The living room is cozy, a scene normally the domain of a glossy magazine — warm colours, polished hardwood floors, plush leather couch and a big-screen television.

Soon, it may be the interface on your computer as you sit down for an e-learning session on company harassment policies.

“The idea is to make people comfortable,” says Malcolm McCance of Fifth Era Knowledge, pointing to the stylish setting on the computer screen replete with a real-time clock, wedding pictures on the cabinet, and a remote control for the TV.

“And what’s more comfortable in your living room than a remote control?” asks McCance. “That’s our navigational tool.”

Larry MacDougal, Business Edge
Malcolm McCance of Fifth Era Knowledge says corporate courses help educate workers.

As McCance launches the program, text pops up on the left side of the living room.

“Now let’s turn on the big-screen TV,” he says, and with a simple mouse click, a male announcer welcomes the viewer to the program and states the objectives for the course.

It might be a course on sexual harassment for 10,000 employees at a large company; a program to help people recover from marital breakups; a how-to guide to become an IT worker or a bank teller; or perhaps a series of lessons on training the family dog.

The sky’s the limit, says McCance, responsible for new accounts at Fifth Era. The nine-year-old Calgary company focuses on training solutions through two separate components, e-learning and instructor-led training.

In the sometimes-curious realm of e-learning, McCance’s demonstration is smooth and uncomplicated, almost child’s play. However, the opportunities for learning, and for companies to educate their employees, is serious business.

Consider two companies that have merged, says McCance. One thousand workers are being folded into the dominant company and are required to take a course on harassment. Through e-learning the new employees can be educated within days. At the same time, the employer receives a detailed report on what the employee has learned, or what they have struggled with.

As part of the learning exercise the courses use quizzes to test the employee’s retention level. The program also records every mouse click the user makes.

Though it sounds Orwellian, McCance says it’s a useful tool. In the case of a harassment program, for example, an employee may not be getting some of the appropriate answers on the quiz, explains McCance.

A couple of scenarios might follow: the employee may take action — many companies have support services that employees can access — or the human resources department will be flagged to the problem.

“Most companies that are looking to e-learning as a tool for training are concerned about completion rates and they are concerned about how much people are actually getting out of the course,” says McCance.

“One of the things customers are giving us rave reviews about is the fact that where someone’s gotten a question wrong, they can go back to the knowledge object and review them again.”

If a person continues to click on a particular component, it may indicate they are having problems with a particular subject, or perhaps it’s an area in which they have a keen interest.

The program allows people to bookmark those specific areas.

It also tells the user how much time they’ve spent on a course, how much of the program has been completed and a notebook allows for quick personal references.

A typical program utilizes text, semi-interactive and interactive segments to keep the user’s attention, says McCance. Flexibility is also a key component as people have the option of going through the course from A to Z or “drilling down” into areas of particular interest to learn certain aspects in greater detail.

Currently, Fifth Era offers more than 200 courses, most custom-developed using the company’s TEKNO5 technology, which is compatible with most platforms including Unix, Linux, Macintosh and Microsoft.

Fifth Era handles all the technical components of their courses and produces content in-house. If the company doesn’t have the expertise, it contracts with third parties, in consultation with their client, to provide content.

Once created, companies can use the programs on an ongoing basis — thus reducing their economies of scale — or, as in the case with some firms, they can re-sell the programs to other businesses.

McCance says companies are buying into e-learning, but many corporations remain confused how to approach the subject.

“They don’t understand the technology and are trying to get a grasp of what it’s all about,” he says. “I have to educate them . . . then we talk about what they want developed.”

While the concept may require explanation today, Fifth Era is banking that it will be a ubiquitous part of learning in the immediate future.

Best of all, the learning won’t likely be confined to a personal computer at home or in the office.

As wireless technology continues to unfold, people will be able to learn on the bus, in taxis and the C-Train using their PDAs.

Or imagine a better setting; learning under the shade of a favourite backyard tree, remote control at the ready.

Web Watch:
www.fifthera.com