Australasian market - into which the cash-strapped, recently jobless UK-based eLearning related academics are going or, at least, attempting to go. Given that we're not only in the middle of a financial crisis but we've also been experiencing a rather dull, dismal and rainy summer, I can't blame them.
For over 20 years, Bob Little has specialised in writing about, and commentating on, corporate learning - especially elearning - and technology-related subjects. His work has been published in the UK, Continental Europe, the USA and Australia.
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