Elearning! Fall 2007 - (Page 50) Lastword Generating Training for New Generations THIRTY-SOMETHINGS DEMAND AN ACTIVE-LEARNING APPROACH. BY GARY TROTTER hings have changed. There’s a new generation in town — actually two: Gen X (45 million Baby Busters, born between 1965 and 1977) and Gen Y (60 million Millennials, born between 1978 and 1995). They are demanding to be trained, but not with that old, stodgy, text and lecture-based, training methodology we Baby Boomers have unfortunately accepted. Most writers will tell you that the Busters and Millennials are looking for training that is visually stimulating, high tech, and requires interactive problem solving. Training that is creative and fun, and is not heavy on PowerPoint slides and lengthy lectures. And you know what else? They are asking for the right stuff. Most everyone would prefer this type of training; however we’ve unfortunately accepted less in the past. But it is not our fault. Before the company LMS, the Web, computers, television and Edison’s moving pictures, we had books. And you can’t get any more left-brained and linear than books. Although we all use our entire brain, men seem to rely more on left brain functionality. They tend to think sequentially, are analytical, linear, preferring to take their educational epiphanies one piece at a time. In effect, our educational system followed suit, making it difficult for more visually-oriented, multi-sensory, holistic learners. So the news is good, and we can now embrace — and really should celebrate — this inexorable change. We need to design training that will excite the new X and Y Generations. People who are technically savvy. They grew up with computers in school. The Web is second nature to them. They simply love computer games. As Susan El-Shamy points out in her book “How to Design and Deliver Training for the New and Emerging Generations,” more than 50 percent of U.S. residents age six and over play computer games. El-Shamy goes on to say: “When you combine the ongoing game-playing habits of younger learners with their constant use of computers and the Internet … there is bound to be an effect on how they prefer to learn, how they learn best, and how they are most comfortable learning.” Emerging generations will demand training programs that involve teamwork, collaboration, interactive exercises, critical thinking skills, self-directed learning and autonomy within their classrooms. The approach is more learner-centered, and admittedly more difficult to design programs around. However, it is indisputable that we all learn best when we engage the learning and when we are active versus passive learners, and, in this regard, we have good reason to celebrate this inevitable change. T —Gary Trotter is CEO of Training Games Inc. 50 Fall 2007 Elearning!
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