SITUATION and PROSPECTS for e-LEARNING in SPAIN · E-Learning is an effective learning process...

Situation and Prospects for e-Learning in Spain 0

SITUATION and PROSPECTS

for e-LEARNING in SPAIN

Institut Català de Tecnologia (ICT)

December 2003


Report elaborated by:

Institut Català de Tecnologia (Barcelona, Spain),

within the framework of the Leonardo da Vinci Project

(Ref. E/02/B/F/PP-115.758).

December 2003

This report has been elaborated with the support of the European

Commission under the Leonardo da Vinci Programme. Its contents

do not necessarily reflect the Commission’s own position.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………….. 3

CHAPTER 1. REFERENCE FRAMEWORK ……….………….…………………. 5

CHAPTER 2. THE CURRENT E-LEARNING MARKET IN SPAIN ……... 10

E-LEARNING PROVISION……..…………………………………………… 13

1. Content providers …………………………………………………………………….. 16

2. Solution providers …………………………………………………………………….. 33

3. Technology providers…..……………………………………………………………. 49

4. E-learning associations ………………………..…………………………………… 66

E-LEARNING DEMAND ………….…………………………………………… 71

1. Corporations ……………………………………………………………………………… 80

2. SMEs …………………………………………………………………………………………. 82

3. Public administrations …….……………………………………………….……… 84

4. Academic sector .………………………………………………………………………. 87

5. Individuals .……………………………………………………………………………… 88

THE SPECIAL CASE OF UNIVERSITIES …………………………………. 94

CHAPTER 3. FUTURE PROSPECTS FOR E-LEARNING ……………….. 112

Appendix: Delphi survey questionnaire ………………..………….... 124

Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………. 135


INTRODUCTION

The issue of e-learning as an advanced system for training and education

using information and communication technologies (ICT) has received an

increasing level of interest in recent years in most western countries. The

flexibility offered by this new learning system, together with the great

possibilities provided by ICT, helps to explain, to some extent, this social

and economic phenomenon, and at the same time opens a broad field for

research and development in the near future.

As an element which aims to contribute to increasing our knowledge in this

field, this report offers an analysis of the situation and prospects for e-

learning in Spain at present (end of year 2003).

As a starting point, chapter one provides a reference framework which

includes an overview of the evolution of e-learning in our country over

recent years, as well as looking at its positioning within the framework of

our national educational and training system.

After that, chapter two is dedicated to studying and analysing the e-

learning market in Spain at present. First of all there is a short description,

in general terms, of the characteristics of our e-learning market at present.

This is followed by an extensive description of the main players in both the

supply and demand sectors of this market.

As regards the supply of e-learning services, this document provides a list

and description of the key players operating in this area in our country. It

includes information about them in terms of basic data (origin and

background), market placement, product portfolio and technology, prices

(where available), duration of courses, target groups and marketing

strategy. They are classified into the following categories: content, solution

or technology providers, and other relevant organisations working in the

field of e-learning. A final table summarises the different players by provider


category, business type, markets addressed, products or services offered

and approach adopted.

With reference to the demand in this market, a description of typologies and

characteristics of the main target groups is presented, including

corporations, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the public sector

and training/educational institutions. Some topics covered by the analysis

for each group are the following: sector or group overview, learning

patterns, motivation for e-learning, type of products or services required,

access barriers in relation to e-learning and examples of champions in this

field. As above, a final table summarises group description, key e-learning

characteristics, list of motivations or driving forces, products or services

required and access barriers.

Finally, chapter three is dedicated to exploring the prospects and trends

regarding the future evolution of e-learning in Spain, including market

prospects as well as key factors that are expected to determine its

development and success in the medium and long term.

This research work has been carried out within the framework of the

Leonardo Project (T-ICT Project – Ref. E/02/B/F/PP-115.758). The

objectives of this project are twofold: firstly, to analyse the situation at

present and the prospects for the future of e-learning in the participating

partner countries, and secondly, to develop resources and expertise in this

field by means of a pilot project.

The leading partner in this project is the Catalan Institute of Technology

(Institut Català de Tecnologia - ICT), a technology centre based in

Barcelona (Spain). The collaborating partners in this are the following

organisations: ed-Consult (Denmark), Economic Development Initiative

(Northern Ireland), Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade (Portugal),

University of Ioannina – Network Operations Centre (Greece), University of

Luton – Luton Business School (United Kingdom) and net-4-net

(Switzerland).


CHAPTER 1. REFERENCE FRAMEWORK

E-LEARNING IN SPAIN IN RECENT YEARS

E-Learning is an effective learning process created by combining digitally

delivered content with learning support and services. It provides a new

perspective in the understanding of distance training thanks to the

possibilities provided by the Internet and the new information and

communication technologies (ICT).

Although distance training was implemented in Spain a long time ago, at all

training levels (from university1 level to training by dossiers), Internet and

ICT have introduced new ways to complement the traditional methods of

distance learning.

As far as university level education is concerned, the creation of UOC2, the

first virtual open university in Spain, represented a revolution in the

university environment. In the academic year 1995-1996, the UOC

launched its teaching activity by means of a pilot course with 200 students.

In the following academic year (1996-1997), the number of students grew

to 1,500. At present, the total number of students involved in all its

educational activities is close to 24,000, a figure which will probably

increase in the future thanks to the expansion of the university in the Latin

American market, with university studies accredited in the Spanish

language. This growth will also be possible thanks to the fact that, due to its

wide acceptance, the supply of continual education in Spanish has been

expanded.

1 For example, the UNED – Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (National Distance Education University) – isgoing to commemorate the 30th anniversary of its creation (http://www.uned.es).2 Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia) (http://www.uoc.edu).


In fact, e-learning in Spain is in an initial phase of development. In

accordance with the study The situation of e-learning in Spain 2003,

published by AEFOL3, we can distinguish four steps in the evolution of e-

learning in our country, as represented in figure 1.

Take-off Debugging Natural growth Maturity

1999-2001 2001-2002 2002-2005 (e) 2005-2008 (e)

Figure 1. Phases of recent and estimated evolution of e-learning in Spain.

• Phase 1: Until 2001, take-off and fast growth of e-learning.

• Phase 2: From 2001 to 2002 the phase of blockage and market debugging.

• Phase 3: From to 2002 to 2005 (estimated) growth and consolidation stage.

• Phase 4: From 2005 to 2008 (estimated) stage of maturity and development.

However, the demand is taking a long time to take off. The first estimations

regarding e-learning demand were not realistic, but the steady growth

experienced recently means that we can be optimistic with regards the

evolution of this market in the forthcoming years.

3 AEFOL, Asociación Española de e-Learning (Spanish Association of On-line Training Organisations).


Most western countries are now in the consolidation stage, where the

demand for e-learning is growing at an important rate. So now it is time to

give strong support to all e-learning projects and activities within the

framework of existing European and national policies.

As is known, the members of the European Union launched the e-Learning

Initiative at the European Council in Lisbon on March 2000. The e-Learning

Initiative aims to enhance the use of new multimedia technologies and the

Internet to improve the quality of learning by facilitating access to resources

and services, as well as promoting remote exchanges and collaboration.

As a result of this initiative, each European country supports different e-

learning activities, according to its own strategy. Concerning the policies

and initiatives developed to support the development of e-learning in

Spain, we can highlight the following:

At the educational system level. The main e-learning strategies are:

1. To provide all schools with the equipment and facilities needed to access

new information and communication technologies;

2. To develop Internet courses and training;

3. To set up an observatory and laboratory responsible for the educational

applications of ICT, thereby supporting innovation and development in

such applications;

4. To strengthen cooperation between Latin America and Europe in the area

of ICT in education.

Some of the actions developed are related to the use of ICT in

education, either at school or at the vocational training level. Some

examples of these actions are the following:

Andalusia: Averroes4, Educastur5, Proyecto Medusa6; Cantabria:

Interaulas7; Catalonia: XTEC8, Centro Nacional de Información y

4 http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/averroes/5 http://www.educastur.princast.es/nte/red/


Comunicación Educativa9, Proyecto Mentor10, Programa de Nuevas

Tecnologías y Educación11.

Some other projects involve the promotion of information and

communication infrastructures, such as Murcia Plumier - Intranet Educativa

Regional 12.

In addition to this, the Ministry of Education publishes a magazine called

Red Digital13, which aims to promote the use of information and

communication technologies at schools and other educational centres.

Other actions promoting ICT and e-learning at the educational system level

are the following:

• Aldea Digital14: site of an institutional initiative for the integration of new

technologies in rural schools.

• Catalunya Edu36515: site of a portal for telematic education in Catalonia.

Other actions are those related to vocational and continuing training

financed by the Spanish Government through the European Social Fund and

through FORCEM (Continuous Training Foundation)16. As an example, 30%

of all training plans presented in 2002 were for e-learning courses.

Another initiative related to the promotion of e-learning is FORINTEL. The

main aim of this initiative is to promote ICT training actions for employees.

6 http://nti.educa.rcanaria.es/interno.asp?url=/ntint/Medusa/introd_med.htm#Apart17 http://www.interaulas.org/8 http://www.xtec.es/9 http://www.cnice.mecd.es/10 http://www.juntaex.es/consejerias/ect/sge/mentor.htm11 http://www.pnte.cfnavarra.es/pnte/pnte.php12 http://www.f-integra.org/plumier/plumier.swf The project aims at giving impulse to the infrastructure of technologyin education in Murcia13 http://reddigital.cnice.mecd.es/3/index.html14 http://www.cnice.mecd.es/Aldea_Digital/index.html15 http://www.edu365.com/16 The main aims of Fundación para la Formación Continua (FORCEM) are to support, to promote and to spreadcontinuous training among enterprises and employees, as well as to manage the funds for continuous training.


Some of the training actions financed use e-learning as a training

methodology.

Finally, there was also a project called Action Plan INFO XXI, whose main

aim was to promote the development of the Information Society in Spain

during the period 2001-2003. Some of the projects financed by this plan

included e-learning activities.

Now, the Spanish Government has launched the Plan España.es to cover

the period 2004-2005. One of the many actions included in this plan is the

promotion of accessibility to training (with a total budget of 240 million €)

and digital content (with a budget of 220 million €).

To summarise, e-learning has a very recent history in Spain in the

framework of the educational and training system. To a large extent, the

main reference point for its appearance is the initiative of the UOC

university, due to its wide implementation. The Spanish and the

autonomous regional governments do not carry out specific actions to

implement e-learning in the educational and training system, but they have

other more generic or horizontal plans that indirectly promote the

development of e-learning projects and activities.


CHAPTER 2. THE CURRENT E-LEARNING MARKET INSPAIN

GENERAL OVERVIEW

E-learning in Spain is still at a premature stage. Most educational platforms

based on the Internet do not have the methodology and treatment required

by this new environment. The social change required by this new tool will

take a long time, so we will have to wait for some time until the educational

system is capable of taking on this new training tool. In the short term, it is

possible that – as has happened with the Internet – frenetic activity will

happen around any size of enterprise within this new market. Probably, as

fast as many new enterprises appear, many will also disappear. So we can

thus state that the e-learning market in Spain is still a very young sector.

After some years of tests and pilot projects, lots of initiatives have begun to

appear, but presumably only a few of them will be consolidated in the

future.

At the moment there is more supply than demand in the marketplace17,

producing confusion among consumers. They do not know what to choose

or, even worse, whether it is necessary to choose e-learning products at all.

Some companies are offering all types of e-learning solutions; others are in

the market just because they are technologically able to develop solutions.

It is important to take into account the training needs of companies in order

to develop the correct contents and methodology in accordance with their

aims and real needs.

While traditional face-to-face training was the best-known method, some

firms introduced electronic books as a system of e-learning. This involved

selling training contents designed for classroom courses, but which were to

be used in a computer environment. Consequently, the first attempts at e-

learning had a few faults, such us having too much HTML and too little


interest for users. These experiences did not benefit from the collaboration

and simulation possibilities offered by e-learning, and they did not integrate

training actions into a practical and real experience either. However, they

offered real potential for the future.

As a result of this situation, e-learning products were so poor, and so far off

meeting a minimum level of quality, that firms were reticent to introduce e-

learning in their training programmes.

Now that all those products have disappeared, it is time to convince

companies that just having a few course catalogues is not enough. It is

necessary to endow e-learning with the appropriate services so as to assist

students.

Increased usage of new technologies in business and continuing training (in

all training environments) positions e-learning as a new way to learn, which

is clearly and strongly integrated into the training plans of companies and

professional associations.

According to a study elaborated by Grupo Doxa18, e-learning growth in

Spain is affected by the crisis in the technological sector and by the

deceleration in growth of the most important world economies.

Talking in general terms, e-learning in Spain is very sparsely implemented,

according to the information provided by Juan Manuel Cruz, Training and

Technology Director of PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), especially if we

compare it with the data from the United States and Europe. His data

indicates that only 180,000 individuals are following real e-learning training

programmes in Spanish companies. However, taking into account the

advantages of e-learning, such as reduction of costs and increased

efficiency, it is expected to represent a significant part of the sector in the

future19.

17 Ignacio Maratech, Aprenderh (2003), “Qué puede hacer el e-learning por las empresas”, pp. 30-36.18 GRUPO DOXA, E-learning en las grandes empresas. Panel anual de resultados 2003.19 On Aprenderh (2003), “Qué puede hacer el e-learning por las empresas”, pp. 30-36.


However, the e-learning model does not involve any technical novelty. The

real potential of this way of training is the conjunction of various elements,

enabling the development of any educational content in a flexible way for

students, and providing monitoring by tutors and trainers in a collaborative

learning environment. This scenario offered by e-learning facilitates

improves motivation for students and accelerates of their learning process.

In fact, all these remarks refer to our expectations for virtual training. As

we have said before, e-learning is still at a premature stage in Spain. The

social change introduced by e-learning is still in progress and some time is

required to adapt the learning system to this new training environment.

Nevertheless, it is clear that all kinds of companies and institutions, even if

they are not directly related to training, must revise their strategy and

adapt to the challenges that this new way to deal with training brings with

it.

For the moment, big ICT and financial companies are the target groups;

these have the most highly developed e-learning experience in Spain, this

being mainly due to the fact that they have very good technological

infrastructure systems and that training is strategically vital for them to be

competitive.


E-LEARNING PROVISION

GENERAL OVERVIEW

As regards the supply of e-learning in the Spanish market, we can state

that it is very heterogeneous; it is made up of big technology consultancy

companies, training consultants, business schools, ICT companies,

universities, etc. These provide courses either to individuals or to e-learning

providers who operate in the field of continuing training in businesses. This

provision comes from numerous sources and is highly dispersed, without

there being any clear leadership.

E-learning provision in Spain is a growing sector that is closely linked to the

implementation of ICT, as well as to the development of training

programmes in many companies. The estimated number of companies

related to this sector is around 500, of which more than 150 are e-learning

providers20. This means that there is a great level of fragmentation as a

result of an emerging market (these companies have an average of 4

employees).

The majority of them are quite new in the market, but there are also some

training companies which have been the market for a long time (25-35

years) that are offering now e-learning courses.

Following a study published by APEL21 (e-Learning Providers Association),

the services offered by these providers are those indicated in Figure 2.

20 Apel, Inmark & Fundación Tripartita (2003), E-learning en España. Diagnóstico prospectivo y pautas de desarrollo.


0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Global services

e-learning services

content

technological infrastructure

Fig. 2. Types of services offered by e-learning providers (source: APEL).

It is considered that there are too many providers, most of them with a

similar level of development. There are also numerous technological

platforms, with a low number of content providers. Most of the companies

offer different types of services, such us e-learning courses, technology

platforms, e-learning consultancy, e-learning solutions, etc., normally

without having a clear specialisation in just one service.

The current growth of e-learning in Spain, by activity areas, is indicated in

Table 1 and Figure 3.

Activity area in the e-learning sector Growth

Platforms sales Low (<10%)Technologicalinfrastructure Technological consultancy Medium (10-25%)

Standard contents sales High (25-50%)Contents

Personal content development Very high (>50%)

E-learning training actions Very high (>50%)

ASP services High (25-50%)Services

Consultancy High (25-50%)

Table 1. E-learning growth by activity areas (source: Grupo Doxa22).

21 Apel, Inmark & Fundación Tripartita (2003), E-learning en España. Diagnóstico prospectivo y pautas de desarrollo.22 GRUPO DOXA, E-learning en las grandes empresas. Panel anual de resultados 2003.


0

10

20

30

40

50

Millions €

2001 2002

Compound annual growth rate

services

contents

Infrastructures

Fig. 3. Compound annual growth rate of e-learning in Spain (source: Apel 23)

It is thus quite difficult to classify these companies in strict categories, as

the provision of e-learning is very broad and there is not a clear

specialisation in the market. However, we have tried to analyse companies

belonging to the supply side, taking into account which is the most

important activity that each of these carry out. We have thus divided them

into four groups:

• Content providers

• Solution providers

• Technology providers

• E-learning associations

Over the next few pages, some of the key players on the supply side of the

Spanish e-learning market are described in detail. This description is

complemented with a quick overview of some other representative

companies. The selection of these key players has been made according to

the following criteria: experience in the field; years in the marketplace;

size, either in terms of turnover or number of employees; the range of

products and services in the portfolio; and customer base. The list of

players presented is not intended to be complete.

23 APEL (2002), El sector del e-learning. Estudio de la oferta.


1.- CONTENT PROVIDERS

In this section we describe some companies whose main activity focuses on

delivering different types of content. We have included a few training

organisations that offer e-learning courses in the list, even though some of

them provide other services as well, apart from content.

1.1. FYCSA

Website:

www.fycsa.es

Official classification:

Group Fycsa is a training institution.

Origin and background

Fycsa is one of the main training companies in Spain, both in terms of its

size as well as its product portfolio.

It has more than 20 years experience in the training market and it’s one of

the best examples of a training institution which is increasing its training

provision through e-learning.

It has permanent offices in Madrid and in Barcelona in order to be close to

customers and to offer them the highest quality services.

Fycsa defines itself as an educational craftsman, providing made-to-

measure solutions: offering strategies to improve efficiency and to attain

objectives, as well as providing cultural change and ensuring consolidation.

Product and market placement

Fycsa, with more than 20 years experience in the training market, is one of

the main training companies in Spain, especially in the life-long training

field.

With more than 300 companies using its services, the yearly sales are

estimated at over 10 million euros.


In order to meet its aims and to respond to its customers’ needs, Fycsa has

a staff of 90 people and 200 regular collaborators.

Investment in product development is more than 10% of the sales obtained

yearly.

Main products and services

Fycsa has services divided into three categories and aimed at two main

sectors: companies and individuals.

Fycsa Group offers its customer’s services in:

Consultancy: In order to develop a learning and management strategy to

guarantee the cost efficiency of training.

Training solutions: Combining an increase in personal skills with an

innovative learning experience.

Technology: Which facilitates accessibility, efficacy and speed in the

provision of knowledge.

Business services

Fycsa develops complete added-value solutions for companies’ human

resources development, as the best way of improving and generating

competitive advantages for the companies is via their employees.

Fycsa adds value in:

Learning experience: Transferring learning experiences into key skills,

which permits real change in practice and in work behaviour.

Result transfer: Consolidating the change produced by training with the

necessary resources to guarantee the transfer of results to the workplace.

Strategy: Developing the skills needed to implement the strategy.

Fycsa offers a complete e-learning solution through:


E-learning strategies

Helping customers in the analysis of their needs, fixing the transition aims

of an e-learning model and starting actions aimed at beginning successful e-

learning experiences.

Platform

Formanet is a latest-generation platform which permits access by the head

of training plans to all the on-line actions occurring on the platform and

facilitating the development of a collaborative training environment for

students through access to: contents, forums, training activities, tutor,

quality tests, etc.

The platform can be installed on an appropriately personalised customer

server.

Other e-learning services

In order to ensure the effectiveness of the e-learning strategy implemented

within the company, Fycsa provides expert services in:

Managing and invigorating the plan following inscriptions, adapting the

edition of the course on the web, managing the tutors and other support

staff, elaborating activity reports, contacting students, etc.

Tutoring the plan at different levels in accordance with the content of the

course and the participant’s profile. The different tutorial models are:

Self study with animation

Self study with reactive tutorial

Self study with proactive tutorial

Blended learning

Courses

Fycsa offers made-to-measure courses which are compatible with any

platform supporting SCORM, and a course catalogue with more than 500

on-line courses is available.


Individual services

Through the New Technologies Business School, Fycsa offers individuals

advanced training solutions for managers and professionals in IT,

telecommunications and finance.

It also provides face-to-face courses as well as on-line courses. The

catalogue is the same as that for the business service and it has more than

500 courses, which are oriented to:

Skills development and culture change

Management of knowledge and practices

Finance – Banking

Information technologies

Telecommunications

Prices

As the range of services and products that Fycsa offers is very large, the

prices vary according the services offered.

Among the courses there are also some differences related to duration, with

courses from 5 hours through to postgraduates and masters courses of 250-

650 hours.

Main customers

Fycsa’s customers include over 300 firms, 17 of which belong to IBEX 35.

Concerning individuals, we can distinguish three levels of participants:

Management and Director level

Professionals

Postgraduates


1.2 INSTITUTO DE FORMACIÓN ON-LINE

Website:

www.ifoline.com


Instituto de Formación Online (IFO) is a company founded in 1996 which

focuses its activity on the development of teletraining projects through the

application of new technologies and the use of telematic environments.

IFO has developed high-quality teletraining methodologies to apply to

training projects. Importance is given to the relationship between the

different actors involved in training and learning processes; in this sense,

the technologies aren’t the main aim, but a tool to attain the objectives of

each teletraining project.

Equally, IFO has carried out lots of projects helping other institutions to

develop their own teletraining provision. Its experience in different

methodologies and technologies available in this field has made IFO a

leader in the quality teletraining market.

IFO is currently oriented to the development of strategic new lines as a

result of technical and methodological research, with the aim of

incorporating the latest technological advances.

The new lines of activity are grouped in five blocks:

IFOpyme: Collaboration with portals addressed to SMEs in order to increase

their range of training services.

IFOmaster: Collaboration with different schools and institutions offering

masters, with the aim of converting these courses into online masters.

IFOclips: Short duration and thematically varied tutorial courses with

interactive elements and self-evaluation activities.

Internet Para.Net: Development of courses in order to show the uses of the

Internet and its tools to specific professional groups, such as pharmacists,

doctors, architects, lawyers, etc.



The Instituto de Formación Online (IFO) has become, in its five years of

existence, a leader and reference company in the development of quality

teletraining projects through the appliance of new technologies to education

and to telematic areas of face-to face training.

Throughout its history, IFO has trained more than 400 trainers and more

than 35 supervisors to distribute online courses. Also, it has distributed

nearly a hundred courses in collaboration with the most prestigious and

varied institutions, from which over 2,500 students have been trained.


IFO Clips

IFO Clips are little interactive tutorials with an attractive design which use

animations to give a general overview about a practical and specific theme.

Self-training tutorials

The student receives the documentation specially designed for the self-

training tutorial and does some self-evaluation exercises; it is also possible

to ask questions to the tutor or trainer.

Nowadays the documentation can be presented in multimedia, CD-Rom or

via a web page. As the self-training requires a high level of discipline and

constancy, the courses are short and practical.

Virtual class courses

These involve teletraining courses which apply the virtual classroom

methodology. In teaching terms, this methodology is based on the

attainment of the different training objectives through the interaction of the

participants: trainer-student, trainer-class, student-student; telematic tools

are used in order to obtain the same motivational and human aspects

encountered in the face-to-face training environment.


Platforms

IFO has a web application (Campus IFO). It’s a tool designed for training,

and it can be easily configured and managed. It creates the possibility of

having a personalised campus with the company’s corporate image. It

includes hosting and operation, so it’s not necessary to have a server or a

telecommunications system which facilitates access to users.

It also has other platforms which can be personalised in accordance with

the customer’s needs and possibilities.

Development of courses and follow-up

IFO designs, structures and manages the courses, as well as developing the

logistics and technical aspects, the secretarial aspects and inscriptions,

methodological supervision to trainers, etc.

Training teletrainers

IFO develops and imparts courses which can be personalised for any

company and which aim to meet the training needs of trainers.

Throughout IFO’s history more than 200 trainers have been trained. These

courses combine different methodologies, such as face-to-face training and

teletraining.

Content development

IFO designs and develops training materials available for use in a web

environment.

Conversion of face-to face courses into on-line courses

For all those training institutions interested in entering the field of on-line

learning, IFO carries out consultancy and assessment services, explaining

all the elements needed to guarantee the success of these courses.


Development of new courses

For all those customers without an infrastructure capable of creating,

designing and developing new courses, IFO has a team of educational

experts in new-course design. IFO also has about 100 trainers trained for

on-line course development.

Main customers

IFO has a course catalogue with more than 60 courses available, with a

duration of between 30 minutes and 30 hours; the main customers are

companies and training institutions.


1.3 E-LEARNING.ES

Website:

www.e-learning.es


E-learning.es is a platform created by the Human Resources Division of

PriceWaterhouseCoopers Spain, the main aim of this being to become the

first e-learning platform addressed to companies, offering all the products

and services required to implement on-line training, immediately and

without an investment.


Factory of Contents

Factory of Contents is a tool elaborated by PwC and Ingenia that permits an

approach to the creation and management of training contents in an

efficient and effective form. The Factory of Contents is the best manager of

training contents, with options for the pick up, storage, treatment and

distribution of contents. It’s useful when:

There is a long curriculum to adapt.

The update and/or adaptation will be continued, and it is worth tackling it

from a different point of view, with more effective and efficient tools.

It is necessary to create contents with standards of quality in a limited

period of time.

Although there are many solutions on the market, e-learning.es undertook

the development of Factory of Contents to facilitate the creation and

management of contents in a complete manner.


Audience analysis

This solution makes it possible to ensure that any remote training action

undertaken is in accordance with the plans, policy, strategy and culture of

the company, and it also considers the training demands and expectations

of all those involved in the learning process.

With audience analysis and training needs it becomes possible to develop

specific and suitable training actions adapted to the real learning needs of

employees.

Platform

This solution allows users to use a Learning Management System platform

for the development of e-learning courses in the company.

The portal is managed as an ASP system (application service provider) that

is installed in a common platform managed by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Implementation and follow-up

There is a service of tutorials in e-learning.es for all the contents offered.

This service is also complementary to the contents, supporting the

transference of knowledge and learning to the day to day running of the

company. The tutorial uses communication tools such as forums, chats,

mail, telephone, work groups, follow-up meetings, etc

Evaluation of results

The objective of this solution is to determine the benefits provided by the

on-line training actions in terms of the application of the acquired

knowledge and abilities in the work place.

Course catalogue

E-learning.es has an e-learning course catalogue linked to the main

partners of e-learning.es.

It has more than 450 courses divided into the following areas:


Human resources Law

Personnel development Technology

Management Internet and e-business

Finance Tourism

Marketing and sales Health

The length of the courses varies from 2 hours to 2-year masters.

Prices

The prices are fixed in accordance with the services requested.

E-learning.es creates a personalised service related to the real needs of the

user and bases the price on this.

Main customers

The main customers of e-learning.es are training departments or human

resources departments who wish to introduce e-learning strategies into

their company.

There is also the catalogue of courses, as e-learning.es is also addressed to

individuals, and there is a course-search service.


1.4 SANTILLANA FORMACIÓN

Website:

www.santillanaformacion.com


Santillana Formación represents the Santillana Group’s commitment to

increasing its activities into adult learning through new training channels.

The Publishing Group Santillana is made up of a set of companies which

carry out their activity in the Spanish-speaking countries.

It has its origin in the publishing house of the same name, founded in 1960.

Throughout its existence, the Santillana Group has been consolidating its

specialisation in educational publishing, extending this beyond the Spanish

borders, with special attention to Latin America, where the group is a leader

in the educational book sector. In the seventies it extended its activity into

the field of general publishing and its catalogue started to include literary

works for all ages, in addition to works of thought or reference, and the

distribution of textbooks. This line received an important impulse with the

contribution brought about by the incorporation of three prestigious

publishing houses (Taurus in 1974, Alfaguara in 1980 and Aguilar in 1986)

and the development of its own projects, such as Ediciones Altea and

Richmond Publishing.

From 1998 the Santillana Group has acted decisively and, for the first time,

it has become involved in the training of adults via the Internet. This project

materialised with the creation of the new company Santillana Formación

and the majority shareholding in the company now known as Santillana

Netlanguages.



Complete solutions

Santillana Formación offers its customers the possibility of implementing a

complete e-learning solution, which involves:

A virtual campus based on the most advanced training technology via the

Internet; the Docent Enterprise suite; a large catalogue of courses;

personalisation of any customer requirement; advice throughout the

process.

Virtual campus

This is for those companies aiming to implement an e-learning strategy for

the knowledge management of its employees.

The service involves:

Administration system.

The administration system allows companies to:

- Create private training domains.

- Define roles and permit training management: administrator, supervisor,

secretary, tutor, etc.

- Create professional profiles and to define skills and to establish training

itineraries related to these skills for registered users.

- Obtain management reports and training evaluations.

Management system

To store a student’s progress throughout the process and to carry out a

follow-up activity related to the student and each course.

Virtual classrooms

The virtual classrooms make the following available to organisations:

training contents; learning, evaluation and follow-up activities; access to a

tutorial system; other course resources, such as library, glossaries, etc;

synchronous and asynchronous communication tools through chats, forums,

e-mail, etc.; information and orientation tools: help system, on-line

assistance, FAQ’s, etc.


Tailor-made services

Personalised solutions for each customer.

Specific solutions for bodies and vocational training institutions.

Innovative training policies.

Accompanying services.

Design of services and made-to-measure contents.

Personalised assessment.

Training catalogue

Santillana Formación offers courses in the following areas:

telecommunications, financial services, tourism skills and business

management, languages, and information and communication technologies.

Main customers

Training solutions and assessment services are addressed to:

Organisations

Companies and institutions convinced that the e-learning is a key factor in

competitiveness and that it provides support for the company’s strategy.

Bodies and institutions involved in the development of innovative training

policies and the design of qualifications and professional training plans.

Individuals

Professionals and graduates aiming to expand their knowledge through

postgraduate university programmes.


1.5. EDUCALINE

Website:

www.educaline.com


EducaLine was founded in 1999, composed of a multidisciplinary team

experienced in e-learning projects.

Right from its beginnings, EducaLine has focused its research on teaching

and technological areas. EducaLine is particularly interested in expert

analysis and knowledge of all the tools available on the market and in the

latest advances in teaching methodology design applied to on-line learning.

EducaLine develops and manages e-learning projects for organisations,

training institutions, companies and professionals. It also offers

technological infrastructure and specialised professionals to cover all the

phases of the development of an e-learning project: elaboration,

management, training materials, multimedia technology, etc.

1.6. ITEM FORMACIÓN S. L.

Basic data:

www.itemformacion.com


Elaboration of multimedia and e-learning content. Item Formación is a

company specialising in vocational-training e-learning courses, and in the

development of multimedia content for e-learning courses.

Additionally, it also offers some made-to-measure contents development as

well as a virtual campus.


1.7 CADMO CONOCIMIENTO

Website:

www.cadmoconocimiento.com


Cadmo Conocimiento has its origins in 1981 when it founded the Escuela de

Gestión Empresarial (Business Management School).

After a brief period of operation, in 1983 the company changed its name to

Técnicas de Formación (Training Techniques).

In 2001, after observing and analysing the market training needs in terms

of the Information Society, the company expanded its range of services. As

a result of this internal and external transformation, a new firm was born -

CADMO/ Conocimiento, which combined the experience acquired from

Técnicas de Formación with the future and the innovation of the Knowledge

Society.

The future of Cadmo Conomiciento is linked to the awareness needed to

produce and distribute knowledge in order to help organisations adapt to

the Information Society.

Cadmo Conocimiento carries out its activities around the organisation’s

intellectual capital, using innovative teaching models supported by

information and communication technologies, through its main services: e-

learning, e-content and e-media.


1.8. CEDECO

Website:

www.cedeco.es


Cedeco was founded on 1913 as a distance-training institution.

The company now offers four training modes: in company training, e-

learning, private training, and open courses, mainly focused on information

and communication technologies.

The target group is individuals aiming to follow e-learning courses, and it

has about 800 students in Spain.

Other content provider companies:

www.2000ir.com

www.adams.es

www.artesvisuales.com

www.aucal.edu

www.educaterra.es

www.eurolearning.com

www.fase.net

www.gpf.es

www.ilionline.com

www.infova.com

www.interaccionbcn.com

www.neostraining.com

www.opsneo.com

www.tangent.es

www.turmosoft.com

www.zabalnet.com


2. SOLUTION PROVIDERS

2.1 GRUPO DOXA

Website:

www.grupodoxa.com


Grupo Doxa is a national capital group of companies. The shareholders are

the managers, the employees and the collaborators of the different

companies included in the group.

Grupo Doxa has its origins in 1994, when Doxa Consultores was founded

as an assessment company whose main activities were the carrying-out of

studies and European projects as well as the management and the

development of continuing training.

In 2003 Doxa Consultores absorbed Doxa Formación and Doxa Consultoría

y Sistemas and formed Grupo Doxa Formación y Consultoría.

Other firms within the group are:

Doxa Producción y Logística (founded in 1994)

Doxa América Latina (founded in 2001 and located in Santiago, Chile)

Grupo Doxa has more than 110 professionals on its staff, with each member

receiving an average of 60 hours of training per year.

They apply a quality system with the aim of obtaining the satisfaction of

customers and students.

All the projects developed during 2002 were evaluated with a score higher

than 4 (on a scale of 0 to 5).

Grupo Doxa has had ISO 9001 certification since 1999.




Training and e-learning consultancy

Training and knowledge management consultancy.

Design and development of e-learning projects.

Design and development of multimedia training contents.

Made-to-measure design of corporative training portals (educadoxa).

Consultancy and development of e-learning solutions in an ASP option.

Studies of training needs, training evaluation and the cost-effectiveness of

training.

Training outsourcing

Training management through extranet connections using educadoxa.

Outsourcing of companies’ and organisations’ training departments through

the integration of information systems.

Management of training plans.

Development of e-learning courses

Development of training actions: face-to-face, distance and blended

learning, supported by multimedia tools and e-learning platforms.

Development of training actions through educadoxa, an Internet training

portal.

Educadoxa

Is the first personalised portal for training development and outsourcing,

permitting continuing training plans and up-to date action.

It was created as a response to the growing demand for the made-to-

measure training needs of every organisation, following the highest quality

standards.

This service - an ASP (Application Service Provider) - permits friendly

access to the training portal without costly investment in technology.


Doxa has developed more than 50 portals for business organisations, trade

unions, public administrations and companies.

E-learning training supply

The supply of e-learning training is divided into the following knowledge

areas:

Information technologies: 133 courses available

Languages: 25 courses available

Commerce and marketing: 8 courses available

Economics and finance: 2 courses available

Quality, environment and workplace risk prevention: 1 course available

Human resources: 3 courses available

Business management: 1 course available

Main customers

Among the customers there are private companies (more than 75

companies), public administration bodies (about 32), and business

associations and trade unions (about 40).

There are also individuals following the different courses offered by Doxa.


2.2. GRUPO VÉRTICE. VÉRTICE E-LEARNING

Websites:

www.grupovertice.es

www.verticelearning.com


Grupo Vértice is a business group composed of 14 different firms; one of

them is Vértice e-Learning.


The Vértice Group is an enterprise founded 23 years ago through the efforts

of professionals working in the different firms of the group and the trust of

customers. Vértice e-Learning emerged as the e-learning strategies and

solutions provider of the Vértice Group. Vértice e-Learning is the result of

more than 20 years of training experience of the Vértice Group and of the

efforts of the group in information and communication technologies.

Uniactiva 24 (www.uniactiva.com) currently constitutes one of the clearest

and most representative examples of the experience of Vértice e-Learning;

it is the provider of the virtual campus of Uniactiva.com as well as of the

learning and management system of the Universidad Abierta Interactiva.


Virtual training environments

Vértice e-Learning has standard compatible spaces (SCORM), including

different synchronous and asynchronous communication systems, as well as

data sharing and swapping during communication. All of these are

characterised by flexibility in accordance with the requirements of the

public.

Virtual classrooms


On-line auditoriums

Interactive seminars

Virtual campus (LMS: Learning Management System) composed of all kinds

of educational resources, on-line seminars, etc.

Management and administration of training environments

Vértice e-Learning creates on-line environments capable of handling the

administration and management activities typical of any training centre. In

these environments, administration management and academic

management solutions are offered.

As examples of administration and management solutions, Vértice e-

Learning proposes:

Administrative records.

Area indicators (such as supply, demand, quality, efficiency…).

Enrolment and on-line payment.

On the academic management solutions side:

Student records.

Profiles and course control.

LCMS: Learning Content Management System.

Software and training tools

Vértice e-Learning develops applications for e-learning course development

and design which are in accordance with the programme’s characteristics

and which and related to the training centre or department preferences.

Dynamic creation of evaluation questionnaires.

Author tools for the editing of multimedia contents.

Editing and administration of on-line publications.

Content edition

Vértice e-Learning offers an extensive rage of content in 4 different

formats: paper (or pdf), CAT/L (computer-assisted training/learning)

interactive (CD or intranet), CAT/L interactive (on-line Internet) and

24 Universidad Abierta Interactiva - Open Interactive University.


interactive simulator. The multimedia contents are SCORM compatible. All

the contents are developed, updated and revised under ISO 9001:2000.

Prices

As Vértice e-Learning has a wide rage of possibilities, there is also a wide

range of prices, which vary in accordance with the services requested. The

company offers a personalised budget for any project.

Main customers

More than 20,000 individuals have been trained through Vértice e-Learning.

The majority of them are employees of different companies, professional

associations, town councils, banks, etc.


2.3 NEXE

Website:

www.nexe.com


Limited society


Nexe, founded in 1993, is one of the pioneer companies in Europe in

assessment, development and implementation of solutions to facilitate the

integration of all the company changes required by new learning methods;

this is done through the use of e-learning strategies and methodologies,

communication and knowledge management.

Taking into account the situation of each organisation and knowing its

future business strategy, such as its plans for change and training, Nexe

detects the key capacities and knowledge areas necessary to reinforce

people’s knowledge base in the short and medium term and to guarantee

the continuous improvement of the organisation’s competitiveness.

Nexe supports and works together with customers to define and implement

the e-learning solutions and knowledge management necessary to increase

their learning capacity and to improve the impact of e-learning processes on

business results.

Nexe has offices in Madrid and Barcelona and it has 9 years experience in

the sector, vouched for by over 250 projects related to the conception and

development of virtual environments for training and learning, the

management of knowledge and products and net learning processes.

For the development of its projects, Nexe has a multidisciplinary team of 50

people with varied professional profiles: business and organisation

consultants, e-learning and knowledge-management consultants,


educationalists and editors, computer scientists, and specialists in usability

and visual contact.


Defining, implementing and managing the whole e-learning project

Nexe accompanies the customer at the time of making the decision to

determine which is the best e-learning solution, taking into account the

situation and culture of the organisation, the key scopes of knowledge in

the company, the correct methodologies adapted to people’s needs, the

knowledge and the objectives.

Knowledge-resources intranet

This product is focused on the teaching, management and monitoring of

learning processes. It also allows users to compile, segment and distribute

the knowledge generated during the learning process among all the

members of an organisation. In addition to the learning process, this tool

allows clients to see the knowledge which is generated every day in the

organisation. This tool is available in seven languages and it adapts to the

diverse organisational structures of companies.

The knowledge-resources intranet offers the following possibilities:

To manage initial and continuing training.

To administer the e-learning model in a centralised or decentralised way

based on different organisational structures.

To define a suitable training model for the needs of different groups.

To administer the supply of training, enrolments and inscriptions on

courses.

Management of users, roles, profiles, monitoring and curriculum.

To administer courses, projects and communities.

To determine communication systems and spaces such as chats and

forums, as well as a mail manager.

To manage the added value of knowledge creation.


Training material and content generator

This tool allows the organisation to create contents without having to worry

about the technical, graphical and teaching solution of the final training

product. This generator of learning material permits the organisation:

To define the teaching methodology of the training material.

To create theoretical and practical contents, glossaries of terms, tests,

editing flows, validation and publication of materials.

To export the materials to market standards (AICC and SCORM).

To take advantage of the existing contents in courses generated previously.

To incorporate associated materials in different formats and to insert

graphics.

To determine which results can be improved.

Course catalogue

Remote training material doesn’t just need to be good - it must also

motivate. For this reason it is necessary to combine, in suitable proportions,

a good teaching approach, functional design, graphic interface and

computer system. Nexe has a multidisciplinary team to help in the

development of quality materials and to take responsibility for all the

phases of the process, as well as to work in conjunction with experts from

the customer’s organisation or other experts in the field.

Creation of learning and knowledge-exchange-oriented solutions

In the creation process for the solution, Nexe is involved in the following

stages:

Conceptualisation of the teaching model.

Definition of implementation, dynamisation and evaluation strategies.

Development of learning materials.

Training the people involved.

Supporting the customer in the implementation and follow-up process.


Main customers

The main customers are organisations and companies aiming to implement

e-learning strategies.

Among customers, we can distinguish between public administrations,

universities and private companies.

Even though Nexe has a course catalogue with more than 30 titles,

individuals are not its main target group.


2.4 GLOBAL ESTRATEGIAS

Website:

www.globalestrategias.com


Global Estrategias began its activities in 1990, organising seminars focused

on improving business practices. Now about 50 people are working on

continuing training as a tool for professional development.

Global Estrategias runs fast training programmes, allowing professionals to

get up to date on the latest trends, management skills, changes in

legislation and norms, etc.

Global Estrategias organises seminars, professional meetings, specialist

courses and on-line seminars. Also, the training department offers its

customers consultancy projects to adapt to e-learning.

Global Estrategias offers more than 300 seminars annually and 100 in-

company courses, mostly in Spain and Portugal, with more than 6,000

people attending.

The main aim of the firm is to offer high-quality products and services with

added value for human resources professionals.


The solutions offered by Global Estrategias to companies are aimed at

linking the power of Internet with companies’ training needs. In Global

Estrategias a complete group of consultants specialising in on-line training,

educationalists, editors, programmers and designers are available to tackle

any on-line training project.



On-line training services

Global Estrategias has a large range of services for the company and for its

adaptation to on-line training processes.

Consultancy and on-line training implementation

Creation and adaptation of training elements to e-learning.

On-line welcome plans.

Virtual campus.

Training trainers in e-learning techniques.

Just in time training.

On-line consultancy

Through this on-line service, Global Estrategias makes a free e-learning

consultancy service available to the customer in order to resolve any

queries or answer any questions related to e-learning, teletraining

platforms, contents management, etc.

E-learning courses

Global Estrategias offers its customers a series of courses using a virtual

campus. These courses are totally on-line and come with support and

tutoring from specialised professionals.

Some OPEN COURSES are:

Telephone payment and effective management.

Creation and adaptation of e-learning courses.

Labour welfare in the modern company.

Excel for financers.

Effective management of complaints and claims: customer loyalty.

Cost analysis for the technical development of an e-learning course.

E-learning tutorials.

University expertise on distance-training management.

Costs analysis for the development of e-learning courses.

Efficient use of e-mail.


In-company training

Global Estrategias analyses the company’s environment, needs and specific

difficulties in order to elaborate made-to-measure training plans in

accordance with the company’s real interests.

Main customers

Even though Global Estrategias has some open e-learning courses, the main

target group of its services are companies and associations aiming to

introduce e-learning strategies into their firms.


2.5. VIRTUAL TRAINING

Website:

www.v-training.com


Virtual Training began its activity in 1998, and since then its main aim has

been the elaboration of quality training through the Internet.

Virtual Training designs and develops all kind of web solutions and services

in accordance with customer needs and demands.

The whole activity of Virtual Training is based on providing quality through

the most modern information and communication technologies.

Product and services

Platform

Virtual Training has developed an e-learning platform containing all the

requirements for complete management of training. The content generator,

the tutors, the training manager and the students have an important role in

the platform.

Through the platform the companies can easily implement their own LMS,

which is adapted to the organisation’s needs.

Contents

Virtual Training develops training contents in the following areas: IT,

security, business skills, quality and environment, and languages.

All the courses meet the content development standards of SCORM 1.2, IMS

and AICC.


2.6. DOMÈNECH MULTIMÈDIA

Website:

www.domenech-sa.com


Domènech Multimedia was founded in 1975 with the main aim of offering a

complete service in the training field. Since then, Domènech Multimedia has

experienced continuous evolution thanks to the organisation’s

specialisation.

Domènech is composed of a professional human team, experienced in the

latest technologies and able to develop all the activities required by the

customers.

Domènech has developed the second generation of e-learning content

platforms. This new platform permits the real time updating of all the

elements through the most powerful data base: Oracle, Access Informix,

SQL, and html and xml.

The interface is intuitive, composed of basic elements, permitting effective

navigation and flexible learning.

It permits access to users via a password, and it evaluates and facilitates

continuous follow-up.


2.7. RIAL E-LEARNING

Website:

www.rial-elearning.com


RIAL e-Learning consulting is a Spanish company offering a wide range of

services related to e-learning.

The professional team, together with strategic partners and an extensive

and prestigious network of contacts, combines good knowledge of the

Spanish market's needs, broad experience in the e-learning field and

expertise to offer effective e-learning solutions at all levels of application

and e-learning products.

Products and services

Rial e-Learning offers standard services classified into three categories:

Basic, Premium and Gold, as well as tailor-made services.

Other solution provider companies:

www.3i-multimedia.com

www.9icta.com

www.anforaformacion.es

www.bigblue.net

www.cofor.es

www.consultoresmtt.com

www.e-duka-formacion.es

www.genesisxxi.com

www.insertsistemas.es

www.reducost.net

www.triagonal.net

www.vlserveis.es


3. TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS

3.1. NANFOR IBÉRICA

Website:

www.cursosweb.com


Nanfor Ibérica is an organisation specialising in information technologies

and it has more than 10 years experience in traditional training and 4 years

in e-learning.

It is recognised by the main manufacturers of software (IBM, Lotus,

Microsoft, Borland, SUN Microsystems, Macromedia, Trend Micro) due to its

capacity for innovation and quality.

It has been rewarded with prizes such as: Excellence in Training in EMEA by

the Industry of Training in Information Technologies ITTA, best CTEC

Partner of the year by Microsoft, best LAEC by Lotus, prize for one of the

Best Ideas on the Internet for on-line training by Microsoft and Lotus.

It is the company with most awards for its e-learning solutions.

In 2000 NANFOR Ibérica took on the commitment to undertake the

development, implementation and certification of a system to ensure

quality, in accordance with the requirements established in Norm ISO-

9002:1994.



Nanfor Ibérica has developed a wide variety of resources in order to offer a

large range of e-learning solutions, as well as blended learning, thereby

facilitating improvements in learning.

Knowledge management

Through the consultants from Nanfor Ibérica, it will be possible to make

plans for the organisation of a company’s RRHH, analysing the potential of


the employee in order to define, via a complete set of evaluations, the

professional capacities of the members of the company, thus allowing for

the organisation of programmes for professional development on the basis

of the objectives of the company.

Through e-learning systems and tools, Nanfor Ibérica applies e-learning

tools and simulators for knowledge management; it uses LMS training tools

to support an organisation’s resource management, training and knowledge

acquisition process.

Platform solutions

Nanfor Ibérica offers the most complete platform solutions oriented to

companies’ knowledge-management systems through LMS platforms. These

platforms organise, coordinate and manage a company’s training resources.

ASP (Application Service Provider)

The Application Service Provider model is very useful in an e-learning

environment, as content and the Internet delivery of training represent one

of the main problems.

For the SMEs and for the first stages of e-learning projects, platform hosting

means eliminating some unnecessary risks.

The main advantages are the low access cost and the speed of

implementation.

Content:

Nanfor Ibérica has been developing courses from 1997.

It has some standardised courses as well as made-to-measure content

adapted to a company’s training needs.

Administration services, animation and management of e-learning

Nanfor Ibérica has a complete team of educationalists, e-tutors and LMS

platform administrators who specialise in animation and management of

virtual courses in order to proactively promote learning as well as e-learning

activities.


Training outsourcing

Nanfor Ibérica offers outsourcing services to those companies that want to

eliminate the fixed administration and maintenance costs of training

activities, offering complete solutions for human resources departments.

The customer will be able to manage all the training resources as well as its

training projects using the latest-generation systems for knowledge

management.

E-commerce for e-learning

Nanfor Ibérica offers e-commerce solutions linked to e-learning solutions.

Through these solutions, customers can market any training solution

through their own web pages.

Training and employee portals

For big corporations and organisations aiming to offer training solutions to

their employees on their own intranets.

Integration of e-learning platforms with ERPs

The majority of e-learning platforms have modules and integration solutions

with human resource management software.

Complete e-learning projects

Nanfor Ibérica offers complete e-learning solutions for any size of company

and any group. It has experience in e-learning projects since 1997.

E-learning courses

Nanfor Ibérica has its own catalogue of e-learning courses, which are open

to any individual.

The areas of the courses are:

information technologies, Internet, microcomputing, quality, languages,

finance, management courses, etc.

Some courses are in English.


Main customers

The main customers of Nanfor Ibérica are companies aiming to develop e-

learning strategies.

As it also has an e-learning courses catalogue, individuals are also good

customers of Nanfor Ibérica.


3.2. FYNET BUSINESS AND TRAINING

Website:

www.fynet.net


Fynet Business & Training was founded on 1997, establishing academic

collaboration agreements with institutions such as the University of

Cambridge and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. It is a Lotus and IBM

Advanced Partner, specialising in the development of technological training

solutions.

In 1998 it offered the first European masters completely via Internet and

implemented this with Lotus/IBM technologies, bringing together important

professionals and institutions.

Its specialisation in IBM technologies applied to training allowed Fynet to

become the first Spanish partner member of IBM Mindspan, participating in

outstanding e-learning projects.

Fynet services include all areas of e-learning: consultancy, implementation

of platforms, programming, support, ASP, and content development.



Fynet Business & Training make the necessary technical and human

resources available to customers to elaborate their own virtual campus,

organising all the areas and processes involved, from the definition of initial

requirements to the completion of the definitive system. Fynet offers a full

package with all the services that the customer needs in order to choose,

define and implement an e-learning solution.


Consultancy

Implementing an e-learning solution involves different departments, so it is

necessary to establish appropriate objectives and planning phases, as well

as determining technical and organisational solutions.

As each company or academic institution has its own specific needs, Fynet

has expert consultants in the main technologies as well as in distance

training methods.

Needs definition

Fynet consultants help the company to choose the suitable technologies,

system and organisation, and to ensure that these are compatible.

Return on investment (ROI) ratio calculation and the extent of

organisational change

Fynet helps the customer to analyse the ROI rate in all the areas involved:

platform implementation, content, training management system and all the

aspects directly related to e-learning.

Pilot programmes

This service consists of the installation of an e-learning technology as a pilot

programme, in order to be sure that it is the most suitable solution.

Fynet has two levels of pilot programmes:

Initial level

Advanced level: including content elaboration and management, learning

management system and connectivity.

Implementation

The experience and expertise of Fynet experts guarantee a successful

installation of the e-learning platform. This platform can be purchased or

hosted in accordance with the customer’s needs and capacity.

Fynet offers the personalisation of the platform through the elaboration of

corporate educational portals, adaptation of the corporate image interface

and the development of specific functions in accordance with the company’s

needs.


Products

Lotus LearningSpace is a complete training-management and distribution

solution permitting the company take advantage of all on-line training.

Fynet factory

Fynet transfers any kind of content to e-learning in order to distribute it

within a distance-training platform, through interactive CDs or through an

intranet/extranet solution, or it creates new contents.

Course catalogue

Fynet has an e-learning course catalogue available for all customers. It also

offers tutorial support and follow-up for these courses from e-learning

specialists.

Main customers

The main customers of Fynet are companies, associations and institutions.

Individuals aren’t its target group, as the course catalogue is available only

for companies or institutions aiming to introduce e-learning solutions with

Fynet’s help.


3.3. QS MEDIA

Website:

www.qsmedia.es


Since 1997 QS·media has successfully completed many projects for

multinational and national clients and public institutions. From pilot schemes

with limited investment to those on a large-scale, such as the e-learning

project for the Generalitat Valenciana (Valencia's autonomous government),

which will provide on-line tutored training for more than 120,000 civil

servants and public employees.

QS·media is part of the SATEC group, a multinational specialising in IP

communications and network and large-system engineering.

QS·media offers personalised solutions which are adapted to the training

needs of companies and the infrastructure and software available.

QS·media's e-learning solutions will improve the way in which different

organisations or companies learn and share knowledge.

QS·media's e-learning solutions go beyond training the organisation's

employees.



QS·media develops and implements comprehensive solutions for e-learning

- the new corporate teletraining system via the Internet.

A complete range of products and services, including consultation, planning,

programme development, set-up and the putting into action of solutions


which will increase the productivity of the human resources of the company

or the organisation.

QS·media offers personalised solutions which are adapted to the training

needs of the company and the infrastructure and software the company has

available.

LMS QS Tutor

LMS·QStutor offers both tutor/pupil and pupil/tutor synchronous and

asynchronous communications: real-time chat, inclusion of video-

conferencing, forums and messaging systems. All these services are

assigned by course and group with no limit.

QS Author

QS·author is a simple tool for course creation which is compatible with the

main training platforms. It allows users to integrate multimedia resources

quickly and simply and to build evaluation systems, interactive tests and

exams in a simple manner with no need for any programming knowledge.

Its compatibility with the latest standards (AICC, SCORM) guarantees that

the results can be collected by QS·tutor tutor or any other compatible LMS

(Learning Management System).

QS Author facilitates the creation of high-quality teaching courses through

the use of structure and content assistants which guide the author, step by

step, through the process of creating the course.

E-learning consulting services

QS·media’s consulting services offer comprehensive solutions in the fields of

teletraining, knowledge management and human capital development,

using the latest developments in information technology.


Courses

QS·media provides high quality interactive courses, designed for

organisations that want to increase competitiveness through developing

their workers’ skills. QS·media courseware is engaging and interactive, with

content based upon simulation and animation.

Hosting

QS·tutor’s technical requirements aren’t high but it’s possible that a

company won’t want to make any investment in hardware, software and IT

infrastructure.

QS·media offers a no-investment alternative, providing the organisation

with e-learning solutions via the rental of QS·tutor infrastructure systems.

ASP

In addition to hosting options, QS·media’s ASP services (Application Service

Provider) offer full outsourcing of e-learning projects. Now it’s possible to

deploy a training plan with e-learning in a “pay-per-use” formula without

the need for any investment or waiting for deployment.

Main customers

Amongst its customers, QS·media has more than 60 companies, public

administrations and other institutions.


3.4. AVANZO M2S

Website:

www.avanzo.com


AVANZO is a new business project that began in 2003, although its origins

date back to 1998.

The firm is 100% Spanish and it provides a complete selection of contents,

technologies and services for business training. AVANZO’s main activity is e-

learning.

The driving force at AVANZO is the human capital. A valuable team of

professionals who are highly qualified and who have a thorough knowledge

of the various aspects of e-learning ensure that Avanzo’s products and

services are of the highest quality.


AVANZO is a Spanish firm that provides a complete selection of contents,

technologies and services for business training. The high educational

quality of AVANZO solutions guarantees the success and profitability of any

e-learning project.

Its team's customer orientation and professionalism are AVANZO's main

assets. The firm's aim is to provide profitable solutions, enabling companies

to increase their employees' level of efficiency.

AVANZO's activity embraces standard products, customised courses,

and high value added services.

AVANZO's provision covers the main areas of business training:

Information technologies

Management

Languages

Tailor-made content

AVANZO markets its products directly. However, it has also reached

agreements with qualified distributors in order to better satisfy its

customers’ needs.



When introducing e-learning projects, AVANZO provides its customers with

a wide range of high-value-added services to achieve the best results and a

high level of satisfaction from users.

A team of qualified technicians and consultants advise, co-ordinate and

carry out technical implementation processes, platform integration,

educational implementation, certifications and course dynamisation. These

services are added to other, more traditional ones, such as hot-lines, which

enable the user to benefit even more from training investments.

Hot-line

The hot-line support service, provided by a team of specialised tutors,

provides solutions to any query related to the functioning and contents of

the courses, either over the phone or by e-mail.

Thanks to this service, students can rest assured that they will have the

help they need when they need it, giving them more security and

motivation while learning.

The AVANZO hot-line service is the ideal humanising component of any

training project based on e-learning.

Active tracking

The consultancy department at AVANZO has developed an active

implementation model that is highly appreciated by its customers. AVANZO

studies the features and needs of each company and personalises services

accordingly.

In general terms, during this process AVANZO:

Maintains permanent co-ordination with the client's project manager.

Recommends the best technical and educational solutions for each project.

Co-ordinates and carries out the project, applying a set of criteria:

Provides users with initial information and motivation, so that they may

adopt e-learning training and benefit from it.

Provides users with personal assistance throughout the process.

Provides users and clients with periodic reports on the progress made.


Once the project is completed, AVANZO gives the client a report and advice

on future e-learning actions.

Technical services

AVANZO provides backing to its solutions with high-quality, rapid technical

support.

LMS integration? The Technical Department is formed by a group of

professionals who have in-depth knowledge and experience of AVANZO’s

own technology, as well as other technologies related to e-learning,

particularly e-learning standards: AICC, IMS, SCORM etc. AVANZO has

integrated its courses in most of the LMS (learning management system)

platforms that exist on the Spanish market.

Internet? Intranet? CD? Following an analysis of the technical infrastructure

of each company, AVANZO’s Technical Department will advise the customer

on the content distribution technology that best suits its needs.

AVANZO will accompany the customer during the e-learning project's

implementation.

Main customers

The main customers of AVANZO are companies, organisations and

institutions which aren’t technologically able to develop their own e-learning

project, either in terms of infrastructure or content and management.


3.5. TELESOFT

Website:

www.telesoft.es


Telesoft, S.L., is one of the first Spanish companies offering multimedia ASP

(Application Service Provider) in interactive services. It offers multimedia

services with high added value based on IP protocol, on the conventional

networks (RT, ISDN) and the new broadband networks (ADSL, wireless

mesh).

Telesoft develops and serves hosting applications, CTU and multimedia

services for operators of telephony and cable ISPs and integrates leading

companies into the sector of telecommunications.

Telesoft services are focused on multimedia interaction between companies

(B2B) and between companies and individuals (B2C) in order to improve the

service to the customer and to facilitate electronic commerce and virtual

transactions.

3.6. ITACA MULTIMEDIA

Website:

www.itacamultimedia.com


Itaca Multimedia is a Catalan technology company providing products and

services; it offers complete multimedia solutions in the knowledge

management field which are oriented to knowledge transmission,

consultancy and training.

Itaca elaborates and manages distance training with different types of

supports and tools, such as CD ROM, Internet, Intranet, etc.

All the courses include self-evaluation exercises, and they are provided as

distance training courses with tutorial consultation and support via Internet.


Itaca has its own tutors who are able to carry out the course tutorials and

follow-up.

It’s also possible to adopt and personalise the multimedia courses in

accordance with the customer’s needs.

Itaca also offers e-learning solutions and tools to big firms and training

institutions.

Easyprof technologies for virtual platforms:

EasyProf for content generation

EasyProf Content Management

EasyProf Tutor: a powerful tool designed as a tutoring tool which is able to

carry out the development and carrying-out of evaluation exercises via the

Internet.

Itaca has as its main customers: university institutions, academies, training

centres and the training or human resources departments of companies and

corporations.

3.7. CENTRA

Website:

www.centra.com


For over eight years, Centra has been providing business software and

services for real-time communication, collaboration & learning over the

Web, with self-service meetings, Web seminars, virtual classes and more.

Today, more than 3.2 million professionals at over 1,200 organisations

worldwide use Centra everyday to improve communication & collaboration

across their organisations in order to increase productivity, rapidly reduce

operational costs and accelerate business processes.

Centra makes real-time business meetings and events more cost-effective

and convenient by reducing travel and extending the reach of meetings to

globally dispersed customers, partners, and co-workers over low-bandwidth


network connections through a simple browser interface. By utilising

existing corporate computing infrastructure and platforms, Centra helps

organisations align business IT strategies with key business processes to

enhance productivity, lower costs, and drive up revenue.

Centra 7™ for Real-Time Business Collaboration. Centra 7 is the first

application software designed to enable real-time business collaboration,

communication & learning. Centra 7 offers complete solutions that go

beyond the "live" meeting and which address entire business processes –

before and after the online meeting, class, or event – making real-time

collaboration fit seamlessly into everyday work for the business user. And

the advanced system’s architecture addresses IT requirements for

scalability, reliability, administration, and security to ensure a successful

deployment across the entire company.

Centra has commercial and software partnerships with PwC Consulting,

Deloitte Consulting, EDS, Microsoft, SAP Siebel and Cisco.

3.8. GRUPO GARBEN

Website:

www.garben.com


Since its inception, Garben has focused its activity on providing quality

services in the information and communication technologies field. Its

experience in application development and its professionalism in the

development of training plans have made Garben a leading company in new

technologies and training.


3.9. INGENIA

Website:

www.ingenia.es


With more than 10 years on the market, Ingenia is a Spanish company with

a clear technological orientation which offers an advanced and competitive

range of solutions, products and services in the fields of information

technologies, communications and Internet.

Ingenia offers the following services: strategic consultancy, data centre,

portal design, graphic design, software design, training, outsourcing and IT

support.

Other technology provider companies:

www.abceutelcom

www.atnova.com

www.auna.es

www.comunet.es

www.coverlink.com

www.didacom.com

www.dmrconsulting.es

www.es.digitalbrain.com

www.ibm.com

www.innovacionycualificacion.com

www.interactivos,net

www.netg.com

www.niam-tms.com


4. E-LEARNING ASSOCIATIONS

4.1. AEFOL

Website:

www.aefol.com


Founded in May 2001, with the aim of promoting e-learning and sharing

knowledge and best practices in this field, Aefol was created as an open

association for all those interested in learning and sharing.

AEFOL (On-line Training Enterprises Association) of is a non-profit

professional and independent association addressed to professionals,

companies and institutions in order to offer services and to promote and

increase knowledge of e-learning.

AEFOL aims to create a virtual community which is able to acquire and

share knowledge to improve e-learning experiences.

AEFOL’s mission consists of helping companies and professionals to share

experiences and the know-how required to satisfy their training and

professional needs.

AEFOL aims to promote and spread knowledge on what e-learning

represents throughout Spain.

Activities

AEFOL accomplishes its aims through two main channels:

the web page, and the activities organised in collaboration with associated

companies or other organisations requiring AEFOL’s services.

Some of the past activities in which AEFOL has participated were:

Stand at the Word Education Market in Lisbon with more than 4,000 visits.

Stand at Portal Point in Barcelona with 7,300 visits.

Collaboration at the E-learning Forum within the framework of the

Expodidactica Fair in Barcelona, with 175 participants.

Organisation of Expolearning in Madrid.


E-learning conference in Malaga and at IESE Barcelona (about 400

participants).

In the future it will participate in the following activities:

II E-learning and Enterprise Meeting

II International Conference in Multimedia and ICT in Education

International conferences on technology and communication

4.2. AEFVI

Website:

www.aefvi.com


AEFVI, the Virtual Training and Education Agency, is the name received by

the non-profit association aefvi.org (Internet Virtual Training and Education

Association).

The association is supported by companies and associations interested in

AEFVI’s aims and activities, which are:

Aims:

Coordination and representation of the social, economic and political agents

interested in the fields of interactive self-learning, remote learning, and

education through the Internet.

Organisation and carrying-out of promotion, debate and exchange of

activities, aiming to improve interactive self-learning, remote learning, and

education through the Internet in Spanish.

Creation of multi-sectoral platforms which permit different companies,

educational and training sectors, etc. to converge in content development

and expand the application of new technologies.

Elaboration of strategies to create a leading position for the sectors of

teletraining, self-training and distance education through Internet in Spain.


Promotion of the development of high quality standards for e-learning.

Cooperation in the elimination of barriers for universal access to the

Information Society.

Development of activities in order to link the Spanish-speaking community

with the European Union member states in the field of e-learning.

Promotion of Spanish education and of education in Spanish through the

use of new technologies.

As a main activity, for the last two years the association has organised the

virtual conference Educa, with more than 1,500 participants from Spain and

Latin America.

4.3. ANCED

Website:

www.anced.es


ANCED is the National Association of Distance Training Institutions.

ANCED started its activities in 1977 with the aim of promoting and

defending the interests of its associates and the companies and students

who use distance training.

Over the last 25 years, it has been the business organisation representing

private on-line distance training centres, aiming to promote quality in

continuing training courses.

It has about 80 associated training centres in Spain.


4.4. APEL

Website:

www.apel.es


APEL is the Spanish e-Learning Providers Association.

The Spanish e-Learning Providers Association, APEL, is the point of

reference for companies interested in knowing about telematic distance

training processes. E-learning is changing the way people learn and it

permits the consolidation of the principle of equality for individuals,

companies and training institutions located far away from knowledge

centres.

Following this philosophy, APEL’s activities are oriented to the promotion of

e-learning, organising and collaborating in the development of different

events and conferences.

APEL organises its activities into the following commissions:

Institutional relationships:

Projects:

Quality in e-learning.

Certification of e-learning trainers.

E-learning observatory:

Market studies.

Follow-up of European and national legislation on training and e-learning.

Creation of a virtual laboratory with the associated institutions.

Events and communication:

Mass media relationships.

ExpoApel fair (yearly).

Congresses and conferences around Spain.


PROVIDER

CATEGORY

BUSINESS TYPE MARKETS PRODUCTS/SERVICES APPROACH

CONTENT

PROVIDERS

Market dominated by training

companies and organisations that

are increasing their training offer

by means of e-learning.

Individuals aiming to

participate in e-learning

courses. Companies and

professional associations

not technically able to

develop their own

training contents.

Most courses fall into one of the

following areas:

ICT, languages, finance, human

resources development, business

management, quality, environment

and risk prevention.

The majority of companies also offer

additional services, such as advisory

services.

As there is no public

funding for this activity,

the prices of the products

vary in accordance with

the duration of the course

and the complementary

services required: just the

content, or content and

tutorial, or LMS, etc.

TECHNOLOGY

PROVIDERS

Market dominated by private

companies and corporations.

This is the smallest group.

Companies, associa-

tions and training

organisations.

Technology platforms, contents and

author tools, technical services, etc.

Varies from hosting to

sales of various

technology products.

SOLUTION

PROVIDERS

Market dominated by private

companies. There are also

some training organisations.

This is the largest group.

Companies, training

organisations and

public

administrations.

Complete e-learning implementation

services, including technology

platforms, LMS, tutorials, assess-

ment, content providers, etc.

As soon as the market

becomes more

specialised, the number of

players will reduce and

some companies will

migrate to content

providers.


E-LEARNING DEMAND

GENERAL OVERVIEW

The incorporation of ICT into the new training and learning environment has

provided two main benefits: they have progressively improved the way by

which the traditional services are delivered, and they have also offered the

possibility of increasing the market size thanks to new learning initiatives

and programmes.

Generally speaking, e-learners appreciate the convenience, wide choice,

and flexibility that e-learning offers. In addition to this, course designers

value the standardised framework and flexibility of the e-learning media.

Teachers think e-learning is convenient. They applaud the ease of record-

keeping and the reduced travel that are part of the e-learning revolution.

Managers like the idea of automated, consistent assessment information, as

well as the reduced costs that e-learning can bring to an organisation.

All these aspects favour an increasing demand for e-learning from society.

In this chapter we will analyse who are the most important e-learning

demand agents in Spain. We will put the emphasis on what their

motivations to use e-learning are and we will also mention the benefits that

it provides for them. Being able to see how key e-learning stakeholders

view things can help us to get a better grasp on e-learning.

Concerning e-learning customers, the most important target groups are

universities and employees (for continuing training), especially in the

financial and ICT sectors. There are universities involved in e-learning

projects, companies created to be specialists in this field, and companies

offering this new training mode as a complement or as an alternative to

traditional training. Finally, some ICT companies are offering the possibility

of learning via the Internet.


Productive and social sectors are now demanding internal flexibility in

training processes in order to make employee spaces and times compatible.

By means of e-learning it is possible to create virtual spaces with face-to-

face interaction, with no time or costs associated to travel.

The Internet is one of the vehicles which is acquiring significant importance

in continuing training, as it offers many training opportunities and expands

the possibilities for learning.

Professional associations

31%

Training institutions

6%

Public administration

8%

Other companies9%

Financial and ICT companies

33%Individuals

13%

Fig. 4. Main e-learning target groups in Spain (source: APEL25).

For new companies, such us mobile operators, or for enterprises which are

geographically dispersed, e-learning becomes an alternative training tool

which is able to decentralise and to update employees’ knowledge in a

continually changing environment. This means giving information in some

cases, or providing high quality service in others, quickly and in large

volumes.

For a more thorough study of each target group, we have distributed e-

learning demand into the following four categories:

25 APEL (2002), El sector del e-learning. Estudio de la oferta.


• Business training (corporations and SMEs)

• Public administration

• Academic sector

• Individuals

Business training

Though in this section we will consider companies of any size all together,

afterwards we are going to divide them into two groups, corresponding to

corporations and SMEs, as each one has specific characteristics and

requirements.

It is a reality that if companies want to be competitive in the marketplace,

they need to have employees who are trained to deal with the challenges

that the new socio-economic environment poses. It is only through the

development of training actions and plans that companies will be able to

guarantee the required learning and knowledge for its employees.

So, the development of training plans becomes a strategic factor for the

competitiveness of companies. Apart from this, training opportunities

offered by ICT open new perspectives for business training.

In Spain, continuing training is widely implemented by companies. For 80%

of Spanish firms it is a strategic decision related to policy26. However, the

size of the company determines the duration of training actions, as well as

the development of specific training plans personalised for each employee.

Most training actions are shorter than a week and they are focused either

on updating the knowledge of employees or solving problems (or needs) in

the workplace.

Business training in Spain is in a process of change. It will become a mixed

model, combining virtual methods with face-to-face meetings, in order to

26 CEOE, La formación en las empresas españolas. Situación, tendencias y expectativas.


ensure a better coexistence between technology and training contents.

There is not any intention to replace face-to-face training at all.

So e-learning is seen as a new tool to complement the training process.

This is not for nothing, as e-learning in Spain currently represents 4% of

total business training (2.8% in 2002). This figure rises to 5.5% in

corporations and big companies (4% in 2002)27.

Apart from this, more than 95% of big companies are developing or

introducing some e-learning projects, but in 42% of them e-learning

remains just a pilot project, as shown in Figure 5.

development phase after a

pilot experience33%

Pilot experiecies42%

don't know1%

totally implanted24%

Fig. 5. E-learning development in Spanish companies (source APEL28).

If we consider the development of e-learning projects in relation to the size

of companies, we see that e-learning is implemented to a much larger

extent among big companies than among small and medium-sized

enterprises, as shown in Figure 6.

27 GRUPO DOXA, E-learning en las grandes empresas. Panel anual de resultados 2003.28 Apel, Inmark, Fundación Tripartita (2003), E-learning en España.


0,85%0,54%

0,77% 0,78%

1,70%

0,00%

0,50%

1,00%

1,50%

2,00%

more 250employees

50-99 total

Fig. 6. Implementation of e-learning according to business size

(source: eEspaña 2002, Fundación Auna).

On average, e-learning is used in Spain by 40% of big companies, while this

ratio is very low (2%) in small and medium-sized businesses.

As far as time spent on e-learning is concerned, in relation to the total

amount of hours dedicated to conventional face-to-face training, the

progress over recent years and estimations for the near future present a

positive evolution, as can be seen in Figure 7.

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Fig. 7. Evolution of e-learning hours in terms of total training hours in Spanish companies(source: E-learning. Las mejores prácticas en España. Aedipe, 2003).


The arguments given most frequently by companies in favour of e-

learning are the following:

Reduced training costs

This is one of the most important advantages from the companies’ point of

view, as compared to traditional methods of training, E-learning has the

following advantages:

• Reduction in the cost of tutoring services, as it is not necessary to

have a teacher on site.

• Inherent savings are made when applications are used among a large

number of learners.

• The cost of employee absence is reduced thanks to e-learning, as the

employee can better manage their time schedule.

Provided that the content is adapted to on-line training, e-learning also

reduces overall training costs by promoting self-study or on-line training.

The employee can concentrate on the teacher's contribution in the

traditional mode in those areas where significant value is added.

Increased training efficiency

Online learning increases general training efficiency for the following

reasons:

• Courses are more easily accessible, as the learner is able to study at

work, home or wherever he or she has Internet access.

• More flexibility, since the employee can study when he or she wishes,

without being concerned about travelling to a course or having to

stick to a timetable.


• Training is more easily adaptable to each individual learner's needs.

Thanks to computer interactivity, training content can be more easily

adapted to the training needs of employees in terms of their learning

speed.

The main reasons stated to justify the absence of e-learning development

in firms, in order of importance, are the following: business culture (38%),

the business profile (35%), technical and computing problems (29%), costs

(21%), ignorance (15%) and absence of confidence in e-learning (6%)29.

Medium-sized businesses are now introducing some e-learning projects in

order get involved in electronic training.

The economic sectors where the e-learning is most extensively implemented

in Spain are the financial, insurance, technological and industrial sectors, as

indicated in Table 230.

ECONOMIC SECTORS % OF E-LEARNINGTRAINING

GROWTH LEVEL

10 to 40 % in big banks Very fastFinance

0 to 10% in small banksand other organisations

Slow

5 to 40% in bigcompanies

NormalInformation and communicationtechnologies

0-10% in the rest Slow10-40% in energy Very fastIndustry and energy0 to 5% in industry Slow

Transport and communication 3-5% Fast

Other services and construction 0-5% Slow

Table 2. Degree of penetration and growth of e-learning by economic sectors

(source: Grupo Doxa31).

29 GLOBAL ESTRATEGIAS (2003), Formación en las empresas y utlización de las nuevas tecnologías.30 NEXE, Informe del sector e-learning en España 2002.31 Doxa (2003), E-learning en las grandes empresas.


The e-learning services most requested by companies are: content

development, tutorials and e-learning portals, as shown in Figure 8.

66% 63%

50%

20%

10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Contentcreation

Standardcontents

Tutorials Made-to-measureportals

Others

Fig. 8. E-learning services requested by Spanish companies (source: Doxa32).

With reference to the content, that which is on the market at present covers

about 15% of company needs, but this percentage is bigger in the case of

languages and information technology.

As a general rule, most required contents refer to office applications,

languages and other technical issues (see Figure 9). However, businesses

are requesting more and more high-quality, specialised contents which are

adapted to sectoral needs. The standardised courses are valid for an initial

stage, but if a greater e-learning development is required, then it is

necessary to elaborate new specialised and tailor-made contents in order to

integrate e-learning as a training strategy in the company. In this case it is

necessary to adapt contents to the company’s real training needs, thus

reducing the amount of standardised materials.

32 Doxa (2003), E-learning en las grandes empresas.


Office Applications

49%

ICT10%

Languages16%

Company culture

9%

Skills8%

Products and Services

8%

Fig. 9. Types of e-learning contents required by Spanish companies (source: Doxa33).

It is generally accepted among all agents involved in the development of an

e-learning programme that its success in a business environment depends

on two critical aspects:

• The development or adaptation of the technological platform.

• The quality of the contents, which must be directly related to the real

training needs of the customers.

In this sense, most enterprises have e-learning platforms as a basic

element to provide technological support to the e-learning process. These

platforms are mostly in Spanish. They are used both as content support and

as a communication tool between teachers and students, or among

students.

33 Doxa (2003), E-learning en las grandes empresas.


CORPORATIONS

Introduction

E-learning in Spain is a growing sector linked to the ICT evolution and

implementation, as well as to companies’ training strategies.

Even if the big corporations aren’t the most representative components of

the Spanish business network, it’s important take into account their role in

e-learning, as 95% of big companies in Spain have some kind of e-learning

strategy.

Training in companies

Two thirds of Spanish companies already have a training plan, which means

that companies are aware of the importance of training as a tool to obtain

added value. The main criteria for which organisations establish training

plans are: to obtain a greater optimisation of their human resources, to

obtain greater professional prestige via increased demand from the sector,

and to acquire business competitiveness. In addition to this, training plans

are implemented as a form of motivation and an internal mechanism for the

promotion of employees.

Although face-to-face training continues being the main force in Spanish

companies, on-line methodologies are beginning to prevail in the training

plans of companies and they are occupying a more important position.

E-learning

As mentioned above, e-learning is widely accepted among companies, and

95% of big enterprises which have more than 2,000 employees and which

are linked to the technology sector are developing or introducing some e-

learning projects; however, in 42% of big enterprises e-learning remains

just a pilot project.


Spanish companies choose the e-learning methodology when the training

commitment is bigger. As more hours are destined to training, more e-

learning is used.

Economy and flexibility would be a great motivation to introduce e-learning

methodologies in companies’ training plans, but knowledge and

qualifications are what is sought in terms of motivation; the main aim of the

introduction of e-learning methodologies is learning, as well as the training-

evaluation process.

Companies investing more resources in training are heading towards the

implementation and use of new technologies in training. One out of every 5

training programmes is developed through e-learning methodologies.

The Internet is emerging, as the increase in business investment in training

and the continuous changes in the corporate market mean that on-line

methodologies are becoming the second business training option.

The main difficulties of the on-line market are ignorance concerning the

existing possibilities and the limitations of the technological infrastructure.

Services required

Most big companies are using ASP while only the companies with more than

5,000 employees are using their own LMS.

The most common services required by companies are contents, platforms,

tutorials and other services.

The contents may be made-to-measure or standardised, though this is

related to the company size: the bigger the company, the more made-to-

measure contents which are developed.

The platforms required can be hosted or specially developed, though the

second option is quite infrequent (see Figure 10).


8% 12%

50%

20%

8%

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%

Own platform Acquired

platform

ASP

consultancy

platforms

Content

provider

platform

Other

Fig. 10. Type of e-learning technology platforms used by Spanish companies

(source: Doxa (2003), E-learning en las grandes empresas).

Taking into account that most e-learning actions are developed in large

companies (and medium-sized companies as well), there is a wide market

open for e-learning and continuous training plans in companies.

SMEs

SMEs represent 99.87% of the total of Spanish enterprises. From a total of

2,710,389 firms, 2,545,675 are micro-enterprises (form 0 to 9 employees),

140,426 are small enterprises (from 10 to 49) and 20,838 are medium

enterprises (from 50 to 149 employees). This means that SMEs play an

important role in the Spanish business network.

Even though e-learning is most frequently found in big companies’ training

plans, it is also present in SMEs, but in an indirect way, thanks to the

training actions promoted by chambers of commerce and professional

associations, which cover 31% of e-learning training actions. This means

that the employees of SMEs following e-learning courses are using the

services offered by their professional associations or chambers of

commerce.


Services required

For SMEs, most frequent services required are e-learning training courses

with tutorials and evaluation services.

As the investment required to develop personalised platforms and made-to-

measure courses is too high for Spanish SMEs (taking into account that

most Spanish SMEs have less than 10 employees), the most common

solution adopted is the purchase of e-learning courses.

The content is standardised and the employees are treated individually, like

the other participants on the course. There isn’t any adaptation to the

company profile or to the specific training needs.

Concerning the benefits and barriers, whilst flexibility and the adaptability

for employee are regarded as big benefits, the barriers are related to

technological investments as well as the uncertainty about the most

convenient technologies to use.


PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONS

Introduction

In Spain, the public administration is organised as follows: there is a

general public administration establishing the general policies for the

country, but there are also regional public administrations (autonomous

community administrations) as well as local administrations.

In total there are 2,329,667 employees in the public sector. 23.4% belong

to the national state administration, 48.9% belong to the autonomous

community administrations, and finally, 23.7 % work in local

administration.

E-learning

E-learning can be a good solution for public administrations as there are a

large number of employees to train, and these are dispersed around Spain

and have similar training needs.

E-learning also permits the provision of the same course to different large

groups, without the inconveniences of a traditional classroom. The contents

can be reused indefinitely by a large number of users, and this makes them

more cost effective.

Among the different administrations, there are some institutions developing

e-learning courses. These institutions are:

Instituto Nacional de Administración Pública (http://www.inap.map.es)

The National Institute of Public Administration (INAP) is an autonomous

body whose main aims are:

Development of training policies that correspond to its powers, especially

relating to the higher public workings of the national public administration.

Selection of nationally authorized civil servants from local administrations.


Support of studies and research on matters relating to public

administration.

Maintenance of the necessary co-operation and collaboration relationships

with other administrations and institutions involved in the pursuit of these

goals, regardless of the specific recognised powers over these matters

pertaining to other centres, institutes or schools of the national public

administration.

Among its training activities, INAP has an e-learning service, developed by

IBM, offering e-learning courses for the employees of the public

administration.

Also, K Consulting has developed some e-learning solutions addressed to

facilitating the training and the development of public managers in order to

deal with the modernisation of the public administration.

Following the main directives from the European Union which aim to

subsidise 30% of e-learning courses in 2005, INAP has promoted some

initiatives.

Among these initiatives the Aula Virtual (Virtual Classroom) merits special

attention, as it permits the development of a telematic course with tutorials,

video-conferences, the presence of invited tutors, etc. INAP has inaugurated

more than 60 virtual classrooms over recent years.

Another initiative is the organisation of the seminar “Seminario sobre

nuevas tecnologías de la información para formadores” (New ICT for

trainers).


Finally, INAP has developed, in collaboration with the Polytechnic University

of Madrid, a training portal for the employees of the public administration,

which will be a meeting point for employees.

There are other public institutions developing e-learning projects for their

employees, such as:

Instituto Andaluz de Administración Pública:

http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/institutodeadministracionpublica/iaap/

Instituto Aragonés de Administración Pública:

http://www.aragob.es/pri/iaap/iaap.htm

Instituto Canario de Administración Pública: http://www.gobcan.es/icap/

Escuela de Administración Pública de Cataluña: http://www.eapc.es

Escola Galega de Administración Pública (EGAP): http://egap.xunta.es

Escuela de Administración Pública de la Región de Murcia:

http://www.carm.es/eapmurcia

Instituto Navarro de Administración Pública: http://www.cfnavarra.es/inap

Instituto Vasco de Administración Pública (IVAP): http://www.ivap.es

Escuela de Administración Pública de la Junta de Extremadura:

http://eap.juntaex.es

Generalitat Valenciana: http://eformacion.gva.es

Institut Valencià d’Administracions Públiques: www.just.gva.es


ACADEMIC SECTOR

Introduction

Among the different bodies demanding e-learning services, it is important to

take the academic sector into account. By academic sector we mean all the

training institutions: schools, universities, life-long-learning institutions,

professional or business schools, etc.

Schools

Even if we can not speak about e-learning at school level, it is important to

mention the use of Internet with educational aims. Use of the Internet and

other ICT systems in schools is increasing and the various administrations

responsible for this area are promoting policies to introduce the use of new

technologies in schools.

The development of the Information Society will not be effective if the

young are not able to use the new technologies from school level, with

learning and training strategies adapted this new way of learning.

There are policies focused on the introduction of PCs at school, for Internet

connections, for specific training for teachers (in order to know how to use

ICT in training), etc.


INDIVIDUALS

As another important type of e-learning customer, there are many people

aiming to update their knowledge and to participate in a continuing training

process, but who have certain barriers in terms of time and distance. These

people have the solution to their training needs through e-learning.

The profile of these customers can be characterised as young professionals

with university qualifications aiming to complement their knowledge through

post-graduate courses.

The services required are complete e-learning courses, offered by training

institutions or universities, with complementary services such as tutorials,

chats, evaluations, etc.

Finally we want to finish this chapter by taking into account the different

perspectives of e-learning users and the way they feel about the

advantages and benefits of e-learning from their own point of view.

Learners appreciate the following qualities of e-learning:

E-learning fosters interaction among students and instructors. Interaction

stimulates understanding and the recall of information.

It accommodates different learning styles and fosters learning through a

variety of activities that apply to different learning styles.

It fosters self-paced learning whereby students can learn at the rate that

suits them.

It is convenient for students, as they have access at any time and any

place.

It reduces travel time and travel costs for students.

It encourages students to browse through information through hyperlinks to

sites on the Worldwide Web and thereby find information relevant to their

personal situations.


It allows students to select learning materials, or to be directed to content

that meets their level of knowledge, interest and what they need to know to

perform more effectively in their particular activity.

It provides context-sensitive help (electronic performance support systems)

to computer users and helps them complete tasks.

It develops knowledge of the Internet that will help learners throughout

their careers.

It encourages students to take responsibility for their learning and success

builds self-knowledge and self-confidence.

Instructors value the following strengths of e-learning:

E-learning allows instructors to develop materials using the resources on

the Internet.

It allows instructors to communicate information in a more engaging fashion

than in text-based distance education programmes.

It offers a wide-range of text, diagrams and images with video and sound,

including virtual reality technology, which in the future will improve the

effectiveness of the approach even further.

It is convenient, as instructors have access at any time and any place.

It allows instructors to package essential information for all students to

access. Instructors can then concentrate on high-level activities.

It retains records of discussions and allows later reference through the use

of threaded discussions on bulletin boards.

It generates more personal gratification for instructors through quality

student participation.

It reduces travel and accommodation costs associated with training

programmes.

The advantages of e-learning experienced by instructional developers

include:

Developers can develop training, demonstrating, in very specific detail, how

to perform a task such as repairing equipment.

E-learning sets a framework for standardised course delivery.


It facilitates modification of training and education materials by using html.

It allows developers to design once and use the same module in several

programmes by using ‘template-like’ learning objects.

It promotes the orderly layout of course materials, assignments and general

administration through a Web site.

The advantages of e-learning for training and education

administrators include the following:

E-learning accommodates automated, continuous assessment of student

progress.

It reduces the capital costs associated with traditional ‘bricks and mortar’

schools and training facilities.

It can be accessed by a variety of platforms, such as Windows, UNIX and

Mac, as all these read html files.

The template approach to developing on-line learning engenders

consistency.

It allows institutions to build the e-learning modules from the courses of

leading instructors.

Eight issues regarding e-learning

Students may be required to purchase or rent new computer equipment.

Technical difficulties or operator error may hamper students and instructors.

Students and instructors may have gaps in their computer knowledge in

areas such as Windows, so they will require training in computer basics

before they can start the on-line learning and training.

Using telephone lines and Internet service providers to access Internet

services, when required, leads to high user fees in many parts of the world.

The initial costs of developing courses may be considerable, depending on

the approach taken.

Instructors may need to become familiar with electronic text books,

Internet-based research material, copyright law, and other e-learning

related matters.


Internet bandwidth may not be robust enough to support the desired level

of multimedia.

People working in the e-learning field at an individual location may be

pioneers and not have the support of a network of more experienced

colleagues.


TARGET GROUP DDEESSCCRRIIPPTTIIOONN KKEEYY EE--LLEEAARRNNIINNGGCCHHAARRAACCTTEERRIISSTTIICCSS

MMOOTTIIVVAATTIIOONNSS//DDRRIIVVEERRSS

SMEs Employ less than 250people.

99.87% of Spanishbusinesses are SMEs,but most of them haveless than 10employees.

Due to the specific characteristicsand limited size of most SMEs, theintroduction of e-learning comesfrom indirect channels (e.g. throughactions promoted by chambers ofcommerce, as well as professionalassociations).

Less disruptive than off-sitetraining. Less time away fromwork.

Effectiveness.

It can be personalised.

CORPORATIONS Employ over 250 staff.

Approximately: 3500corporations exist inSpain.

Increasing demand for knowledgeworkers in these organisations.

High commitment to training andskills development. Most of themhave a training department orspecific training plans.

Higher uptake of e-learning.

Reduction of training costs:no need to have a teacher on site.Application used among a largenumber of learners.Reduction of costs arising fromemployee absence.

Increased training efficiency:Accessibility of courses.Flexibility for learners.Adaptability to individual trainingneeds.


TARGET GROUP DDEESSCCRRIIPPTTIIOONN KKEEYY EE--LLEEAARRNNIINNGGCCHHAARRAACCTTEERRIISSTTIICCSS

MMOOTTIIVVAATTIIOONNSS//DDRRIIVVEERRSS

PUBLIC SECTOR Employs more than 2.3million civil servants.

It is divided into:general administration,regional administrationand localadministration.

Different public institutionsdeveloping e-learning actions fortheir employees.

Virtual classrooms.

Development of specific portals forthe development of e-learningcourses targeted to public-sectoremployees.

Compliance with Governmentpolicy and European Uniondirectives.

Savings: They can get more stafftrained with the same budget, asthere is no limit to classroom sizein virtual training environment.

Savings: They can train a largenumber of civil servantsdistributed all over Spain using thesame material. Anytime,anywhere.

ACADEMIC SECTOR Universities andschools.

Universities: specialsector which acts as aservice provider and e-learning consumer.

Schools: introductionof the InformationSociety at the schoollevel.

Universities:No official degrees.Majority of the supply ispostgraduate and specialisationcourses.Creation of networks amongdifferent universities.

Schools:Introduction of the Internet as atraining tool.

Introduction to ICT management.

Compliance with governmentpolicy and European Uniondirectives.

Can reach a large number ofstudents.

Eliminates the space barriers touniversity access.

Enables the educational use of theInternet.


THE SPECIAL CASE OF UNIVERSITIES

Due to their specific nature, we have dedicated a separate section to

universities, as they can be classified both from the demand side, as well as

from the supply side.

In this chapter we have selected universities with the highest degree of e-

learning implementation, describing their main characteristics and the services

they offer, including the companies created around them.

Within universities there is a large range of possibilities for on-line

participation. But if we consider only the possibilities directly related to access

to training materials, then the quantity diminishes.

The most frequent cases are training materials as a support to classroom

development, as well as access to electronic newspapers and other teaching

material located on the Net. It is important to take into account access to

virtual libraries.

In the university environment, we can distinguish four types of e-learning

implementation34.

Firstly, the virtual universities. In this category it is important to mention the

UOC (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya), which was the first Open University in

Spain.

Secondly, some face-to-face universities have created their own virtual

university, completely autonomous from the university itself, but sharing the

teachers. This means that teachers are combining their training tasks between

both types of university: face-to-face and distance.

34 RUPIÉREZ, G. (2003), Educación virtual y e.learning, Ed. Fundación Auna, Madrid.


Thirdly, those universities with their own virtual training platform used as a

training complement: providing new content, complementary lectures, etc.

Finally, there are face-to-face universities offering complementary information

using the Internet: either in the communication between teacher and student,

or offering new or complementary subject content.

We can add another category: the UNED (Universidad Nacional de Educación a

Distancia). This university was created as a distance university, but one which

uses traditional methods (books and telephone). It is currently in the process

of introducing new training tools, such as the Internet, and it’s creating a

virtual platform as a complement to its traditional methods.

Concerning the provision of e-learning courses, there are only a small number

of universities offering official titles; the university course provision in this type

of training is focused on postgraduate courses and specialisation courses.

One of the most interesting aspects linked with the development of new

learning environments in Spanish universities is the aspect related to the

creation of virtual educational projects through the collaboration of different

public universities in order to reduce the investment and guarantee the

sharing of on-line resources.

One of the main examples of this kind of collaboration is Universia

(www.universia.net ). Universia.net was created by its founding partners to

provide leadership in the development of the Information Society in Hispanic

university education. The project's mission is to foster a high degree of

participation from member universities, to support the introduction of new

technologies, and to accelerate the introduction of key projects. Another key

aim is to improve the quality standards and the degree of competitiveness of

the higher education sector by implementing specific proposals made within

our universities, which are intended to ease our way forward in the great

move towards the new Information Society.


Universia.net is currently active in ten countries (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia,

Chile, Spain, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico and Venezuela). 724

universities have already signed sharing agreements with their respective

national Universia.net Portal. Universia.net was created to provide new

channels for information related to universities, to support the development of

the application of new technologies in education and to encourage educational

and technological innovation and the emergence of new platforms of

communication within the Hispanic university community.

There is also a collaboration agreement between the universities of the

Balearic Islands, Oviedo, Cantabria, Basque Country, La Rioja, Navarre,

Saragossa and Estremadura in order to develop a virtual campus; another

initiative is Intercampus, which integrates all the Catalan public universities.

Finally, the Madrid public universities participate in the ADA Project (Open

Distance Classroom) allowing students to do some subjects via Internet.


UOC GROUP

Website:

www.uoc.edu


As the result of an initiative of the Generalitat de Catalunya, and with the

determination to give impetus to its own provision of distance education, the

Foundation for the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (FUOC) came into being in

1994. Its objective was to promote the creation and recognition of the UOC.

The law giving recognition to the UOC was passed by the Catalan Parliament in

March 1995.

In the academic year 1995-1996, the UOC launched its teaching activity by

means of a pilot course with 200 students. The following year (1996-1997),

the number of students grew to 1,500. There are now around 24,000 students

taking part in this educational activity, and this figure will probably increase in

the future thanks to the expansion of the university in the Latin American

market with university studies accredited in the Spanish language. The

increase will also be thanks to the fact that, owing to its wide acceptance, the

supply of continuing education in Spanish has been widened.

The fundamental objective of the Foundation is to promote the creation and

recognition of a university that is legally considered as being private and which

has the long-term aim of offering distance university education, thereby

facilitating access to distance learning to all those people who, for personal,

work-related, economic or other reasons, may wish to embark on it.

The Foundation, through the University, shall dedicate preferential attention to

research in the ambit of methodologies and techniques applied to distance

education.


The Foundation shall carry out the tasks of inspection, evaluation, and control

necessary to ensure the maximum quality of the educational process and of all

the elements involved therein.

The UOC, as an active university closely linked to its environment, has

established a series of companies that make up the UOC Group and which

aim to broadcast and transfer knowledge and know-how to society and

business. These transfer services are made up of:

Eurecamedia:

Content creation and production

Due to the importance that it gives to the design and drafting of the teaching

material adapted to its innovative learning process, the UOC generates its own

on and off-line content through the company Eurecamedia, which takes

advantage of the expertise acquired and offers its own services as a

specialised multimedia producer.

Among Eurecamedia's most noteworthy activities, apart from the elaboration

of teaching materials of the regulated studies, are the following:

- A contribution to the launch of EVIU.

-The bringing-together of the efforts made in R&D, which are seen in the

launching of MAGIC (Advanced Methodology of Integral Content Management),

which allows for the integrated management of content in terms of its

production, update and re-use in an efficient way.

IdeaSolutions

Online training systems

IdeaSolutions is an initiative for technology transfer that offers organisations

and companies all the UOC's know-how in distance education.

GEC

GEC is a UOC Group company that develops customised virtual

communities with the aim of attracting, uniting, linking, training and


increasing user loyalty through new relations in a new space for

communication and the exchange of knowledge. GEC has led the creation of

virtual communities in sectors including education, agriculture, social services,

judicial services and professional exchange environments for companies' top-

level management, as well as creating spaces for knowledge

management in the pharmaceutical, petrochemical, aeronautic and defence

industries, in the banking, automobile, insurance and sports sectors and for

the World Health Organisation.

It offers consultancy services to companies that are looking to refresh their

aims, products and services, market and clients, or technology and

organisational structure so as to integrate themselves into the digital world.

Important initiatives have been carried out in order to consolidate GEC and

position it as the reference company for knowledge-management projects, e-

learning and virtual communities in Spain and Latin America.

A multidisciplinary team of 125 specialists in various areas (consultants,

communicators, educationalists, engineers, designers, and so on) made this

possible.

New offices have been opened in Seville and Madrid, as well as a second office

in Barcelona. Buenos Aires and Santiago (Chile) are the current bases of

operation to take on our entry into the new Latin American markets.

From a clear business mission – "let knowledge in organisations flow" – the

strategic objectives and the application of several plans of action have been

elaborated:

The creation of a strategic plan and of a value-added proposal for our

customers.

The creation of a new corporate identity which is in accordance with the

mission and the objectives of the company, which includes a change of brand

and logo: now it’s GEC, UOC Group.

Implementation of a new visual identity.

The promotion or organisation of marketing and corporate communications

initiatives, such as attending events (fairs, congresses, talks, and so on).

Implementation of a methodology in the project-elaboration process.

Acquisition of the consultancy firm from E-strategies Group.


Acquisition of the Business and Special Projects division from Planeta UOC.

Consolidation and winning of new customers and projects.

Ensenyament Obert

Ensenyament Obert, a company created by Enciclopèdia Catalana and the

Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, aims to offer distance training programmes,

focusing particularly on the pre-university sector, which are geared to those

people who, owing to job limitations, cannot do face-to-face courses, yet are

keen to make personal and professional progress.

Over recent years, Ensenyament Obert's main objectives have been the

consolidation of existing courses and the widening of its educational offer.

E-Strategies

E-strategies is a strategic consultancy firm specialised in designing Internet

business strategies.

The customers of E-strategies are innovative businesses and institutions which

want to attain leadership in their fields of action and create value for their

clients, users, and shareholders.

E-strategies gets strategic reflection under way, constitutes a plan of action,

investigates the necessities and the habits of the market, designs

communication plans, calculates financial necessities, identifies partners, and

supervises the project and the various professionals who collaborate in the

development of a digital Killer Application.

So far it has elaborated projects for the following institutions:

Government of Andorra

Barcelona Chamber of Commerce

City Council of Barcelona

City Council of Mataró

City Council of Sabadell

City Council of Vilafranca del Penedès

Department of Social Welfare

Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries

Consell de Col·legis de Diplomats en Infermeria de Catalunya

Espacio Pyme


Foundation for the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

"la Caixa"

Unión de Mutuas

Abacus

Resmundi

COPCA


UNIVERSITAT DE BARCELONA VIRTUAL (UB VIRTUAL)

Basic data:

www.ubvirtual.com


Barcelona Virtual University is an initiative of the Barcelona University Group,

Caixa Catalunya Group and Santander Central Hispano Group, which aims to

compile and support the Universitat de Barcelona’s continuing and distance

training offer.

UB Virtual’s strong points are:

Educational model: based on the personalised follow-up of the learning

process through the tutor profile. The tutor is the key actor, as they act as a

guide and as a support to the students throughout the process, facilitating the

relationship and guaranteeing the successful follow-up of the course.

Plurality of subjects: UB Virtual has a large and diverse training offer. Its

contents are elaborated by experts in different areas and revised by an

educational team, thus guaranteeing the educational quality of contents.


The mission of UB Virtual is to offer complete e-learning solutions to

companies, institutions and individuals with the main aim of optimising their

training investment and improving employees’ qualifications.


Consultancy

UB Virtual designs and runs training programmes in accordance with

companies needs and interests.


In-company training

Standard on-line training: 285 training programmes in different fields, such as

business, health, education, sciences, etc.

Adapted on-line training: personalised training itineraries, organisation

adaptation, flexibility in groups, etc.

Made-to-measure courses: made-to-measure corporate training programmes,

design of training actions, learning management system, training of on-line

tutors, creation of virtual campuses, personalised technological support.

Enterprise solutions

UB Virtual, through the correct use of ICT, permits a thorough knowledge of

the organisation’s accumulated experience and know-how.

Escuela Virtual Empresa-EVE

Website:

www.empresa.ubvirtual.com


Escuela Virtual Empresa (EVE - Virtual Business School) was founded in June

of 1999 with the idea of becoming a dynamic organisation which continuously

adapts to society’s needs and which is a point of reference for on-line business

training.

The main aim is to include, within the same strategic framework, the concept

of a virtual business school addressed to all those managers aiming to be up

to date through training actions and to company departments offering

consultancy and training services.

The EVE courses are created for those professionals aiming to follow some

continuing training, without the inconveniencies of having to travel to the

course, through practical classes put together by the most distinguished

professors and Barcelona Virtual University R&D Department.

All the professors and tutors of EVE courses are business and academic

professionals with extensive experience and recognised prestige in the

university sector.


The EVE methodology allows students to share ideas and to learn new

strategies thanks to the participation of the other course participants, thus

providing different points of view.

Les Heures

www.fbg.ub.es

In 1993, in response to the business world's need for continuing training, the

Fundació Bosch i Gimpera created Formació Continuada Les Heures, currently

Les Heures - Universitat de Barcelona, with support from institutions and

businesses both in Catalonia and in Spain as a whole.

Les Heures - Universitat de Barcelona aims to respond to the training

needs of present and future professionals in companies and institutions in all

sectors of activity.

Its activities are overseen by a Steering Committee, the Delegate Commission,

the Advisory Committee of the Fundació Bosch i Gimpera and an Educational

Committee. Les Heures has representatives from government bodies, financial

institutions, and over a hundred companies.

Les Heures - Universitat de Barcelona offers different training formats: open

training (for individuals), corporate training (for companies) and vocational

training and refresher courses.

Les Heures - Universitat de Barcelona also offers a wide range of services to

companies: organisation of congresses and training meetings, an employment

exchange service, and a training consultancy service.

Les Heures Business School offers its students a range of services that aim to

broaden and enrich the training imparted at our centre and to create lasting

ties between ex-alumni and the centre in the future: Les Heures Virtual

Community, a documentation centre, language courses, medical insurance,

sports, and accommodation in Barcelona.

Les Heures - Universitat de Barcelona is a member of various networks of

continuing university education, including:


European Universities Continuing Education Network (EUCEN)

University Continuing Education Association (UCEA)

Red Universitaria de Educación Continuada de América Latina y el Caribe

(RECLA)

Associació Catalana d'Educació Contínua Universitària (ACECU)

Consejo Latinoamericano de Escuelas de Administración (CLADEA)

European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD)

Asociación para la Calidad de la Formación Permanente (for Q)

Red de Fundaciones Universidad-Empresa (red FUE)

Red Universitaria de Estudios de Postgrado y Educación Continua (RUEPEC)


Access to information is essential to decision-making processes in a society

that is changing increasingly faster. The new training concept of "Life-long

Learning" has replaced old approaches. Les Heures - Universitat de Barcelona

offers a wide variety of training programmes for professionals, companies and

institutions:

Open training

Open training includes programmes of varying length (seminars, knowledge

updates, specialisation programmes, postgraduate and masters courses),

some on a distance learning basis, some in situ, and some in both formats.

The academic programming covers a variety of themes, and offers training

programmes in the following areas:

Business (business management and administration), Health, Human and

Social Sciences, Experimental Sciences and Human Resources.

Academic qualifications and length of courses

The training courses provided by Les Heures - Universitat de Barcelona entitle

participants to an academic qualification either from the University of

Barcelona, from Les Heures - Universitat de Barcelona or in conjunction with

other universities, including, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, the

Autonomous University of Barcelona, the Open University of Catalonia,

Columbia University.


Corporate training

Corporate training provides specific solutions to the training needs of

companies and institutions with the participation of experts in a wide range of

areas. Corporate training offers a number of different programmes:

Custom-designed training and consultancy.

Short term training programmes, including advanced training programmes.

FORCEM plans.

International projects.

Vocational training courses

Vocational training courses:

These are designed according to the training needs identified by, and in,

companies in different sectors.

They are taught by practising professionals with an excellent understanding of

their sector.

They are aimed at the unemployed; they have a tutorial module of practical

training in companies and an individualised job-placement scheme.


UNIACTIVA

Website:

www.uniactiva.com


The genesis of Uniactiva - Interactive Open University is linked to over 20

years of experience held by Grupo Vértice in training and new technologies.

Uniactiva is a specialised training institution in e-learning whose activities are

aimed at being a point of contact for knowledge-transfer between

professionals, institutions and companies from a humanist, global and

innovative perspective which is supported by new technologies and which

strives for excellence. Uniactiva has the experience of more than 20,000

students trained in its Masters programmes and specialisation and continuing

training courses for directors and professionals. The training actions are

distributed over the virtual campus Uniactiva.com, a technological platform

aimed at providing guidance and customised support to each student, with the

maximum quality of on-line training being guaranteed. Also, the international

vocation and the collaborative spirit of Uniactiva means it actively participates

in bodies and professional associations, such as the International Council for

Distance Education (ICDE), the Association of Suppliers of e-Learning (APEL)

and the Spanish Association of e-Learning Training (AEFOL).

The main aims of Uniactiva are:

To support excellence in the development of professionals through e-learning

by means of the design and implementation of quality training actions adapted

to the emerging needs of companies and professionals.

To establish a network community addressed to talent search, the creation of

value through intangible factors, the technological revolution and globalisation,

made up of people able to adapt to the new requirements required by the

Knowledge Era.

To create a meeting forum for professionals, people with training aims,

institutions and companies, for the transfer of knowledge and professional

enrichment without space-time borders or barriers.



As it’s a virtual university, Uniactiva focuses its activities on high-qualification

training programmes, even though it also has some complementary services

for professionals and companies.


Post-graduate courses

There are high-level training programmes addressed to university-qualified

people and oriented to professional skills development in a specific field

through the integration of knowledge, skills and strategies.

Courses for professionals and managers

Training courses focusing on the acquisition of skills or the development of

specific skills oriented to future professional success.

Corporate and in-company training

Training actions oriented to students from the same company or organisation,

taking into account the specific nature and needs of each institution.

Main customers

Uniactiva offers solutions to the training needs of professionals, public and

private institutions, and to people with specific training needs.


CAMPUS VIRTUAL UNIVERSIDAD CEU

Website:

www.campusvirtualceu.com


The Virtual Campus of CEU University was founded in 2001 as an Internet

virtual training centre.

The teaching staff is composed of professors from the San Pablo Ceu

University of Madrid, Cardenal Herrera CEU University of Valencia and from

other Spanish universities, as well as including professionals from the business

and institutional sectors.

The Virtual Campus was created as a consequence of the application of ICT to

the educational and training system of the different CEU centres and

universities. Its main aim is to create an intercommunication space between

the students and the institution via the Internet in order to avoid space and

time difficulties.


Services to companies

The CEU Virtual Campus offers different ways for carrying out courses:

1. Course implementation from the customer platform

The customer has its own platform and the technical infrastructure for carrying

out courses, and the CEU Virtual Campus integrates its courses onto this

platform.

2. Course implementation from San Pablo-CEU University Virtual Campus

The customer uses the CEU university technical infrastructure to access and

run courses.


3. Completely on-line course

In this case the whole course will be organised on-line. CEU also offers two

possibilities: courses with or without a tutorial service.

4. Mixed course: on-line and face-to-face.

CEU offers the customer the possibility of deciding which training system is

best for its needs.

5. Adaptation of standard courses

This option facilitates the adaptation of standardised courses to companies’

training needs in terms of the length or the mode of training (on-line or

mixed). It also permits the design of masters training programmes for the

directors of companies.

6. Complete development of content

The CEU University develops the course contents taking into account the

customer’s initial specifications concerning the course areas and length.

7. Development of customer content

This mode is addressed to those companies aiming to develop highly

specialised courses with their own internal contents.

Services to students

The students will have the continuous support of the virtual professor in order

to answer any academic queries. This permanent contact will be possible

thanks to:

On-line tutorials, on-line conversations, chats, forums, etc.

Some additional services, such as a library and employment agency are also

offered to students, as well as some support in the administrative and

technical fields.


Other universities offering e-learning courses:

www.iup.es

www.cepade.es

www.cef.es


CHAPTER 3. FUTURE PROSPECTS FOR E-LEARNING

Following on from the analysis of the present situation of e-learning in Spain

which was carried out in the previous chapter, we will now focus our attention

on which are the main trends and prospects for its future development in the

medium and long term.

The research work conducted to identify the trends and prospects for e-

learning in our country have been based on a mini Delphi survey among a

number of experts working in this field (a sample of 34 professionals were

surveyed). To do this we have used the Delphi questionnaire that is shown in

the Appendix of this document.

The quantitative data resulting from this survey have been complemented by

means of some interviews with experts working in the e-learning world. These

interviews have provided other qualitative inputs, which have been very useful

to enrich this work.

We will now proceed to present the main results, be they of a quantitative or

qualitative nature, obtained from both sources. First of all we will present the

main findings obtained from the Delphi survey. Where applicable, we also

include there the qualitative inputs provided by the interviews with experts in

the field. Finally, we will summarise the future prospects and trends for e-

learning in Spain that can be derived from these sources.

As regards the respondents’ profile for the Delphi survey, one third of

interviewees belonged to the group of providers (contents, solutions or

technology platforms), one quarter to universities or training institutions,

another quarter were consultants, and the rest of the sample fell into the

category of users, as shown in Figure 11.


Fig. 11. Profile of the Delphi survey’s respondents.

The results of the survey indicate a clear growth of e-learning and blended

learning as new learning modes in the short and medium term, as well as in

the long term, as shown in Table 3 (values are indicated as a percentage of

the total number of experts surveyed).

Table 3.Evolution of main learning categories( I = Increase M = Maintain D = Decrease )

2003 - 2007 2008 - 2012I M D I M D

Presential 21% 56% 24% 6% 38% 56%

Distance (traditional) 9% 21% 71% 3% 16% 81%E-learning 82% 15% 3% 84% 9% 6%Blended learning 88% 9% 3% 88% 9% 3%

With reference to the matter of where e-learning will take place, the experts

surveyed think that it will be carried out either at work or in other places.

However, the results of the survey suggest that the option of e-learning out of

working time could experience notable growth in the long term.

Content providers6%

Solution providers21%

Technology providers

6%

Consultants26%

Users15%

Universities and training institutions

26%


As regards the duration of e-learning modules, the results of field work

confirm a predominant offer of e-learning modules of 20 hours in the short

and medium term, with an increase in courses of between 20 and 50 hours in

the long term (see Table 4).

Table 4.Usual duration of e-learning modules( U = Usually S = Sometimes R = Rarely )

2003 - 2007 2008 - 2012U S R U S R

Less than 20 hours 65% 29% 6% 76% 24% 0%

From 20 to 50 hours 30% 55% 15% 52% 27% 21%From 51 to 100 hours 15% 30% 55% 12% 39% 48%More than 100 hours 6% 18% 76% 6% 27% 67%

If we consider what the main trainer roles will be in future e-learning

scenarios, the experts surveyed think that both consultant and facilitator will

be the predominant roles for the trainers in this learning environment,

particularly in the long term (see Table 5). Some experts interviewed think

that from now on we will continue with classic educational methods, based on

tests and tutoring sessions, while in the long term there will be a shift towards

more collaborative training, including training between peers.

Table 5.Main trainer roles( VH = Very High H = High L = Low )

Year 2007 Year 2012VH H L VH H L

Traditional (teaching) 18% 42% 39% 12% 24% 64%Moderator / Presenter 24% 56% 21% 44% 38% 18%Consultant 36% 52% 12% 67% 33% 0%Facilitator (content generator) 42% 45% 12% 61% 30% 9%

Concerning what will be the most usual approach of e-learning modules, the

results of the survey indicate that there will probably be a more theoretical


approach to such modules in the short and medium term, which will shift

towards a more practical and hybrid approach in the long term.

If we refer to the most usual modes in which e-learning modules will be

delivered, the field work seems to indicate that standardised learning modules

will predominate in the short and medium term, changing to more customised

contents in the long term.

If we consider the evolution of investments in e-learning contents in the

future, results of the Delphi survey show that there will be an increasing

demand in all types of contents during the current decade. However, it seems

that in the short and medium term there will be a greater demand for contents

related to computer skills, information and communication technologies and

languages, among other areas. In the long term, on the contrary, it is

expected that there will be a bigger demand for training modules related to

business skills, corporate issues and company products or services, as shown

in Table 6. Apart from this, some people interviewed think that, as a general

trend, the development of tailor-made contents, that can be reused, will be

the segment of activity with the greatest demand.

Table 6.Evolution of investments in e-learning contents

( I = Increase M = Maintain D = Decrease )

2003 - 2007 2008 - 2012I M D I M D

Computer skills 74% 26% 0% 41% 38% 21%

Information/comm. technologies 74% 26% 0% 50% 41% 9%Languages 65% 26% 9% 56% 29% 15%Business skills 53% 35% 12% 62% 24% 15%Corporative issues 55% 36% 9% 65% 29% 6%Products / Services 58% 32% 10% 73% 27% 0%

As far as target groups are concerned, it is expected that there will be an

increasing demand for e-learning, particularly from organisations in the short

and medium term, which will shift towards individuals in the longer term (see

Table 7).


Table 7.Evolution of main e-learning customer targets


2003 - 2007 2008 - 2012I M D I M D

Individual (professional, student…) 47% 50% 3% 74% 24% 3%Organisations (company, publicadm.)

74% 26% 0% 79% 21% 0%

With reference to sectors where e-learning will most likely develop in the

future, Delphi survey results indicate that advanced services, high-tech

companies, universities and training institutions will be early adopters of this

mode of training in the short and medium term. In the long term, it is

expected that all sectors will embrace e-learning to some extent, except in the

case of traditional services, traditional industries and small companies, as

indicated in Table 8.

Table 8.

Sectors where e-learning will most likely develop

( VH = Very High H = High L = Low )


Advanced services 56% 38% 6% 85% 15% 0%

Traditional services 0% 27% 73% 9% 67% 24%High-tech companies 53% 38% 9% 76% 24% 0%Advanced industries 30% 36% 33% 42% 48% 9%Traditional industries 3% 27% 70% 12% 55% 33%Small companies 3% 33% 64% 18% 52% 30%Public administrations 24% 48% 27% 61% 39% 0%Universities 38% 50% 12% 76% 24% 0%Training institutions 39% 39% 21% 73% 27% 0%

Concerning the future percentage of all organisations’ training actions that e-

learning training activities will account for, results of the field work show that

it will comprise between 11 to 20%, in the case of big companies in the short

and medium term (less than 5%, in the case of SMEs), growing to 21 to 50%

in the long term for all type of organisations.


With reference to target groups’ preferred technology platforms for carrying

out e-learning applications, the survey has shown that the modes of content

provider and applications service provider (ASP) will be the preferred options

in the future (see Table 9). However, some experts interviewed think that the

technological options chosen for specific e-learning programmes are irrelevant.

What is important is to think about contents that are accessible through

multiple channels, which at the same time could be integrated into different

information and management systems (LMS, intranets, portals, etc).

Table 9.Types of technology platform

( VH = Very High H = High L = Low )


Own development 0% 30% 70% 9% 12% 79%

Platform purchased 3% 61% 36% 9% 30% 61%ASP platform 32% 53% 15% 53% 44% 3%Content provider platform 38% 56% 6% 61% 27% 12%

Also, there will be an increased use of Internet and mobile phones or Personal

Digital Assistants (PDAs) as support devices, and a decreased use of paper

and CD-based applications in the long term, as indicated in Table 10.

Table 10.Evolution of different content supports


2003 – 2007 2008 - 2012I M D I M D

Paper 3% 65% 32% 3% 26% 71%

CD-multimedia 21% 59% 21% 12% 33% 55%Internet 88% 12% 0% 94% 6% 0%Mobile phones / PDAs 42% 48% 9% 76% 15% 9%

As regards the factors that motivate users to choose an e-learning option as a

training methodology, the survey respondents show that cost reduction is the


main incentive, at least in the short term, while convenience — either in the

form of having training at any place or at any time — will have greater

importance in the long term (see Table 11).

Apart from this, some experts interviewed have highlighted that the need for

life-long learning will represent another very important factor that ensures a

continuous demand for e-learning from society.

Other aspects pointed out by some experts as motivations for the demand for

e-learning are the following: its flexibility, which enables learning without the

need to commute or comply with strict timetables; the possibility of offering a

more personalised training; the possibility of having access to practical on-line

communities and benefiting from their knowledge flows; the re-utilisation of

contents, etc.

Table 11.

Main factors that will foster development of e-learning

( VI = Very Important I = Important MI = Minor Importance )

Year 2007 Year 2012VI I MI VI I MI

Cost reduction 53% 44% 3% 47% 31% 22%

Convenience: any time 44% 47% 9% 66% 25% 9%Convenience: any place 39% 48% 12% 71% 23% 6%

With respect to what kind of factors represent barriers to the development of

e-learning, experts surveyed state that the dominant hindering factors are of a

cultural and educational nature, but that their importance will decrease in the

long term, as can be seen in Table 12.

Apart from this, some experts interviewed think that there are other types of

barriers to the development of e-learning. These are the following: low quality

of provision, either due to the contents or the teaching system used; the

creation of false expectations in the users by means of products or services

that do no fulfil their real needs (which in turn generates a lack of confidence

towards the suppliers); the abuse of cost-saving reasoning, which is used as


the only argument to approach customers; the conception of e-learning as a

substitute for presential learning; the lack of a real e-learning culture in

society; the existence of technological barriers, such us lack of information-

technology equipment or inadequate telecommunication network access (e.g.

broadband), amongst other factors.

Table 12.Main barriers to the development of e-learning

( VI = Very Important I = Important MI = Minor Importance )


Teaching system barriers 39% 45% 15% 28% 19% 53%

Cultural barriers 65% 29% 6% 27% 48% 24%Technological barriers 32% 50% 18% 6% 33% 61%Language (of original contents) 27% 42% 30% 19% 25% 56%

On the other hand, in the survey we also tried to investigate what kind of

factors have an impact on the success of an e-learning programme. Results of

the survey show that these success factors are the following: prior assessment

of either the organisation or individual’s needs; a clear involvement of top

management; the fact that e-learning programmes would be led by either the

human resources or training departments; the use of collaborative on-line

communities; the delivery of high-quality contents; the existence of a good

tutoring system; and finally, the availability of a flexible technological

platform. In the longer term, the focus of the control and management

systems will also be important (see Table 13 for more details).

Other relevant factors mentioned by the experts interviewed are: quality

contents developed in accordance with a suitable teaching approach; the

existence of good trainers who take on a dynamic role; the creation of

customer loyalty; trust in the e-learning provider; the implementation of the

best practices that exist in this field and the continuous evaluation of the

quality delivered.


Table 13.Success factors in the development of an e-learning programme( VI = Very Important I = Important MI = Minor Importance )


Strategic and organisationalTop management involvement 65% 32% 3% 64% 27% 9%Programmes led by HR / T 47% 47% 6% 45% 39% 15%Organis./indiv. needs assessment 74% 21% 6% 73% 24% 3%Goal setting incentives 27% 48% 24% 31% 44% 25%Roadmap to learning success 33% 42% 24% 50% 25% 25%Collaborative on-line communities 33% 48% 18% 63% 31% 6%

Content qualityProven high-quality materials 47% 41% 12% 73% 21% 6%Timely, relevant + consistent info 38% 59% 3% 64% 36% 0%Contents continuously updated 47% 47% 6% 70% 30% 0%

Tutoring systemBroad and easy access to info 45% 48% 6% 66% 34% 0%Engaging user experience 53% 41% 6% 61% 33% 6%Regular reinforcement / motivation 58% 36% 6% 56% 34% 9%

Platform flexibilityScalable to any size of enterprise 34% 50% 16% 42% 45% 13%Easy integration vs. internal system 39% 58% 3% 59% 41% 0%Customised training support 52% 35% 13% 61% 39% 0%

Control + management systemMeasuring return on investment 33% 58% 9% 48% 48% 3%Behavioural change measurement 29% 52% 19% 55% 42% 3%

Finally, the survey asked the experts about their vision regarding the future

growth of the e-learning market in terms of compound annual growth rate

(CAGR), making the distinction between the growth of this market as a whole

and its growth by specific segments, such as contents, services and

technology. The survey provided the following results: it is expected that there

will be a compound growth for the overall e-learning market in Spain of

between 5 to 10% in the short and medium term, which will increase to 11-

20% in the long term. As far as the contents and services segments are

concerned, a CAGR of between 11-20% is expected in the short and medium

term, increasing to 21-50% in the longer term. Lastly, with regard to the

technology segment, a compound growth rate of between 5 to 10% is

expected in the future.


Following the above presentation of the Delphi survey results, we will now

describe the main trends that are foreseen in relation to the future evolution

of e-learning in Spain. The future trends that we will present here represent a

summary of different information taken either from interviews carried out with

experts or from other bibliographic sources.

The main trends that are foreseen for the e-learning sector in Spain for

the forthcoming years are summarised in the following points:

Concentration of e-learning providers in the market

A process of business concentration in the e-learning market is foreseen, in

which the more consolidated companies will acquire smaller and more

specialised ones in order to be able to offer a complete portfolio of specialised

e-learning solutions. Some others, lacking size or specific skills, will disappear

due to the dynamics of the market and economic reasons. Also, IT firms will

include more e-learning functionalities in their solutions.

Firms will consider training as a critical issue

The need for training is a continuous process due to the speed of the changes

which take place in the market, so it is becoming a critical issue within

businesses. Learning processes which are of short duration and which focus on

specific tasks will be enhanced. In this context, new information technologies

will help to reduce the costs of training.

Focus on Return of Investment

Companies place increasing importance on Return of Investment (ROI) in the

introduction of training programmes. In this respect, it will be important to

define performance indicators in order to evaluate the results achieved,


including the ROI. This activity will have to take into account the growth of the

productivity of employees, as well as the savings obtained in terms of time

and money.

Content will be key for e-learning success

Alongside the application of teaching theories, content will take on increasing

importance in achieving learning goals. Some experts interviewed think that it

is of paramount importance to ensure that contents are compatible with the

context of users, being available when necessary. The ideal situation is that

they would be prepared to fit personalised paths, in order to ensure the

correct learning process. The quality of the contents thus constitutes a basic

requisite. It is thus expected that content will play a key role in the success of

all e-learning programmes.

Increasing the use of “collaborative learning”

It is foreseen that all agents involved in the learning process will make

increased use of platforms, enabling strong collaboration and feedback

between them. This will be possible thanks to virtual meeting tools, which will

make it possible to decrease communication costs and avoid travelling (e.g.

videoconferences, chats, discussion forums, etc.). There will thus no longer be

a place for e-learning actions based only on the reading of multiple

documents, without a strong interaction between trainers and learners.

Increasing use of “live” e-learning

This means that there will be a trend to offer, where available, direct training

sessions through the Internet using telephone or voice over IP (VoIP). This

new system will enable immediate access to training sessions in the case of

urgent issues. It would be also intended for big audiences around the world.


Combined e-learning or “blended learning”

A clear trend foreseen for the next few years is that content analysis, together

with the delivery media, will determine the correct methodology to use in

order to obtain the best training results. The possibility of combining different

methodologies, including presential and virtual sessions in a blended learning

approach, will increase the success of the learning process.

Increased importance of the methodology

The motivation of the trainee is essential for the success of a learning project.

It is important to involve the trainee in the training process and to give them

control over their training experience, including access to a wide range of

resources. Blended learning is foreseen as the best practice in this field, as has

been mentioned earlier. However, most experts interviewed think that there

will not be a unique training model in the future. The approaches taken should

be carried out according to proven teaching criteria.

Personalisation of the training process

Finally, it is foreseen that training will be adapted to the specific profile of the

students. The advances in artificial intelligence will allow for the identification

of the employee’s training gaps, enabling a training adaptation system to

eliminate these gaps. Content-management systems will be designed to

satisfy this requirement.


APPENDIX: DELPHI SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE


DELPHI SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

This appendix includes a questionnaire, which is intended to identify the main trendsthat will drive the e-learning market in Europe in future years, with a horizon year of2012.

As e-learning involves many social, cultural, economic and technological changes insociety, which will not take place overnight, the goal of this survey is to identify thechanges that are most likely to happen in this field in the medium and long term.

Attention is focused exclusively on vocational training and business trainingprogrammes developed in the e-learning mode.

The contents of the questionnaire are structured in the following sections:

• Learning categories and operational aspects.• Teaching aspects.• Content topics.• Customer sectors and types.• Technology platforms.• Factors fostering the development of e-learning.• Barriers to the development of e-learning.• Success factors of an e-learning programme.• Growth of the e-learning market.• Comments and remarks.

As an expert in the e-learning field, we kindly ask you to answer the followingquestions related to the future evolution of e-learning in our country. Your answersand personal data will be kept confidential. You will receive a copy of the resultsobtained from this research.

Many thanks for your collaboration.

PROFESSIONAL AND CONTACT DATA:

Name: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Position: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Company / Organisation: ……………………..……………..…………………………………………………………..Address: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Postcode: …………………. City: ………………………………………………………………………….………………..Telephone: ………………… Fax: …………………………… E-mail: ………………………………………………..

RETURN TO:Once completed, the questionnaire should be returned to (fill in the next fields withyour own data):

Name: ……………………………………… Position: …………….………………………………………………………….Partner organisation: ………………………………………….…………………………………………………………….Address: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Postcode: ……………………. City: ……………………………………………………………………….………………..Telephone: ……………… Fax: ………………………… E-mail: ………………………….………………………….


I. LEARNING CATEGORIES AND OPERATIONAL ASPECTS

Question no. 1

Please specify how you think the main learning categories (presential, distance(traditional), e-learning and blended learning) will evolve in your country in thefuture (Increase (I), Maintain (M), or Decrease (D)).

Period 2003–2007 Period 2008–2012

I M D I M D

Presential ……………………………………. o o o …………….. o o oDistance (traditional) …………………. o o o …………….. o o oE-learning ………………………………….. o o o …………….. o o o

Blended learning ………………………… o o o …………….. o o o

Question no. 2

Please specify where the e-learning process will mainly take place (at work,during working hours; or at home or other places, out of working time), as a whole,and how you think its use will evolve in your country in the future (Usually (U),Sometimes (S), or Rarely (R)).

Period 2003–2007 Period 2008–2012

U S R U S R

At work (working hours) ……………. o o o …………….. o o oOther places (out of work time) …. o o o …………….. o o o

Question no. 3

Please specify what the usual duration of the e-learning modules or courseswill be (from less than 20 hours to more than 100 hours), as a whole, and how youthink its use will evolve in your country in the future (Usually (U), Sometimes (S),or Rarely (R)).

Period 2003–2007 Period 2008–2012

U S R U S R

Less than 20 hours ……………………. o o o …………….. o o oFrom 20 to 50 hours …………………. o o o …………….. o o oFrom 51 to 100 hours ……………….. o o o …………….. o o oMore than 100 hours …………………. o o o …………….. o o o


II. TEACHING ASPECTS

Question no. 4

Please specify the main trainer roles that you foresee, as a whole, in e-learningprovision in your country in the future and their respective level of involvement inthe learning process (Very High (VH), High (H), Low or Irrelevant (L)).

Around year 2007 Around year 2012

VH H L VH H L

Traditional (teacher) ….…………. o o o ……………… o o oModerator / Presenter ……………….. o o o ……………… o o o Consultant ………………………………….. o o o ……………… o o o

Facilitator (content generator) …… o o o ……………… o o o

Question no. 5

Please specify what the usual approach of the e-learning modules will be(theoretical, practical, or hybrid (both modes)), as a whole, and how you think itsuse will evolve in your country in the future (Usually (U), Sometimes (S), or Rarely(R)).


U S R U S R

Theoretical …………………………………. o o o …………….. o o oPractical …………………………………….. o o o …………….. o o oHybrid (both modes) …………… o o o …………….. o o o

Question no. 6

Please specify what the usual modes of e-learning modules will be(standardised, customised, or hybrid (both modes)), as a whole, and how you thinktheir use will evolve in your country in the future (Usually (U), Sometimes (S), orRarely (R)).


U S R U S R

Standardised …………………………… o o o …………….. o o oCustomised ……………………… …… o o o …………….. o o o

Hybrid (both modes)… … …… o o o …………….. o o o


III. CONTENT TOPICS

Question no. 7

Please specify how you think investments will evolve in the acquisition /development of e-learning contents in the future in your country for each of thefollowing areas (Increase (I) / Maintain (M) / Decrease (D)).

Period 2003–2007 Period 2008–2012

I M D I M D

Computer skills ………………………….. o o o …………….. o o oInformation/communic. technol…. o o o …………….. o o oLanguages ………………………………….. o o o …………….. o o o

Business skills …………………… o o o …………….. o o oCorporate issues ……………………… o o o …………….. o o oProducts / Services ……………………. o o o …………….. o o oOthers (please, specify):…………………………………………… …….. o o o …………….. o o o

…………………………………………… …….. o o o …………….. o o o

IV. CUSTOMER SECTORS AND TYPES

Question no. 8

Please specify how you think the demand of the main e-learning targetcustomers (either individuals or organisations) will evolve in your country in thefuture (Increase (I), Maintain (M), or Decrease (D)).

Period 2003–2007 Period 2008–2012

I M D I M D

Individual ………………………………….. o o o …………….. o o o(Professional, student…)Organisations …………………………... o o o …………….. o o o(Company, public administration…)


Question no. 9

Please specify in which sectors / organisation types you foresee that e-learning ismost likely to develop in your country in the future and their respective level ofuse / diffusion (Very High (VH), High (H), Low or Irrelevant (L)).


VH H L VH H L

Advanced services ….……………….. o o o ……………… o o o(Financial, Insurance, Telecoms…)Traditional services ………………….. o o o ……………… o o o (Trade, Hotel, Restaurants…)High-tech companies ………………. o o o ……………… o o o(Biotech, Aerospace, Computer…) Advanced industries …………………. o o o ……………… o o o(Chemical, Mechanical, Machinery…)Traditional industries …………… o o o ……………… o o o(Paper, Wood, Textile, Footwear…)Small companies ……………………… o o o ……………… o o o(all sectors)Public administrations ……………… o o o ……………… o o oUniversities ………………………………. o o o ……………… o o oTraining institutions ………………… o o o ……………… o o o

Question no. 10

In the case of big companies and corporations, please specify which percentageof total training actions (activities or projects) you think e-learning programmeswill represent in the future:


Less than 5%……………………………………….. o ………………………………….. o

Between 5 to 10% ………………………………. o ………………………………….. oBetween 11 to 20% …………………………….. o ………………………………….. oBetween 21 to 50% …………………………….. o ………………………………….. oBetween 51 to 100% …………………………… o ………………………………….. o

Question no. 11

In the case of small and medium sized companies (SMEs), please specify thepercentage of total training actions (activities or projects) you think e-learningprogrammes will represent in the future:


Less than 5%……………………………………… o ………………………………….. oBetween 5 to 10% ………………………………. o ………………………………….. oBetween 11 to 20% …………………………….. o ………………………………….. oBetween 21 to 50% …………………………….. o ………………………………….. oBetween 51 to 100% …………………………… o ………………………………….. o


V. TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS

Question no. 12

Please specify which technology platform types you foresee for theimplementation of e-learning in your country in the future and their respective use/ diffusion (Very High (VH), High (H), Low or Irrelevant (L)).


VH H L VH H L

Own development ….…………………. o o o ……………… o o oPurchased platform ……………………. o o o ……………… o o o ASP (*) platform ……………………….. o o o ……………… o o oContent provider platform …………. o o o ……………… o o o

Others (please specify):…………………………………………………….. o o o …………….. o o o(*) Application Service Provider

Question no. 13

Please specify the commercial / non-commercial technology products that youforesee for the implementation of e-learning in your country in the future and theirrespective use / diffusion (Very High (VH), High (H), Low or Irrelevant (L)).


VH H L VH H L

BlackBoard ….…………………………….. o o o ……………… o o oWeb CT ………………………………………. o o o ……………… o o o FirstClass …………………………………… o o o ……………… o o oLotus Learning Space ……………….. o o o ……………… o o oDocent ……………………………………….. o o o ……………… o o o

Luvit …………………………………………… o o o ……………… o o oOthers (please specify):……………………………………………………. o o o …………….. o o o

Question no. 14

Please specify how you think investments in the acquisition of e-learningmanagement systems (LMS) will evolve in the future in your country for each ofthe following modules (Increase (I) / Maintain (M) / Decrease (D)).

Period 2003–2007 Period 2008–2012

I M D I M D

User management and support …. o o o …………….. o o oSystem management …………………. o o o …………….. o o o

Content generation ……………… …. o o o …………….. o o oContent management …………… …. o o o …………….. o o o


Question no. 15

Please specify how you think the use of different content supports (paper, CD-multimedia, Internet, mobile phones/PDAs and others) will evolve in your country inthe future (Increase (I) / Maintain (M) / Decrease (D)).

Period 2003–2007 Period 2008–2012

I M D I M D

Paper ………………………………………….. o o o …………….. o o o

CD-multimedia …………………………. o o o …………….. o o oInternet (HTML, XML…) ……………. o o o …………….. o o oMobile phones / PDAs (*) …………. o o o …………….. o o oOthers (please specify):……………………………………………………. o o o …………….. o o o

……………………………………….…………… o o o …………….. o o o

(*) Personal Digital Assistants

VI. FACTORS FOSTERING THE DEVELOPMENT OF E-LEARNING

Question no. 16

Please specify the main factors (cost reduction, convenience in terms of any time orany place, and others) that you predict will foster the development of e-learningin your country in the future and their respective importance (Very Important (VI),Important (I), Minor Importance (MI)).


VI I MI VI I MI

Cost reduction ………………………….. o o o ……………… o o oConvenience: any time …………….. o o o ……………… o o o Convenience: any place ……………. o o o ……………… o o oOthers (please specify):……………………………………………………. o o o …………….. o o o

……………………………………………………. o o o …………….. o o o


VII. BARRIERS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF E-LEARNING

Question no. 17

Please specify the main barriers (teaching, cultural, technological, language andothers) that you foresee to the development of e-learning in your country in thefuture and their respective importance (Very Important (VI), Important (I), MinorImportance (MI))


VI I MI VI I MI

Teaching barriers ………………….. o o o ……………… o o oCultural barriers …………………………. o o o ……………… o o o Technological barriers ………………… o o o ……………… o o o

Language (of original contents)….. o o o ……………… o o oOthers (please specify):…………………………………………………….. o o o …………….. o o o…………………………………………………….. o o o …………….. o o o

VIII. SUCCESS FACTORS OF AN E-LEARNING PROGRAMME

Question no. 18

Please specify the success factors (strategic, organisational, operational, control andmanagement systems, etc.) that you foresee for the development of e-learningprogrammes in your country in the future and their respective importance (VeryImportant (VI), Important (I), Minor Importance (MI)).


VI I MI VI I MIStrategic and organisationalTop management involvement … o o o ……………… o o oProgrammes led by HR/T (*) o o o ……………… o o o

Organis./indiv. needs assessment o o o ……………… o o oGoal setting incentives ……………… o o o ……………… o o oRoadmap to learning success ……. o o o ……………… o o oCollaborative on-line communities o o o ……………… o o o

Content qualityProven high-quality materials …… o o o ……………… o o oTimely, relevant + consistent info o o o ……………… o o oContents continuously updated …… o o o ……………… o o o

Tutoring systemBroad and easy access to info ….. o o o ……………… o o oEngaging user experience ………….. o o o ……………… o o oRegular reinforcement/motivation o o o ……………… o o o


Platform flexibilityScalable to any size of enterprise. o o o ……………… o o o

Easy integration vs. intern system o o o ……………… o o oCustomised training support …….. o o o ……………… o o o

Control and management systemsMeasuring return on investment ….o o o ……………… o o o

Behavioural change measurement.o o o ……………… o o o

Others (please specify):……………………………………………….. o o o …………….. o o o……………………………………………….. o o o …………….. o o o

(*) Human resources or training departments.

IX. GROWTH OF THE E-LEARNING MARKET

Question no. 19

Please specify the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) that you foresee, ingeneral terms, in the e-learning market in your country in the future:

Period 2003–2007 Period 2008-2012

Less than 5%……………………………………… o ………………………………….. oBetween 5 to 10% ………………………………. o ………………………………….. oBetween 11 to 20% …………………………….. o ………………………………….. o

Between 21 to 50% …………………………….. o ………………………………….. oBetween 51 to 100% …………………………… o ………………………………….. oMore than 100% …………………………………. o ………………………………….. o

Question no. 20

Please specify the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) that you foresee forcontents / services / technology platforms in the e-learning market in yourcountry in the future:

For contentsPeriod 2003–2007 Period 2008-2012

Less than 5%……………………………………… o ………………………………….. oBetween 5 to 10% ………………………………. o ………………………………….. oBetween 11 to 20% …………………………….. o ………………………………….. o

Between 21 to 50% …………………………….. o ………………………………….. oBetween 51 to 100% …………………………… o ………………………………….. oMore than 100% …………………………………. o ………………………………….. o


For servicesPeriod 2003–2007 Period 2008-2012

Less than 5%……………………………………… o ………………………………….. oBetween 5 to 10% ………………………………. o ………………………………….. oBetween 11 to 20% …………………………….. o ………………………………….. oBetween 21 to 50% …………………………….. o ………………………………….. o

Between 51 to 100% …………………………… o ………………………………….. oMore than 100% …………………………………. o ………………………………….. o

For technology platformsPeriod 2003–2007 Period 2008-2012

Less than 5%……………………………………… o ………………………………….. oBetween 5 to 10% ………………………………. o ………………………………….. o

Between 11 to 20% …………………………….. o ………………………………….. oBetween 21 to 50% …………………………….. o ………………………………….. oBetween 51 to 100% …………………………… o ………………………………….. oMore than 100% …………………………………. o ………………………………….. o

COMMENTS / REMARKS

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….


BIBLIOGRAPHY

APEL, Inmark and Fundación Tripartita (2003): E-learning en España.

Diagnóstico prospectivo y pautas de desarrollo.

APEL (2002): El sector del e-learning. Estudio de la oferta.

Babot, I. (2003): E-learning, corporate learning. Gestión 2000. Barcelona.

Ballestero, F. (dir.) (2002): eEspaña 2002. Informe anual sobre el desarrollo

de la Sociedad de la Información en España. Fundación Auna. Madrid.

Ballestero, F. (dir.) (2003): eEspaña 2003. Informe anual sobre el desarrollo

de la Sociedad de la Información en España. Fundación Auna. Madrid.

CEOE (2001): La formación en las empresas españolas. Situación, tendencias

y expectativas.

Global Estrategias (2003): Formación en las empresas y utilización de las

nuevas tecnologías.

Grupo DOXA (2003): E-learning en las grandes empresas. Panel anual de

resultados 2003.

Hasebrook, Herrmann, Rudolph (2003): Perspectives for European e-learning

businesses. Markets, technologies and strategies. CEDEFOP, Luxembourg.

Maratech, I. (2003): “¿Qué puede hacer el e-learning por las empresas?”.

Aprenderh, pp. 30-36.

Nexe (2002): Informe del sector del e-learning en España.


Pelegrin and López (coord.) (2003): E-learning. Las mejores prácticas en

España. Ed. AEDIPE. Madrid.

Rupiérez, G. (2003): Educación Virtual y eLearning. Fundación Auna. Madrid.

Date post:	26-Jul-2020
Category:	Documents
Upload:	others
View:	0 times
Download:	0 times

SITUATION and PROSPECTS for e-LEARNING in SPAIN · E-Learning is an effective learning process...

Documents