READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 28-40 which

are based on Reading Passage 3 below.
E-training
A
E-learning is the unifying term to describe the fields of online
learning, web-based training, and technology-delivered
instruction, which can be a great benefit to corporate e-learning.
IBM, for instance, claims that the institution of its e-training
program, Basic Blue, whose purpose is to train new managers,
saved the company in the range of $200 million in 1999. Cutting
the travel expenses required to bring employees and instructors
to a central classroom account for the lion’s share of the savings.
With an online course, employees can learn from any Internet-
connected PC, anywhere in the world. Ernst and Young reduced
training costs by 35 percent while improving consistency and
scalability.
B
In addition to generally positive economic benefits, other
advantages such as convenience, standardized delivery, self-
paced learning, and a variety of available content, have made e-
learning a high priority for many corporations. E-learning is widely
believed to offer flexible “any time, any place” learning. The claim
for “any place” is valid in principle and is a great development.
Many people can engage with rich learning materials that simply
were not possible in a paper of broadcast distance learning era.
For teaching specific information and skills, e-training holds great
promise. It can be especially effective at helping employees
prepare for IT certification programs. E-learning also seems to
effectively address topics such as sexual harassment education’,
safety training and management training – all areas where a clear
set of objectives can be identified. Ultimately, training experts
recommend a “blended” approach that combines both online and
in-person training as the instruction requires. E-learning is not an
end-all solution. But if it helps decrease costs and windowless
classrooms filled with snoring students, it definitely has its
advantages.
C
Much of the discussion about implementing e-learning has
focused on the technology, but as Driscoll and others have
reminded us, e-learning is not just about the technology, but also
many human factors. As any capable manager knows, teaching
employees new skills is critical to a smoothly run business.
Having said that, however, the traditional route of classroom
instruction runs the risk of being expensive, slow and, oftentimes,
ineffective. Perhaps the classroom’s greatest disadvantage is the
fact that it takes employees out of their jobs. Every minute an
employee is sitting in a classroom training session is a minute
they’re not out on the floor working. It now looks as if there is a
way to circumvent these traditional training drawbacks. E-training
promises more effective teaching techniques by integrating audio,
video, animation, text and interactive materials with the intent of
teaching each student at his or her own pace. In addition to higher
performance results, there are other immediate benefits to
students such as increased time on task, higher levels of
motivation, and reduced test anxiety for many learners.
D
On the other hand, nobody said E-training technology would be
cheap. E-training service providers, on the average, charge from
$10,000 to $60,000 to develop one hour of online instruction. This
price varies depending on the complexity of the training topic and
the media used. HTML pages are a little cheaper to develop while
streaming-video presentations or flash animations cost more.
Course content is just the starting place for the cost. A complete
e-learning solution also includes the technology platform (the
computers, applications and network connections that are used to
deliver the courses). This technology platform, known as a
learning management system (LMS), can either be installed
onsite or outsourced. Add to that cost the necessary investments
in network bandwidth to deliver multimedia courses, and you’re
left holding one heck of a bill. For the LMS infrastructure and a
dozen or so online courses, costs can top $500,000 in the first
year. These kinds of costs mean that custom e-training is, for the
time being, an option only for large organizations. For those
companies that have a large enough staff, the e-training concept
pays for itself. Aware of this fact, large companies are investing
heavily in online training. Today, over half of the 400-plus courses
that Rockwell Collins offers are delivered instantly to its clients in
an e-learning format, a change that has reduced its annual
training costs by 40%. Many other success stories exist.
E
E-learning isn’t expected to replace the classroom entirely. For
one thing, bandwidth limitations are still an issue in presenting
multimedia over the Internet. Furthermore, e-training isn’t suited
to every mode of instruction or topic. For instance, it’s rather
ineffective imparting cultural values or building teams. If your
company has a unique corporate culture is would be difficult to
convey that to first-time employees through a computer monitor.
Group training sessions are more ideal for these purposes. In
addition, there is a perceived loss of research time because of the
work involved in developing and teaching online classes.
Professor Wallin estimated that it required between 500 and
1,000 person-hours, that is, Wallin-hours, to keep the course at
the appropriate level of currency and usefulness. (Distance
learning instructors often need technical skills, no matter how
advanced the courseware system.) That amounts to between a
quarter and half of a person-year. Finally, teaching materials
require computer literacy and access to equipment. Any e-
Learning system involves basic equipment and a minimum level
of computer knowledge in order to perform the tasks required by
the system. A student that does not possess these skills, or have
access to these tools, cannot succeed in an e-Learning program.
F
While few people debate the obvious advantages of e-learning,
systematic research is needed to confirm that learners are
actually acquiring and using the skills that are being taught online,
and that e-learning is the best way to achieve the outcomes in a
corporate environment. Nowadays, a go-between style
of Blended learning, which refers to a mixing of different learning
environments, is gaining popularity. It combines traditional face-
to-face classroom methods with more modern computer-mediated
activities. According to its proponents, the strategy creates a more
integrated approach for both instructors and learners. Formerly,
technology-based materials played a supporting role in face-to-
face instruction. Through a blended learning approach,
technology will be more important.

Questions 28-33
The reading passage has six paragraphs, A-F
Choose the correct heading for paragraphs A-F from the list
below.
Write the correct number, i-xi, in boxes 28-33 on your answer
sheet.
List of Headings
i overview of the benefits for application of E-training

ii IBM’s successful choice of training

iii Future directions and a new style of teaching

iv learners’ achievement and advanced teaching materials

v limitations when E-training compares with traditional class

vi multimedia over the Internet can be a solution

vii technology can be a huge financial burden

viii the distance learners outperformed the traditional

university learners worldwide

ix other advantages besides economic consideration

x Training offered to help people learn using computers

28 Paragraph A
29 Paragraph B
30 Paragraph C
31 Paragraph D
32 Paragraph E
33 Paragraph F

Questions 34-37
The reading Passage has six paragraphs A-F
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-F, in boxes 35-37 on your answer sheet.
34 Projected Basic Blue in IBM achieved great success.
35 E-learning wins as a priority for many corporations as its
flexibility.
36 The combination of traditional and e-training environments
may prevail.
37 Example of fast electronic delivery for a company’s products
to its customers.

Questions 38-40
Choose THREE correct letters, among A-E
Write your answers in boxes 38-40 on your answer sheet.
A Technical facilities are hardly obtained.
B Presenting multimedia over the Internet is restricted due to the
bandwidth limit.
C It is ineffective imparting a unique corporate value to fresh
employees.
D Employees need to block a long time leaving their position
attending training.
E More preparation time is needed to keep the course at a
suitable level.