e-Learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven Guidelines for Consumers and Designers of Multimedia Learning

1.1. The e-Learning Bandwagon

In our first edition, we asked whether the proliferating cyber courses of the late 20th Century were harbingers of a new age in learning or just another overstatement of the expectations that had surrounded nearly everything associated with the dot com bubble. The trends in delivery media for workforce learning in the last six years, shown in Figure 1.1, are pretty convincing. e-Learning is here to stay! In our first edition, we reported that in the year 2001, approximately 11 percent of all training was delivered via computer (including the Internet, intranets, and CD-ROM). As we write the second edition at the end of 2006, we see that figure has risen to 29 percent (Industry Report, 2006). That means close to ...