Bård Ketil Engen

The workplace as a learning laboratory: the winding road to E-learning in a Norwegian service company

Over a 1 1/2 year period, we have participated in the introduction of E-learning in a Norwegian service company, a petrol station division of an oil company. This company has an advanced computer network infrastructure for communication and information sharing, but the primary task of the employees at the petrol stations is serving customers. We identify some challenges to introducing E-learning in this kind of environment. A primary emphasis has been on using participatory design techniques in the planning and early implementation phases of a system prototype. The system development process was evolutionary, starting bottom-up (user participation) and ending top-down (centralized initiatives). We describe a conceptual framework for analyzing the adoption process. The framework has three dimensions: technology, pedagogy and organization. We use video recordings and interview data in the analysis. Preliminary findings indicate difficulties with respect to appropriateness of new technology and lateral cooperation. This paper provides insight into the successful co-existence of old and new technologies and multiple information seeking strategies.