The Future of Learning
The Future of Learning & Development Reposted from November 2020
Just over 2 years ago I attended the HR Tech MENA conference in Dubai and spoke to an audience about the future of Learning & Development and the future of the Chief Learning Officer. The main topic of discussion was, of course, Virtual Learning Environments, Augmented Reality, Learning Management Systems and Gamification… it was after all a ‘Tech’ conference!
None of us could have predicted just how important HR Technology was really going to become as a result of this Covid pandemic. However, when I say HR Technology, I say that with a pinch of salt. Is it really necessary for us Learning & Development professionals to be investing large sums of money in the latest technology?
We live in a world where everyone has a story to tell and something to teach. You can barely scroll through your social media posts without somebody offering something ‘educational’, people offering their wisdom. I don’t necessarily think this a negative thing, just that it needs to be believed with caution.
I do, however, think that we can be learning something from these people. Are they investing money in paid platforms? Moodle, Google Classroom and suchlike? These people are using the tools they have available to them for free and making the most of the environment in which we find ourselves these days. Why aren’t we all doing the same?
That’s what gave me the idea for the Masterclass which is currently running. It’s an ‘online’ class but done in a way which is completely new for me and if you had told me 6 months ago that I would have started teaching like this, I would have laughed in your face…and yet here we are!
The course is managed via Facebook using a Private Group and Event Scheduling. Once the registrations are received messages are sent back and forth over Facebook Messenger. Email addresses are taken so that these can be processed by my webmail provider of course! However, learning takes place on two platforms, Facebook Live & Zoom. Facebook Live for the ‘lectures’ and Zoom for the ‘seminars’. Facebook Lives means that candidates can watch on replay after the time should they require to be elsewhere. It gives them more flexibility. Zoom for some much-needed accountability and interaction. Any questions and teacher/student interaction take place in the Private Group.
One of the tasks requires the candidates to use Pinterest and share within the group. For many in the group they have never been a part of a Private Group on Facebook, they have never used Zoom and certainly not Pinterest! This, in itself, is a learning experience.
There are, of course, those who do not use Facebook. This is perfectly understandable and not for me to exclude those who have different social media choices. For them, the videos have been prerecorded and uploaded onto YouTube, then further embedded into my website on a private page. Then, just to be doubly sure, I’ve gone down the good old-fashioned route and recorded onto my PowerPoint slides! This makes the whole process rather laborious to be honest but in theory it should be a failsafe option. Shouldn’t it?
Well that’s where things can really go wrong…all of these…the whole course in fact, relies 100% on myself and my candidates having access to the internet. Now, for those of you who are lucky enough to live in a world where this is a given…you are very much the lucky ones! I never even questioned the fact that the internet could hinder me until I moved to the foothills of the Pyrenees where I have to fight for internet on a daily basis and run two businesses on a download speed of 0.20mbps! Yes, you read that right!
This week, whilst preparing my learning materials for the Masterclass I began uploading my Plan B, failsafe, pre-recorded videos onto YouTube…I’m not a YouTuber so this was a first for me! I knew this was going to take an age because of the internet but had no idea how bad the situation really was going to be. Due to internet outages, speed, tech issues and having not verified my YouTube account (apparently you have to have verified it in a certain way in order to upload videos of more than 15 minutes- take that as a warning!) I spent 4 hours uploading only the first video only for it to fail. After much messing around with passwords, technological changes etc. I restarted the process but with no internet it was clear that it was not going to work. We only have 3G where we live so it then took a further 6 hours on data and rather a lot of money – just to get the first video uploaded. I was not in the best of moods after that, as I’m sure you can imagine?!
Thankfully the next day I had a slight reprieve with the internet and have managed to upload a further 3 videos and embed them into the website. All I can do is keep my fingers crossed that my internet won’t let me down this week! Otherwise how can I teach a group of people based in The UK, France, Kenya, Turkey, India & The UAE at the same time from the comfort of my own home?
I know it’s not just me though, I was contacted by one of the group last week to say that her internet is completely down at the moment and due to being made redundant during the pandemic she isn’t able to put data on her phone to do the course. In that case, having backup options is essential.
As for the future of Learning & Development, all I can really say with great certainty is that now is an excellent time for a bit of experimentation. I’ve never taught anything on Facebook before and hadn’t even imagined broadcasting myself on Facebook Live until this year. Zoom is fantastic, even in areas with terrible internet. I’ve never used YouTube before or learned how to embed things into my website by myself. I am in no way sponsoring any of these products or platforms however, these are the ones I have chosen for my Masterclass and those which are popular at this time…I am always open to new ideas.
All of this is an excellent learning experience, not just for my students…but for me as a Learning & Development Professional. Let’s embrace it and see where it goes!