216 Issues and Trends of IT Management in Contemporary Organizations Copyright Idea Group Inc. Copyright Idea Group Inc. Copyright Idea Group Inc. Copyright Idea Group Inc. ABSTRACT The authors have used modeling techniques to gain understanding of causes and relationships in online learning environments. The cases that the modeling relates to, origin in the large Norwegian research project NettLR, which runs online courses for more than 2000 participants on various topics and levels. The modeling work seem to indicate that good learning models from earlier learning research may be the methods to be chosen also in online learning, but the conditions to make them work are more limited and more critical than before. Effective Online Learning: A Matter of Making Sound Models Work Jan Frick Stavanger University College, Department of Business Administration, Stavanger, Norway Tel: +47-51831560, Fax: +47-51831550, Jan@Frick.ws Michael Sautter Telenor Research, Stavanger, Norway, Tel: +47-48000095, michael.sautter@telenor.com BACKGROUND Industry today does not use the possibilities within the traditional formal education system. This is mainly due to a lack of knowledge of the possibilities offered, and skepticism regarding the formal system not able to deliver according to industry need regarding content, time and place. At the same time new information and communication technologies (ICT) provides new possibilities for flexible deliveries of courses and communication. But how can a content deliverer like the education system or a company buying courses make sure that learning takes place as wanted? In Norwegian industry we have seen many examples of employ- ees using much time attending courses with small results regarding the learning that was intended. These courses are either standard education courses or tailor-made courses for a company. There seems to be little connection in many cases regarding effective learning to where and when the courses take place, as in their own company, at a hotel, or while attending ordinary or tailor-made courses at a College. At the same time, the industry emphasis the need for more effective learning, both regarding the need for the knowledge and a need to keep the cost for courses low. [1-7] After doing some minor experiments with online distance courses during a few years, we set out in 1999 with a larger research project, NettLR, to investigate relations between an effective learning pro- cess and various online learning methods. Knowing the vast complex- ity of the issues involved we have no intentions to research every possible topic, but rather identify some guidelines that seem to have a major impact. And as a proof of the pudding establish a set of available courses during the work. About NettlR NettLR (an acronym in Norwegian for learning by use of Internet in Rogaland)) is a research project in Norway supported by the Norwe- gian Research Council (NFR) that was established in 1998-99. [8] [http://www.nettlaer.com] It will run for 4 years with a budget of 2,7 M Euro not including the running of courses. It is based on 5 existing industrial collaboration networks with more than 80 companies as members, and with Rogaland Training and Education Center, (in Nor- wegian Rogaland Kurs og Kompetansesenter, RKK) and Stavanger University College (in Norwegian Hlgskolen i Stavanger, HiS) as the main educational vendors. [9] The main focus for the project is to accumulate knowledge in how to provide and run vocational training as efficient as possible with the ICT tools available. The courses all have a reference to the formal education system from 10 th grade to Master level. The project is divided into four parts:  Arena, studying the ICT and the course delivery infrastructure and specified/ developed a new course administration tool, Coursekeeper™ (patent pending). Coursekeeper™ focuses on the participant in the course. [10, 11]  Pilot courses, 7 courses developed for the project in order to provide a variation in pedagogical method, ICT tools, content level and type, and background of participants [12]  Empirical data collection and analysis, the collection of what hap- pened both in the pilot courses and other related courses available for data gathering. [13]  Optimal Models, this is where we try to utilize different modeling techniques in order to test and eventually provide guidelines in how to deliver effective learning to industry. [14-16] The related courses delivered by various combinations of Internet include as of October 2001 more than 1900 post education partici- pants on different vocational topics such as full technical college for employees in mechanical industry, healthcare, offshore maintenance, economics for employees in a hotel chain, project management, fish farming, petroleum processing technology, congregation administra- tion etc. It is on levels from first year in secondary school to PhD course. The PhD course runs with participants from all the five Nordic countries. At the moment, we use two parallel administrative infrastructure systems, Coursekeeper™ and WebOffice™. Its two vendors will as a result of NettLR experience develop both tools further. We find the WebOffice™ system useful in lower level classes where the teacher works in a traditional way and benefits from being able to control the participants and the progress, in other words a class management system. Coursekeeper™ have another structure as it is made to be a learning management system where the individual participant chooses his/her own pace and use the teacher as a coach and sparring partner. We have found this useful on the college level both for ordinary stu- dents and for vocational training for industry. Rogaland Training and Education Center, RKK, have during the last decade established a profitable system for vocational education in the Rogaland area. It is now a virtual vendor of vocational training with only 4 permanent employees in RKK itself, but based on a net- work of 32 local schools employing ca 1000 teachers that generated an income of 4 mill Euro in 2000. Collaborating with Stavanger Uni- versity College, HiS, RKK offers vocational training on levels from secondary school to Master degree. [http://www.rkk.no]. NettLR enhances the RKK system in several ways with the ICT. First, it increases the flexibility for industrial participants, as a portion of a course will be done wherever they are when they have the opportunity to study. Second, it increases the market for the institutions as they deliver their specialties to companies outside of their local area. Third, it improves the follow-up of participants as the systematic use of chat and news groups together with email improves the possibility for per- sonal adjustment and dialogue. This reduces the number of dropouts from the courses. This paper appears in Issues and Trends of Information Technology Management in Contemporary Organizations, the proceedings of the Information Resources Management Association International Conference. Copyright ' 2002, Idea Group Inc. 701 E. 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