Open and Distance Learning

Case Studies from Education Industry and Commerce

Stephen Brown

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781135374297
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

This contributed volume reviews the lessons that may be learned from trying to integrate distance learning strategies with face-to-face teaching methods. It contains practical examples from education, commerce and industry.

Part 1

Commercial case studies

Chapter 1

Lloyds Bank and multimedia

Howard Hills

Introduction

In 1984, Lloyds Bank took a major step forward in the technology of training delivery and bought 1,500 interactive video (IV) systems. At that time most of the clerical training in Lloyds Bank was delivered with eight track audiotapes and workbooks. The subject content was entirely procedural, concentrating on processes done by junior staff such as cashiering and processing standing orders. The aim was to replace the audiotapes and workbooks used by that target group.

This chapter summarizes what happened within Lloyds Bank since that decision was taken and highlights some of the lessons learned in the development of multimedia over a period of 12 years. The most significant lesson is that a learning culture is needed to exploit multimedia for training purposes and that it takes a whole organization to establish such a culture rather than just the training department on its own.

1984: Formation of the Video Unit

In 1984, many conditions within Lloyds Bank looked right for the introduction of a new training technology. Branch-based study for procedural training was well established. Programmed Learning was an established means of delivering training into the Branch network and had been so since 1968. The Programmed Learning Unit (PLU) existed with all the facilities needed to produce audiotapes and amend and reprint workbooks. The unit was well resourced and able to keep on top of the continuous amendments that were necessary. The replacement of the multiple-track tape recorders by interactive video seemed a natural extension of the training strategy. In establishing the use of interactive video and the unit that would support it, Lloyds made some implicit assumptions. These were:

1. Interactive video was a suitable medium for procedural training.

2. No other training media for procedural training would be required.

3. The existing staff of the PLU was sufficient to project manage the development of new courses in the new technology.

4. Within two years, all existing programmed learning courses could be converted to interactive video.

5. The funding for those programmes would be forthcoming from the business in the normal course of events.

6. The technology would be long lived and stable.

7. Branch-based training was well managed and appropriate benefit was being extracted.

These are interesting assumptions and, with hindsight, all can be seen to be flawed in some way.

During the first two years a regular sequence of new courses came out. A typical course would follow a ‘lesson’ format.

A scene setter as a business rationale
↓
Introduction highlighting what the course would achieve
↓
The main body interposed with questions and tests
↓
A summary of what had been learned

A typical production sequence would proceed through

• establish the learning points;

• prepare a brief for commercial tender;

• commission a video production company;

• write the script (and obtain approval from the various interested parties within the bank);

• shoot the scenes;

• press the laser disc;

• write the Microtext software that would control the programme.

The major part of the investment was in the video production. Most courses used either half-an-hour or an hour of video. This was determined by the size of IV disks rather than the required content. The video scripting and production content influenced the design of the material to a very great extent. The principal reason why was that this was the outsourced element and the attention of both sponsors and designers focused on this element. The Microtext programming environment was very simplistic, as was the computer element of the IV workstation. The graphics standard was CGA (computer graphics adapter) with only four colours available. All this added up to an environment in which the video element of the material was much more sophisticated than the computer element.

Evaluation

Late in 1987 the National Physical Laboratory was commissioned to complete a usability study of some of the material that had been produced. Their main recommendations focused on improving the computer element of the design by increasing the interactive density, formatting the structure with menus and increasing the user control.

Notwithstanding these comments, several of these courses were absolute stars with the users. The medium was new and attractive. The visual presentation was excellent. Although the computing element was very basic, at that time the only competition for cheap single user computing was the BBC computer. So even the computing element was impressive to most users. From a branch perspective, the training appeared to be a great success, so why didn’t Lloyds reinvest and upgrade the technology?

Problems

There were three key factors that caused Lloyds to re-think its approach to the delivery of training within the branch network. Firstly, the pace of change within the UK clearing banking accelerated. The Interactive Video equipment had been seen as the means by which procedural training would be delivered. But in 1986 Lloyds stated its intention of converting from paper-based processing to entirely computerized processing. At a stroke, the new training delivery medium was rendered obsolete, embedded CBT would be needed rather than stand-alone IV.

The second key factor was fundamental change in the delivery technology. Lloyds were pioneers in the use of the new IV medium. In 1984 the total UK IV sales were 2,500, of which Lloyds Bank represented 1,500. However, within one year of its installation, the specification of the Bank’s IV system was below that accepted as the generic standard by the industry. No economical upgrade route was available from the suppliers.

Thirdly, the assumption that business units would fund development of IV packages led to some very curious choices for programme priority. This is best illustrated by Cashpoint training. The Cashpoint installation that the Bank undertook in 1985 was a major programme with some very significant expenditure. A training budget of £400,000 was a very small percentage of this installation programme. This led to four IVs being produced in what was a very minor area of branch procedural activity, although at the time one that had a major customer impact. In addition, at least two of these programmes were better defined as communication and should have been produced on linear videotape at much lower cost. At the same time, training that should have been developed wasn’t; for example: a basic introduction to the bank, banking, and the operation of the procedural systems. Because there was no strategy for the development of IV-based training products, the Video Unit had its resources taken up by those departments who were prepared, and able, to pay. Also, since it was not part of the Training Department, there was no integration with face-to-face training or workbooks. The nature of the funding meant that the two-year target for replacing programme learning courses was not achieved.

The rate of business change had its biggest impact within the branch network. The programmed learning courses had been relatively well managed within a stable environment. The ability to manage training in a highly volatile environment had to be learned by branch management and the amendment of training material had to proceed at a faster rate. This was difficult because IVs were more expensive to update than the programmed learning courses. The workbooks accompanying the programmed learning courses had been despatched from the centre and could be updated relatively easily. The video discs were stored in the branches with no accompanying written material. The number of staff in the video unit was insufficient to keep pace with maintenance of existingmaterial and create new programmes at the pace required.

1987: formation of the Distance Learning Centre

In 1987, the Video Unit became part of the Training Department, its title changed to Distance Learning Centre (DLC) and its remit was extended to include all distance learning material. This enabled workbooks to be integrated with IV material (and with CBT delivered to every Branch IT workstation). The design of face-to-face training remained separate. Shortly after this, a method of delivering computer-based training on to the rapidly expanding Branch Information Technology system was introduced. The intention was to use this for the training in application usage, and hence much of the procedural training. This placed CBT on the desk of every member of staff who used the main IT system. (At that time about one in three staff although the ratio has steadily risen.)

The DLC invested in a standard authoring template for both IV and CBT. This was developed in Tencore and provided a consistent look and feel to the material. The template gave a standard menu structure, consistent use of for-ward and back keys, exit key, glossary functions, etc. Although courses varied in purpose and content, a similar design approach was used that mirrored much of the material produced in the first two years of the IV platform. This was directive in nature rather than exploratory. Although users had full control over which bits of a course were visited, the design assumption was that users would work through relevant stages in a serial fashion. The improved programming environment did allow more formal testing and record keeping to be introduced.

After the organization change, the Distance Learning Centre produced a much wider range of products. Paper increased in volume, the IV platform was used as a means of delivering CBT, and some minor use was made of videotape material. Very rapidly, IV moved into the position of being used less frequently than other methods of delivery. Part of the reason for this was the high cost of materials production (£20,000 to press, package and distribute in 1988). Another reason was that the limitations of the computer meant that most of the video material had to be filmed, then transferred to video, which was also expensive.

So that the DLC budget could be maximized, much of the project management was brought in-house. The internal staff were expanded in both quantity and quality. Heavy use was made of contractors working on an individual basis rather than contracting out complete projects. This mix of internal and external resource has proved to be a winning formula. We also endeavoured to use distance learning for...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Glossary of abbreviations
• Series editor’s foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Part 1 Commercial case studies
• Part 2 Education case studies
• Curriculum or culture change?
• The contributors
• Author index
• Subject index