beyond e learning practical insights from the usa

Objectives The initial specific objectives for the mission were to gain an understanding of: • The latest research and technical innovation, in particular around the use of advanced inte

Beyond eLearning: practical insights from the USA

MAY 2006

UK experts to visit leading overseas technologyorganisations to learn vital lessons about innovationand its implementation, of benefit to entire industriesand individual organisations.

By stimulating debate and informing industrial

thinking and action, missions offer unique

opportunities for fast-tracking technology transfer,sharing deployment know-how, explaining new

industry infrastructures and policies, and developingrelationships and collaborations Around 30 missionstake place annually, with the coordinating

organisation receiving guidance and financial supportfrom the DTI Global Watch Missions team

Disclaimer

This report represents the findings of a missionorganised by the University of Abertay Dundee withthe support of DTI Views expressed reflect a

consensus reached by the members of the missionteam and do not necessarily reflect those of theorganisations to which the mission members belong,the University of Abertay Dundee, Pera or DTI

Comments attributed to organisations visited duringthis mission were those expressed by personnelinterviewed and should not be taken as those of theorganisation as a whole

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that theinformation provided in this report is accurate and up

to date, DTI accepts no responsibility whatsoever inrelation to this information DTI shall not be liable forany loss of profits or contracts or any direct, indirect,special or consequential loss or damages whether incontract, tort or otherwise, arising out of or in

connection with your use of this information Thisdisclaimer shall apply to the maximum extent

permissible by law

Beyond eLearning: practical insights from the USA

REPORT OF A DTI GLOBAL WATCH MISSION

MAY 2006

6 GAME-BASED LEARNING 35

being used in the corporate and

happening?

market?

trends in eLearning to watch for?

change in the next five years?

The objective of Global Watch Missions is to

meet and learn from leading organisations

overseas This mission certainly accomplished

that During the course of our week in the

USA we met senior representatives in the

eLearning field from leading academic

institutions and corporations: from MIT and

Stanford to Fortune 500 companies from the

financial services, technology and

pharmaceutical sectors

This was the first Global Watch Mission to

focus on learning technology It is a hugely

important subject and vital to our economy:

not only is education the UK’s fifth largest

export, but learning is vital for every

individual and organisation in every industry

to thrive in the fast-paced, globalised market

This point was made very emphatically in

one of our meetings when Tom Clancy, Chief

Learning Officer for EMC2(the leading US

data storage and management company),

described learning as a ‘competitive weapon’

in his organisation

We are all under pressure to increase

productivity, so using technology to deliver,

support and measure learning makes good

sense: information can be delivered quickly

and cost-effectively to a large and distributed

workforce just in time and in the medium of

choice From searchable libraries of

on-demand videos and podcasts, to

collaborative tools such as wikis and blogs

through to videogame-like simulations – all

tracked by a new generation of learning

management systems

Technological progress is matched by adramatic change in the needs of bothorganisations and learners in recent years.Performance support for computer literate,

or ‘digital native’, learners is today’s goal andthe best learning is integrated, or ‘embedded’,into the organisation and workday To besuccessful, learning must be aligned with theorganisation’s and individual’s goals

We hope this report will help inspire you tothink about learning in your organisation andconsider it as your competitive weapon.Please also stay tuned to

www.globalwatchservice.com for news oflatest overseas technical developments

FOREWORD

Sarah Turner – International Technology Promoter, DTI Global Watch Service

This report is being published to present the

findings of the first DTI Global Watch Mission

to the USA on eLearning The mission took

place in May 2006, and extensive meetings

and site visits were held in both Boston and

the San Francisco Bay Area In addition, the

mission also benefited from a large number

of North American eLearning experts who

travelled especially to meet with the mission

participants in both of these locations

As this was the first mission of its kind, the

results help set a benchmark for future

research eLearning is a complex and rapidly

changing field, and as new approaches and

technology change and affect the industry, it

will be extremely important for UK eLearning

professionals, and the UK industries

supported by eLearning, to continuously

update best practice in order to remain

globally competitive John Chambers, CEO of

Cisco, claimed in 1998 that learning was the

most essential factor for his company's

growth, and the mission results show that

the importance of eLearning to global

competitiveness is almost impossible to

overemphasise

Objectives

The initial specific objectives for the mission

were to gain an understanding of:

• The latest research and technical

innovation, in particular around the use of

advanced interactive simulations and

mobile technologies (mLearning)

• Business innovations in eLearningincluding the use of open source (OS)software, and improved methods indemonstrating return on investment (ROI)

• New approaches in using technology fororganisational learning including embeddedlearning and performance support

• The potential for international based collaboration, including joint

technology-research and development (R&D) orproduction, technology licensing,distribution etc

Overview of mission results

The mission found key technology and bestpractice in all of the objectives listed above,and each contribution to the report explores aspecific topic relevant to both the missionobjectives and the author’s expertise

Charles Jennings of Reuters explores theuses of eLearning for performance supportand collaborative learning In his chapter heclearly defines not just the nature of the field,but the key issues involved in the shift toWeb 2.0, the emerging learning styles of adigitally native workforce, and the uses ofeLearning in highly competitive businessenvironments This chapter also evaluateshow these changes could impact the UK, andpoints to some clear trends in eLearning toimprove competitiveness

In the second chapter, Jim TerKeurst of theUniversity of Abertay Dundee explores thetwo distinct approaches to eLearningdeployment seen in the USA The firstapproach is to carefully target learners,simplify materials, and limit types of

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Jim TerKeurst – University of Abertay Dundee

delivery to achieve the best ROI The

second is to use technology to distribute

materials across multiple technology

platforms and in numerous formats to

encourage uptake by a maximum number of

learners Each of these approaches has

benefits and limitations, and drawing from

existing pedagogical and communications

theory the author makes suggestions on

which approach might be most suitable

based on the desired learning outcomes

Next, Alec Keith of Epic Group looks at the

future of blended learning In his chapter Alec

clearly outlines the changes entailed in

developing new approaches to blended

learning better suited to future learning

applications Focusing on audiences, learning

and learning design, Alex concludes that

alignment, meeting learners’ needs and

performance support are necessities that

must be supported by volume production,

community learning and a commitment to

identifying organisational change

In his contribution, Lars Hyland of

Brightwave explores the interrelationship

between learning design and learning

experiences Building on the six disciplines

approach, Lars argues that designing the

end-to-end learning experience, earning

learners’ attention, making technology

invisible, and using sharing and storytelling

are key ways to link eLearning with

organisational and business development

Gordon Bull of Learning Forte leaves the

personal computer (PC)-bound world behind

and explores the future of mLearning in his

chapter Taking a high-level approach, Gordon

considers the use of mLearning in both the

commercial and academic worlds The

chapter explores how US companies have

recognised the potential and benefits of

mLearning, and concludes that mLearning is

poised for significant growth in the future

In the following chapter, Euan Mackenzie of3MRT presents material on the potential forlearning and games Following an overview ofchanges in the games industry that havemade game-based learning applicationsattractive to game developers, Euan exploresthe harsh reality of game-based learning in the

US corporate and education sectors Thechapter concludes with a list of

recommendations for future competitivenessthat have substantial implications for UK gamedevelopers working in game-based learning

Finally, Adrian Woolard of the BBC considersthe future of eLearning, and outlines thechallenges yet to be overcome The chapterconsiders the significant trends that mayaffect the future of learning in an

interconnected technology-based world, andidentifies one potential disrupter that couldprofoundly alter the eLearning landscape Thechapter concludes with a comparison ofsome potential futures for learning, andoutlines a number of opportunities that UKeLearning professionals should consider inpositioning their companies for a changingglobal marketplace

Beyond eLearning: the future

Each of the authors in this report has given anoverview of the best practice found in theUSA along with their insights on the futurepotential for eLearning in the UK Beyondthat, the report as a whole presents somehints at how developing an ongoing approach

of best practice can help the eLearningindustry prepare for what might lie over thehorizon and beyond eLearning This missionclearly showed that eLearning has beenembedded into the competitive strategy ofsuccessful US corporations, and their ongoingcommitment to eLearning is founded on theincreased competitiveness that effectiveeLearning offers

Make no mistake, the USA is not alone in

seeing the full potential of eLearning: both

Canada and Australia were cited repeatedly

during the mission as exemplars of the future

of eLearning In a global business

environment, learning is indeed a competitive

weapon and consequently of vital importance

to the UK

So how can the UK best move forward in this

area? Since the early eighties, digital media

has promised better designed, more

engaging, learner-centred learningopportunities, yet to date innovativeeLearning has remained elusive However,the UK, with its global reputation forexcellence in technology innovation, andhistory of developing and distributinginteresting and innovative content, hasconsiderable potential for success in theemerging global eLearning future This report

is therefore a first step on a longer journey, ajourney that with support could see the future

of UK-developed eLearning assured

Exhibit S.1 The mission team in Silicon Valley, L to R: Adrian Woolard, Alec Keith, Lars Hyland, Charles Jennings,

Euan Mackenzie, Doreen Reid (British Consulate-General, San Francisco), Jim TerKeurst, Gordon Bull, David Gardner; Sarah Turner is behind the camera!

Over the past 18 months new approaches

and tools have started to impact the way

learning developers and practitioners look at

eLearning’s potential to deliver enhanced

services to its customers These new

approaches and tools are being rolled out

across formal school and higher education,

corporate training and learning, and

government and quasi-government

organisations on both sides of the Atlantic

One key trend has been a resurgence of

interest in, and concentration on,

performance support, collaborative learning

and informal learning

This report addresses findings in these areas

from the DTI Global Watch ‘Beyond

eLearning’ mission to the USA in May 2006:

• Leading-edge developments occurring in

the USA in:

– Performance support

– Collaborative learning

– Informal learning

• Specific initiatives/developments that UK

organisations could learn from

• Specific opportunities for collaboration

between US and UK organisations

1.2 Terminology

Besides various acronyms listed in Appendix

D, the following terms are used in this report: Performance support

Electronic performance support systems(ePSS) have been in use for many years

A description that still applies is Gloria Gery’sdefinition in her ground-breaking 1991 book

‘Electronic Performance Support Systems’ as:

‘an integrated electronic environment that isavailable to and easily accessible by eachemployee and is structured to provideimmediate, individualized on-line access to thefull range of information, software, guidance,advice and assistance, data, images, tools,and assessment and monitoring systems topermit job performance with minimal supportand intervention by others.’ (Ref 1 – seeAppendix G.1)

Workflow learning/embedded learning

Both ‘workflow learning’ and ‘embeddedlearning’ refer to learning that is integratedinto the normal daily work They are similar to,but sometimes distinct from, performancesupport

Informal learning

Also referred to as ‘self-directed learning’,informal learning describes a processwhereby individuals acquire attitudes, values,skills and knowledge from daily experienceand the educative influences and resources intheir environment Most learning doesn’toccur as part of formal training or educationprogrammes It occurs through relatively

Charles Jennings – Global Head of Learning, Reuters

unstructured processes and is not

orchestrated or directed by learning

specialists It is estimated that 75% of

organisational learning is ‘informal’

Collaborative learning

Learning approaches and environments that

support communication between learners,

communities of learners and other forms of

shared knowledge creation and sharing

1.3 Key findings

1: Web 2.0 and eLearning 2.0 are

impacting the development of

performance support, collaborative and

informal learning in the USA

Web 2.0 is at the core of many developments

in the areas of performance support,

collaborative learning and informal learning in

the USA

The idea of Web 2.0 emerged in 2004 from a

conference session involving Tim O'Reilly

(founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media –

publishers of computer books and magazines)

and Dale Dougherty (O’Reilly VP) Although

the idea was focused on the turnaround of

web-based activities following the dot-com

collapse, Web 2.0 was quickly seen as a

significant step change from the publishing

model of ‘Web 1.0’ (the web, as was known

up to that point) to a model based on

interactivity and services (Ref 2)

Web 2.0 is typified by the move from content

distribution (the prime Web 1.0 focus) to

applications and environments supporting

sharing, communication, collaboration,

syndication and social interaction

eLearning 2.0 has emerged from Web 2.0

developments An article by Stephen Downes

– senior researcher at National Research

Council Canada (NRC) – in October 2005 set

the scene for the development of

learner-centric application of Web 2.0 tools andservices and coined the term ‘E-learning 2.0’(Ref 3)

The key characteristics of eLearning 2.0(Ref 4) are:

• Facilitation of content authoring – enabling

a more active role of the user/learner

• Knowledge and information sharing –inherent in many new tools andtechnologies

• Diversity of learning content and media –

in part resulting from new tools and generated content

user-• Ease of collaborative learning – onlinelearning environments have easy-to-usetools for interaction and collaboration

Typifying these changes has been the movefor leading learning specialists in the USA tostart to design learning appropriate for thenew breed of ‘digital natives’, and start toadopt emerging tools such as text, audio andvideo blogs, wikis, podcasts and RSS feedsfor educational use

Companies such as Fidelity Investments inBoston are actively engaging their wholeenterprise in Web 2.0 and eLearninginitiatives using wikis, blogs and RSS feeds toshare and collaboratively build knowledge.Fidelity’s heartbeat is dependent on therelationship the company can build andmaintain with its clients and it sees thecollaborative tools of eLearning 2.0 as beingfundamental in supporting its ability toachieve this relationship and support andeducate its clients

SRI Consulting Business Intelligence (SRI-BI) isresearching the development and uptake ofWeb 2.0 and eLearning 2.0 tools and

approaches Researchers and analysts atSRI-BI see both as catalysts for change

SRI-BI’s view is that eLearning 2.0 will, in time,

be embraced within the structured training

culture that exists in the majority of

organisations today, rather than bring about

wholesale changes SRI-BI is asking and

investigating questions such as:

• Will Web 2.0 and eLearning 2.0 accelerate

the ‘power shift’ from the dominant

training culture with its focus on high

degree of control, formal learning events

and activities, and structured learning to a

bottom-up and less control-oriented

learning culture that focuses on more

informal learning, using unstructured

content, and on community and

social-based learning?

• How can training professionals help enable

and accelerate the practical application of

Web 2.0 and eLearning 2.0 tools and

technologies to maximise the impact of

learning on business performance?

• Will eLearning 2.0 tools be embraced

within the formal training culture that is

dominant in many organisations and serve

as a bridge to lead convergence towards

the emergent learning culture?

2: US companies are starting to adapt their

learning provision to address the fact

that ‘the workforce of the future learns

differently’

Organisations such as Genentech (number 1

employer in the USA in Fortune magazine’s

2006 poll) and Cisco are building their

learning services on the basis that the

workforce of the future needs to learn

differently Learning and Development (L&D)

departments (or Learning and Knowledge

Management department in the case of

Genentech) are becoming more agile and

focusing on organisational knowledge and

building human capital

They are achieving this on process-basedlearning principles and performance support

in the same way that their manufacturingmodels have moved from batch-basedproduction to process-based production They appreciate the importance of providingdevelopment for jobs that do not yet exist,and problems yet to be defined, and arelinking learning closely with businessdecisions that require learning support

Cisco takes an innovative view of learnerswhether they are Cisco employees or itscustomers Cisco acknowledges that newgraduates entering the workforce today arevery different from those that entered 10, 20

or 30 years ago The company focuses on keycharacteristics of the ‘workforce of the

future’, building its learning on the basis that(Ref 5):

• They have grown up with technology andthe Internet

• They are natural multitaskers

• They innately use technology tocommunicate within and outside of theirworking lives This affects basic skills such

as writing ‘For young employees living in

an abbreviated instant message type ofworld, writing more complex thoughtsdown becomes more challenging’, saysRay Garra, L&D Manager at Cisco

• They have a different understanding of

‘basic skills’ – wanting to get high-leveloverviews and return for ‘deeper dives’when and if needed

• They are global thinkers – technology hasenabled them to have friends all over theworld, and to keep those friendships going

• They are very much just-in-time learnersand they will go to the Internet or othersources as they need information or skills

Cisco offers a range of just-in-time (JIT) and

learning content that supports its various

certification programmes

3: There is an increasing interest in JIT

learning (performance support,

embedded, workflow etc) and in the

collaborative aspects of learning on

both sides of the Atlantic

Developments in performance support

Performance support is becoming an

increasingly important tool in the armoury of

learning specialists in the USA, whether

provided through informal e-mail or instant

messaging, or more formally through ePSS

environments

Instant messaging (IM) is starting to provide

an interesting type of performance support

The rise of IM alongside the rise of Google

has led to IM having an emerging role in

organisational learning IM contributes

274 terabytes (TB) of content each year

Some companies are developing tools to

capture, extract and codify this content so it

can be used for capability-building

The use of the Ajax group of technologies is

clearly on the rise in both the US and UK

training/learning communities Companies

such as Cisco are deploying Ajax for learning

and performance support The key benefit of

Ajax is seen as its ability to support the

development of Web 2.0 applications with

greater levels of interactivity

A further trend is the emergence of rapid

development tools in the eLearning

marketplace Tools such as Adobe Captivate

and Articulate Presenter are being widely

deployed in eLearning content production in

both the USA and the UK

The availability of rapid development tools to

learning specialists and subject-matter

experts is seen as critical for the production

of learning content to support workplacelearning and performance support

The trend towards the development ofperformance-support learning content infavour of ‘electronic courses’, together withthe emerging use of rapid developmenteLearning tools by subject-matter experts andorganisational learning specialists, will impactbespoke eLearning companies in the UK andelsewhere As tools become more

sophisticated and demand becomes moregranularised, learning content will becomecommoditised The value-add offered bybespoke eLearning vendors for the majority

of eLearning content demand will need to bereviewed

Developments in collaborative learning

The growth of eLearning and blended learninghas helped create learning environments thatare suited to collaboration UMassOnline, theumbrella organisation for eLearning togetherwith the University of Massachusetts five-campus system, are using eLearning andblended learning to broaden learningexperiences by enabling communication andcommunities of practice

IBM Canada’s Innovation Center and otherNorth American organisations see currenteLearning environments becoming focused

on personalised, collaborative, based integrated learning where context is ofprime importance and search plays a crucialpart in any learner’s strategy

workplace-On the other hand, Fidelity Investments isusing collaborative tools to support education

of its clients through a more proactive ‘push’approach Fidelity has started to use RSSfeeds, blogs and wikis to share andcollaboratively build knowledge with itsclients Although there are some issuesaround regulatory controls for blogs, Fidelitysees expansion of its existing content-sharingmodel into more structured support of

learning The drive by Fidelity towards the use

of learning technologies has been brought

about in part by many of its retail customers

who are digital natives and part of the

‘workforce of the future’

A strong link is being forged between

storytelling (learning from experience and

communicating that learning to others

through stories) and learning technologies

Production companies and corporate

consumers are both looking at appropriate

ways to use technology to support learning

using a range of storytelling approaches

‘Learning is not about the technology, it is

about the experience’, says Ed Heinbockel,

CEO of Visual Purple, a highly

technology-focused interactive entertainment company

that produces immersive simulations to

address the needs of its corporate and

government training clients Despite its deep

technology expertise, Visual Purple

approaches all of its projects from a

storytelling point of view

Developments in informal learning

Informal learning is in the headlights in the

USA, although use of the term ‘informal

learning’ is starting to be phased out in many

US organisations and eLearning research

institutes The term is being replaced with a

number of more accurate terms such as

‘self-directed learning’

With the move away from focus on eLearning

simply as a mechanism to deliver learning

content, there is a greater emphasis on the

importance of informal learning approaches

through collaboration, communication and

communities Rather than focusing on the

‘what?’ of learning (content-centric), the trend

is to focus on the ‘how?’ (student-centric) by

providing multiple channels to support

content-emerging with a move away from prescriptivecurricula and programmes of study towards agreater focus on assessment as the maindriver in eLearning

A number of leading organisations in the USAare taking the view that not only shouldlearning content be available in many diverseforms and on demand, but that organisationallearning should also be driven by assessmentand the assurance that employees are

capable of performing as required, whetherthey spend time working through learningcontent or not

This is not simply a certification-drivendevelopment, but one that is aligned with therole of accreditation as a key motivator forlearning It is a very different approach fromthe content-driven eLearning model that haspredominated for the past 10 years

1.4 Potential impact on UK industry

There is clearly a move away from focus oncontent as being at the core of eLearning and

a move to greater focus on context,collaboration and support of communities

Chris Pirie, Learning Product Group Manager

at Microsoft, describes Microsoft’s journey asone from ‘content to learning services’ At thesame time, he sees learning as primarilyabout ‘community’, with learning contentsimply one of the inputs into the learningprocess Pirie points out that it is easy tomonetise learning content but harder tomonetise the emerging collaborative aspects

of learning such as coaching andcommunities He also sees the role oflearning experts as providing the ‘editorial

voice’ with some editorial authority to provide

learners with a pathway through the noise of

the many informal networks that learners

need to navigate

Some US providers are thinking about loyalty

credits and other approaches to monetise

some of the newer, non-content aspects of

learning services This is a view for UK

learning content providers to ponder as they

evolve their own business models

The trend toward the increased use of rapid

development tools in the hands of

subject-matter experts as well as in the hands of

learning specialists in the USA is mirrored in

the UK It is clear that this trend will continue

as new tools become available

• Web 2.0 and eLearning 2.0 developments

(context, communication, communities)

are driving new approaches for the use of

technology in learning and development in

both the USA and the UK Although the

USA is still leading, the UK is following

closely

• Leading US eLearning providers and

corporates are using the attributes of the

‘workforce of the future’ to drive eLearning

developments

• There is a trend away from focus on tools

and technologies and closer focus on the

most effective ways to achieve

organisational and individual learning

outputs

• Performance support approaches are being

used by US companies as levers to

support closer alignment of learning and

capability-building with the organisations’

strategic intent

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Communication theory and

eLearning

2.3 Learners and mediated learning

2.4 Organisational eLearning in action

2.5 Conclusions and recommendations

2.1 Introduction

An interesting insight from this mission was

the apparently different approaches taken by

the East coast and West coast eLearning

experts Mission host companies in Boston

were keen to maximise their ROI for

eLearning materials, and quite concerned to

make their materials as minimal, targeted

and focused as possible with an extensive

eLearning support network in place for

eLearning users Conversely, the San

Francisco Bay Area contingent were

enthusiastic about using technology to

disseminate their eLearning materials, and

very interested in developing expert

systems to support their own corporate

technology innovations

These are, of course, gross generalisations,

but they made an interesting contrast in

approaches that resonates with methods

and trends throughout the eLearning

industry This chapter investigates these two

approaches, and using pedagogical and

communications theory makes some

recommendations on which approach

may be most appropriate for typical

eLearning applications

We begin this exploration by considering

what eLearning is Unlike earlier

based training, eLearning refers to

computer-enhanced learning or training Typically

utilising PCs and communications

technology, eLearning is unique in allowinglearners to determine the pace, and eventhe times, that they wish to learn Withcurrent communications technology,eLearning is delivered using mobile phones(mLearning), personal digital assistants(PDAs), MP3 players (podcasts) andtelevision Internet, e-mail, collaborativeenvironments, wikis and blogs are alsobecoming common elements in eLearningapplications, and the more robust virtuallearning environments (VLEs) – also known

as learning management systems (LMS),course management systems (CMS),managed learning environments (MLEs),learning support systems (LSS) or learningplatforms (LPs) Some of the newest VLEsare now offering staff talent and

management functions which, if utilised,could signal a sea change in staff

development and management

With this plethora of potential approaches,channels, environments, media and hardware,every organisation now faces the dilemma ofallocating scarce resources to maximise itseLearning investment Typically training is akey eLearning application, and many

companies have successfully reduced trainingtime and costs with eLearning This is

especially important in high turnoversituations like call centres where literallythousands of new staff may need to betrained each year

However, training alone is not enough incompetitive business environments Astechnology and customer offerings change,eLearning materials can provide broadsupport for staff working with customersdirectly or solving problems in the field.Some companies visited by the mission

Jim TerKeurst – University of Abertay Dundee

suggested that this continuous support

was, in fact, the key benefit provided by

eLearning as rapid change has made all but

basic training obsolete This is also

consistent with the development of internal

knowledge bases and expert systems as

expertise and innovation are becoming

increasingly important Finally, eLearning is

beginning to be seen as a crucial way to

maintain organisational flexibility and avoid

rigid strategies that can lead to a 'tyranny

of success' (Robinson and Stern 1997 –

see bibliography in Appendix G.2)

In addition to tracking learning and

performance, VLEs are also used to help

reduce time to market for new products

that require training, and reduce

non-compliance risks with automation

2.2 Communication theory and

eLearning

The pervasive nature of eLearning, going

hand in hand with advances in

communications technology, should come as

no surprise Doug Engelbart suggested that

computers represent a fourth stage of

human intellectual capabilities building on

cooperative technological devices (Engelbart

1962) Advances in communications

technology, tied as they are to increased

information flow with the potential for

manipulation, have driven an entire research

agenda dedicated to understanding the

mediated communication process

Coinciding with the cold war, with its esteem

of all things technological and a mistrust of

their use, modern mass communications

studies began with the work of Harold

Lasswell, when there was considerable

concern over the role of media in the changing

of beliefs and attitudes (Lasswell 1948)

Focused on message success (not unlike early

eLearning materials), this approach viewed

communication as a sort of hypodermic that

would strongly affect people and attitudes

(see also Shannon and Weaver 1949)

Within a few years other theorists attempted

to understand the potential complexity ofcommunication, and more sophisticatedapproaches recognised that communicationwas a two-way process (Braddock 1958,Schramm 1954) with receivers and theirbackgrounds having a considerable impact onmessage success Receivers all had their ownsocial, cultural and personal environments,and that meant each made their ownpersonally based interpretation of theinformation Additionally, information receiverscould decide what information they wanted;hence motivation and attitudes becameincreasingly important In addition it was nowrecognised that too many messages, orcontradictory messages, could lead to arejection of the messages altogether

The rejection of messages, or reception oftoo many messages, was becoming anincreasingly important issue In 1981 the term'information society' was coined to explainthe enormous amount of information thatwas available (Ito 1981) In the informationsociety world, efficiencies in media

production and dissemination resulted in anever-increasing supply of information andresources (8-10% annually) (Pool et al 1984).Surprisingly, the researchers found that evenwith this growth, consumption was growingmuch more slowly, and actual application oreffect remained constant For people working

in communications, this suggested that much

as they might wish to increase applicationand effect, the rapid increase in alternativeand/or competing messages made theirefforts less effective

To overcome this overabundance ofinformation and messages, theorists nextdeveloped a large number of alternativeapproaches to increase message

effectiveness Each of these approaches hasits utility, but the approach that seems mostapplicable to organisationally based eLearningcarefully identifies the target group, accountsfor competing information (or disinformation)

and tailors the message, medium and

communicator to achieve a desired result

(Nowak and Wärneryd 1985) Using this

approach, goals must be clearly defined and

related to a specific definition of success for

the target group, and an overall theme that

ties the messages together carefully related

to the media that is being utilised For

eLearning, this suggests that the internal

learning or training goals should be carefully

aligned to both the internal goals of the

organisation, and the external promotion of

the organisation to the public

While apparently an obvious conclusion, this

is, in fact, an incredibly complex and difficult

undertaking Most organisations use

eLearning as a resource, and reorienting their

eLearning approaches to fully integrate with

the business, management and marketing

strategies in a synergistic whole requires

considerable rethinking However, this

approach will become an absolute necessity

for large organisations in the 21stcentury

2.3 Learners and mediated learning

There has been an enormous body of

research done on pedagogy, teaching and

learning Typically, the research is grounded in

one of four approaches:

• Cognitive: studying the processes of

learning and how the brain works

• Emotional: the study of motivation,

engagement, reward etc

• Behavioural: examining behavioural

change and development

• Social: looking at peer support and

pressure, collaboration and interactions

that stimulate learning

Each of these approaches has exhaustiveliterature and research available thatinterested readers should explore

However, as an exhaustive overview isbeyond the scope of this work, only a smallselection of material considered relevant will be mentioned

Robert Gagne noted that gaining the learner’sattention is the first step in any learningsituation (Gagne 1985) As a mediated form,eLearning can easily do this, but it must beremembered that dull material will eventuallylead to inattentiveness Motivation has longbeen another crucial component to learning,especially the optimal level of motivation (orarousal) for productivity (Yerkes and Dodson1908) Within an organisational environment,relating eLearning materials and learningevents to staff development and promotioncan maintain motivation (see Weiner 1990).However, many organisations require a stableworkforce or have little need for promotion Inthese cases, other means must be found tomaintain learning motivation

As an approach for adult learners, andragogy1

(Knowles 1984a, 1984b) was developedspecifically for motivated and responsibleadults Using andragogy there are four keyaspects that must be incorporated into thetraining First, learners must know why theyneed to learn the material and see

immediate value Additionally, it is importantthat the learning is experiential and problembased Case studies, simulations and roleplaying are ideal using this approach

Criterion-referenced instruction (CRI) links inwell with andragogy as it ties in with thespecific objectives and perceived value thatadult learners prefer (Mager 1975, 1988).Using CRI goals, tasks and performanceobjectives are clearly identified and related toevaluation and feedback

1 Andragogy, a term originally used by Alexander Kapp (a German educator) in 1833, was developed into a theory of adult education by the American educator, Malcolm Knowles (1913-1997) Knowles held that andragogy (from the Greek words meaning ‘adult-leading’) should be distinguished from the more commonly used pedagogy (Greek: ‘child-leading’) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andragogy

The learner’s background is also a key issue in

developing eLearning approaches A learner’s

existing knowledge and experience and

background has been shown to influence

attention (Neisser 1967) or become a

hindrance to learning (Hovland, Janis and Kelly

1953), and considerable research has

demonstrated that learning which undermines

existing competencies and beliefs can cause

debilitating emotional issues and result in

decreased performance and efficiency (Gopnik

and Meltzoff 1997) Communications

researchers have referred to this problem as

cognitive dissonance (Festinger 1957), and it is

worth noting that there are some established

ways to deal with this problem

Considering eLearning as communications,

a considerable amount of research has been

done on the impact of mediated learning

materials.2The problem with mediated

learning has often been the simple fact that

most people only pay attention to one thing

at a time (Broadbent 1958) If there are too

many information sources, or they are poorly

structured, learners will only focus on the

stimulus they find interesting (often

something entirely unrelated to the

suggested learning) Another concern when

using media is that a person’s learning

preferences are related to their previous uses

of media, the learning context and the task

itself (Salomon 1977, 1981; Salomon, Perkins

and Globerson 1991) One proven solution to

both these problems is utilising a combination

of non-redundant typological (language based,

taxonomic, schema based) and topological

(visual and variable) material that facilitate

learners developing new schemas for relating

the information (Lemke 1999)

John Bransford and the Cognition and

Technology Group at Vanderbilt University

have done an interesting study on the use of

media in support of/relation to learning

Using a method they call anchoredinstruction (Bransford et al 1990; Cognitionand Technology Group at Vanderbilt 1990),the group has developed a series ofinteractive videos designed to facilitatecomplex realistic problems The videosbecome the anchors for the learning, andunlike entertainment video are designed tocreate engaging contexts that encourageactive knowledge construction

In a similar fashion, eLearning materialsshould be the anchors for learning, and many

of the more advanced learning approachesare now having the learners themselvescreate the eLearning content within aprovided framework

2.4 Organisational eLearning in action

Currently there is a wide selection of VLEsavailable for use Typically developed usingeither Java or NET, these platforms serve avariety of purposes well beyond their originalcontent and assessment repository use In anod to the business-focused nature of theseprograms, some have even begun referring

to themselves as talent managementsolutions (TMS) Because of the complexity

of many of the current VLEs, the next step

in this analysis will be considering some VLEfeatures and relating them to pedagogy,communications and practice After all, itonly makes sense that learning, likeeLearning, and for that matter appropriatepedagogy, is situational (apologies to Laveand Wenger 1991)

Undoubtedly the most common use ofeLearning tools the mission found in the USAwas in call-centre training Often referred to

as call management information systems(CMIS), these eLearning applications wereoften developed to reduce the time and/orcost of developing staff, and are designed to

2 Even within academia, the rhetorical or instructivism approach of standing in front of a group of students and disseminating truth and knowledge is now outdated (Reynolds, Caley and Mason 2002)

orient them to the company and their role

within it Productivity and ROI were the

watchwords at this level, and as offers and

customers changed continuously, there was

a continuous need for updated information

An obvious pedagogical choice for developing

materials in this area would be functional

context theory (FCT) (Sticht 1976) Originally

developed to enhance fundamental skills in

training, FCT stresses that training should

relate to the learner’s existing knowledge and

work context, with contextually appropriate

training materials and equipment As staff in

these work environments have a fast-paced

yet varied workload, communications theory

would suggest that small, very specific

learning events be integrated directly into the

work environment Reducing any distraction

or dissonance is crucial, and learning

elements integrated into an ongoing

workflow to fill unused time would be most

effective Once again, to reduce any

dissonance, any assessment done by

learners must be both content and context

specific In these situations, information

support is also a primary concern, but

knowledge of rapidly changing information

should be considered separately from the

integrated training

Rapid access to information and knowledge is

an absolute necessity in many industries, but

rapid changes in information, combined with

rapid access, creates special issues that must

be addressed The first of these has to do

with expertise Expertise or subject mastery

is a key outcome of learning (Slavin 1987),

and considerable evidence suggests that this

can be a substantial eLearning outcome

However, individual learners will vary in their

capabilities, and unrealistic expectations of

learners can turn subject mastery into a trap

(Cox and Dunn 1979)

If subject mastery is crucial, how can it be

developed within eLearning? Merely

demonstrating expertise is one solution, but

showing expertise as a learning tool isn'tnecessarily the best way to present theinformation (Michael et al 1993; Salomon1981) Firstly, as the integrated knowledgeand techniques of the expert may be opaque

to the untrained, but also because experience

is learned as well as learned from

From a pedagogical perspective, scaffolding,when learners get assistance or support thatallows them to achieve something theycouldn’t have independently, would be themost appropriate method (Wood et al 1976).Using scaffolding, learners develop theirknowledge and skills in cycles of assessmentand adaptive support as the scaffolding

gradually fades (is no longer available) orbecomes invisible (no longer used) Once thisprocess is complete, the learning is completeand subject/skill mastery is complete (Stone

1993, 1998a, 1998b)

However, in the rapidly changing technologyindustries, learning is part of a process, andscaffolding to provide crucial information andskills is both vital and permanent Some havereferred to this permanent scaffolding asdistributed cognition (Hutchins 1995) ordistributed intelligence (Pea 1993, 2002).Others, however, have recognised that rapidchange leaves little time for scaffolding(Sherin et al 2004)

One solution to the scaffolding dilemma isthe development of collaborative

environments Research has shown thatcollaboration can serve as a scaffold for betterproblem solving (Johnson and Johnson 1981).However, collaborative environments, likewikis and blogs, have some interestingproblems of their own In all of theseenvironments a substantial amount ofmediated material is made available tolearners, and it has been shown that asubstantial amount of learning from media isindirect or implicit and determined by howthe material is presented Being unaware ofthis, media users fail to recognise the

persuasive power of indirect media messages

regarding appropriate behaviour or advertised

products (Glascock 2001; Petty et al 2002;

Trappey 1996)

Even in live unmediated situations people

learn without being aware of it, and this

socially based learning has been shown to

have both positive and negative implications

On a positive note, some view informal

learning as a boon to knowledge and culture

(Gee 2003), or even as evolutionary as it

helps with adaptation Conversely, others see

informal learning as the propagation of naive

understanding and misconceived ideas

(McCloskey, 1985) or the degrading of culture

(Healy 1991)

However, it is important to consider that the

mediated social participation offered by

collaborative environments, wikis and blogs

could be enhanced to guided participation

(Rogoff, Matusov and White 1996) For real

success in these areas, facilitation is crucial

for guided participation, and the tools can

then function as an evolving form of learner

scaffolding

This approach on mediated social support for

learning can also help enhance learners’

responses to change and the development of

originality Flexibility, change and originality are

now a normal part of organisational survival,

and the facilitated reconstruction of knowledge

required for change can be accomplished using

collaborative environments to manage

case-based multiple interconnected and complex

materials (Spiro et al 1988; Maltzman 1960)

Facilitating this is not an easy task, but learners

use these sorts of materials to develop more

flexible schemas of understanding and develop

new knowledge

Finally, an often neglected aspect in

eLearning is the social support required

Learner acceptance needs recognition that

model behavior is reinforced by rehearsal and

valued outcomes that are perceived as high

status (Bandura 1977) Managers will need toproject this ideal behaviour if they want theireLearning programmes to succeed, andrecognise that the community that learnersinteract with helps them define not thephysical or mental skills but rather themeanings of the skills as defined bycommunity members (Becker 1953) For trueeLearning success, not just the learner buttheir team, their managers and the

organisational goals must be aligned

outcomes: from the little-and-often approachthat works well for training and transaction-based skills, to the more socially-basedguided learning required for the sustainedinquiry needed for higher-level concepts withmultiple potential solutions

Regarding the original question, technologyisn’t always better, but appropriate technologythat learners have used in the past and canrelate to, does help address the variedlearning preferences of individuals Moreimportant than which technology, however,

is that eLearning developers recognise theaffect of both mediated and unmediatedmaterials on the learning process

Based on the mission, here are a fewrecommendations for the future:

• Align and integrate eLearning to both theinternal goals of the organisation and theexternal promotion of the organisation tothe public

• For organisational competitiveness, focus

on dialogue, interaction and collaboration

• Even in a large programme, focus on thesmall bite-size learning events and howthey aggregate

• Content is less important than the learningoutcome

• If a proper framework is in place, contentcan be developed by the learners

• Within rapidly changing information

environments, scaffolded learning is

inappropriate as immediate access toinformation is the primary criterion

• A wireless world will make mobile andPDA-based solutions more attractive

• Highly complex learning requires a moreformal environment for sustained

interaction

• Complex eLearning outcomes need

exponential increases in social facilitationand support

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Blended learning – what’s that?

3.3 The changing learning landscape

3.4 Key findings

3.1 Introduction

This chapter looks at what’s new in the world

of US blended learning, focusing on corporate

users In order to promote debate, the

approach starts with two premises:

1 Most eLearning isn’t actually used, and…

2 When it is used, rarely achieves the

desired business benefits

So what can be learnt from the US blended

learning experience? What works and what’s

coming next? And what are the lessons for the

UK in terms of addressing these premises?

Below is a summary of mission findings To

prevent previous assumptions and prejudices

affecting the conclusions, all examples,

quotations and case studies are restricted

solely to those gathered during the week

3.2 Blended learning – what’s that?

On the face of it, the task seemed simple –

discover what works in US blended learning

and publish the findings However, it became

clear very early that blended learning is old

news – ‘Blended learning is just a means to

an end’, and ‘Blended learning is still in the

literature, but not discussed seriously’, the

mission was told

So, before we can learn any lessons fromwhat’s happening in the USA, we must firstunderstand how the nature of US learningitself is changing

3.3 The changing learning landscape

The increasing pace of change in US markets,regulatory environment and technology,together with a new learner profile, is affectingwhat’s required of blended approaches Thetraditional approach of discrete, one-sizelearning events, perhaps sandwiched witheLearning, is being replaced with somethingradically different The new world blurs thedistinction between learning and

communication and delivers mass-volume,business-led community solutions that engagelearners in a continual learning process

Exhibit 3.1 summarises the old and new world,with key findings and conclusions below

Alec Keith – Senior Learning Consultant, Epic Group plc

Audience Single channel Multichannel Staff Customers/partners/public Single task Multitask

Insular thinkers Global thinkers Deep knowledge Broad knowledge Clear Ambiguous Individual Community Learning

Event Process Long life content Perishable content One-off Continuous Formal Informal Training led Business led Training Performance Produce and consume Search and retrieve Quality Quantity

Learning design Trainers Consultants One size Personalised Fixed Scalable Fixed choice Menu options Content Access Full solutions Small chunks

Exhibit 3.1 The old and new worlds of learning

3.4 Key findings

Audience

Before we can design, develop and

implement effective programmes, it is vital to

appreciate the nature of the new-world

audience The following summarises some

key features identified during research

Widening base

US organisations recognise a new target

audience – not just staff, but customers and

partners This is particularly true of

fast-changing firms such as IBM, Microsoft and

Cisco that have rolled out major programmes

to channel partners and customers supported

by accreditation and certification Cisco

launches one or two new products every

week, supported with eLearning nuggets

downloadable from its website, whilst

Microsoft supplies eLearning vignettes in all

new products, such as how to implement

parental controls on operating systems

The growth of new technology allows these

organisations to reach far wider audiences

than previously Cisco communicates,

collaborates and educates employees,

partners and customers worldwide via

Internet Protocol (IP) multicast and unicast

streaming, repaying the investment in a

media studio within 12 months

What’s more, many US organisations have

embraced the concept of corporate

responsibility, ie ‘giving something back’, so

widening their audience to the general public

This includes eLearning programmes aimed

at developing digital literacy and basic skills,

but also in global warming, the environment

and so on Cisco has recently launched

‘Preparing to Breastfeed’, having recognised

the need for major corporates to take the

lead in educating the widest possible

audience The Cisco range also includes

‘Peter Packet’, teaching networking basics

and social awareness to children Similarinitiatives are stirring in the UK, particularly inthe oil industry for instance, and we shouldexpect more to come

Global, digital thinkers

The new-world audience grew up with theInternet and uses technology instinctively tocommunicate They are also global thinkers –many have friends around the world,

communicate across geographic and timeboundaries and naturally share knowledge.The opportunities for exploiting new

technology to leverage this sense ofcommunity are huge It demands a shift fromtraditional training events to a more

integrated approach using technology tocommunicate, knowledge share etc This isexplored in more detail below

Broad, not deep

The pace of change and demand for newknowledge means today’s audience requires

a huge quantity of knowledge, much of which

is perishable In general, learners want lots ofinformation, but not depth Unlike the old-world audience, new learners are contentwith ambiguity – it is breadth/volume thatcounts This has major implications for thestructure and delivery of learning solutions,discussed below

Learning

‘It’s no longer about training, butperformance.’ Blended learning isn’t aboutone-off events – solutions must be part oflearners’ everyday working lives Cisco’s aim

is to ‘weave learning into the fabric of yourday’ This changes the emphasis from trainer-led delivery, focused on content, to an

informal performance-led approach, focused

on the audience’s needs

Aligning L&D with the business

The increasing importance of aligning L&D

closely with business needs is clear L&D

professionals cannot expect to spot learning

needs from afar; they need to integrate totally

with their audience in order to deliver solutions

when they’re needed A good example is how

EMC Corp (supplier of enterprise-wide

intelligent storage and retrieval technology)

reduced its investment in eLearning from

$7 million to $1 million per annum with

improved results simply by identifying what

the business wanted, rather than what L&D

professionals thought they wanted

Gearing up for community learning

Community/collaborative learning is hot

Numerous examples were given of the

effectiveness of group learning and the

opportunities presented by collaborative tools,

such as discussion forums, blogs, wikis etc

Examples include the success of sites such as

Wikipedia and Flickr – user-generated content

Jetblue has taken the concept one stage

further with customers creating the

company’s advertising copy! Community

learning is still in its early days in the corporate

world, but all organisations the mission met

have started Genentech (biotechnology

research company) is experimenting with

dynamic FAQs, learning cafés and

communities of practice Sun Microsystems

has 2,000 active bloggers sharing experiences

and war stories on project work

Informal learning

It is estimated that 80% of learning is

informal, ie out of the learning paradigm To

date, L&D professionals have been anxious

about informal learning – by its nature, out of

their control and difficult to measure But in

the USA the anxiety is disappearing As

outlined above, new learners can cope with

ambiguity There is no need to remember

anything, you can always ‘Google’ it or use

new technology to ask – anyone, anywhere,

at any time, including complete strangers.And IBM has started measuring informallearning, such as the frequency of datasharing, recognising and rewardingindividuals/teams accordingly Informallearning is on its way and we must gearourselves up for it

Quantity, not quality

This may not be what any L&D professionalwants to hear, but it’s true… to a point

Organisations like Cisco, Microsoft and EMCCorp have delivered business benefits byproducing volume, easily accessible solutions.Genentech’s approach is ‘all about providinginformation to the rest of the company’ EMChas delivered results through a ‘simple buteffective’ approach with huge libraries ofcontent as VILTs (video instructor-led training)and VODs (video on demand), easily

accessible/searchable by staff, partners andcustomers However, there is still a marketfor high-end quality solutions, such as games– Cisco’s virtual hands-on lab/interactivesimulations, for instance What we’re seeing

is a shift from ‘produce and consume’ to

‘search and retrieve’ – ‘Googlisation’

Performance support

Training and performance support aremerging Numerous examples of online, JITperformance support were identified Cisco,for example, uses Ajax technology to embedcontext-sensitive support/instruction in itsproducts Fidelity’s vision is to include onlinenuggets/content-based instruction in all newdevices, forms, templates and applications.Vodafone uses performance-support tools,with search and retrieve functionality to teachproduct knowledge in Italian call centres.However, State Street (a financial servicesprovider) warns of the effort required to buildePSS into the learning culture It mustn’t beassumed that all users will embrace this newway of working

Learning design

The changing nature of learning has several

implications for learning design:

Changing role of L&D professionals

Aligning to the business requires us to be

consultants, not just trainers We must

understand our business users, speak their

language and handle the increasing speed of

change EMC Corp found that simply asking

experienced, skilled instructional designers to

take on this new role wasn’t enough We

need to develop our skills as coaches and

mentors to handle the new world of learning

The end result of these changes, according to

Accenture, is a merging of learning, internal

communications and the corporate library into

a single function – talent management

Scalability/quantity

The requirement for volume requires subject

matter experts’ knowledge to be harnessed

for scalable solutions This typically requires

in-house development of eLearning rather

than engaging external suppliers The

eLearning suppliers become consultants in

this initiative, working closely alongside the

client organisation to coach, mentor and help

build internal capability In Genentech, for

instance, subject experts make extensive use

of Articulate Presenter and Camtasia to make

large volumes of eLearning content available

to the widest possible audience, whilst

outsourcing development of more specialist,

high-end solutions This trend is already being

seen, but to a lesser degree, in the UK Any

organisation that hasn’t yet done so needs to

gear itself up to design and develop blended

solutions, including eLearning, selecting a

trusted eLearning partner to help build

internal capability

Keep it simple

Volume solutions must be simple EMC,Genentech and Cisco make extensive use ofpodcasts, VILTs etc, concentrating on breadth

of content, searchable in small chunks Whilstlearning models tend to be linear, with limiteduse of more sophisticated eLearning features,the audience doesn’t demand anything else.What’s important is speed and ease of access.Personalised learning

With so much content being produced,learners need guidance on selecting what’sappropriate to their needs Hence manyorganisations are personalising their learning,and creating individual learning paths,

depending on role, capability frameworks etc.What’s more, assessment, certification andaccreditation of programmes is key – ‘testing

is more important than content’

Motivation of learners

In the new world of volume solutions andinformal learning, motivation of learners is akey issue that hasn’t yet been cracked

Whether to make completion mandatory isstill being debated, but either way thechallenge is to encourage learners to want tolearn ‘Learning miles’ and credits, tied in tocompetency frameworks and linked closely toperformance at work are recognised as thesolutions, but it’s an issue the USA is stillstruggling with

3.5 Conclusions

We’re facing a new world of learning and a

new world of learners To ensure the future of

blended learning in the UK we need to

recognise what’s happening in the USA and

act now In particular, UK L&D functions must:

• Align L&D closely with their business

users to ensure they’re continually abreast

of their fast-changing needs

• Be prepared to meet the needs of a

widening audience, including clients,

partners and the general public

• Gear up for volume production of learning

solutions, mostly in-house using rapid

development tools, with support from

specialist providers

• Implement plans for exploiting the power

of community learning and informallearning – soon

• Think performance support, not training, ineverything they do

• Identify how their organisation’s internalfunctions are changing and prepare for awidening, challenging role

This isn’t simply another set of theoreticalramblings from the trade press As shown bythe numerous examples, the conclusions arebased on actual experiences of real USorganisations

Exhibit 3.2 Cisco Systems Inc, San Jose, CA – one of the companies visited

4.5 Virtual worlds develop real-life skills

4.6 Transfer, reinforcement and the

spacing effect

4.1 Introduction

The impact of information technology (IT) is

now having a profound effect on how we

learn throughout our lives In the developed

world we are moving closer to assuming

universal access to computers, mobile

phones and connection to the Internet The

rate of adoption and change in the areas of

hardware and software continues to

accelerate However, an interesting anomaly

is the pace at which we are evolving new

design strategies to make best use of the

technology to hand

This mission yielded some interesting

insights into how and why business and

education are making use of learning

technology The USA has embraced eLearning

primarily for geographical (less long distance

travel) and cultural reasons (a more

self-motivated workforce on the whole) The scale

of the domestic US market makes the

economics clear cut

With the emphasis moving towards

performance, the economics also shift to

support the design and provision of high

quality (but not necessarily expensive) tools

and content that are clearly aligned to

organisational goals and individual keyperformance indicators

However, the design aspects of theselearning experiences continue to beextremely variable and their effectivenessmay be diminished as a result – this applies

to all learning, e- or otherwise

The key trends of interest are:

• Designing the whole end-to-end learningexperience

• A shift of focus away from formal toinformal learning

• Earning attention

• Making technology invisible

• Less learning more often

• Storytelling and sharing

• Polarisation of eLearning activity

4.2 Instruction design –

the need to adapt

The instructional models that underpin oureducation systems and training activities inthe workplace remain largely unchanged.However, there are now clear signs that thisstatus quo is beginning to unravel as studentsand trainees take control of their own learningexperiences through collaboration with

respected peers and experts, through instantaccess to supporting content, and throughimmediate practice of newly acquired skills insafe, virtual environments

Fundamentally, humans are designed to learn

We are efficient at it too, once the obstaclesare removed Knowledge and skills

concentrated in a few individuals waseconomically difficult and slow to share withothers Those few ‘experts’ could not

Lars Hyland – Director of Learning Services, Brightwave Ltd

meaningfully provide personalised support

and guided practice to everyone In a

connected world, the economics change: the

speed of knowledge and idea exchange

rapidly accelerates and increases our ability to

rotate faster through a natural, iterative

action-led learning cycle

However, this doesn’t mean abdicating

responsibility completely, as we all benefit

from well-managed learning experiences that

improve the effectiveness and efficiency of

acquiring new knowledge and skills

Indeed, this has been usefully encapsulated

by Wick, Pollock, Jefferson and Flanagan in

their recent book ‘The Six Disciplines of

Breakthrough Learning’ (Ref 1 – see

Appendix G.3) that focuses on how to turn

training and development into business

results

The six disciplines that characterise learning

solutions that have genuine impact are:

• Define business outcomes:

– Link objectives to business needs

– Agree on definition of success

– Define what participants will do

differently and better

• Design complete experience:

– Design what happens before and after

the core learning activities

– Redefine project completion from being

the end of the learning activities, to the

generation of results

• Deliver for application:

– Show how the content relates to

current business issues

– Give participants time to reflect on how

they will apply in the workplace

• Document:

– Collect credible data on the outcomesdefined at the outset

– Report results to management and use

to market solution to wider audienceand increase adoption

It is all too rare for all six disciplines to bepracticed diligently by L&D organisations ineither the USA or Europe Nonetheless, there is evidence that real success is beingexperienced within organisations such asEMC Corp, Cisco, IBM and Genentech intheir systematic process-driven approach tolearning and performance support

Interestingly, it was observed that much ofthe deeper thinking in terms of new models

of learning (eLearning 2.0, following the Web2.0 line) is being led by Canada and otherregions of the world with populationsdispersed over large geographical areas

4.3 Informal learning and

In the USA, Jay Cross and other learningcommentators are spearheading a drive to

understand the ‘80% of learning’ that

currently falls outside the scope of formal

L&D As this trend takes hold, it may put

further pressure on formal training and

development budgets as efforts to justify their

effectiveness continue to prove inconclusive

This can already be seen in the growing

interest in, and use of, the phrase ‘employee

engagement’ This naturally leads towards a

drawing together of previously separate

(and often organisational silo) functions of

communication, learning and performance

4.4 Technology trends and their

impact on design

Mobile devices, multi-user gaming

environments, immersive simulations,

wikis, blogs, Ajax and OS software are key

technologies being harnessed for learning

purposes While there is some evidence of

use and experimentation with these tools in

the USA, it is clear that we are just at the

beginning of understanding how to

orchestrate these into meaningful learning

experiences aimed at achieving specific

individual and organisational goals Production

costs are still high for producing immersive

simulations and complex game environments,

and that will restrict their use in the corporate

world in the short term In the long term,

decreasing production costs for

template-driven content development using both

commercial and OS software platforms are a

logical development

4.5 Virtual worlds develop

real-life skills

There is some interesting lateral thinking

being done by organisations keen to attract

and hold the attention of the gaming

community, currently a fast-growing

segment of the workforce For example,

Second Life (Ref 2), a highly popular

multi-user online environment, allows its multi-users to

build a virtual lifestyle, working and playing

using a constructed personality Islands,

space stations, shops and all sorts ofotherworldly goods can be created togenerate wealth and influence within thevirtual community This has now crossed intothe real world to the extent that virtual

money (Lindens) can be exchanged for realcurrency (and vice versa) A recent estimatevalued this virtual trade at $900 million(~£470 million) last year Fascinatingly, thedigital money guru Dave Birch (Ref 3)calculated that Chinese gaming enthusiastswho mine gold in online games earn up to

10 times as much as actual gold miners inChina The implications of this new virtualeconomy in the medium term are intriguing

Joe Miller of Linden Lab, the companybehind Second Life, explained to the missionteam how the environment could be used forlearning purposes In one example, a large oilcompany has used this environment to

simulate a petrol station to virtually instructstaff on its working mechanisms

Interestingly, softer skills can also bedeveloped in the environment John Lestercreated an island, Brigadoon (Ref 4), aimed

at supporting teenagers with Asperger’ssyndrome to safely develop their social skillsand interact in ways that are difficult in thereal world

4.6 Transfer, reinforcement and the

spacing effect

There is increasing recognition that manytraining interventions fail to transfereffectively into the workplace This failuredestroys any potential value the training hasfor the organisation and the individual

Researchers in the area (Will Thalheimer atWork Learning Research in Massachusetts,USA, is a good example) are drawingattention to neglected evidence that woulddramatically improve learning effectivenessacross the board The spacing effect (orinterval-based reinforcement) tells us thatrecall of learning increases significantly if thelearner is exposed to the learning material at

intervals following the main training

experience Intuitive as this may sound, very

few learning solutions make use of this effect

in their designs

Interestingly, and perhaps ironically for the

professionals amongst us, it is Nintendo that

has taken interval-based reinforcement

further forward within the consumer games

sector Nintendo’s brain-training product for

the Nintendo DS platform is aimed at

improving cognitive skills and embodies the

‘little, more often’ model to excellent effect

Already a big hit in Japan, it has already

established itself in Europe as an interactive

experience enjoyed by all ages

With the advent of always-on connectivity,

and mobile access, it is feasible to integrate

reinforcement and practice at optimal

intervals for the individual learner Fort Hill Co

in the USA is already successfully delivering

tools that manage this process – rest assured

there will be many more

4.7 Conclusions

Key areas that will characterise learning and

performance solutions in the future are:

Design the whole end-to-end learning

experience

To effect change, learning experiences

must start with being directly aligned with

organisational objectives and follow through

with support in the workplace This means

the training community must embrace and

integrate the disciplines of communications,

learning and performance support in their

designs

Earn attention

With the learner firmly in the driving seat,

attracting and earning the right to hold their

attention becomes crucial to engaging them

to learn and commit to changing their

behaviour and performance in the desiredmanner Individuals will increasingly takeresponsibility for their own learning and socialnetworks as this will, more than ever, drivesuccess or failure in the workplace

Make technology invisible

The more technology becomes transparent,the easier it is for the learner to focus andengage with the learning experience Thismeans putting extraordinary effort intodesigning intuitive user interfaces It meansensuring the IT infrastructure is reliable, fastand well integrated

Less learning more often

Smaller, more frequent learning experiencesthat can be more easily and relevantlyinterwoven into day-to-day activities are moreeffective than traditional courses The

recognition will take hold that taking peopleout of the context in which they will berequired to practice new skills and utilise newknowledge is not an efficient way to secureperformance improvement Learning

designers need to understand and designintegrated learning experiences that use avariety of media channels (the blend)sequenced over time to maximise thespacing effect

Storytelling and sharing more importantthan ever

Well-written stories have impact and arenaturally more memorable Good learningdesigners already use these but the quality ofwriting is critical The demand for qualitywriting (and wider media communicationskills) will grow With Generation C (theCreative Generation) coming into theworkplace, this will no longer be the domain

of a few ‘experts’ – everyone will be expected

to contribute via blogs, wikis and othercollaborative and social networking tools Thissuggests that organisations should actively

develop both the written and oral

communication skills of their people in order

to oil the wheels of informal learning activitiesand to allow for easier capture and use of thiscorporate knowledge base

Polarisation of learning design effort

When eLearning becomes linked to realbusiness objectives and is designed for itsenvironment, then it quickly focuses on itsstrongest present values These are access,assessment and practice:

• Access: for fast moving environmentswhere knowledge expires (for exampleproduct knowledge) and task/executionfocus, the value of eLearning comes insmall, simple presentations that are quick

to access and digest close to or at thepoint of need The vast majority of

eLearning activity within best practiceorganisations falls into this category Itssuccess is based on embedding its

production and deployment as a process

• Assessment: largely driven by complianceand regulatory requirements, the efficientautomation of testing and storing records

of completion remains a clear driver behindmost eLearning implementations withinthe workplace

• Practice: where a change of behaviour isdesired, then instructional design plays amore active role Here the trend continuestowards bespoke learning solutions thatprovide context and engagement beyondstraightforward knowledge dissemination.Where learning is difficult to acquire in thereal world, virtual immersive simulationsand practice environments enable an

individual to safely accumulate practicalexperience

5.1 What is mLearning?

5.2 Is mLearning a reality?

5.3 mLearning use today in the USA

5.4 Recognising mLearning opportunities

5.5 Benefits of mLearning

5.1 What is mLearning?

Portable computer devices, phones, PDAs

and laptops have transformed how we work

and learn already Taken with the changing

patterns of employment, social dynamics and

an ever increasing knowledge-based

economy, mobile learning is a dynamic area

that is likely to see significant developments

over the next five years

Several definitions of mLearning exist,

including:

‘mLearning is the intersection of mobile

computing and eLearning: accessible

resources wherever you are, strong search

capabilities, rich interaction, powerful support

for effective learning, and performance-based

assessment eLearning independent of

location, time and space.’ (Clark Quinn, 2000)

‘Mobile learning (mLearning) is the delivery

of learning content via mobile devices

including PDAs, cell phones, pocket PCs,

web pad, or other handheld devices It

allows learning to follow the user and

facilitates performance support at the point

of operation, enabling workers to learn what

they want, where they want, and when they

want.’ (IBM)

5.2 Is mLearning a reality?

Mobile phones, PDAs, media players,cameras, multifunction units (smartphones)… the list of media-capable portabledevices is rapidly growing Today it is alreadypossible to deliver anywhere, anytime,compelling training and information

mLearning can already support students,employees and customers to stay informedand educated in a just in time, just enough,and just right mode

5.3 mLearning use today in the USA

For the mission, the aim was to see how farmLearning has been adopted in both thecommercial and academic worlds and toevaluate where mLearning might be going inthe future

Academic

Both the school and university sectors havewidely adopted elements of mLearningtechnologies and, as in the UK, have learntmuch from the process The University ofSouth Dakota issues PDAs to its newstudents, preloaded with calculators,reference books, course organisers and wordprocessors There are numerous examples ofPDA deployments, including Harvard MedicalSchool, Minnesota State University,

University of North Carolina, University ofCalifornia Los Angeles (UCLA) School ofMedicine, Wharton and many others MIT hasused a PDA based, peer to peer, augmentedreality (AR) system to simulate a toxic spill oncampus (Ref 1 – see Appendix G.4)

Gordon Bull – Managing Director, Learning Forte Ltd

Some universities are issuing Apple iPods to

all incoming students with preloaded

university registration forms, policies, maps,

campus organisations, class schedules and

library hours Many institutions are using MP3

technology to provide students with access

to course information and lecture recordings

Examples include Duke University’s ‘Duke on

iTunes’ (Ref 2) which includes music, lectures

and tips on life at Duke; University of

California at Berkeley; Stanford University’s

‘Stanford on iTunes’ (Ref 3); UCLA ‘BruinCast’

(Ref 4); and Purdue University ‘BoilerCast’

(Ref 5) with an extensive list of classroom

audio recordings for students

Coastline Community College (CCC) has,

since 2003, offered complete courses on

handheld Pocket PC devices (Ref 6)

Its Management and Supervision course,

for example, has 100 screens of content,

75 full-motion video interviews and

instructional video clips and 23 audio

reviews of textbook readings

The American College of Physicians (ACP)

also has an extensive range of learning

content available through its PDA portal

(Ref 7)

In addition, a new range of mLearningservices is developing in the marketplace,such as Librivox which offers free onlineaudiobooks in MP3 format

Commercial

A growing number of companies such asEMC2are recognising the benefits of JITlearning EMC2is increasingly usingsituational/nugget learning through VODlearning objects Genentech, along with othermajor biotechnology and pharmaceuticalcompanies, is making widespread use ofPalm PCs and other PDA devices with itsmobile sales teams Both customerrelationship management (CRM) applicationsand learning are being delivered using audioand video presentations as well as productbriefing packages Becton, Dickinson & Couses PDAs for training all its sales staff

Cisco offers quick-learning modules (QLMs)for viewing on Pocket PC PDAs These 15-minute modules are highly interactive learningevents which include animation, sound andself-assessment routines The QLMs areaimed at both Cisco’s own technical and salesstaff as well as its channel partner network

Exhibit 5.1 Environmental Detectives is an outdoor

game in which players using GPS-guided

handheld computers try to uncover the

source of a toxic spill by interviewing

virtual characters and conducting

large-scale simulated environmental

measurements and analysing data (photo

courtesy MIT Teacher Education Program)

Exhibit 5.2 Coastline Community College (CCC)

supplies a Pocket PC to the student at no cost contingent upon the successful completion of two to three courses (photo courtesy CCC)

Cisco also hopes to launch VODs both for the

PDA and Video iPod, and also plans to launch

a number of downloadable marketing ‘tools’

which will help build brand awareness

The US military has invested heavily in

mLearning, especially performance support

systems such as the US Army’s system for

armoured vehicle maintenance and

troubleshooting Other more advanced

examples include Boeing and Honda, using

AR systems based on wearable computing

devices AR is a technology that merges

real-world images with computer-generated

information, aligned to real-world objects

Components of an AR system often include a

wearable computer, a see-through eyepiece,

and the position and orientation of the head

to the computer Boeing’s and Honda’s

systems guide technicians through

step-by-step maintenance and assembly procedures,

reducing error rates and significantly

increasing productivity

Nanolearning (nLearning – learning delivered in

very small bites) is increasingly being used

across industry Examples include the Pepsi

Bottling Online Campus which delivers over

200 video nanocourses to 40+ bottlers, and

Golden Harvest Seeds which provides over 50

video nanocourses to its field sales staff and

to its network of 2,400 dealers nLearning

content is ideally suited for delivery both using

desktop and mobile devices and this type of

learning format is likely to grow rapidly

5.4 Recognising mLearning

opportunities

IBM and other major corporates realise that

mLearning uses technology that is ‘tangible,

familiar, and virtually ubiquitous’ According to

IDC, a technology analyst firm, more than 180

million Americans will have mobile phones by

2007 Virtually all these devices support short

message service (SMS) Whilst SMS may be

the lowest common denominator of

mLearning, a growing number of commercial

and academic organisations are using SMS in

an interactive mode to deliver learning, pollresponses and run assessments

The power of mLearning, according to IBM, isits immediacy and ability to fill learners’ deadtime Even today, 50% of the workforce doesnot sit in an office since they are field

workers, telecommuters and teleworkers.mLearning is the ideal medium to keep suchstaff up-to-date and well informed

Mobile technology is already used forinventory and facilities management, salesforce automation, supply-chain management,logistics and scientific data-collection

applications Many companies currently ‘push’information such as stock quotes, news orthe ‘tip of the day’ to their employees’ mobiledevices Many employees already use theirmobile devices to access e-mail, search theInternet, organise their calendars and readthe news, so the foundations for thetechnology platforms and user acceptabilityfor mLearning are very substantial

Other research statistics point to the growingopportunity for mLearning: ‘USA MobileMarket Statistics 2006’, published byWireless World Forum, indicate that USoperator revenues will grow by $20 billion(~£10.5 billion) in 2007 Three main trendsdrive revenue growth:

• A 44% rise in the number of senior (50-60year old) mobile owners by 2007 to 23.29million

• A 28.2% rise in the number of teenage(10-15 year old) mobile owners by 2007 to13.36 million

• A 68% increase in data revenues to $17.5billion (~£9.2 billion) by 2007

‘Worldwide Mobile Market Forecasts 2011’ (Portio Research) indicate that globally,the mobile industry continues to enjoy strong

2006-growth and the total number of mobile

subscribers worldwide at the end of 2005

grew to 2.129 billion, an increase of 374

million subscribers from the start of the year

This figure is expected to increase to

approximately 3.964 billion by the end of 2011

These statistics, taken with the increasing

time pressures on both corporate and family

life, point to an explosive opportunity for

mLearning What remains important is that

the business and learning needs should drive

developments and deployments Just

because you can deliver learning on a mobile

device does not make it the right solution

5.5 Benefits of mLearning

There are many advantages clearly emerging

from early adopters, including:

• Increased productivity

• Supports anywhere, just in time,

just-enough learning

• Minimises access barriers to learning

• Supports compelling, personalised,

on-demand learning

• Enables use of time more efficiently –

when and where you want and whilst

performing a job

• Supports collaborative learning and social

networking

Many of the often quoted disadvantages are

rapidly falling away due to technological

developments These include processor

speed, storage memory available, sound,

graphics etc There still remains, however, the

problem of multiple operating systems and

screen formats, which provides challenges for

content developers, but work is under way to

agree common application programming

interfaces (APIs) for mobile devices

Bandwidth that supports live interactive video

on a large scale also remains a constraint at

this time

5.6 Looking ahead

The growth of existing technology to supportstaff in their jobs can also be the platform forlearning when and wherever the member ofstaff may be Examples include logistic(delivery) handheld tracking systems or retailstock control devices that can also be used todeliver a learning experience Link this toother developing social trends and workpractices, such as dynamic knowledgecreation and social and collaborativecomputing tools (blogs, wikis etc), and takentogether with consumers’ rising expectationsfor individualised services, as well as risingexpectations for open access to media,knowledge and information, the mLearningphenomenon is set for significant growth.Another key trend has been the recentgrowth in personal podcasting which is nowextending into video, since the tools forcapturing and sharing media are becomingmuch less expensive

Many museums already use podcasts thatyou can download before your visit Otherpredicted areas of growth include AR, sincecosts will also fall to a point where bothacademic, home and general businessapplications will be developed more widely

AR will extend into context-awareenvironments and devices, since many mobiledevices already have cameras and location-sensing technology (via Global PositioningSystem – GPS – or radio cell) Add motionsensing and RFID technology and you have acomprehensive platform to support AR

Clearly much potential exists, yet mLearning

is still in the early phases of development.Device technology developments are rapid,and costs continue to fall; bandwidthavailability from network operators will alsoprogress, although possibly at a slower pace.Nevertheless, we are likely to see dramaticgrowth in mLearning applications over thenext five years

6.1 Introduction

6.3 In the USA, is game-based learning

being used in the corporate and

6.6 Who is developing the technology?

6.7 Is the USA the place where it is

There is a perception that game-based

learning after numerous false starts may at

last be coming of age

The mission asked the following questions for

the report:

• Is game-based learning being used in the

corporate and education sectors?

• Which learning objectives are trying to be

met?

• How is it being used?

• Who is developing the technology?

• Is the USA the place where it is happening?

• What can we learn from the US market?

• What are the market opportunities?

6.2 Overview

The economic rationalisation of the video

games market (pushing smaller producers to

look at new markets), the ubiquity of

high-end platforms, gaming devices and

connectivity and pedagogical thinking

re-emphasising and focusing again on differentlearning styles have all fed the idea that

game-based learning is the next big thing

The move to informal and contextual learninghas also freed up the thinking of the

corporate sector in the potential use ofgames in a commercial environment

However, the mission showed that althoughthese factors are coming together, and insome quarters there is renewed impetus andexpressions of willingness to develop thisfield of education, it is very early days, andthe application of game-based learning has along way to go to meet the hype

There is one caveat to this The mission onlylooked at game-based learning in the civiliansector It did not explore the use by themilitary of team building, mission planning,aircraft/tank simulations and one-

person/multiplayer shooters This is a largeand well-funded market Unfortunately, thesuccess of the defence industry doesn’thelp lower one of the key misconceptionsabout game-based learning: that developinggames for learning needs to be expensive

6.3 In the USA, is game-based

learning being used in the corporate and education sectors?

Corporate sector

The mission met with a range of corporateorganisations primarily from the technologyand financial sectors Their use of game-basedlearning ranged from ‘not at all’ to some withsuccessful projects under their belts

Euan Mackenzie – CEO, 3MRT Ltd

However, most of the interviewees fell into

the ‘we are looking into it’ category Some

had experimented with dropping small

‘gamelets’ into management courses as an

ice breaker or a reward for completing some

more onerous learning task

Cisco has one game for children aimed at

teaching them the basics of networking, but

does not seem to have anything within its

mainstream engineering programmes It does

use technical simulations but these should

not be confused with game-based learning

Nearly all the companies referenced or were

‘looking at’ Second Life from Linden Lab as a

potential tool for building teamwork and soft

skills Some had bought and developed

islands within this virtual world, but most

plans about how they were going to use it

were still very sketchy

Only one company, IBM, seriously impressed

in its approach to games Chuck Hamilton and

his colleagues at IBM’s Center for Advanced

Learning are actively developing games to

meet corporate goals IBM has already

implemented two game-based learning tools

within the organisation and is the only

company that seems to have identified

methods of building games with assessable

outcomes using available gaming

technologies Although far ahead of others in

the field, IBM believes its game-based

developments are still at an early stage

The two games IBM has deployed – the

Amazing Canadian Web Race and the

On-Demand Business Challenge Game – were

both designed around popular TV shows The

first game teaches employees how to get

more from the company’s intranet, and the

second teaches them more about the

company’s ‘On Demand’ business

Although IBM could not share all of its

product plans publicly, its research in the

game-based learning area, or rather what it

describes as ‘serious play’, and its researchprojects for the use of immersive

collaborative online communities andtechnologies, moved well beyond thesometimes nebulous soft skills areas of ‘teambuilding’, and this creativity indicates thatthere are some tremendous applications onthe way to being built

Apart from the financial and IT sectors, the oilsector was also referenced in terms of

simulation software and immersive trainingfor oil workers At this point it is also worthraising the question as to what constitutesgame-based learning Many multimediasimulations seem to be too readily classified

as ‘games’ because they use kinaesthetic andvisual three-dimensional (3D) techniques Forthe purpose of this report these are notconsidered as games

Education sector

In the education sector, somewhatdisappointingly, the mission did not comeacross any commercial technologies ordevelopments beyond standard ‘edutainment’ware There was some talk about the game

‘Learn Math or Die Trying’, from Tabula Digita.This is a 3D-based immersive environmentwith the first subject model based aroundalgebra, although none of those who spokeabout the game had tried it

The disparate structure of the US schoolsystem, without a central curriculum, doesnot lend itself to content being built for massdeployment Efforts in the past to deploygame-based software on PS1s seemed toprovide an alternative distribution channel forSony, and a short but financially rewardingNASDAQ listing for the distributor, but littlelasting educational resource for the children

There was no indication, other than thecompanies already mentioned, that any arebuilding accessible gaming tools for children

or educators to use in a collaborative or