Call it What You Will...

I call it Tech 2.0!

 I am often asked about my grad school major and specialization. Each time, I have to follow with a description of interactive technology. To me, interactive technology is self explanatory. But maybe that's just me. Within my description I explain the program's basis, how individuals interact through technology, and I always reference various social media and web 2.0 tools.

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     Many incorrectly interchange these terms, however social media ≠ web 2.0. My 'Cliff Notes' comparison:  Social Media = platforms or applications in which digital social exchange takes place. Web 2.0 = web-based tools used for content creation and collaboration, which also possess social sharing capabilities. The two are similar, but not equal. For instance I can produce a spreadsheet using the web 2.0 tool Google Docs, share it on the social media site Twitter, and voilà! Interactive technology, see what I mean? To me it's Tech 2.0: Sharing through technology, and it is now!

Online Learning and Development: A Plan for the 90%

A Plan for the 90%

    With supervisors and employees alike, you will find varied responses to learning. Some individuals are intellectually curious and a few are outright self-improvement junkies, but many lack the desire to learn anything much less follow up, and follow through afterward. This is where the 90% gets lost. Therefore, we need a plan.

     This is the get on board plan. Lack of supervisory support is often the cause for improper conditions to apply new skills and limited opportunity to practice them. The first step is to overcome this early by making certain the content is relevant. Relevant content ensures time spent training is valued NOT resented. The second step is to require the supervisors to attend your training first. Hold them to the same standards as their employees, this in no trial run. The third step is to hold them equally responsible for their employees follow up and follow through. This third step requires an action plan.

    The action plan consists of five steps. It utilizes technology, encourages feedback, and provides instances for practice as part of the ongoing learning process. Simply by having an action plan, we set the tone that learning is part of the job description.

    The first step is to have employees locate the follow up home page. Here links to manuals, data, FAQs , and best practices are all accessible. This helps avoid the 90%. If they do forget, they can find it.

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    The second step is for employees to summarize what they learned for the other employees. A great way to do this is on a blog, like this one! They can also leave comments for one another, leave feedback for the instructor, and read (and hopefully remember) what others have learned.

    The third step in the action plan is to assign the employees a follow up peer. This should be someone who attended the training at the same time but preferable from a different location or department. The follow up peer is someone the employees can collaborate on best practices and compare their progress with. One way to do this is through a wiki. Action plans linked via Google docs share the most current information here.

    The fourth step is to assess progress through simulations of real-life incidents. For organizations without their own simulation modules, Second Life offers a platform for this. If this is an impossible feat, a second option is real-life case studies. The case studies are not as effective for practice as the simulations. However, they can still be engaging through collaboration on a wiki, and they are certainly better than no practice at all.

     The fifth step is for employees to take their supervisors back through the experience using all the technology and information they have gathered and shared. What better way to solidify the employees’ learning than allowing them to teach it to another. The supervisor benefits from hearing the information again and from new perspectives. The supervisor will then assess and determine when the employees are ready for the next course or if the plan of action needs repeating.

     Forget the difficulty. Find the opportunity. Now is the time for online education. When we engage employees and satisfy supervisors with relevant content...when we save money for companies, shrink the 90% and grow organizations by doing so...then we have something 'to show for it'. So, what are we waiting for?

Online Learning and Development: Opportunity for Improvement

Opportunity for Improvement

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     In a Wall Street Journal article entitled So Much Money, So Little to Show For It, Dr. Eduardo Salas explains why corporate training programs often fail despite the money, time, and effort invested. American companies spent $156 Billion on employee learning in 2011. Unfortunately those employees only retained 10% of what they learned. Without distinction, one can assume the statistics apply to face-to-face and online delivery combined, but what are the implications of this for online learning?

     The negative implication for online learning is the likelihood to blame the venue for the outcome. After all, it is an easy out. No one wants to assume blame when companies lose money, especially in the hundreds of billions of dollars range. Furthermore, how many employees hold themselves accountable for the 90% of the content they forgot? A few may, but many would not. So all could agree the blame must lie in the fact that the training occurred online. We must not allow this. When companies look to online learning as a cost-saving alternative to the travel, lodging, and various expenses involved in face-to-face venues, our challenge is to turn this possible negative implication into a positive one. Now, how do we do it?

     To quote Einstein, “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” Since online course development and instruction already requires additional planning and effort, why not incorporate Dr. Salas’ advice? Analyzing the need and setting the stage, as well as assessing and reinforcing the learning, all promote positive outcomes. These components blended with engaging, meaningful content transform the learning experience. When this transformation occurs, we need these outcomes to be specific and measurable. That way everyone knows what success looks like, and when it arrives. Then with the proper follow up, the employees retain more, the company spends less, success occurs, and we have something to ‘show for it’.

This is our opportunity. This is how to do online learning.