Elearning - February/March 2009 - (Page 36)

12wishes 5 Performance support tools. Our learning systems are mostly geared for learning in anticipation of need or requirement. I want my systems to also have a healthy dose of performance support resources to allow for “learning at the moment of need.” Ideally, I should be able to pose a question, requirement or topic to my learning systems and be provided with both an immediate performance support tool that will walk me through my need, as well as a module to learn about it in greater depth for future requirements. Our learners need more performance support and our learning systems have to step up to the plate to provide this. Social knowledge. Learning systems will need to include and be integrated with social networking systems. Some of the best and most important knowledge will be shared person-to-person in an organization. The learner wants to know, “Who in this organization has any experience that could help me as a learner/worker?” In addition to the LMS pointing to a module or course, we need to be able to link to a colleague who may have the perfect, relevant experience based on their work from two jobs ago. The social dimension of learning needs to be harvested and accelerated by a new vision of our learning systems. 10 7 6 Social! Learning systems as components. Most of our workers do not want to go to your “learning portal page.” Instead, they want to have components along the lines of “gadgets” or “wizards” that will live on their screens or pop up based on tasks/situations. Those will feed content, requirements and reminders from the learning systems. For example, if I am reading a document and I come upon a term that I don’t know, is there a way to launch a component that would offer me definitions, social networking and even registration into an online or in-person class on that topic? Can I have a graphic on my screen that changes color based on my current continuing education requirements? Learning systems as service. Each business unit may want or need a very different front end experience for its learning systems. Do we allow our enterprise LMS to evolve into a cluster of learning services that are tailored for our business units, but that share a common set of data profiles? In other words, are our learning systems ready to be part of a learning “cloud,” where the functionalities are delivered as a software service rather than from a single enterprise system? This is Web 3.0; Are our systems ready? 11 The lifecycle of learning systems. Many of our Learning Consortium members are in the midst of re-evaluating their LMS and LCMS. Some are shocked that this point of re-evaluation has arrived only 36 to 42 months after the original purchase point. What are realistic lifecycle expectations for our learning systems? We need to take an industry perspective on those systems that will serve valiantly, but for a two- to threeyear period. How do we have the lifecycle conversation with our IT department and even learning suppliers? Focus on the role. Our workplace is increasingly rolebased. Most of our learning systems are more focused on jobs or positions. If I am assigned a new project, it may shift my role, and the learning systems should help me prepare for and perform in that role. My history in previous assignments should inform the set of learning activities that are offered to me in the new role. 8 12 9 User content authoring. YouTube is coming to the office. Our learners are already creating simple and short half-life content, using simple video, audio and text tools. Many learning systems are in shock at the thought of this new wave of content. How will we author, approve, edit, tag and make discoverable this content? Should we even try to track the usage of user content? How do we blend authored learning content with user content? What is the lifecycle of content: when do we expire a module? Learning systems as human capital/talent systems. Ultimately, there is also a lifecycle of the knowledge/skill sets of an employee. From the moment we start the recruitment/interview process, through hiring/training to succession, promotion and eventually retirement, we have a need to integrate learning resources and information into the larger human capital/talent systems. If your organization were about to be purchased by another company, what information lives in your learning systems that would assist the valuation or merger process? Learning systems must become more friendly and integrated with their cousins. —Elliott Masie is an internationally recognized futurist, analyst, researcher and organizer on the critical topics of workforce learning, business collaboration and emerging technologies. He is the chair of The Learning CONSORTIUM, founder of the ReSkilling Initiative and convener of Learning 2009, Nov. 8-11 in Orlando, Fla. For more information, visit www.masie.com. 36 February/March 2009 Elearning! http://www.masie.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Elearning - February/March 2009

Elearning - February/March 2009 Contents Editor’s Note News Social Networking Popular Learning Needs Technology On Competency Management IT Employment Drops Trendlines Deals Learning Roles in Talent Management Informal E-Learning and Web 2.0 Cover Story: Learning Your Way to Profits Collaboration Trends, Strategies 12 Wishes for LMSs, LCMSs Tips: Recession-Proofing Your Job Case Study: Military Training Case Study: City of Arlington, Va. New Products Pop Quiz Last Word

Elearning - February/March 2009

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