Technology has transformed training in so many ways. In this post we are going to look at two of the biggest transformations: how technology can and does make training programmes more engaging and impactful.
Thanks to technology, there are so many ways that knowledge can be accessed and shared now. As well as trainers and books, the traditional sources of knowledge, we also have video and audio. We have animations, podcasts, gamification, collaborative learning platforms….Learning is so much more varied, accessible and immediate.
Learners can tailor their learning to their needs and organisations can tailor learning to learner and organisational needs. As a result, Learning initiatives can be a lot more engaging and a lot more impactful.
There is a much greater understanding about learning needs now. All the latest neuroscience research tells us that learning happens best in a social context. There are lots of books on cognitive science and learning, such as ‘Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning’ and talks, such as this one by Paul Howard-Jones, ‘How can we play, learn and be more creative?’
“Technology has broken down so many barriers, enabling people to connect together and learn together.”
Social learning has really taken off in a big way. It’s how humans process and retain information most effectively. Of course, social learning happens face-to-face and we are getting better at utilising it as part of classroom training. But it also happens just as easily online. In fact, more easily usually, because there aren’t the geographical and time constraints of classroom learning. With asynchronous learning in particular, learners are able to dip in and out of learning at times and locations that best suit them.
There are numerous social learning tools (Noddlepod included) that enable people to connect with their peers, find out what they are doing, share ideas and information and share problems and solutions. And those peers can be based anywhere – in the same organisation, in the same building or working for a completely different organisation (or themselves) on the other side of the world. Technology has broken down so many barriers, enabling people to connect together and learn together.
The critical bit is finding and using the right technology, in the right way, to enable people to connect and learn as they need to connect and learn.
The script around how people learn has also changed. Because of the open nature, flexibility and agility of modern learning, learners are much more able to pursue different lines of enquiry as they present themselves. One bit of information or interaction on a social learning network can spark new ideas and new questions. Learners are not tied to a specific format and a specific route, as was more the case with traditional learning.
Learning is a continual process, not a one-off event. Technology-enabled learning helps to keep this process live, current and active. Learning doesn’t have to be delivered in a set time at a set location – ie. two days in the classroom. Training programmes can be spaced out, enabling learners to learn at their own pace, absorb and reflect on their learning and then return to it. This makes for much deeper, more impactful learning. It also makes it more manageable for individuals and organisations. Learning can be delivered in shorter timescales – two hours, an hour, 30 minutes or even ten minutes.
“Learning is a continual process, not a one-off event. Technology-enabled learning helps to keep this process live, current and active.”
Michelle Parry-Slater, who runs her own consultancy business 
called Kairos Modern Learning, talks about training in terms of injections. “It used to be that you went on a course and had an injection of knowledge transfer. But, like any injection, it wears off. Tech provides booster injections, if you like. It keeps you engaged and the conversation alive.”
Parry-Slater gives an example of pre, during and post event learning and how technology can deliver really engaging, targeted learning that draws people in. “You need to start a conversation beforehand, keep it going during the event and then keep it going afterwards. Have video links before the event, have a blog squad or a Tweet squad (or both), send out a checklist…You need to keep people thinking about the stuff beyond that big injection.”
Another of the beauties of technology-enabled learning is that it doesn’t necessarily have to be a big thing – the little bits can be just as important.
This is the fourth in a series of blog posts on the topic of facilitation.