CUSTOM-FIT ELEARNING

My search for elearning providers in the Philippines returned only a handful. And most were catering to IT and programming. There were one or two which provided soft or business skills. And I guess that all of these are licensees of US, UK or some other country.

I surmise that the reason for this is still business. Why re-invent the wheel? You already have existing training programs, developed and researched and tested. And for IT and programming, certification exams are based on approved elearning programs and curriculum. Developing your own programs for these standard courses is just not cost-effective? Why make when you can license?

This is justified of course. Anyone who ventures into elearning must think of what's best for the company he forms. It will take him a lot longer and cost him more money to create his own program. And there is the "colonial mentality" we have. That homegrown is almost always inferior to US or imported products.

But I beg to differ in some aspects from this line of reasoning. In designing any learning program, be it traditional classroom or online/elearning, the bottom line is still learning. And you take into consideration your learners.

I believe that the Filipino learner have unique needs and quirks as much as he has similar requirements with learners of different nationalities. I submit therefore that we might learn better if the eleraning programs we use are custom-made for us.

Case in point. Language and diction. In 1996, I went to the states for training. I ordered breakfast from a nearby Wendy's Hamburgers store and was stumped after I finished giving my order. The reason? I could not understand what the cashier was saying. She repeated it 3 times and I still couldn't get it. My colleague understood and repeated what the lady said. Apparently she was saying "Is that all for you?". I know that I had better than average command of the English language.

2nd point. Cultural. Most or all Americans know football or baseball. But not all of us do. So, if an elearning progarm uses these as examples, they wont get the message across.

I just brought out a few points, and there are many.

Do we need to make customized learning for our audience? Yes when we can and if it is sound business to do so. And I believe that we can.

That's why I'm here.