E-learning in emergency situations (coming soon)

I just had an interesting chat with the Master of a Teekay shipping vessel on e-learning and some of its limitations verses face to face learning especially in emergency situations.

Don't worry, I will expand on the personal side of corporate sustainability soon as promised last post but if you want to share any preliminary ideas or experiences on e-learning now we can expand on them in a future post.

For some food for thought: 

CSA standards, a Canadian based company is a clear proponent of e-learning for emergency situations and has just launched a new program attempting to tackle this very issue.

Canada alone experiences as many as 315,000 reported time-loss injuries and 1,055 workplace fatalities in a year1. CSA’s new tools for business are designed to enhance the abilities of employers, employees, students and consumers to prepare for threats and emergencies of all sizes, by giving them the ability to experience them in realistic virtual scenarios – before they happen in real life.

“To reduce injuries, workplace training must teach best safety practices and change behaviour,” says Suzanne Kiraly, President, CSA Standards. “These new interactive modules go well beyond the simple transfer of knowledge and engage users in making decisions in the workplace that are linked to real-world standards and safety guidelines. From handling hazardous materials to assessing risks to prevent major disasters, preparing workforces with safety and emergency response skills in a virtual environment could mean the difference between life and death on the job.” (http://smr.newswire.ca/en/csa-standards/saving-lives-and-building-bonds-emergency-ready-communities)

As i've always argued, its very easy to do bad e-learning. However if you get right; there is a whole range of new and 'exotic' tools to engage learners with.