In The Spotlight

Technology transforming learning – it’s happening! 

Financial Express Article, 11/10/2010, Ganesh Natarajan

The economy is booming and this time it’s not just IT but every sector which is expecting order of magnitude growth in the next few years. The challenge for the HR function has never been greater with the three critical processes of “Attract Enable and Retain” being tested every day in a volatile job market. The acute shortage of good teachers which the academic sector has been facing for some time is now being felt in the training departments of organisations as well. This could well be the trigger that ensures that technology is used pervasively to enable quality with scale in the learning processes of all organisations.

Critics will point to the early disappointment faced with e-learning where neither the design nor the delivery had been customised to the audience or the capabilities and limitations of the medium being used. Technology has progressed substantially in the last decade or so and the cost-effective availability of tools like CISCO’s Webex, Video Conferencing, Electronic whiteboards and the spread of broadband and wireless has enabled blended learning models to evolve, where the entire cycle of prerequisite, core, remedial and reinforcement learning is designed around expert availability in synchronous but distributed classroom sessions while commonplace concepts are delivered through asynchronous “just in time” learning models.

Integrated e-Learning suites are emerging where specific business problems are addressed through a potent combination of content, technology and support services. Technology today enables a transition from learning to knowledge management and competency development and extensive use of collaboration, assessment, reporting and workflow tools has made the whole process of e-learning quite sophisticated with excellent learning outcomes and business results. Integration of multiple learning models in one learning environment is also happening today. For example, seamless transition is now possible from classroom teaching to live group activities to self-paced learning with expansion of learning communities from the individual to small project groups to full classrooms, without losing the predictability of outcomes. One interesting by-product of this integration is that the ubiquitous Learning Management System has diminished in importance with new knowledge delivery systems coming to the fore that work internally within the firm as well as transcend corporate barriers to enable stakeholders like dealers, suppliers and even customers to work collaboratively with the firm on learning programs designed to optimise solutions discovery to complex business and cultural issues.

There are many technology and usage trends in e-learning globally which will find their way into India and enable a new wave of transformation of learning processes to be unleashed in the country. Some of these are content repurposing for internet and intranet delivery, gaming and wireless technologies. Gaming is now becoming an integral part of e-learning with its ability to offer simulations, video situations and a competitive and fun learning environment. The umbilical cord between the trainer and the learner has been literally cut with the availability of hosted learning management systems and the ubiquitous nature of the wireless. Experiments are already underway to enable the phone to be used as a skills learning device in a “just in time” rather than “just in case” manner. Increased outsourcing of learning and learning management is also a key driver of change, since it is causing significant changes in the structure of training organisation in firms although the more traditional academic environments are still relatively unaffected by the changes. Managed services and shared service organisations are becoming the norm across the world, whether handled as one unit within large business groups. These shared services organisations will all have significant investments in technology which can be leveraged for creating new learning environments.

Blended learning needs to be embraced not just by corporations but also by technical and management skills and education providers. A recent experimental course designed by the Nataraj Education Foundation to provide a comprehensive blended learning module on best practices in outsourcing of technology and business services has demonstrated a seventy percent improvement in learning effectiveness for program participants. Training managers are already integrating e-learning modules into their learning architecture and infrastructure and encouraging the use of webinars, blogs and web conferences as methods of quick access and dissemination of ideas and skills. After some misguided apprehension in the early days of social networking that it would take away productive time at the workplace, human resource managers are today looking at innovative ways to integrate e-networks into the work and learning processes. Every new pedagogy and method of achieving desired outcome is met with the initial wave of scepticism but the pull from business pressures and the push that technology evolution provides will ensure that blended learning methods get integrated into the human resource architecture of all technology and business schools and corporations in the coming years.