Next generation learning: How new tech are changing the game

Editor's Notes

• #2: Hi thanks for coming today – my name is Meg Green, I’m Head of Production at Brightwave for our Products division, which is focused on learning systems in particular. Today we’re talking about next generation learning, and particularly how technology is changing the game for how we learn at work – and how we think about learning systems.
• #4: We know now more than ever that knowledge is our jobs, and that it is in the best interest of companies to hire knowledge workers in key roles - as these are the people who are going to innovate for an organisation, bring them into new ideas and ways of working. This is especially true for companies who thrive on innovation as a key driver of their business strategy. Companies seek employees who are constantly challenged, as they will stretch the boundaries not only for themselves, but the company as a whole.
• #5: Oftentimes, knowledge workers can even impact and inform strategic role decisions within an organisation, especially those focused on innovation.
• #7: The static course is not an option here. These learners expect more, and just like the encycloepedia is unable to cope with changing and refining knowledge – versus wikipedia, the course can only form one small part of this continuous learning chain. So the question becomes: how do we create learning environments that respond to this consistent pressure to be doing ‘the next thing’ without incurring additional cost? Additionally, L&D departments can’t always guess what learning is important as these can so quickly change, they must react to the changing needs – therefore learning objectives and paths need to be fluid and changeable without creating an unmanageable administration cost and overhead.
• #8: Everyone knows that the introduction of mobile devices, email on phones, new work from home policies and flexible working plans have changed the game for when and how we learn for work. They’ve created a blurred line where any time is fair game for work, and this has only further squeezed the pressure to continue to do learning activities outside of the normal working day.
• #9: Knowledge workers think they know what they need to know, and are used to using all sorts of technologies to discover what they want to know. But can they find it quickly? And can they locate what information might already exist within the organisation? They are used to using social systems that companies have spent million of pounds on, and are very unforgiving if technology doesn’t work simply, the first time.
• #10: These challenges present a lot of questions for any learning system. When thinking of what to put into practice it’s important to try and meet these challenges head on. So…what if we could…
• #11: It is recognised that more and more people have multiple careers in one lifetime. Sometimes these have a link, but oftentimes not. Fewer people are joining a company out of University and staying until retirement
• #12: Organisations have people leaving at all levels of the business And, building on from the previous point, the most disruptive and innovative are often the most short-lived, and most valuable. Harnessing their knowledge is vital.
• #13: Incoming workers are not just new recruits, they are of all levels and areas, which creates very broad and complex on-boarding requirement. New workers have to learn quickly, and employers can benefit from how quickly they adapt to new roles, especially within the same organisation Many of these workers will have vast knowledge to share, even on day 1, but also will need best practice advice/coaching from those already existing in those roles
• #15: Everyone has more to do, faster. There’s a myriad of self-help books focused on sorting, prioritising work because we can’t reasonably sustain and filter without tools to help us. and recognising a general sense of ‘too much’. Prevalence of technology, shazam, google culture, morphs the smartest person into the person who can find the answer most quickly.
• #17: Here’s the challenge: What does individual googling miss out on? Framing learning within larger organisational objectives and best practice Finding answers quickly. The coach – mentoring and motivating learners to align but also contribute to the answers Recognising that expertise exists within What is the role of L&D in this type of learning? It’s still important to focus this learning towards key objectives and approved business frameworks, but how can this be done while still enabling the learner to find their own path? How much time do people waste looking for what they need? How can organisations ensure that they still have a way of ‘approving’ content and ways of working? And ensuring this aligns to business goals In most organisations, the knowledge exists in individuals – how can this be harnessed?
• #18: It seems that the best possible combination would be to enable the learner to use skills they already are good at – searching and finding, taking control of their learning, but giving them a framework for progression and focus, as well as ensuring they have quick and easy access to the best resources already out there. L&D teams can provide that competency and goal-based framework to ensure that people are not only focused, but rewarded for their work and efforts. Ideally also we would have the opportunity for guidance – just as there’s always a need for framework and direction, there’s also a need for coaching and teachers, to refine knowledge, help put it into practice, all around the individual’s approach and still being led by how they prefer to learn.
• #20: So if we think back on the main trends and what learners want and the challenges this provides for L&D teams, we need to also consider the good news factor, and that’s technology. It’s pervasive, easy to use, and with every year is more adopted by all sizes of organisation. If we look back on the latest Towards Maturity benchmark, The use of social learning is also on the increase with 63% of organisations allowing access to external social media sites (up from 58% last year). 68% of those organisations are using social learning to build networks inside the organisations; 55% to support learning generation and sharing of user generated content; 49% to support personal professional development.    
• #21: New technologies in the learning space have emerged to help bridge this gap between how we learn at home and how we learn at work. If you’re interested in learning more about these in particular, have a look on our website as we have some great blogs on the subject.
• #22: If we mix together the advances in technology and the attitude of knowledge workers and the competitive nature of learning, L&D departments have a great opportunity to maximise these and create a real impact.
• #23: … And this leads to the next questions, about how we choose and utilise a total learning system, ensuring it can touch on all the above, and continue to adapt as we as organisations and learners alike adapt.
• #24: At Brightwave, we’ve been thinking about this a lot What are some of the features which can be harnessed and utilised to solve these questions and make the most of the opportunities presented in learning today?
• #25: a little over a year ago we introduced tessello, our total learning system, to help solve some of the challenges that we felt learning and development is facing today. And I wanted to show how we’ve put these questions and challenges into features that may help change or better harness how we learn at work, and how we promote learning as organisations.
• #26: Learning must keep knowledge workers engaged. Giving them access to what the organisation thinks they need to know, but a wealth of additional curated resources to keep them interested, resources that are continually changing and updating. Administrators can define the main tiles, providing a framework for learning and helping staff focus on key objectives and competencies. Learners can quickly see what’s new , and changed. Key areas are defined for easy usage and reduced clicks, but still providing opportunity for learners to decide what they want to do.
• #27: How often does your learning system ask you: what have you done today? A next generation system should flip these questions back onto the learner, and accept that they may know and have learned things that didn’t stem from the system itself. The system should help capture these, at the point of need.
• #28: And should also let the learner capture additional details for reflection and consideration. Doing something is not the only step, but what was learned from the activity?
• #29: People love to share online, and we’ve recognised that there is value and efficiency in learners talking directly to eachother, both to strengthen/coach on learning experiences, but also to start recognising experts that exist within the organisation. Learners can instantly shape the learning for their peers, and point out external and informal learning that is not to be missed – creating a more vibrant and self-sustained system.
• #30: As we mentioned, it’s vital that a learning system doesn’t just attempt to replace google, or facebook/linkedIn. This is our opportunity to create focus and learning objectives – but what we’re also doing is enabling people to draw both formal and informal learning against these objectives, at their own pace, using a myriad of sources and opportunities – opportunities they’re probably already taking, but you may not be capturing.
• #31: And we should enable coaching 1:1 within the system, so tasks and learning can be continuously refined and then best practice shared. Points can provide additional motivation, and line managers can engage properly with the full learning spectrum of their direct reports.
• #34: If you want to talk more about how we’re doing this at Brightwave, come over and see us on our stand
• #35: Final slide of CG’s section