• one of the advantages of e-learning is that it can be customised to the individual and so generational gaps may not actually affect how e-learning programs are designed
• the greatest effects may possibly be the fact that some generations may not be comfortable with new programs and so resist change, some generations have too much difficulty in using new programs
• linking de Vries’ article to the assignment – programs are probably not addressing the key points de Vries discusses namely not meeting the needs of the learner
• the exodus of the baby boomer generation
• the demands of gen x and gen y
  

Personally I think our group chose a good topic which has many facets worth discussing. We each contributed equally and have put a lot of effort into building what I believe is a strong and diverse discussion. My own case study was interesting as it wasn’t directly related to the question however I was able to recognise how generational gaps can affect Nissan and I think that because generational gaps permeate so many areas of society it is an issue that needs to be addressed very soon so as to be proactive to the problems that generational gaps can cause.

When we set up the wikis we had a go at using the graffiti wall which proved to be a very chaotic exercise. We were all posting simultaneously and so the page was continually changing. We then set up our group pages which we titled Lam Chan Dinh and then added our names and also established links to a page dedicated to each member.

As our group has been a bit frustrated with narrowing down our topic I must admit we have not been using the wiki. We are all currently working on our individual case studies and so when we complete these I think we will get a better grasp of the purpose of the wiki. It is also a blessing that we have been granted an extension as this will allow us more time to polish our discussions.

We refined out topic to “How generational gaps in the workforce are affecting e-learning program design”

Our approach to this question as we have discussed was this…

There are five members in the group and so we thought of splitting the workload into four areas:
1. The first is the blurb in which we will be describing the generational gaps – characteristics and so forth and touching on concepts of digital
natives/immigrants, we are also thinking of including a few statistics in this area as well
2. One person will look at the literature around generational gaps and how they affect organisations, in particular why this would affect e-learning program design
3. Two people will work on one local case study of an organisation to exemplify what the second section was about – which we would then split into discussions of why they chose to have a separate training program for younger workers and one for older workers. HOWEVER if we find that they use the same program for both we were thinking of looking at reasons for/against that decision.
4. Two people will do the same as the previous section but will focus on an international case study

Mark was helpful in his response to our email directing us towards two readings about the generational gaps so that we could better define the categories of workers we were talking about and search for case studies. Further he confirmed that we needed to do a case study each and so we have decided to incorporate the second component into the blurb. We are now working independently selecting and writing up our own case studies however we continue to seek each other’s help and advice.

The two readings directed to us by Mark can be accessed via the links below:

http://www.fdu.edu/newspubs/magazine/05ws/generations.htm
http://www.elearningguild.com/assets/files/14/eid05_-_403_-_pellegrini__lynch.pdf

In today’s class we were asked to:

1. Summarise in 1-2 sentences our topic or question
2. Briefly explain why our topic is of interest to our group and to ourselves

1. The topic we have chosen to explore is the design of e-learning programs and how design is influenced by different age groups.

2. As we were put on the spot to decide what our topic was, we were very vague about our choice. Now that we have had the topic in mind for a while and that we have continued to do more work on the topic of e-learning I think that the topic can be interesting because within organisations, particularly large organisations, there are people from all walks of life and with different experiences of e-learning and so when it comes to e-learning programs, it needs to be tailored to suit the needs of these different groups. So I think our approach would be looking at what organisations do to meet different needs and so we will also explore the different e-learning programs they implement and the reasons behind their choice for the program.