Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must-Read!, October 23, 2000
Heads-up to all you management, HR and training folks out there-- this one's for you! "On-Demand Learning: Training in the New Millennium," by Darin Hartley is a must read if you have anything to do with learning in a corporate environment. Darin manages the Learning Technology Services Dept. at Dell and is an expert in the many issues of corporate training in an online environment. His expertise has been gained by on the job experience...so listen up!When I was coordinating world-wide geoscience training for Exxon, I used to joke to my management that what my corporate clients wanted was training that was free, met their schedules (not the training department's), and took absolutely no time to assimilate. Something that could be stirred into a coffee cup and voila! A new skill set magically up and running in no time. Five years ago we didn't have the technology to approach that scenario, but now we do...and Darin shares his knowledge gained from years of practical experience in this book. The central focus of "On-Demand Learning" is how to make training highly accessible within a corporate system: what are the alternatives to classroom training; what training can be delivered via alternative methods; what training cannot be delivered online; how to move into a technology-enabled learning (TEL) environment; and how to manage client expectations. This book is thoughtful, extremely well-designed, has a very high information to ink ratio and includes tons of applied examples, as well as tips for tackling the political realities of implementing TEL in any corporate environment. One of my favorites is the chapter containing Dell's TEL Strategy, which can serve as a template for any size organization. If you have anything to do with training in a corporate environment, read this chapter first. You'll understand why your own TEL initiatives either flew-- or crashed and burned!!
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Timely and Practical, January 4, 2001
Obviously "on-demand" is code for "as-desired" or "as-needed." Therefore, to be effective, an "on-demand learning program" must be immediately accessible and, more importantly, permit self-directed participation. Now or very soon, a majority of us will work primarily in virtual environments. Therefore, organizations must provide support services (eg learning programs) which are user-friendly.
Here is how Hartley organizes the material: The On-Demand Society, Some Highlights of Learning History, The On-Demand Learner, How to Enable On-Demand Learning, Technological Considerations for On-Demand Learning, On-Demand Learning Best Practices (Employee and Customer Examples), A Sample Technology-Enabled Learning Strategy, and A Functional Requirements Specification Template
At the end of each Section, Hartley summarizes key points and also provides a Glossary of key terms. This information will be especially helpful to the vast majority of readers who have relatively little (if any) prior experience with designing and/or managing on-demand learning programs. For them, I suggest, this book will be most valuable. In the New Millennium, only through various learning experiences will an organization's "greatest asset" (its people) be maximized as "intellectual capital." Hence the great benefit of this book. In a single volume, Hartley presents just about everything a reasonably intelligent person needs to know to formulate and then implement effective on-demand learning in her or his organization. For more advanced discussions of this subject, I recommend the works of other authors such as Peter Senge. Meanwhile, for most executives who are (or will soon be) directly or indirectedly involved with relatively uncomplicated on-line training programs, Hartley's counsel and guidance will be invaluable.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fresh perspective on the future of enterprise e-Learning, January 8, 2001
Darin Hartley is somebody who has been there, done that, when it comes to e-Learning. He has contributed and helped to direct some of the most innovative work in enterprise e-Learning through his technology role at Dell Computer Corp. This book captures alot of the lessons he has learned along the way and puts it in a refreshing framework of "on-demand learning." I recommend this book to anyone who wants a fresh perspective on e-Learning and the power of technology to improve performance.
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