T+D Blog

Who Are the Real Tech-Savvy Generations?

Hello from sunny San Antonio!!!

The ASTD Techknowledge 2008 conference has spanned the gamut of e-learning, from performance support and blended learning, to collaborative learning in Second Life. And what has surprised me the most is the generations (or age) of the attendees.

We hear so much about catering to the younger tech-savvy generations that we are stereotyping the more mature generations. Linden Lab's Joe Miller noted that the average age of Second Life users is 34--that is certainly not the twentysomething generation that everybody is eluding to when they talk about techies.

There has also been very little discussion in the educational sessions about creating content for the new generations in the workforce; it's been all about using new tools to facilitate engaging presentations, creating new blended learning avenues, and creatively enhancing the learning experience using 3-D innovations.

So why does the mature workforce get a bad rap when it comes to learning new technologies. They may not have grown up with the Internet or complex simulations, but they are young at heart and very willing to give these new technologies a chance. Don't assume mature workers are afraid to try new things; instead, embrace the challenge of teaching this fascinating technology to willing learners.

E-Learning, the Viable Option to Classroom Training

According to Parade Magazine, the problem with the nursing shortage in this country stems from not enough schools, instructors, and classrooms. Parade estimated that 42,000 nursing applicants were turned away from nursing schools last year alone. This trend is forcing hospitals to hire foreign nationals for critical positions in hospitals, nursing homes, and home health agencies.

E-learning is a viable solution, but that solutions is not being considered in most instances because nursing education is currently being defined by hours in the classroom rather than by knowledge and skills developed, says Sharon K. Brothers, president and CEO of aQuire Training Solutions--which has begun to develop e-learning programs for Certified Nursing Assistants.

There is no reason for nursing candidates to be turned away in this country for lack of classroom space or instructors. The nursing industry must begin to redefine their training goals--creating benchmarks in knowledge and skill, not in classroom hours. These new generations are beginning to change the way training is delivered--and it's about time.

Veracity -- look it up

In conducting interviews and gathering background for January's T+D article on THE FUTURE OF THE PROFESSION, a number of people mentioned different ways learners will, well, learn in the years ahead. More than a few believe self-directed efforts, enabled by the incredible power of the Web, will make us all smarter and better at our jobs. Virtually every person I contacted mentioned Wikis, or the Wikipedia, as one of the tools that will change the way we live.

Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia edited by experts on a specific subject, is hailed for its openess and democracy, in that it allows subjects to be updated by virtually anyone with an Internet connection. Seems like a great idea until you think about it just a bit. Too many people confuse content with knowledge. Un-vetted, un-verified, un-edited input is not worth much more than conversation over a cup of coffee at a diner. The speaker may sound like an expert, but it ain't necessarily so.

I would urge you to look at how simple it was for someone to enter false and damaging information about another person on a Wikipedia entry. No one was checking on it, and if not for the efforts of an outspoken critic of the Wiki movement who conducted a very skillful investigation of the entries, it might have gone unnoticed. The prankster lost his job as a result.

Wikis are great, in some ways. And as long as you accept the fact that they are not a replacement for real, well-researched, professional repositories of knowledge, you will be fine. But I really don't want someone performing dentistry on me or replacing my gas water heater based on what he learned online in a Wiki. Do you?

Free research and webinar on e-learning maturity

SkillSoft is offering a free 56-paged research report, written by Josh Bersin and Associates, that documents the use of e-learning within 526 companies and identifies four stages of program maturity.

The blurb reads:

"What are the evolutionary stages of corporate e-learning? At what stage of e-learning maturity is your organization and how does it compare with other companies? 'The Four Stages of e-Learning: A Maturity Model for Online Corporate Training' details the corporate e-learning market and identifies the stages of growth and maturity common to many learning organizations. Based on interviews and surveys with more than 500 executives and learning managers, the study describes how corporate learning changes with the adoption of new technologies and learning resources."

In addition, SkillSoft will host a free webinar with analyst Josh Bersin to detail the research findings and answer questions.

Topics will include:

• the planning and budgeting required for each stage of corporate learning
• the technologies, resources and challenges characteristic of each stage
• the relationship between corporate culture and learning stages
• the importance of understanding where your organization currently fits and where you’d like to be.

In addition, participants will "learn about the evolutionary stages of corporate learning; the characteristics of each stage; how their organization compares to other learning organizations surveyed; factors to consider when trying to move to the next stage; and the latest trends in learning content, technology and services."

Big news in the e-learning arena

I normally don't write about supplier news in this blog or in my Intelligence column for T+D. If I did, I would spend all my time covering only that area. But this news is pretty significant, so I'll make an exception.

Yesterday Saba, a major LMS/LCMS provider, announced that it was acquiring Centra, one of the big players in the virtual classroom space.

Why is this important? For one, "Centra's collaborative learning offering and Saba's enterprise learning management suite...together provide the industry's first complete enterprise learning solution," according to the press release.

A Q+A on Centra's website says the acquisition will create the "only built-in and seamlessly integrated LMS/LCMS and Virtual Classroom, so customers would achieve faster time to implementation and faster time to resolution from a single vendor."

In other words, the trend now, as consolidation continues to occur in the e-learning space, is for "one-stop shopping." Will that lead to better value for customers or just higher prices? That remains to be seen.

The new company will be serving more than half of the Fortune 100 with more than 1,100 customers in 31 countries.That's a large gorilla that could squash some other, smaller, competitors that charge less.

For more, see the Saba homepage or Elliot Masie's interview of both companies' chiefs. Learning Circuits writer Paul Harris will also be covering this news in an upcoming newsbyte.

E-Learning standards survey results

In July, ASTD's e-learning webzine Learning Circuits ran a survey on e-learning standards. Now the results are out. Although standards have been slow to reach universal use, they seem to be gaining traction recently.

A few pertinent numbers:

• 57 percent of respondents think that standards are critical
• 45 percent use standards when purchasing or developing programs
• 58 percent are getting value out of following standards
• 66.8 percent say that standards are "very important," or "important" in purchasing decisions.

The majority of respondents are new to standards: 41.8 percent of respondents have been using them for less than a year.

Web and phone conferencing increasing; gas prices partly responsible

I received a press release from Genesys Conferencing this morning saying that use of its multimedia conferencing services has increased in volume 40 percent in the last few months.

Why is this important? Well, the really interesting statistic in the release is that nearly a quarter of respondents (24 percent) say that reduced driving due to gas prices was the reason for the increase.

If rising gas prices is contributing to an increase in e-meetings, it may also cause an increase in e-learning. Will companies implement more e-learning as they try to save money on reimbursing employees for gas used to travel to training?

It will be interesting to see. The lead item for my November Intelligence column, which I'm working on now, will examine some of these issues caused by skyrocketing gas prices, including the growing use of telecommuting.  Look for it in a couple of months.

For those interested, here are the rest of the statistics from the Genesys survey:

• "The leading reason by far for increased usage, as reported by 73% of respondents, is that web and phone conferencing saves time and is more convenient than having to attend meetings in person. 
• Nearly half - or 46% - of respondents said that the business environment has developed a higher acceptance of web conferencing as a viable alternative to physical meetings, and another 32% noted that the telecommuting trend continues to increase.
• Nearly one quarter - or 24% - of respondents said that reduced driving due to increasing gas prices was responsible for the increase, while another 25% cited air travel replacement as a key factor."

Learning Circuits conducts reader survey

Learning Circuits, ASTD's e-learning webzine, is conducting its annual reader survey. (I work on this publication in addition to the print T+D magazine.)

We'd be grateful if any of you who are readers would stop by and let us know what you like and what we can improve. Thanks!

Online learning and collaboration tools help Katrina survivors

Like all of you, my heart goes out to those affected by Hurricane Katrina. If you haven't donated to the relief efforts yet, please consider doing so. Two great places to contribute are the Red Cross, the primary humanitarian organization coordinating relief efforts, and the Humane Society, which is working to save all the defenseless animals left behind.

In addition to the great steps people around the United States and world are taking to help those in need, some online tools are pitching in as well. Here are three examples.

• Edupage reports on a Wall Street Journal story (subscription required) saying that many people see online learning as a prime opportunity to help the more than 200,000 elementary- through college-aged students displaced by Katrina. "Advocates of online learning are working to get federal authorities to relax rules governing things ranging from obtaining teacher certification to using public funds to support online schools," Edupage writes.
  
  
• One specific initiative Edupage discusses is Sloan Semester, an accelerated term of free online courses offered by The Sloan Consortium, an organization that works to improve online instruction. College students affected by Hurricane Katrina as well as National Guard members whose studies were interrupted by their service can participate -- up to 10,000 people will be able to enroll in the online classes provided by 200 colleges and universities. The $1.1 million effort is sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.


• eLearners.com has set up a Katrina Relief College Database to help connect college students whose schooling was affected by the hurricane with institutions that can offer assistance. Schools fill out an online form with their offerings and contact information, and students can log in to search for institutions meeting their needs. The website, which usually charges schools for student referrals, is offering this service free of charge.
  
  
• Learning Circuits Express reports that WebEx, the online meeting and collaboration provider, is providing free services to relief organizations and businesses affected by Katrina. The newsbyte states, "The free services are designed to help organizations improve coordination of their relief efforts and businesses replace lost IT infrastructure capabilities. The service capabilities include web meetings, secure document sharing, group scheduling, task management, database applications, and contact directories. In addition, relief organizations looking to raise awareness of specific aspects of their program or to train volunteers can host free online events and training sessions. WebEx event producers will help organizations pull together and host these online events."

Please pass the word along about these opportunities to anyone who might find them  useful.

For more coverage of how colleges and universities are helping displaced students, visit the 9/8/05 edition of eLearners News.

More e-learning articles from Learning Circuits

I've been on an e-learning kick lately. Learning Circuits is putting out some great articles, and I'm not even saying that because I work on it. I don't do anything with the feature articles (except for the occasional Trends pieces I write)--just find out about them at the same time they're announced to readers in LC Express.

All the articles below are completely free and don't even require registration.

These will have to substitute for this week's best-you-might've-missed. We're in production for the October issue of T+D and my reading has suffered. Everyone's juggling some extra work until we find that new managing editor.

A Field Guide to Learning Management Systems. Part of a Learning Circuits series; "each guide is a concisely written, practical guidebook that provides in-depth coverage of a single topic vital to e-learning."

E-Learning Strategy: A Framework for Success. This is the article I was talking about last week; the author will be presenting a free webinar based on it. "Strategy is critical to creating sustainable growth, development, and profitability. Here's some advice on how to create an e-learning strategy that enables you to meet your goals."

E-Learning Maintenance Strategies: Why You Need One. Does your organization design or procure custom-built e-learning? Is your desire to create e-learning solutions that are widely successful? Do you aspire to be perceived as a strategic thinker within your business? If you answered yes to these questions, then an e-learning maintenance strategy is something you should consider."