“Time marches on. and sooner or later you realize it is marching across your face.” Dolly Parton’s cynical remark from the 1989 movie, Steel Magnolias, speaks a mouthful about aging … and, unfortunately, about Instructor-Led Training (ILT).
Can you handle the truth?
The simple truth is that ILT is getting old; in fact, it’s been attempting to undergo somewhat of a “face lift” for several years. But I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news — you might want to sit down. ILT is no longer young and beautiful, and it’s time to operate. Prognosis? Grim, without significant changes. Suggested cure? I’m going to recommend major reconstruction and rehab with blended learning. Why blended learning, you ask? Let’s consult the lab results.
Technology is here to stay — leap or be left behind!
Blended learning has the potential to leverage the newest technology making, it not only appealing, but useful and stylish. Stylish, you say? Sure, why not! Since when can’t learning be fun and engaging? Remember back in high school when learning was easily equated with a boring classroom experience? Well, no longer. With the introduction of laptops, iPods, kiosk PCs, and mobile phones, technology is luring our learners out of the traditional classroom and into the virtual training and learning environment.
Don’t forget — we are the educational thought leaders. We need to stay in tune with technology trends and remain creative. We can choose to focus on leveraging all of the tools available to us as Learning and Development professionals, just as we have always done through the years. It’s just that our tools have changed. We have migrated from wax tablets to chalk boards to white boards and overhead projection systems. So what’s next? Who knows? In fact, I have no idea what’s coming, but I can’t wait!
Adults learn best through experience.
While self-directed learning leverages the learner’s experiences to work in tandem with the information being presented, truly making a connection requires the learner to apply said information (Remember, use it or lose it!). Blended learning provides this opportunity.
Think of it this way — if you do something for someone as opposed to having them do it themselves, they don’t truly learn how to navigate through the process. When it comes to learning, support your learners with the knowledge (via e-Learning) and follow it up with a workshop, discussion group, open lab, or other opportunity to apply the information. Allow your learners to discover their connections independently, but in a setting which encourages application and discovery. By providing this environment, we create the opportunity to ask probing questions, challenge assumptions, and solicit experiences. Make it real!
Tips for creating blended solutions
- Purchase “Transition to e-Learning” Development Tools. Software tools such as Articulate Presenter or Adobe Breeze Presenter allow you to transition your current PowerPoint slides into a streamlined multimedia e-Learning module complete with narration, interactive quizzes, and Flash-based output compression. You will still need to create good streamlined content, but simple e-Learning development tools will help make the transition from ILT to blended learning a smoother one.
- Blend “Content-Heavy” Courses. A basic course which exceeds four hours in duration is generally too long to keep the attention of a typical learner in today’s fast-paced world. Take what the learners need to know and put that content in a self-directed e-Learning module. Then give the learners the opportunity to practice what they need to do in a face-to-face coaching environment by creating a companion workshop. Give your learners a well-deserved break from all that content — they’re full!
- Know Your Learners’ Needs. As trainers, we often think we know our learners’ needs; however, needs can be tricky. Take the time to conduct a needs analysis. Find the “true” needs of your learners. Where’s their pain? What’s working? And more importantly, what’s not working? For example, problems with workplace security may not require training the whole organization on the security policy, but rather coaching a small group of employees how to properly set door alarms at the end of the day. Discover the real problem before you jump to the solution!
- Don’t Throw Out the Baby with the Books. There is value in books, manuals, and written reference materials included in training activities, but don’t use words to replace examples, images, and experience. Create custom written materials by integrating only the portions of the written materials that pertain to your training topic. Learn to be more specific, and customize your materials for precisely the right support!
