Evaluating and Adopting Change

We live in an age where change is constant. In the learning field there are a lot of new products, processes and methodologies that we as learning professionals should review, consider and hopefully, find some that will work for us. As we review the new, we also want to keep in mind what is already working and add or augment to what we know works for us.

As Crystal Kadakia and Lisa M.D. Owens point out you can update what you have, refreshing and adding without getting rid of what is good.

https://www.td.org/Publications/Magazines/TD/TD-Archive/2017/03/Modernizing-the-Learning-Design-Process
Association for Talent Development (ATD)
Wednesday, March 01, 2017 – by Crystal Kadakia, Lisa M.D. Owens

“Don’t throw away your existing programs just yet. You can modernize them by adding a few of the nine elements commonly seen in modern learning:
• accessible 24/7
• autonomous
• chunked into smaller bites
• easily updateable
• experiential
• self-selected
• hyperlinked to related content
• MVAK—that is, multimedia, adding visual, auditory, or kinesthetic input
• social.”

Here is another list from early in the year about the new topics for 2017:
http://www.yourtrainingedge.com/top-learning-and-development-trends-in-2017/
Top Learning and Development Trends in 2017
By Guest Contributor – 01/16/2017

Your Training Edge: Your Online resource for Corporate Training
• Mobile Learning
• Social Learning
• Adaptive Learning
• Virtual Reality
• Measuring Effectiveness

Both of these lists are good because so much is going on these days. I think when the 2018 review of the 2017 new trends and predictions for 2018 come out we will once again read about a multitude of new and innovative ways we can enhance and improve learning events in our organizations.

I think the guest author of the “Top Learning and Development Trends in 2017” has it right.

“As an astute professional, you need to keep a close eye on every development in the training and development space and other areas. Connect the dots and use newer techniques even from outside the learning and development domain to make your strategies unique and innovative.”

However, I also want to mention that we should not lose sight of several other factors to consider in modernization the way we plan and create learning materials. I believe the most important element is still the need to begin with identifying the end result at the beginning of any effort. The end result is what we want learners to be able to do as a result of what they have learned. In this way we can develop the training with a focus on what needs to be included to achieve that end result. Yes, this isn’t new, but it needs to be considered in our modernization activities.

We need to continue to focus on both how we present learning events as well as how people learn. We also need to look at things like explaining the concept or process that needs to be learned. In addition, we need to include examples, practice, feedback, and an explanation of where things can go wrong and how to prevent or fix issues. Yes, again, these things are not new but they need to continue to be mentioned as sometimes we get wrapped up in the new and we forget what still is relevant and important.

Development of learning products can be roughly divided into a few areas, formatting the content of the presentation, looking at how people learn, and determining what has to be integrated into the learning event to make learning happen. We need to give learners the ability to assess how well they are doing, which practice exercises allow them to do. In addition to practice questions about the concepts or processes, we need to provide the learner with situations that allow them to use what they have learned to solve problems. It is not enough to ask learners to explain a concept or a process; they also need to apply their learnings to real world situations. A very good way to do this is to develop scenario questions. Scenario questions describe a situation in which the learner has to apply what they have learned to respond to the question. Feedback explaining how and why things need to be done to address the situation described in the questions is critical for learning to occur. Learners need feedback and they also need pointers to places where they can learn more.

In the last few years we have really begun to make good progress in finding ways to enhance learning events. But we still need to pull all the components together, test how well they are working, and see what else we need to do. It is great that we have new tools and that we can make things available 24 seven but we still need to focus on how learning happens and what is needed for learning to occur. So let’s continue to find new ways to design, develop and deliver learning products.

Social Media Risks and Rewards

Thanks to social media, messages today can be delivered, commented on, edited, revised, accepted and/or rejected in a very short period of time.  Social media is interactive and universally available to anyone with access to the technology.  It also allows the message to be viewed indefinitely.

Blogging and tweeting can – and should – be used to communicate ideas and concepts that increase learning.  Just as television, radio, music and all the other entertainment media present some programs that instruct, others that entertain, and still others that do both.

As time goes on, the term social media may become viewed as a misnomer.  It is more than a medium for social interaction.  Like any other media, social media can be used for a multitude of purposes.

For right now the terminology is social media.  My point is that the term communicates a consistent message to the majority of people.

Educators, business professionals, parents and other members of society are working to define how social media can be of benefit to them and to society as a whole.   The open availability of social media is a concern to some.  These people and organizations appear to be concerned about allowing everyone and anyone to express their views, regardless of the topic.

Some posts and comments may be inappropriate.  They may contain inflammatory and often erroneous content.  But free speech should never be curtailed or even discouraged.   Because of the interactive nature of these new communication mechanisms, readers are able to reply or comment on these posts immediately.  Therefore, many people have pointed out the errors and inappropriateness of these entries.  I believe that most people will look past the negative. Perhaps a code of ethics will be needed to control libelous or hateful comments.  However, I’m optimistic that things can be managed without formal controls.

… the absence of proven best practices has left some colleges leery of jumping into the social Web, says Sean Fitzgerald, vice president for business development at the marketing firm Spectrum Creative Solutions. “We’ve found that a lot of clients that we talk to are real apprehensive about using social networking tools because they don’t know much about it,” Fitzgerald says.

“It’s easy to be against something you’re afraid of, and it’s easy to be afraid of something you don’t understand,” says Brad Ward, CEO of BlueFuego, a consulting agency that monitors chatter about its clients (which include Abilene Christian University, Indiana University and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst) and advises them on the “do’s and dont’s” of the social Web. “That’s where I think a lot of administrators are on this.”  http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/10/09/socialmedia

Looking back at the history of communication, tools and techniques for communication have changed as each mode of communication grew.  There is a theory that humans first communicated for survival.  Communication could be used to indicate danger, food or other essentials for life.  In time gestures, language, art and other modes were integrated.  Similar process takes place when a new type of media is developed.  Somewhere along the line, all methods of communication are used for learning, entertainment and a host of other purposes.

Once a message is posted on a social medium, instantaneous communication and interaction becomes possible, both across the world and across cultural and educational levels.  With the advent of this new media, teachers become learners and vice versa.  In fact, most participants are both teachers and learners.  They are also able to function as members of a discussion group where concepts and ideas are explored.

Those with knowledge, information, views, or just willingness to participate, are able to make comments and express their viewpoint through social media.  We are in a new era where teachers no longer need to be the major source for spreading knowledge.  Many good teachers are pleased to have additional sources of information.

Many people are restricted from using or fully using social media by their employers or schools.  In some cases, people within learning institutions and industries are trying to use social media to help an organization succeed.  In some cases, control of these communications is good.  However, in other cases it might be fear of losing control or concerns unrelated to the actual situation and need.

At the end of the day, what we are talking about is another medium for communication. Social media should be treated as a communications mechanism.  It can deliver many messages to many audiences.   This of course is what makes social media so powerful.  But, it is merely a tool and should be viewed as what it is.  A hammer is a tool, it can be used to create, or destroy. Social media is a tool and how it is used will vary by its users.

We are fortunate to be living in an age where we have the opportunity to access and share information. We can learn, teach, share and grow at speeds that were unimaginable just a few short years ago.

More people worldwide are using social media. Comscore.com, which tracks Internet activity trends, reported that in April, social networking grew to 140 million users worldwide. Facebook had 67.5 million visitors, and Twitter had 17 million visitors. The MU Facebook network now has about 45,000 profiles attached to it.

….

Some people find social media to be a positive experience for education.

“We’re globally connected,” said Jason Ohler, a former professor of education technology at the University of Alaska, now a media psychology professor at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, Calif. “It only makes sense to be globally connected when we pursue education.”

Some Columbia students are not so easily persuaded.

“I don’t really care. It (social media) probably wouldn’t help. It’s social type stuff — we’re trying to learn,” said Michael Phillip, a 20-year-old junior mechanical engineering major at MU.  “It wouldn’t be distracting. It just wouldn’t be necessary.”

With technology still advancing and opinions about social media differing, time will tell where social media fits in.

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/08/05/what-do-you-think-using-social-media-sites-education-system/

There is valid concern from members of academic communities and business organizations about liability for comments posted by employees, students and others in their employ or otherwise associated with their community.  These are problems that need to be dealt with.  Social media has a great deal to offer and we as a society need to find ways for people to use these new communication tools responsibly.  We need to develop processes that allow open dialog without leaving the individual or the organization open to litigation.  I believe this is the direction that needs to be taken so that the benefits of these new media can be open to everyone.