In
a recent article
in Training Journal,
Peter Honey
argued articulately that classroom learning should not be written off
yet and still has a lot to contribute. His focus was on the softer
side of classroom learning arguing that they are ‘ring-fenced
spaces with learning the explicit purpose’
and that ‘It
is far easier for classrooms to be learning-friendly than everyday
workplaces’. He
points out that
‘They
allow people to meet together to share experiences and indulge in
reciprocal learning. They are cheerful, off-the-record places with
relaxed laughter.’
In
spite of this, e-learning continues its steady growth – estimated
to reach a value of £45 billion by 2014
with growth rates of around 30% in Eastern Countries. In this rising
tide the focus of e-learning continues to be cost and convenience
rather than quality, although recent trends towards using interactive (serious) games and ice
breakers,1
the continued effort to merge classroom and online sessions mean that
increasingly studies of the quality of the learning suggest less and
less of a gap.2 In particular, corporate e-learning continues to grow in an economy
where the business cases can be made for change.
The
pace of global change continues to increase at the same time as there
is an increased need to deliver results and new outcomes even faster.
New Processes put in place quickly become obsolete and must rely on
the inventiveness and goodwill, cemented by relationships between
colleagues, to provide the glue and sticking plaster which ensures
continued delivery of the organisation’s
goals and products.
Customer demands for service and quality continue to rise not as
fast as the average player in the market but at the speed of the
fastest. Through collaboration, merger or acquisition, even small
scale enterprises and local government institutions are drawn into
having to think and work at a global scale, crossing cultures, and
time-zones.
The
use of the classroom described by Peter Honey above would be an ideal
way of forging the new cross cultural relationships. The use of
traditional e-learning as a way to re-equip and re-skill at the speed
required. But both have within them constraints which prevent them
providing the solution to the demands of the 21st
century. The figure below highlights the challenge:
E-learning ends up relegated to the bottom half of the set of cubes whilst the classroom is stuck in the front half. Even newer e-learning approaches remain stuck in broadcast mode and because at the end of the webinar there is ‘nothing to see’ the lack of persistence keeps them as events rather than as captures of knowledge for life long application.
In
the corporate environment there is an increasing demand that the
learning is not
only learned
but
put
into practice.
This simple need means that three new areas will begin to quickly
rise to absorb the old worlds of e-learning and classroom learning.
The
first is the use of Augmented Learning. My favourite example of this concept is the way in
which certain Duracell batteries can tell you whether they still hold
a charge or not. Augmented learning is a way in which to attach
answers to the questions which arise from real life objects. An
accountant looking at a balance sheet should instantly have access to
the set of questions he should ask and calculations to carry out. In
fact the accountant need not learn anything at all! In areas where
conventions are strong, and the process is repetitive this type of
learning will steadily come to dominate. It is easily updatable for
all users at the same time and does not require re-training or a
human change management process.
The
second area is Mobile Learning.
My favourite example of this is happened a few months ago when
after I had completed a IRL conference presentation I was surrounded
by people waiting to ask questions and noticed that one person was
‘Googling’ me on his phone and reading the background article
while queueing up. Mobile learning will enable the learning to cross
the boundary from the classroom/webinar into the workplace.
The
third is Enterprise Led Learning. My favorite example is the use of
3D internet (fully-functional, immersive environments). For example,
on QUBE,
the ‘classroom’ (where avatars interact, work in syndicates,
brainstorm with post-its, specialists give short talks, etc.) is just
across the virtual hall from the Team/ Project room where the global
execution team, from several countries, keep their PowerPoints, Excel
spreadsheets and plans and all meet for an hour twice a week
(although the individuals come and go frequently since such
environments offer ‘persistence’- everything stays where you left
it.). The classroom agenda is set by the needs of the Enterprise but
there is no functional distinction between learning and application.
In addition the demand to develop people across the globe is met
without disruption. The learning and the activity all share the same
purpose of delivering the goals. This type of learning best solves
the challenges at the top/executive levels of the organisation, in
the innovative and creative centres and the areas of complex change
and project execution. What is common to these three environments
are that the people face challenges of high uncertainty and
ambiguity, full of unknown-unknowns.
So
strangely although the tide of e-learning is still in full flood, by
acknowledging the softer, relational and emotional advantages of
classrooms to cross cultural boundaries and build relationships three
new solutions emerge. One which removes the need for learning,
another which provides it when & where you need it, and a third
which merges learning and working seamlessly using learning simply as
another resource in the delivery of challenging enterprise goals.
