Training Industry Magazine - Summer 2023 - 11

WHAT'S NEXT
IN TECH
STELLA LEE,
PH.D.
THE PARADOX OF CHOICE: HOW TO MANAGE
LEARNING CONTENT OVERLOAD
We have been suffering from learning
content overload of late. In an earnest
attempt to bridge the skills gap and
develop talent, organizations have
been purchasing off-the-shelf content
to populate content libraries, designing
custom learning solutions, curating videos
and podcasts and, with the emergence
of generative artificial intelligence (AI)
tools, creating more content faster and
in large quantity. However, with more
content comes the paradox of choice
- a term coined by Barry Schwartz, an
American psychologist. When consumers
are confronted with too many choices,
Schwartz stated that they will end up
making sub-optimal choices or not able
to make any decisions at all - a decisionmaking
paralysis.
In the context of learning, the
consequences of content overload
can be severe - it can overwhelm and
demotivate learners, reduce learning
outcomes and lower engagement with
learning materials, essentially the opposite
of what we are striving to achieve.
To mitigate these negative impacts, it is
important to develop a unifying content
strategy that empowers learners and
encourages exploration. Below are a
few considerations to get started:
BETTER UX
User experience (UX) design can play a
critical role in mitigating content overload
and supporting a better content strategy.
When evaluating and configuring a
content library or resource repository
platform, make sure that it is user-friendly,
with a clean and clearly labeled user
interface and intuitive navigation, and
that the search and filter functions are
robust. Organize your content in a way
that is logical to your learners and uses
language that is consistent across the
company. Think about how and where
your learners access the content. Context
and environment matter.
LEARNER-DIRECTED
PERSONALIZATION
Personalized learning services such
as adaptive learning platforms and
recommender systems offer a chance
to reduce content overload by curating,
suggesting and tailoring content to
the individual's needs, interests and
abilities. However, there are challenges
associated with this approach, particularly
how the adaptive and filtering process
is mediated: who makes decisions on
what to personalize, personalized by
whom and for whom, why is one option
recommended over another option and
most importantly, who will have ultimate
control over this process?
When implementing personalized
learning, we ought to ensure that these
platforms allow for learner control
and direction. For example, some
recommender systems allow for learner
feedback and editing. When presented
with each new piece of content,
learners can accept, reject or update
the
create learning material. However, the
quality of the generated content can vary
widely, depending on the quality of the
input data, the complexity of the algorithm
and the types of guardrails that are in
place to vet out problematic or misleading
information. As such, human oversight,
quality control and prioritization are more
urgently needed than ever.
We need to critically evaluate AI-generated
content to make sure it is correct, relevant
and up-to-date. Learning professionals
need to shift their skill sets to take on the
roles of AI-generated content reviewers,
critics, analysts and mentors, particularly
in the case of dealing with content that
may be misinformed or biased.
DEVELOP A UNIFYING
CONTENT STRATEGY
THAT EMPOWERS
LEARNERS.
recommendation, making future
recommendations more accurate and
more closely aligned with learning goals.
Look for personalized approaches/
systems that balance content filtering
and learner control.
HUMAN OVERSIGHT IS NEEDED
Generative AI can produce a vast amount
of content quickly, and increasingly,
learning professionals are utilizing
generative AI to aggregate, curate and
TRAINING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE - SUMMER 2023 I WWW.TRAININGINDUSTRY.COM/MAGAZINE
All in all, an effective content strategy
that considers good user experience,
learner-directed personalization and
human oversight can all play important
roles in mitigating the negative impacts
of learning content overload and helping
learners to access the most relevant and
useful content.
Dr. Stella Lee has over 20 years of
experience in
consulting, planning,
designing, implementing and measuring
learning initiatives. Her focus is on largescale
learning projects including LMS
evaluation and implementation, learning
analytics, and artificial intelligence
applications. Email Stella.
11

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/02/generative-ai-explain-algorithms-work/ https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-paradox-of-choice-barry-schwartz?variant=32207920234530 https://trainingindustry.com/articles/strategy-alignment-and-planning/upskill-and-retain-your-workforce-with-personalized-learning-5-tips-to-get-started/ https://trainingindustry.com/articles/strategy-alignment-and-planning/upskill-and-retain-your-workforce-with-personalized-learning-5-tips-to-get-started/ https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/ux-design https://www.trainingindustry.com/magazine

Training Industry Magazine - Summer 2023

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