| The nation's social agenda for improving education and training has converged with national economic forces. The emphasis on educating, training and developing the workforce, growing demands for ever-improving productivity and significant technological advancements have resulted in new tools to deliver education and training at a distance when and where it is required. The emergence of online learning has provided new opportunities for managers to reap the rewards of a well-educated and trained workforce. The primary methodology that was applied in this exploratory study was the emergent, inductive approach of content analysis through a cross case analysis of 607 research reports published over a two year period to establish the existence and frequency of the dependent variables goals, benefits and problems. This analysis resulted in the identification of 61 goals that have been set for online learning programs, 131 benefits that have been documented, and 371 problems that have been encountered. The resulting frequency distribution tables were both quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed. Quantitative analysis showed correlations and patterns of interest in the dependent variables by the academic, dissertation, government and NGO research sponsors. Conceptual and relational analysis were concurrently applied to identify key concepts and their semantic relationships which resulted in the development of a concept map that, when combined with the content analysis, led to the identification of seven recommended online learning Communities of Practice. The findings and implications include a presentation of the Communities of Practice and a decision-aid/analysis tool for online learning managers, developers, deliverers, supporters, suppliers, researchers and learners related to the goals, benefits and problems that they encounter. |
