The place of design in learning

Last Thursday (27^th May) I took part in a very interesting ‘LearnChat’ (#lrnchat) via Twitter about the place of design in learning. Since then I have thought a bit more about this topic.

#lrnchat

If you want to see the transcript of the latest #lrnchat or even join in next week then go to http://lrnchat.wordpress.com/ for full details of when the ‘chats’ take place and what you need to do.

The nature of design

I think it goes without saying that ‘design’ pervades all of our lives, whether it is in our homes, the architecture of buildings (as well as in them), the equipment we use, the layout of villages, towns and cities, to name but a few.

But so does or should ‘design’ pervade all aspects of what we provide to learners, irrespective of whether that provision is for training, development or educational purposes, and regardless of the means by which the learning is delivered (eg face-to-face, classroom-based, blended, e-Learning, paper-based learning and so on).

What is ‘design’

Whilst various definitions exist, here are two useful ones from a L&D point of view:

§ ‘a plan or drawing produced to show the look and function or workings of a building, garment or other object before it is built or made’

§ ‘purpose, planning or intention that exists or is thought to exist behind an action, fact or material object’.

Design in L&D

We already have and use the term ‘instructional designer’ which for me covers both definitions provided above and which explains why such a role is both a crucial and fundamental aspect all educational, training and development provision. However, whilst I am an instructional designer, I am not a graphic designer, an artist or, even, a programmer! Yet, I would contest that all these roles are examples of design in learning.

In all the forms in which learning takes place, the look and feel of what is, or should be presented to users must be a primary consideration. I’m not just talking about e-Learning here, I’m talking about all aspects regardless of their means of delivery.

A neglected area?

As far as I’m concerned, learning design per se has been a much neglected area and it continues to be so. From the ubiquitous ‘handout’ to the ‘e-Learning’ course, all elements and facets of design should figure prominently. Just as much most of us like and appreciate the aesthetic aspects of our world, the same is also true for our learning experiences.

Essentially, anything which helps me to learn, be it formally or informally, has to be good and this includes the design, in all its formats, which has gone into it.

The place of design in learning? It must be a given but I think we have some way still to go to prove it!

The Power of Social Media

The Power of Social Media

I’ve now gone past the ‘wow’ factor with Social Media (SoMe) to appreciate just what SoMe tools can do in the world of Learning and Development. Here are a few thoughts.

The tools

Well, for starters, there are so many of them and they are increasing on an almost monthly basis. If you want to see a list of some of them then look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media which also provides a neat classification. Also Jane Hart (http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/) the UK’s leading SoMe guru (I hope she will forgive me for describing her thus) provides a ToolsZoNE area on her website, which lists over 2,000 tools in 12 categories.

But which ones are useful for L&D purposes? Again Jane Hart (http://c4lpt.co.uk/recommended/index.html) lists 100 top tools as voted for by 278 learning professionals worldwide in 2009. Interestingly ‘Twitter’ is ranked the number one tool. Delicious is ranked second with You Tube, Google Reader and Google Docs forming the top five respectively.

So, without a doubt, many SoMe tools are not only suitable for L&D purposes but they are also being used more and more by the profession.

The power

Although it is relatively early days with using SoMe tools for learning, particularly formal learning, there is a number of interesting reports from people who have embedded the use of these tools into their L&D programmes. One of the most recent reports from Jane Hart (I hope she doesn’t start to get a complex!) can be found at http://bit.ly/9XyYXL which details Jane’s experience of using Twitter in a face-to-face workshop. If you want to know ‘how’ just read her write-up as it’s excellent.

On 30 April the topic for #lrnchat was ‘Enterprise 2.0’. I expected the ‘chat’ to be about Enterprise 2.0 platforms but to my delight it focused on Enterprise 2.0 tools, i.e. SoMe tools. You can find a transcript of the chats on this topic at http://lrnchat.com/. It was interesting to discover that only a relatively few people had actually managed successfully to embed some of these tools into their current L&D programmes.

Apart from IT issues, such as IT departments/controls which block or act as a negative influence on the use of such tools, there are some other factors which, seemingly, are limiting their use. Factors such as getting buy-in from the ‘hierarchy’, the ability of learners to use the tools, a limited vision as to how these tools can be used effectively and not just because they are available, and how to ‘manage’ their use by the L&D profession, appear to be some of current constraints.

However, in the next year or so I expect to see the increasing use of SoMe tools in L&D as current constraints are overcome. It is their power and potential which will come to the fore and survive, believe me!

Many thanks to my growing network of L&D folk, without whom I would not have been able to write this post.

Twitter - 1 Year On

I have now been a ‘tweeter’ for just over a year. I have tweeted 805 times (and counting), have 129 followers, and I follow 56 people. I also have the somewhat dubious distinction of being a ‘Twitter Elite in Warwickshire, England’. I think I am now completely bitten by the Twitter bug!

An important grovel: I realize that I haven’t blogged for many months, for which I apologize, but work has really taken off in a big way (no doubt the subject of further blogs) and I’ve been so busy that I haven’t found the time for blogging, that is until now ....

What’s happened?

Since I last blogged on my Twitter experience, a number of things has changed:

I have ‘met’ many interesting people, not just from the UK but also from Australia, Germany, India and the US, most of whom work/are interested in Learning and Development, e-Learning, Social Media, etc.

I now have 129 (at the time of writing) faithful followers. I decided early on not to follow everyone, especially those who have ‘Twitterrhoea’, as it would be impossible to keep up with everyone’s tweets. Accordingly, I am at the moment following just 56 people.

I have now used Twitter to ask questions of my followers, for example I asked recently what people felt were the main obstacles to designing and developing high quality and effective e-Learning; I was not disappointed with the response that I received.

I also take part in a weekly discussion group about learning, #lrnchat. It’s amazing what you can say in 140 characters and all discussions/debates thus far have been very lively and extremely informative. Also, I have met some more kindred souls as a result.

Whilst I use Twitter mainly for L&D purposes, I now also tweet about Cally (my beloved Labrador) and our adventures, plus cricket and tennis (two of my passions). I’ve also taken heed of some other people’s tweets and am now happy to include some social tweets, such as my latest: “Arrrh I hate this British Summer Time lark (apols to those in Scotland) – I have far too many clocks & it makes me really bad tempered.” However, when it comes to my work as a Parish Councillor I do not tweet about this, just in case I land myself in any trouble, as I can do that very easily without Twitter!

I now ‘retweet’ anyone’s tweets that I think will interest the vast majority of my followers. Using the recently added ‘retweet’ button this is a very quick and easy thing to do, plus I have also learned how to RT (i.e. retweet) people’s contributions where I can add my own comments or views.

Last but not least, when, on very rare occasions, Twitter goes off-line I feel quite deprived! Now, how sad is that?

Where next?

Some people can be extremely disparaging about Twitter, especially those people who tweet. However, Twitter is what you make of it and how you use it. Having used Twitter for over a year I now see how it can be used, amongst other things, with considerable benefit for ‘Social Learning’.

Twitter is a readily available and free tool. It is easy to set up a group of likeminded people, e.g. #lrnchat, and to moderate this use. Users can ask questions of followers, provide information, generate debate, and so on. The people I follow are not lonely, small-minded folk, as some have claimed. Most, if not all, are at the cutting and leading edge of Learning and Development and I have learned so much from them.

Yes, I am now a truly dedicated follower of Twitter!

The Tidal Flow of Technology

Just like the tide, the effects of technology also ebb and flow. What was yesterday’s hot topic can become tomorrow’s has-been. However, is this always the case?

The tidal flow of social media

When the concept of social media first burst on the L&D scene, I bet I was not alone in thinking that it might become another one-minute technology wonder. Last November, I was asked by the British Institute for Learning and Development (the BILD) to give a presentation at one of their Connect meetings on ‘Web 2.0’. I entitled my presentation ‘The New Face of Learning?’ – here’s the link to the slideshow for you so you can see what I talked about. Note, the ‘?’ mark in the title as that is particularly significant.

or click here

Recently I have been thinking some nine months on whether what I said on that occasion was still current or not. I must admit that my approach then was one of caution, not in terms of actually using Web 2.0 applications but more about the impact their use is likely to have on organisations, instructional designers and end users.

The impact issues which I raised then are still very current, if any thing they are becoming even more important. For example only the other day I read about an organisation which had banned its employees from using Twitter in the workplace – a trend which I think is likely to grow rather than to recede! Even in one’s private life the use of things like Twitter and Facebook needs to be done with due care and consideration if one’s professional life is not to be compromised. I know that every time I twitter I am extremely careful about what I say, unlike some people whom I couldn’t possibly name!

So, how do things stack up now? Has the social media tide flowed and ebbed or is it still flowing? My considered view is that it is still very much flowing and that there is a lot more flowing yet to come. I think that in the next few years the use of social media is going to result in a mixture of pleasure and pain; probably in roughly equal measure.

… and in case you are not convinced, then just remember this: “The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you're in control of your life. If you don't, life controls you.” Anthony Robbins.

Trendy Terms Alert (3)

Here is my third L&D ‘Trendy Term’ alert. Each Trendy Term Alert (TTA) will consider whether the term has any mileage or whether it should be consigned to the trash can.

TTA: ‘Informal Learning’

Jay Cross has largely been accredited with coining the term ‘Informal Learning’. However, at the moment there doesn’t appear to be any agreement about what activities actually constitute informal learning and in what circumstances it takes place. The only agreement seems to be that informal learning is everything that isn’t formal learning! So, at the moment people appear to be defining it in terms of what it is not. Interesting?

Different things to different folks

It would seem that informal learning means different things to different people, for example, whilst to most it means learning which is not structured or organised, some people see it as learning which takes place outside of a dedicated learning environment, and others as learning which is not formally organised into a programme, course, event, or curriculum.

Absurd claims?

“20% of learning is formal and 80% is informal”! Now, where on earth did this myth come from? Certainly not from empirical research I can assure you. I also very much doubt whether such a claim could ever be quantified so accurately and so consistently, simply because there is not, as yet, a clear, standard, and working definition of ‘informal learning’.

“Informal learning is only possible through the use of Social Media”! Complete rubbish, as long before educational and training institutions were established most people learned informally. Indeed, ask any enlightened teacher or trainer and they will tell you that there has always been informal learning and that for time immemorial it has contributed to how all us learn each and every day of our lives.

Much ado about nothing?

No, not really, because in many ways I believe that technological advances in recent years have been a catalyst for this apparently new found interest in informal learning. In most of its guises, informal learning requires a considerable degree of self-direction on behalf of the learner. In addition to this, the informal learner also needs access to appropriate resources. Technology in the form of networks and computers have opened up access to a vast range of learning resources including knowledge, materials, and people.

Technology, in the form of television, computers, mobile ‘phones, PDAs, iPods, and so on, now lets millions of us to communicate (eg via e-mail), to exchange information and knowledge (eg via Blogs and Wikis), to access learning materials (eg e-Learning modules). If any of these activities result in unplanned, unstructured, and unorganised learning then in my book they can be described as informal learning.

Implications

The first implication for organisations, and in particular their learning and development functions, to realise is that informal learning exists and that probably a lot more could be done to encourage and support this type of learning. One way of doing this is to provide access to informal learning resources, such as technology, materials, and people. Another way is to encourage the use of informal learning activities as part of formal learning programmes and to foster and to support environments which are conducive to informal learning.

The second implication is for organisations to realise that there is a very fine dividing line between formal and informal learning. Informal learning, by its very nature of what it isn’t, is something of an untamed beast. Like Aslan, in the Chronicles of Narnia, informal learning will come and go as and when it chooses, it will be there when it is needed, it will always result in a positive experience for the person concerned (as negative learning is not a meaningful concept), and above all it cannot, by its very nature, be controlled, managed, or quantified.

Conclusion?

with a dose of caution though!

N.B. This blog is based on an article I wrote for Croner’s Training Briefing, January 2007.

Delivering More For Less

If leaner is supposed to be meaner, then how can more L&D be delivered for less without compromising quality?

Tightening the L&D belt

It is a truism, budgets are being tightened during these financially challenging times. I also keep on reading about how we need to get more for less out of L&D provision. Indeed, I’ve just written an article for Croner’s Training & Development Briefing on this very topic as it seems to be of such current interest.

The current situation is affecting both suppliers and buyers/users of L&D. The conundrum is how to achieve more for less without affecting the quality of what is provided to the end user, i.e. the learner. On the face of it this may appear to be an unanswerable poser but judging from all the advice given the answer is blindingly obvious!

If I were to be given £1 for every time I have read that L&D provision must meet the needs of the organisation, the needs of learners, and use the most appropriate delivery media, I would by now be very well-off! However, it would appear that such practices are far from common place and I’m really finding it hard to believe this. Surely after all this time of preaching the ‘cost-effectiveness’ mantra everyone would know what is required but, alas, it seems not. Perhaps the current financial situation will be the very thing which forces them to realise it? For the life of me I hope so.

Talking about cost-effective delivery media, there’s also an increasing emphasis being placed on using ‘technology enabled learning solutions’ wherever feasible. Laura Overton of Towards Maturity fame has been busy giving some very useful advice on how learning technologies should be used to achieve a positive impact on staff and on business results. Laura cites 6 ‘strands’ or behaviours which successful organisations adopt, like defining the need and improving the relevance of L&D provision and considering the needs of learners, none of which are ‘rocket science’, just simply accepted (by some) as best practice.

So, achieving more for less in the present climate is not the conundrum that it might at first seem – you never know but it might even turn out to be a good use of L&D budgets and give people value for their money!

Trendy Terms Alert (2)

Here is my second L&D ‘Trendy Term’ alert. Each Trendy Term Alert (TTA) will consider whether the term has any mileage or whether it should be consigned to the trash can.

TTA: ‘Web 2.0 – e-Learning 2.0 – Learning 2.0’

By now millions of words must have been written about one or more of these ‘Trendy Terms’. It all started with Web 2.0, a clearly defined and meaningful concept, and this was then followed by e-Learning 2.0 and, fairly recently, Learning 2.0.

Web 2.0

According to Wikipedia, Web 2.0 refers "to what is perceived as a second generation of web development and web design. It is characterized as facilitating communication, information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design and collaboration on the World Wide Web. It has led to the development and evolution of web-based communities, hosted services, and web applications. Examples include social-networking sites, video-sharing sites, wikis, blogs, mashups and folksonomies.”. However, the WWW inventor, Tim Berners-Lee has called the term “a piece of jargon”!

Notwithstanding this, a lot of people understand what the term Web 2.0 stands for and its use. So, when someone says that they are using a Web 2.0 tool, such as I am here, then it’s quite clear to them what others mean.

e-Learning 2.0

This term was coined by those using e-Learning to specify the use of Web 2.0 tools. For some, including me, e-Learning has always encompassed the use of Web 2.0 tools but as the former is so often seen as re-versioned PowerPoint presentations or a modern day version of a computer-based training programme, then I can see why the term e-Learning 2.0 has come into being.

I don’t have a problem with either the term ‘e-Learning’ or ‘e-Learning 2.0’, just as I don’t with ‘face-to-face learning’, ‘action learning’, ‘distance learning’, etc. because they tell me how the learning provision is being delivered, which can be extremely useful.

Learning 2.0

I’m not at all sure what this term means because for me it means virtually nothing. I suspect that it has been invented by those who don’t like the term ‘e-Learning’ and who want it removed from the L&D vocabulary but why, especially given my previous comments?

If ‘Learning 2.0’ = ‘e-Learning 2.0’, as I suspect it does, then why confuse the issue because it doesn’t make any sense? Neither does it help others to know what the person using the term is talking about! If it going to be used on an on-going basis then what is ‘Learning 1.0’? The latter needs to be defined and quickly in my view, and good luck to anyone who decides to take this particular task on.

Conclusion?

Web 2.0 =

e-Learning 2.0 =

Learning 2.0 =