As a society that increasingly embraces—and is embraced by—technology, we’ve come to expect that almost any information, technology or entertainment resource we want will be available on demand. From 24-hour cable news channels to downloading the latest
by Site Staff
April 27, 2006
As a society that increasingly embraces—and is embraced by—technology, we’ve come to expect that almost any information, technology or entertainment resource we want will be available on demand. From 24-hour cable news channels to downloading the latest television shows, technology allows people to access resources when they want and need them.
On demand is taking hold in the workplace, too, but with an added sense of urgency and financial pressures. On-demand information goes beyond being convenient and flexible. Instead, having access to on-demand information is imperative for improving a company’s
productivity, efficiency and the bottom line.
How does this express itself in the learning environment? What are the tools for on-demand learning? Certainly, some of these resources are part of an IT infrastructure, but these tools are not necessarily “dedicated” to learning applications. And, along with technology, the ingredients for creating on-demand learning include a new kind of learning strategy: a strategy that builds new kinds of relationships and establishes new models of governance. Indeed culture, as much as technology, is a key ingredient for building on-demand learning.
Formal to Informal Learning
Yet another key ingredient is the shift from learning as a formal, discrete event to one that is commonly referred to as informal. When asking clients if they have an informal learning approach, many say they do. However the definitions and descriptions vary greatly. One approach is to look at informal learning in two ways: one that is enabled by work, and the other that is embedded within the learner’s daily workflow. Learning and information no longer moves in one direction, from top to bottom or from teacher to learner. Instead, it moves in all directions and happens throughout a workday.
Enabled learning can be defined as learning that happens in the context of work. Unlike formal or deliberate learning, enabled learning leverages the work environment to combine knowledge and skill with job responsibilities. The learner sets the context for enabled learning to take place.
Embedded learning also happens in the context of work, but it occurs as an integral part of a specific business task or set of goals. At each step of a business process, learning is available to help the learner execute those tasks, thus embedding it into the process. This approach lends itself to a much more systematic context setting, with an automated system setting the context on behalf of the learner. The combination of all three modes, formal, enabled and embedded learning, is essential to a true, on-demand learning model.
Leverage Existing Infrastructure
To deliver the full power of on-demand learning, technologies need to be integrated within a well-thought-out infrastructure. Many learning organizations have already implemented an LMS, so there is an opportunity to enhance this infrastructure, making it part of a deliberate strategy to take advantage of the more ubiquitous workplace technologies. This includes all forms of collaboration such as e-mail, instant messaging, blogs, wikis and broadcast technologies as well as search engines, corporate portals, RSS feeds of trusted information sources and of course, the Internet. By leveraging the components of the existing infrastructure, a learning leader has the opportunity to collaborate with other business units and leaders within the company, positioning learning as an open ecosystem that extends throughout the entire organization.
This open ecosystem exemplifies a new, on-demand learning strategy. The role of the CLO evolves to become the leader of a group of collaborators that might include the CIO, human resources department, the communications function and the individual business lines. By coat-tailing on current technology within different business areas, the learning leader not only benefits from a shared budget but also will strengthen the justification that there are several company-wide benefits to one technology. With growing support within a company for learning, the access to tools for on-demand information expands. The key is to become much more deliberate around the application of technology for learning, beyond the formal models that are routinely deployed today.
Innovative On-Demand Tools From Commonplace Technologies
For example, a company using a sales portal can implement a learning component by using that portal to give users real-time access to information relevant to the task at hand. While working with a CRM application, the system can offer the user learning content that is relevant to that particular client and the specific part of the sales cycle. The portal interface also lays out the sales process in a to-do list, prompts the user to prepare for a sales call and suggests experts to collaborate. And, when users have insights or helpful tips based on this experience, they can be shared with others by entering them directly into the workplace portal. For a company-wide learning implementation to succeed it not only needs to reach different business lines, but it also needs to extend the business applications they already use.
In a formal setting, an LMS is used to manage and report on learning activities relevant to one’s job roles and interests. Many offer a personalized learning path that shows both your goals and progress against those goals. The LMS also can store the individual’s personal learning history, which could be used in combination with other artifacts to establish a persona or active resume of the employee. If both the learning content from the LMS and expertise information can be surfaced in new ways, such as to facilitate informal learning, the investments in the formal learning systems show increased benefits to the organization.
For example, any application can take advantage of presence. Presence is familiar in applications such as instant messaging to inform the user when another user is present, away or signed off. With presence enabled, learners can see which experts are present relevant to the task or business process at hand. When a question arises, an instant messenger (IM) application is used to contact the expert. Following that interaction, the expert can then add that associate’s question to a FAQ database, so the next time a user has the same question, an answer will be available even if the expert is not present. This interaction shows how technology allows the user to sift through loads of information quickly and easily to access valuable learning objects.
Search is another common capability that can be enhanced to benefit the learning context. According to the Education Development Center, workers in the United States spend 15 to 30 percent of the workday looking for the right information to do their jobs. So although having immediate access to information is important, on-demand technology also must consider an individual’s urgency, time commitment and specific needs. If students recognize that they are unfamiliar with the topic and want to spend a considerable amount of time mastering a subject, the search interface can take that variable into consideration and deliver material in depth, for example, through a white paper, a video lecture and an invite to the weekly online chat room on that topic.
Conversely, if learners indicate that they only have time for a quick overview or refresher, the search engine will deliver only selected chunks of information that meet the user’s time constraints. If learners anticipate having questions, they can combine contextual search and presence, and the engine might deliver results only where the author is present. Thus, learners are assured that should they need to discuss the topic, the author is available. By adding this presence feature, learners are confident they will get the most relevant learning resources delivered at the exact moment of need and that additional resources (the expert) are also available. The expert’s availability not only streamlines the process, but it also might encourage ongoing collaboration on new solutions and innovation initiatives.
Although this learning search engine might seem like an easy solution, it is a behind-the-scenes combination of technology, cross-function collaboration and governance that makes it possible. If the organization can tag existing data, that data can become a learning object to match a search query. Likewise, an expertise database can be extended through services such as presence to serve all learners in an organization. In the open ecosystem of on-demand learning, information and knowledge of all kinds, from books, Web lectures and slide presentations to message board postings and FAQs, can become learning tools ready for quick, on-demand reference. With innovative thinking and cooperation within the company, the possibilities to enhance and improve a company’s current IT infrastructure are as endless as the information available to them.
Most people overlook e-mail when thinking about business technology because e-mail is used so commonly that its technical luster has worn thin. However, e-mail can serve as more than a simple communication application. Consider the possibilities of a profiled e-mail alert. Many learning companies have already created employee profiles through the company’s LMS. By using that profile, e-mails can become channels for personalized notifications. For instance, a competitive product announcement is made, and within minutes an e-mail is sent to the appropriate employees. Although this news will also be posted in the employee’s LMS or portal, by sending it directly to an inbox, the company is ensuring that the information is delivered as soon as it’s made available and not as soon as the learner logs into the LMS.
Extending on this concept of profiled notification leads to the possibilities of mobile learning. Using technology that resides in the hands of millions of mobile workers, such as cell phones, PDAs and other wireless devices, are vehicles for on-demand learning. Now, when that e-mail pops in the inbox flagging a new competitive product, it might be viewed on a wireless handheld, so the news will reach learners regardless if they are at the desk or about to jump on a flight. In addition, most wireless devices support Web browsers, providing access to online materials and some even more advanced handhelds can support video, which allows users to watch a live or recorded lecture.
A growing innovative trend among organizations is to create resources and data that can be exchanged in a way other than mere words on paper, such as through video. Lectures and business presentations captured on video can be shared virtually, either to a portal or to a mobile device. A company can provide a how-to video or an expert testimonial about a particular subject using digital media technology. Employees can then search videos for key terms, and just as it enhanced text documents, presence technology could identify a video with an available expert.
In an on-demand business environment, learning cannot remain an isolated department within an organization. Using an organization’s existing technology resources to leverage the importance and capabilities of learning is part of a new strategy to bring learning into the company’s forefront. By using technology the company has already deployed and by adding a learning component, an organization can build an on-demand learning environment that uses both formal and informal learning. By implementing this new kind of learning strategy, employees will naturally shift to an on-demand environment where learning is now enabled by work and embedded into their everyday job responsibilities. This transformation signals a true on-demand learning company ready to continue its learning innovations through new technology advancements. More than likely, on-demand learning is already happening in most organizations, but the next step is to support it as an extension of the company’s learning solutions.
James Sharpe is the director of learning technology and delivery for IBM. He can be reached at jsharpe@clomedia.com.