'Little's Britain': Mutual discovery
London (UK), January 2009 - (by Bob Little) The UK can be proud of many things - including the fact that it is separated from mainland Europe by sea. This geographical detail has worked in the UK's favour over the centuries but, if Britain's coastline marks the limits of Britain's vision, there is a danger that the UK will become isolated from exposure to important issues, opportunities and markets.
Nowhere is this truer than in the field of eLearning.
At the recent European Learning Industry Group (ELIG) AGM, held in Italy, apart from Matty Smith, of Henley Business School, and Paul Coyne, of Emerald Publishing, there were very few other UK-based technology-delivered learning professionals there. Could this be another example of the UK missing out on making its voice heard in an EU-wide context?
Nor is this all one-way traffic. In Italy for ELIG's AGM, Christian Stracke, of the Bonn-based Institute for eLearning, Information and Cooperation (eLC), revealed that, although his organisation knew of the UK's Association for Learning Technology (ALT), this body draws its members predominantly from the academic community. The eLC did not know of a professional association in the UK devoted to corporate users and developers of eLearning.
Perhaps this is another example of the power of the English Channel to hide both the truth and opportunities - this time from those in mainland Europe.
There has been just such a body in the UK since 1987. It is called the eLearning Network (eLN) and, in November 2008, it signed up its 1,000th member that year. That person happened to be Monique Head - an American from Atlanta, Georgia, who is now living in Antibes in the South of France - but the fact remains that, for an organisation whose annual membership had never been greater than 150, 2008 saw a rapid increase in interest in corporate eLearning in the UK.
The eLN, which adopted this title in 2000, is a non-profit making body that exists to promote information and best practice among all those who are involved in the eLearning world, as well as act as a networking medium for its members. For more information about the eLN and eLN events, call +44 (0)1273 561714 or visit the eLN-website.
For over 20 years, Bob Little has specialised in writing about, and commentating on, corporate learning - especially elearning - and technology-related subjects. His work has been published in the UK, Continental Europe, the USA and Australia. You can contact Bob.
