Virtually There Session Recap

The future of learning is blended. As content becomes more complex, learner attention spans shorten, and new technologies emerge, a combination approach to training offers engagement and impact.

But what stars need to align in order to create an effective blend? Expert Dr. Rebecca Sutherns joined the Virtually There series to share five case studies from her career that defined her personal best practices. Four success factors proved particularly pertinent to our processes.

With plenty of new instructional strategies, techniques, and technologies available to us to create modern learning, it seems creating a comprehensive and instructionally sound blended learning solution should be fairly easy.

But it’s not.

Simply stringing together a bunch of learning assets into the curriculum isn’t enough to encourage individuals to complete the blend. That’s because blended learning is much more than content associated with a common theme. Blended learning should create a purposeful learning journey; a journey in which the traveler recognizes the value of each step along the way.

Has your organization jumped on the blended learning bandwagon, yet? This formal- and informal-learning combination approach to training moves beyond “hot trend” – it offers the opportunity to support learners after structured events end.

We focus quite a bit on the instructional design required for this more comprehensive learning model. It makes sense. Blended programs include many moving parts, and the associated complexity requires thoughtful design. After all, we have to create an environment that supports learner engagement and knowledge retention, and this begins at the proverbial drawing board.

But, facilitation matters, too. Design helps us plan for program success. Solid instruction enables that success.

A recent article by Harvard Business Review explored How Wearable AI Will Amplify Human Intelligence.

Author Lauren Golembiewski explains

“Intelligence amplification is the use of technology to augment human intelligence. And a paradigm shift is on the horizon, where new devices will offer less intrusive, more intuitive ways to amplify our intelligence.”

Recently, a Reuters article titled How to Create Connections at Work in the Age of Isolation went viral on LinkedIn. The main point that resonated with readers? The loneliness of remote workers.

Today, organizations look wildly different than they did even ten years ago. Author Lauren Young points out that “one-third of workers in the US often work remotely [and] the number of remote workers is up 115% in the past decade.”

As an entirely virtual team of over 70 people, we understand the perception of isolation. When a single team spans the globe, how can real connections possibly exist?

When online learning and engagement tools first appeared on the scene, people were talking about whether to use them. The conversation in learning design was about face-to-face OR digital.

Trainers must not only support learning objectives, but also business goals. More often than not, our stakeholders include our learners’ managers. Their involvement in our initiatives impact the outcomes we see.

In our experience, if managers undervalue components of a blend – for example, virtual classroom sessions – their teams will lack the necessary support and resources they need in order to successfully participate in learning activities.

The best bet for overcoming leadership leeriness? Training, of course!

Training success relies heavily on the audience. If participants don’t believe content connects to their needs, they will not engage.

And can you blame them? We all feel like we have many projects, tasks, and responsibilities. We simply do not have the time to invest in an event that we perceive as irrelevant.

Workflow learning is something we're starting to hear a lot about. It's the concept of embedding content into the flow of work at each moment of learning need.

I think this is a great idea. But it’s not really new.  Our children are already doing this.

And, as is typical, they can't believe we haven't been taking advantage of all of the technology available to us to support our workflow all along. (Admittedly, they aren’t using these words.)

I’ll share a personal example.

Virtually There Session Recap

“Did the training work?”

If your stakeholders asked you this question, would you have an answer supported by proof, or would you feel anxious about demonstrating the value of your work?

We know that data can clarify the worth our learning events provide to participants and on the business’ bottom line. But the process of collecting, analyzing, and using data feels involved, complex, and perhaps sometimes more than it’s worth.

Analytics expert Scott Weersing to the rescue! During his recent Virtually There session, Scott shared the basics of learning analytics and how to use them to show your work makes an impact. (Watch the full replay here.)