The one hour period given to each online conference was clearly too long. Against all expectations, members found it quite easy to adapt to virtual communication and lively discussions were held. Shorter conferences of twenty to thirty minutes will be more effective as long as members can be relied upon to do the preparation. Otherwise there is a danger that conferences merely become online lectures given by the tutor. The latter issue confirms the need for the online learning environment to be visually appealing, easy to use and navigate and quick to download.
Functionality is more important than pretty pictures that take too long to download.
Designers must allow for user's browser preferences. Although members in this pilot were given the software to access the online materials, other companies may not wish to go to such efforts. This means that design must be robust and flexible. The key challenge still remains to try and encourage members to take responsibility for their own learning despite being provided with a program schedule and clear targets. In general the members did not do any pre self-development planning except for activities structured in the workshops which resulted in the Net IQ team having to chase and push more then expected.