eLearning Guild
eLearning Guild Annual Conference
David Holcombe kicked off eLearning Guild’s first annual conference in San Diego this morning, saying this session differs from other events because it’s for practitioners. There will be plenty of real-life case studies. It’s about learning, not pitching. David, who worked with Elliott back in Ziff-Davis days, pointedly noted that the Conference “is not about me. It’s community, not cult.”
Judy Brown is sitting next to me, taking notes on a tablet PC. It’s about the same size as my little SONY VAIO; it also costs about the same, at $1800. Judy says the handwriting recognition is nothing short of amazing.
Marc Rosenberg is leading the keynote, Reinventing eLearning. Everybody has their own definition of eLearning. To rethink eLearning, we need to rethink learning, blending, access, value, leadership, the training organization, the learner, and ourselves.
We learn all the time but often not from courses. We learn from books, friends, newspapers, experts…many more things.
Learning is an internal process of taking in information and experience. Training is one of many means to facilitate learning. Training’s appropriate when developing meta skills, performance must be automatic, and competence is time-critical. Training’s not appropriate when we’re changing content, not performance, knowledge can be referenced, or when meta skills are applied.
By definition, eLearning must be networked, web-based platform, integrated into a broader architecture of solutions. The architecture includes training and non-training components. The components of the framework:
1. online training, method is instructional design, builds skills
2. performance support, software, assist performance
3. KM, information design, resource for the user
“Blending” is now classroom and online training, interspersed. Marc’s framework includes people (communities) or performance support (which may eliminate courses.) Pulling everything together yields what Marc calls “The Smart Enterprise.”
What’s the role of an LMS now? Rather limited. It can’t deal with KM or performance support. More appropriate, an enterprise portal. The word “My” is the most powerful word on the Internet. Think MyYahoo. I can get what I need to know. The LMS, LCMS, HRIS, etc. is back-office, feeding the portal.
Training organizations must make multi-year investments in eLearning. eLearning will be more independent from traditional training organizations (mainly content). KM must be fully integrated. More virtual organization. Custom and personal. A learning path for everyone. Outsourcing of the entire training effort. Not just B2E (business-to-employee) but E2E, B2B and B2C.
We need to rethink ourselves. What’s our strategy?? Do we have an elevator pitch? Does our approach to eLearning include what happens outside of “the course?” (If not, you’re not going anywhere.) Are we smart consumers?
“That’s just my opinion. I might be wrong.”
Heidi Fisk & David Holcolmbe
Posted by Jay Cross at November 13, 2002 02:08 PM | TrackBack
