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The global market for corporate elearning will grow nearly 27%, compounded annually (McGee, 2004). IDC forecasts that the elearning market, which was about $6.5 billion in 2003, will increase to more than $21 billion by 2008, and hit $52.6B by 2010.
The 2007 U.S. e-learning market is presently $17.5 billion (Kopf, 2007). The U.S. enterprise elearning adoption accounts for 60 percent of the market, while Europe's accounts for 15 percent, overall usage of e-learning in Asia is expected to reach a compound annual growth rate of 25 percent to 30 percent through 2010.
According to Training Magazine (2006), training organizations are shifting their staffing models away from a dominant focus on trainers and are now more focused on design, elearning, and service and support activities. In addition, they are now outsourcing much of the delivery. A few years ago, more than 70 cents of every training dollar went to payroll. Today the figure is about 65 cents. Training magazine also reports that elearning now accounts for 15 percent of all training delivered, which is a two-fold increase from just one year ago, and signifies that e-learning is here to stay as a mainstream training delivery vehicle. Meanwhile, classroom training has dropped from 70 percent to 62 percent, however, it still remains the dominant form of training. Learning Technologies and Learning Soft SkillsPresently, the bulk of elearning is used to instruct workers about new technologies, particularly computers. For example, The Department of Veterans Affairs has turned to online courses for its employees. The elearning company that it signed, Learn2.com Inc., will provide online courses to the agency's 5,000 employees in IT certification, Internet training, as well as instruction on Lotus Notes, Microsoft Office, and other office software (The VA Turns To Online Courses For Employees).But is this really elearning or is it just using the correct medium for instructing the learners? Shouldn't we expect computer courses to be delivered via computer technology?
EducationNearly 3.2 million students were taking at least one online course during the fall 2005 term, a substantial increase over the 2.3 million reported the previous year (Making the Grade: Online Education in the United States, 2006 [PDF]).What We Can Be Sure OfAs shown, elearning is definitely a growing field in the educational and training market. But exactly how much of the market share it will eventually grab is anyone's guess. Proponents say those who arrive first on the elearning scene will profit the most, e.g., Yahoo, Amazon, etc. However, this was not always the case for a lot of dot com companies, which failed in record numbers. Brick and Motor companies may initially lack the technology, but they often have the best resources, experience, and stamina to capture a particular market.ReferenceKopf, D. (2007). e-Learning Market to hit $52.6B by 2010. The Journal: July 2007.McGee, M. (2004). E-Learning Predicted To Recover--Again. InformationWeek: Nov, 9, 2004. Training Magazine. 2006 Industry Report. December, 2006. |
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