By Jack McDaniel
The best way to maximize an investment in human capital development is through leveraging technology-based learning. Not only do you get consistent quality of training – especially since elearning 2.0 has made possible exciting new instructional design tools and techniques – but you also get the performance support tools necessary to reinforce learners as they change their behavior.
We all know that coaching and reinforcement are critical to assimilating skills, yet budgets usually cut the funding in this area. If we teach the learner where to go for coaching and reinforcement, and if those tools are available just-in-time, then technology gives us a win-win situation. Learners have access to the same materials that they experienced during the initial learning and learners know where to get them – anytime, anywhere – all at a reduced cost to the organization. The organization can then use part of the dollars saved in employee travel costs – and lost opportunities because they’re out of the office – and invest that in a blend of live virtual and self-paced coaching and reinforcement programs.
I'll leave you with a recent quote from an executive with a Fortune 500 company:
“We would prefer to have training reach 100% of our population and be 50% effective, than to only offer training to the 20% that we could afford to cover face-to-face. And we do not feel that the newer elearning is less effective than traditional classroom, so the choice is a no-brainer.”If you're excited about the possibilities elearning 2.0 can bring to your organization, watch me pummel Todd mercilessly and with pithy elocution in this video as we debate the issue on AchieveGlobal Island in Second Life.
