Elearning - April/May 2008 - (Page 22)

buildingalearningculture edge-sharing. It’s not top-down or bottom-up, it’s an I-share-with-you, youshare-with-me mindset. Employees work as teams. Trainers collaborate, sales people in different regions collaborate. Networks are built and communication channels are established. DEFINING A LEARNING CULTURE A learning culture can be defined as an organization that knows how to learn, with people who freely share what they know and are willing to change based on the acquisition of new knowledge. Certainly, one of the most important elements of a learning culture are highquality, sound learning programs that are evaluated not only for their effectiveness but also for their potential for really making a difference. That kind of corporate appraisal is a self-check on the quality of the program and whether it’s being endorsed and supported. Organizations that simply release large catalogs of training courses without consulting their clients or assessing their unique needs exhibit more of a course culture — the more courses, the better — than a learning culture. Trainers that are satisfied simply to publish a large e-learn50 weeks? They didn’t stop learning; they’re learning on the job. So the ease by which employees access information, form communities of practice, and use performance support to learn and improve their performance in the workplace is a sign of a good learning culture. Another aspect of a learning culture is how well and how thoroughly we integrate front-line supervisors into our learning strategy. Do they approve whatever training the employees request but not pay any attention to outcomes, or are they integrally involved in developing their people? Then there’s the whole performance appraisal and performance review system. To what extent is learning really incorporated and embellished, and to what extent are employees encouraged in the review process to teach one another and share their knowledge? This is where it becomes very important to review not just whether the employee took the requisite number of hours or the requisite number of Senior managers must do more than endorse learning; they must embrace it and become learners themselves. ing course catalog, and not much more, will be less likely too be seen as business problem-solvers. Another indication of a good learning culture is senior management support — and I’m not just talking about words, but long-term funding. For learning to take root, senior managers must do more than just endorse learning; they must embrace it and become users themselves. This will make them good role models for the rest of the organization. Good learning culture requires an investment in good learning measurement 22 April / May 2008 Elearning! and evaluation. It’s critical to show that learning makes a difference and that its benefits are not simply conjecture. Some organizations that are just focused on design and delivery tend to miss out on the front end (needs assessment) and the back end (evaluation), which are very culturally specific. Good learning culture gets out of the classroom and out of the instructional mode to become involved in the workplace. If employees get two or three weeks of training a year, that’s pretty good. But what are they doing for the other 48, 49 or

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Elearning - April/May 2008

Elearning - April/May 2008 Editor's Note Contents News Targeting Africa Locating Courseware People in the News Upcoming Events Deals Trendlines Web Services Building a Learning Culture Measuring the Learning Experience Making Learning Fun and Social LMS's 2008: What You Need To Know Learning Leader: CA Case Study: AVI Case Study: IBM Case Study: QualComm WBS Case Study: National Center for State Courts Case Study: Grundfos Pumps Case Study: Virginia Tech Pop Quiz Last Word

Elearning - April/May 2008

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