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The mission of higher education has been the creation, preservation, and distribution of knowledge (King & Sen, 2013). Many organizations and academic institutions have embraced the notion to operate effectively in today’s competitive climate is it critical for them to become a knowledge-based organization, which is one where the focus is consistently on ways to help their stakeholders learn and develop new knowledge. The United States system of higher education and knowledge-based organizations have been vital to the economic development of the United States because of their capacities to generate and distribute knowledge. Universities and knowledge-based organizations drive the following benefits to the United States: research in the scientific community, reducing income inequality, creating economic growth, and being the primary way for stakeholders of all kind to become educated (King & Sen, 2013). However, the cost of higher education has become a paramount concern. Lockwood (2002) argues that universities and knowledge-based organizations cannot continue operating as they have in the past because future stakeholders have evolving needs and will expect better value. King and Sen (2013) note that it appears likely that the United States system of higher education will be disrupted because of “new political, economic, and educational forces” (p. 83) that challenge previous approaches to teaching and learning. This paper looks to explore best practices of online learning through an exploration of the literature. The purpose is to inform and explore the current and future directions of e-learning in knowledge-based organizations and academic institutions.
Distance education has entered the mainstream through online learning (Allen & Seaman, 2011), and the introduction of online learning to higher education and knowledge-based organizations may be simply another example of an industry going in an entirely new direction based on the advances of Internet technologies. However, the field of distance education has existed since the creation of correspondence schools in the mid-19th century, and the University of Chicago created a university division in 1890 dedicated to remote learners (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2006). The development of distance education in the United States, from correspondence courses through the mail to the use of radio and television, has grown to more than six million college students taking an online course (Allen & Seaman, 2018). The development of online learning has taken distance education from a small, often disregarded subset in higher education to a strategic imperative (Allen & Seaman, 2018).
Technology-driven education in knowledge-based organizations has evolved significantly in the last ten years (Allen & Seaman, 2018). Online programs are no longer exclusively using traditional learning-management systems (LMS). Many universities have worked with software developers and LMS companies to develop their proprietary e-learning platforms. When we think of online education, we now must also consider competency-based education and training, adaptive learning technology, e-publishing, and social media integration (Allen & Seaman, 2018). Blended learning, also known as hybrid education, has witnessed a series of evolutionary changes with the support of social media platforms, video conferencing, classroom applications, and mobile technology (Allen & Seaman, 2018). Because learning styles and technology utilization are areas of great interest, analyzing adult learning theory and teaching styles using different technologies is essential (Hoskins, 2010).