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Hartley, Darin E. (2000).
On-demand learning: Training in the new millennium.
Amherst, MA: HRD Press.
THE ON-DEMAND SOCIETY
We are spoiled beyond the
wildest beliefs of people who lived 200-300 years ago. Most
of us use technologies just getting ready for work in the
morning that were unavailable to even the richest kings s
a few years ago. Communication occurs nearly instantly
at a global level; the personal computer is pervasive; we
shop on the Internet and the products are delivered to our
doors…
All of these are “on demand"
products---that is, we get them when we want and we are in
control. The author believes that learner's will
start to gravitate to similar educational situations.
For example, fewer people will want to drive to campus to
take a particular class from 9 to 10 AM or watch a telecourse
episode from 6 to 7 PM.
“We must go from being the
best in class to being the best out of class”. P.9
SOME HIGHLIGHTS IN LEARNING
HISTORY
·
Greek philosophy
·
Plato and the Academy
·
Aristotle creates the Lyceum
·
Gutenberg creates the printing
press
·
John Amos Comenius uses pictures
to facilitate learning
·
John Dewey advocates Real World
learning
·
BF Skinner emphasizes positive
reinforcement
THE ON-DEMAND LEARNER
Adult Learners:
·
Are self-directed
·
Have rich experience to draw
on
·
Have different kinds of experiences
·
Need to be convinced of the benefits
(WIFM = “What’s In It For Me?”)
·
Need a social context for their
learning
·
Are flexible and open to new
learning technologies and practices if they see the value
of them
Work
is less prescribed than it used to be. An office worker’s
boss doesn’t say “Fly to Denver. Schedule a meeting.
Deliver a presentation”, etc.---they simply say “Win the Johnson
account.” The author calls this kind of open-ended work
“configured” work.
There
is more need for (and tolerance of) multitasking (notice how
TV screens have gotten busier?)
Competencies
of On-Demand Learners
·
Results-oriented
·
Take initiative
·
Seek information
·
Self-efficacy
·
Flexible
·
Learn “on the fly”
·
Goal-driven
·
Career-oriented
HOW TO ENABLE ON-DEMAND
LEARNING
Myths You’ll Have to Confront
·
“I can’t learn unless I’m in
a classroom with an instructor”
·
“People won’t take the time to
learn on their own”
·
“We’ve got to inundate them with
theory”
Rules
·
Make it easier to use and
it will get used.
·
Make it accessible
·
Build for the lowest common technological
denominator, not the cutting edge
·
Give rich feedback
·
Allow plenty of practice time
·
Allow people to fail, but “safely”
·
Use assessment to direct learning,
not to punish
·
Break content into small chunks
·
Make it easy to navigate
TECHNOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS
FOR ON-DEMAND LEARNING
Conduct a Technological
Assessment
Infrastructure Assessment
·
Intranet?
·
Bandwidth limitations?
·
Who has authoring permissions?
·
What types of software/hardware
will be supported?
·
Remote access?
·
Browsers?
·
Plug-ins?
Design Considerations
·
What types of information?
·
Size limitations?
·
Legal issues?
·
Security issues? Restrictions?
·
In-house or outsourcing?
·
Cost?
·
Resources?
ON-DEMAND LEARNING BEST
PRACTICES (EMPLOYEE AND CUSTOMER EXAMPLES)
Job Aids
·
Dell’s badge aids (cards with
useful info fit behind name badges)
·
Monitor Flipcards
·
Computer Monitor frames
·
Pocket Guide books
·
Sequence cards
·
Checklists
Case Study: The Limited,
Inc.
Online Training
·
Tips, tricks, and hints
·
Glossaries
·
Recommended learning and career
paths
·
Online skills assessment
·
Copies of training manuals
·
Student exercise files
·
Online library (with video clips,
too)
·
Links to useful sites
·
Industry-specific information
·
Kudos: Customer Testimonals and
Success stories
·
Online class schedule
·
Online class registration
·
Online summary of student account
information
·
Technical tutorials
·
EPSS
·
Quick reference cards
Face-to-Face Training
·
Lab classes
·
One-on-one training
·
“Sneaker-based” training at employee’s
work location.
·
Brown Bags
·
Telephone training hotline
Other:
·
CDs for Product and Sales Training
·
Audio Books
DELL’S TRAINING CONSULTANT
COACHING GUIDE
They use Outlook’s Calendar
function to distribute reminders to desktops, and use Outlook’s
Task function to distribute tasks (along with attendant links
and files)
Example
Dell’s Task List For New
Hires
Administrative
1.
Locate your dept. administrative assistant.
2.
Get any office supplies you need.
3.
Order your business cards.
4.
Draw your org chart.
5.
Get a long distance calling code
6.
Take an Outlook tutorial (if needed)
7.
Complete Travel Profile.
8.
Call computer support number (if needed)
Work Site Orientation
1.
Locate conference rooms in your building
2.
Locate training rooms in your building
3.
Discuss locations of the following campus buildings
(list)
4.
Locate your building services coordinator
5.
Receive security orientation
6.
Tour executive briefing center
Understand Dell Culture
1.
Take the Dell Business Model online tutorial
2.
Review the Code of Conduct.
3.
Cruise the corporate communications site
4.
Review CEO’s Top Ten List of Things to Do for current
year
5.
Take the “Know the Net” online course
And so on. It goes
on to:
·
Business Segment Orientation
·
Dell Learning Orientation
Other case studies include
BellSouth, Digital Lava, DigiCard, SalesMogatchi, dictionary.com,
Neuromedia’s Chatterbots, IDX Systems and Investor U.
VISIT THE BOOK’S COMPANION
SITE AT WWW.LEARN2NOW.COM
Hopefully, that’ll give
you the flavor of this book. As always, if you find
any of this interesting, please read the book in its entirety.
Here are the remaining chapters:
·
A sample technology-enabled learning
strategy
·
Policies and guidelines
·
Current successes
·
Strategy
·
A functional requirements specification
template
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