This is the second of four posts on AchieveGlobal’s study on organizational learning, and our reports “The Rise of Blended Workflow Learning” and “How to Succeed at Blended Workflow Learning.” Be sure to read the complete reports.
Words to the wise: Blended Workflow Learning is a powerful tool, but to do it effectively, you need to blend well, and blend right.
Our conversations about effective learning in organizations usually focus on the teachers and facilitators: Which instructor uses the best techniques; or does this educator really engage learners? But, when it comes to Blended Workflow Learning (BWL), the real facilitator is less of a “Who,” and more of a “What.”
Technology aids learning on two levels when it comes to Blended Workflow Learning.
First, digital technologies let organizations learn more efficiently. Especially in today’s world, organizations need to give simultaneous access to learners in remote regions and divisions. They also need access to a diversity of educators and many resources, using a lot of different methods.
So with good reason, BWL is quickly becoming the way to ramp up organizational learning. The fact that a learner can learn in so many different ways increases the likelihood that the learning will have impact.
Howard Gardner of the Harvard Graduate School of Education talks about different learners having different “intelligences,” recognizing that each of us thrives using different ways of learning. Through technology, BWL gives us ways to adapt the technology to what needs to be learned and to the abilities of different learners.
But technology also has a more fundamental purpose in Blended Workflow Learning. On this second level, I’m talking about technology as the “manner of accomplishing” BWL.
Participants in our recent study on Blended Workflow Learning said that this new approach to learning is most effective when it’s implemented correctly. What does that mean? In short, BWL needs to be implemented fully, with complete integration and proper attention to all the requirements and pitfalls.
In an age where learning must be fully rationalized and strategized, there’s real insight to be gained from the fact that our study also found that companies doing informal application or that didn’t take time to analyze learning activities, didn’t rate the effectiveness of their BWL highly. To achieve proper implementation often means pulling in the right mix of experts – trainers, educators, IT specialists… the list goes on.
So take a lesson in learning from companies who have direct experience using BWL – blend well, blend fully and blend with the right experts.
Sharon Daniels is CEO of AchieveGlobal in Tampa, Florida
