From The Business of Learning to The Learning Business

As you may have heard, about 3 weeks ago I joined the eLearning Guild and will be working closely with the learning community and onsite events. It's a small step in my employment journey but a large leap in my career. So, how's it going so far? Really good. I am getting immersed in the processes and people that make up this organization and contributing immediately where I can. I'm also being very patient with myself so I can better ensure that I have a good understanding of all the connected parts.

When I was first approached by the Guild I was of course intrigued and flattered. The eLearning Guild is a leader in this space, the "learning" space. I've been a member for years and spoken at several of their events. Of course when I speak, I speak about how I've used social technology in the organizations I've worked for. Therefore joining the Guild could be seen as a bit of a departure for me as it is the "eLearning" Guild after all. A colleague even remarked, "You're like the social guy, I wonder how this will be received?" But I and others saw it differently; not as a departure but more like a merger.

eLearning today does not mean what it once did and the Guild gets this. In the early 2000's the eLearning Guild answered a growing call for more information, ideas, technology and approaches in the then budding eLearning space. eLearning is continually transforming and today, driven by the interest and practices of the community, it can no longer be seen as just courses and classes delivered online. Due to expanding consumer technologies, mobile devices and the advent of Web2.0, elearning has become ubiquitous. The community conversations around eLearning have shifting rightfully to be more about Learning than just the vehicles that deliver or augment it. 

Web 2.0 in particular ushered in a populous movement across the Internet and has given rise to a New Social Learning. Growing learner autonomy and global interdependence has hastened the decline of a dependence on traditional learning approaches. The new Social Learning however will not be the nail in the coffin for traditional elearning or training, nor should it be, as formal learning is still very much needed. What the reinvigorated (or new) Social Learning has done is bring balance to the beliefs and practices around learning and put formal in its rightful, more limited place. Social learning is forcing a community conversation about how formal learning must improve its quality and impact to remain relevant.  

The Guild was designed as a platform to encourage this and other conversations where members can openly share their thoughts and ideas and then the Guild can communicate this back through research, resources, and events for the community. Community and conversation are at the core of the eLearning Guild and because of this they (ah hem...) we are positioned to help hasten the changes needed and help organizational learning to keep up with the speed of business.  

I'm excited to be more a part of this conversation and to be able to bring my own practices and beliefs about learning to the Guild. I look forward to taking part in the larger community, working with you all, and helping to better see and be the future of organizational learning.

Cycle Learning: Acceleration and Power

This morning I got out for my first ride of the spring.  Its been a long winter and so some of my mechanics and cadence were off and I forgot my riding glasses but it didn't take too long to comeback (it's like riding a bike...heh).

If you do cycling at all then your probably familiar with clip-less pedals; ones where you use special shoes to lock yourself onto the bike pedal and with a quick jerk you can release.  The obvious advantage is that you are locked into your machine, you have double the power; pushing down on the pedal and pulling up as it cycles around. Pushing is the desired action for acceleration on downhills and flat road. Pulling is advantageous for the tough hills, where you need power. Pulling takes thought however, its not as inherently obvious to novice cyclists as it is to push.

Of course a ride in the quite morning allowed my thoughts to wander and in this case make connections. Cycling is work. And like our work, when we look to ramp up our performance, (especially during the less demanding crunch times) we can afford to engage in "push" or formal learning. These deeper learning dives; classes, courses, seminars, workshops, etc (when appropriate and well designed) can accelerate our knowledge and skill development. However we can't afford to turn to "push" during our work. In our task driven days when milestones loom like mountains we must turn to a different action; our ability to "pull" or leverage informal and social learning. No harder than push and not necessarily more important, pull learning is a key to success at a different time; during the metaphoric inclines. Pull is having focused networks to tap into coupled with Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) to draw upon ideas and resources that help us muscle through the tough spells. Pull is also our being cognizant of the work and learning through our mistakes.

Inclines, welcomed or not, (in cycling and in our work) come in a variety of gradations and frequencies. Those who work smarter, maximizes all opportunities for power and acceleration and turn mountains into mole hills.

So Easy A Caveman Could Do It

Recently Patti Shank wrote a great response post on the heals of a post by Cathy Moore - Are Instructional Designers Doormats? ...on an area that I have been pondering for some time.

Julie Dirksen's comment in Patti's post really resonated with me. Specifically when she stated "There’s something about instructional design that people think is self-apparent, or easy."

I think, like I believe she does, that most outside of the "learning field" (and some within it) have a superficial understanding of what an ID can do in the creation of formal learning solutions. Several people I have encountered in the past asked if the title was made up!

Generally I find there are parallels to our US education system where educated professionals responsible for formal instruction and deep content knowledge are often looked upon by the public as "baby sitters" with summers off. I strongly believe this perception is being transferred to organizational learning professionals. Additionally a certain truth exists; a SME can, on occasion, with no background in ID or adult learning theory produce an effective formal intervention. For that audience, for that content, and in that context they were effective (by what ever definition they choose (usually a level 1 survey). As a result a myth is born and is perpetuated that "this stuff is not that hard...anyone can do it."

This myth does not exist in law, orthodontics, or plumming for that matter. So I ask - how can we squash the myth and grow the profession?