Elearning - September/October 2008 - (Page 26)

mottainai taken using soy ink on FSC-certified mixed-sources paper from well-managed forests, with no petroleum solvents or heavy metals used in the printing process. >> For larger organizations, e-learning can be a method of calculating carbon footprint and used to reduce carbon credit needs. THINKING GREEN E-learning is also a great vehicle for delivering “green” training and making organizations conscious of the need for stewardship as well as the impact of individual changes for a corporation and an organization at large. Increasingly, some of the largest companies in the world are turning on the green. For instance, Wal-Mart in mid-July shocked many of its peers when CEO Lee Scott pushed out a new plan to revamp the organization’s environmental approach. Even in the automotive sector, often seen as a wasteful industry, more companies are using e-learning to educate and empower their workforce to innovate while focusing on sustainability. In the 2008 new-employee orientation course for Chrysler, CEO Bob Nardelli contextualizes corporate values by providing employees a way to connect with green values. Nardelli’s approach is to start with an explanation of what it means to be environmentally conscious globally, within a given country (the U.S.A.), within an industry (automotive), within a company (the “new” Chrysler) and then what it means personally. The point being that each dimension is unique, each industry has its own compliance, each country its own demons. But all of that is just awareness — making agents of change happens when individuals are asked: What does it mean to you and what will you do about it? Chrysler is not alone in turning to greener thinking. Media Genesis started developing a comprehensive curriculum for a diversified automotive supplier based in Japan with over a 250,000 employees worldwide. The purpose? To contextualize the growing societal and environmental crisis and to explain the organization’s commitments and the reporting methods, documentation and process that the organization uses to constantly improve its green and sustainable approaches. ON E-LEARNING Perhaps most creatively, the 5R mantra — Recycle, Reuse, Reduce, Refuse and Repair — can also be applied to e-learning. After all, the Advanced Distributed Learning (www.ADLnet.org) SCORM model is all about reusable learning objects organized to reduce learning time to just what the learner needs. In effect, curriculum is recycled, and instead of having siloed courses for each skill set or competency, curriculum can be rearranged on the fly through re-sequencing the learning objects (Sharable Content Objects or SCOs). Since the content is highly portable and compatible, it can be taken to other learning management systems (like affiliates and suppliers) and redistributed. Based on the smaller structure of learning objects, they can be more easily repaired rather than having to overhaul an entire course and its corresponding navigation. The fourth R, (Refuse) is hardest, because it forces managers of training to refuse to use techniques that are wasteful when better options are available. While human resource professionals are responsible for developing human capital, a new responsibility has arisen where successful companies can re-think how they can positively affect the world around them. Learning within organizations is an essential aspect of the development of human capital. Previously, the training footprint that corporate trainers and learning agents have left behind has had a resonating impact on the environment. The opportunity and technology for “greener learning” is now readily at our disposal and waiting to be utilized. Companies can make commitments to greener learning and embody Mottainai, employing the 5R’s and cutting the carbon footprint they leave. In addition, these philosophies of efficiency and consciousness about resources are values that should resonate soundly with the mission of any organization in this economic climate. After all, if we’re trained to be wasteful with our natural resources as individuals, how can we expect to be better stewards of corporate resources? —The author is president of e-learning provider Media Genesis (www.mediaG.com). He helped develop Chrysler’s new-employee orientation course. Reach him via e-mail at ant1@mediaG.com or via telephone at (248) 687-7888. 26 September/October 2008 Elearning! http://www.ADLnet.org http://www.cuweek.com http://www.cuweek.com http://www.iqpc.com/us/hrsharedservices http://www.mediaG.com http://www.iqpc.com/us/hrsharedservices

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Elearning - September/October 2008

Elearning - September/October 2008 Contents Editor’s Note News IBM Goes Green Green Resources Deals Trendlines Learning Leader Up to Speed Cover Story: Going Green The Green Mindset? Cutting Down Turnover Tips: EET Case Study: Pacific Pulmonary Services Case Study: British Telecom Case Study: Allianz SE Case Study: LXR Case Study: St. Elizabeth Tips: Green Initiatives New Products LMS Tools Pop Quiz Last Word

Elearning - September/October 2008

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