Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 4016 MARCH 2017 • FOGHORN TRAINING I had the pleasure of presenting at the PVA Annual Convention at MariTrends 2017 in Seattle with PVA’s Director of Regulatory Affairs and Risk Management Eric Christensen, and spoke with many PVA members who are excited about the use of blended learning. As someone who has introduced learning tech- nologies to other industries, I’m en- couraged to see the maritime industry begin to adopt this methodology. This approach is proven to provide the best possible training, and PVA operators are fortunate that they can get started with eLearning by accessing the PVA training materials online. eLearning Works eLearning (online training) is sometimes dismissed as an inferior alternative to classroom-based or on-board training. And there are certainly many examples of poor eLearning implementations. Yet the vast majority of the world’s universities and large organizations use eLearning as an integral part of the education and training they provide. Why is this? The simple answer is because it works. However, can it be used to improve training in the maritime industry? The short answer is “yes.” Like any useful tool, it has both strengths and The Value of eLearning for Training Vessel Operators By Murray Goldberg, Founder and CEO of Marine Learning Systems limitations, but can be used to great advantage when intelligently applied. Knowledge Training eLearning is very effective for transferring knowledge. Knowledge forms the foundation for the skills that mariners need; allowing them to make critical decisions in a complex environ- ment. Knowledge supplements the skill of “how” to do something with the rationale of “why” it is important. Both skills and knowledge are required by the modern seafarer, and different training techniques are necessary for each. In fact, the best approach is neither hands-on training nor eLearning in isolation, but rather a blending of the two. What the Research Says Arguably the best evidence of eLearning effectiveness is a report published in 2010 by the U.S. Department of Education (US DOE).