It's hard to say, but studies done a couple of years ago and posted in "Training" magazine seem to point toward a solid "NO" when online training is used exclusively. One of their reasons was the 4% retention rate that was associated with this type of training, another was the fact that online training assumes that busy workers will find time in their day to sit down and go through the training course.<br><br>I myself look at online training as an excellent reenforcement tool for classroom training. One of the largest complaints in my corporation is that when the training is done is not necessarily when the user is going to use it. Computer training courses done in the heat of a sales campaign when a rep would use it is a definite no-no, but training them on the "down time" leads to lack of use of the original training. However, an all day training session offered in the "down time" combined with online learning sessions when they need a fast refresher, that seems like the ideal combination.<br><br>As a lone training tool, online learning starts to fall into the same category as handing out computer manuals to the organization. Online learning assumes that the individual will now take charge of their learning experience. It assumes that already busy personnel will work time into their day to go online and learn on a subject. It assumes that if the participant has questions that they will seek out the answers from someone who knows the system. It doesn't take into account that a busy person looks upon this type of education as a "time waster" and won't work it into their day, that the individual may not want to take charge of their own learning, that the individual does not want to look foolish in front of a co-worker that knows more than them and finally that the worker might want a human touch to relate the information that they are getting specifically to their job function.<br><br>So in conclusion, online learning has the plus of being there when the trainee needs it, lowering costs associated with staffing and sending out a Training Staff, and has the ability to quickly distribute skill sets to a widespread organization but tends to neglect the human factor. Would I support the integration of online learning within a corporation, absolutely. Would I support the loss of all human contact in the training arena, absolutely not.