The process of learning is quickly merging with the power of technology. The technology portion is disruptive and is causing rapid change in the way we do things. Three trends are emerging.
Device Proliferation — technology has brought us mobile devices that can be with us always. We carry it in our pocket or purse. It can be attached to our belt or carried in a briefcase or backpack. It is accessed at a moment’s notice. When used properly, it provides the required information at the moment of need in the classroom and while out and about. These mobile devices may become the classroom of the future.
Cloud Computing — much of the content to be learned and referenced is migrating to the cloud. It is available from anywhere, at any time. Access is through many device types. The mobile devices are become the preferred method.
Natural User Interface — more methods are becoming available to interface with the devices during the learning process. These include speech, touch, handwriting, and even motion. Additional methods are in development and will provide future options.
As the technology continues to merge with the learning process, we will see more examples of learning at the moment of need. Are you on track to accept these changes or simply watching them pass you by?
The concept of flipping the classroom is an interesting idea. It changes the traditional dynamics of a classroom.
The learning portion of the experience happens in the early morning or evening hours. The content is provided through an online learning course which can be viewed at a time most convenient and productive. It can be viewed multiple times as needed.
The classroom time is then used to accomplish the homework portion of the learning experience. Qualified mentors are available to assist with the homework as the concepts learned are applied through practice problems.
Will this change the way we learn in the school programs and in the corporate world? Time will tell. The traditional methods are not always the best options going forward.
The Khan Academy (www.kahnacademy.com) is providing a resource that is testing this concept. Short, bite-size modules are provided online for students to access anytime, from anywhere. Content is learned through a demonstrative approach that can be absorbed at the learner’s pace. Time together with other students can be focused on applying the learned concepts to reinforce the knowledge and skills.
Will this approach work? Can we really flip the classroom? Can the learning process become an individual personal responsibility with focused direction and assistance from others? Let’s see what the future brings.
The limitations of the lecture format have been discussed for many years. Studies have shown that individual tutoring has a huge learning advantage over lectures. The average tutored student performs better than 98 percent of the students in a standard classroom.
The quest has been to find a personalized learning method that is affordable and consistent. Over the years, technology began to make it possible to engage students better, teach to their individual needs, and hasten their mastery of a subject.
By prompting recall and placing ideas in context, online learning methods improve the engagement which is critical to learning.
Online resources are decentralized and widely distributed. This causes learning to spring up from small groups and individuals away from the formal group setting. Knowledge is freely shared. eLearning and mobile learning turns out to be an extremely good model for learning for many fields and disciplines.
Learning is not longer dependent on centralized instruction. Rather, it is about establishing oneself as a node in a broad network of distributed resources. This is learning at the moment of need.
(ideas from the article “The Proliferation of Devices spurs more Mobile Learning” in the T&D Magazine – March 2012)
To be most effective in your ongoing learning efforts, you must have some goals established. Here are five categories of learning goals to consider.
Knowledge and skill assessment: Take some time to assess your knowledge and skills or that of your team or group. There are many resources to help in this initial task.
Access to “look-up knowledge”: Assess which knowledge you will need access to. It is not required to remember this knowledge, just be able to find it when it is needed. This is learning at the moment.
Acquire “must-know knowledge”: Transfer knowledge that is critical to retain and must be applied on a regular basis without stopping to reference it. The transfer process moves it from short-term memory into long-term memory. Be sure to build reliable triggers to help recall this knowledge at the moment of need.
Create and share knowledge: Engage people in the creation of knowledge and in the sharing of this knowledge with others. As we all know, the teacher learns more than the student.
Skill development and practice: Learn a new ability or develop a new capacity to do something well. Then practice to make it a skill and to retain the knowledge.
Outcome-driven learning goals will increase relevance and value as you work to accomplish them. Do you have learning goals?
(ideas from the article “Designing learning for a 21st century workforce” in T&D Magazine – April 2012)
There are continuous improvements in size, price, functionality, variety, and availability of mobile devices. A growing number of individuals are using mobile devices at work to accomplish their jobs. An increase in mobile learning is inevitable.
Many see the tablet as the first practical mobile learning device to overcome the size limitations of handsets. The tablet provides many of the same user experiences as a computer or laptop because of the larger screen.
Tablets are great for showing video content. They allow for the use of long-form content such as ebooks and articles. There is more screen to layout training content or provide reference details at the moment of need.
We are seeing a move from resistance to mobile learning to an attitude of “let’s do it.”
Individuals with multiple devices (handset, tablet, ebook reader, laptop) are able to switch to the one they are carrying to continue the learning experience. They tend to bring their personal mobile devices to the office and carry them throughout the day to provide easy access to the information required to complete the task at hand.
These mobile devices are driving increased engagement and enable access to content at the moment of need. Training materials and timely reference resources must be developed for these mobile devices to maximize this tool for our employees, customers and clients.
The content will need to be presented in bite-size segments to better fit the mobile environment and the expectations. This is the primary focus of Learning Elevated.
(ideas from the article “The Proliferation of Devices spurs more Mobile Learning” in the T&D Magazine – March 2012)
