Impact: Journal of Applied Research in Workplace E-learning, 1(1) – Hase (REFEREED) ISSN: 1837-6959 doi: 10.5043/impact.13 43 Heutagogy and e-learning in the workplace: some challenges and opportunities Stewart Hase Beyond the Break Australia Abstract: It is clear that e-learning offers tremendous opportunities in terms of access in a global environment as well as in terms of the economics of delivery for workplace learning and, indeed, other learning environments. However, those designing and delivering workplace e-learning also have the potential to challenge existing dogmas about the curriculum, how we conduct education programs, manage knowledge, and access and harness learning. Complexity theory, in particular, prompts us to question how we understand education, training and learning. This article discusses some of these challenges and possibilities for workplace e-learning through the lens of the recently developed concept of heutagogy, defined as the study of self-determined learning. Keywords: e-learning; workplace learning; heutagogy; complexity theory; capability Some thoughts about how we understand learning New frontiers open up the possibility for new ways of seeing the world, for rethinking prevailing dogmas and, ultimately, for innovation. E-learning is such a frontier, and its application to the workplace can provide insights into how we understand learning in an increasingly complex environment where rapid, exponential change is the norm and adaptation is an essential attribute for individuals and organisations alike. This article explores e-learning in the workplace though the conceptual lens of heutagogy, and does so from two perspectives. The first of these is the development and delivery of e-learning in the workplace; the other is how we can harness the enormous amount of learning that occurs naturally in workplaces. In particular, the article will look at how we can take advantage of high-speed information and communication technology (ICT) in ways that are consistent with contemporary views of learning rather than repeating conservative, modernist educational practices whose relevance diminished long ago. It is necessary, however, to first look at heutagogy and some of the theoretical underpinnings of this relatively new concept. The term ‘heutagogy’ was first coined in 2000 (Hase & Kenyon, 2000; see also Hase & Kenyon, 2003, 2007). The idea came about initially because of an increasing frustration with rather conservative approaches to education prevalent in the higher education sector, and the recognition of the need to acknowledge learning as being an extremely dynamic experience occurring in a world that was (and is) highly complex, non-linear and ever-changing. The educational experiences provided to potential learners seemed to be failing to keep pace with this dynamism; it was also clear that this problem was not confined to universities but could be found in other education sectors, including vocational education and training (VET). In particular, the competency-based training and assessment movement