Learning About E-Learning

"bookacourse.com survey" gives fascinating insight into the impact of the Internet on training in the UK

• Among those connected, the Internet is already by far the first choice for training information
• There is a call for the Government to make training more accessible through the Internet.
• Three out of five Internet users have searched on the Internet for training
• 1 in 5 users have discovered training information on-line not found elsewhere
• The Internet is an effective medium for making training more available and to encourage lifelong learning, say those who have looked for training on the Internet
• Most users found information is not organised to make comparisons easy.

The Internet is already established as highly effective, and the popular first choice source of information on training, yet most Internet users believe there is a need for better availability of training. They also want the Government to do more to make training more accessible on the Internet.

These are among the key findings of 'Learning About E-Learning', the bookacourse.com survey of Internet users conducted recently by MORI, which interviewed 1,190 Internet users about training on the Internet.

Aasim Khalid, Managing Director of bookacourse.com, a major new on-line training market place, says: " This fascinating research shows that the Internet is already the primary source of training information, but the users demand more sophisticated search engines. The research identifies a clear need for the information to be presented in a way that allows an objective comparison so a user can make an informed decision."

These findings were announced at a major conference ' The Internet Education Revolution' sponsored by bookacourse.com, at the Park Lane Hotel, London on 9th May, by Nick Stern, Chairman of London Economics and shortly to become Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at The World Bank.

According to the bookacourse.com survey, the Internet is already by far the first choice for training information for the majority of Internet users, with 54% choosing it, while only 1 in 5 would now go first to their employer's Personnel department and less than 1 in 6 to the student careers centre.

The Internet is already being used as a source, with 59% of Internet users having already searched for training information.

Those who have used the Internet to search for training believe that it will have a positive impact on future learning. Over 7 in 10 Internet users think that the Internet is an effective medium for increasing the availability of training and education and almost 3 out of 4 believe that the Internet has the potential to encourage life long learning.

The findings show that Internet users are not satisfied with availability and access to training information. 3 out of 5 believe there is a general need for the availability of training to be improved, and the same proportion believe that the Government should be making more of an effort to make training more accessible through the Internet.

Many are impressed by the training information they have found on the Internet. More than 1 in 5 found information on-line which they would not have obtained in any other way.

However, 6 out of 7 thought it was not organised in a way that made choices easy to compare. Almost 3 out of 5 said they would welcome and use a central Internet source of training information.

Since bookacourse.com is a portal based around a unique search engine that allows a real time 'at a glance' comparison of training products and services as well as bringing together training courses centrally, the concept was firmly endorsed by the survey.

Aasim Khalid concludes: "The bookacourse.com survey highlights the enormous expectations from the Internet, not only to deliver complete concise and up to date information, but also to provide mechanisms; to search, compare, contrast, bid, bargain and buy; in real-time. Bookacourse.com, a 2nd Generation Portal and search engine, offers a real-time "search, compare and book" mechanism that, for the first time, empowers the users to dictate lower prices, higher quality, greater availability and tailored solutions."

Technical details

The research findings are based on results from MORI's e-public panel of British Internet users. Interviews were carried out on-line via the Internet with 1,190 panel members between 7 and 19 April 2000. Data was weighted to reflect the current profile of British Internet users over the age of 15.