Anyone who knows me professionally knows I’m a big fan of Jay Cross, one of the great thought leaders when it comes to collaborative (read, social) learning. I met Jay at LearnX here in Australia a few years ago, and then had the pleasure of attending one of his presentations out here, in which he introduced me to a new gadget called the Flip. Of course, the Flip and cameras like it have now gone on to expand the horizons of learning professionals and greatly enhance the options we can offer when it comes to performer support (a term that is becoming preferred over performance support, and I agree).
I was very interested to read the article I’ve linked to Jay’s name, above, where he provides a brief recap of the history of elearning and a look at the number of companies that have disappeared in the time between the early, heady days (Jay mentions the famous quote that elearning would make email look like a “rounding error”) and the current, more circumspect and mature view (in most cases).
Much has changed, but as Jay notes, one of the key challenges we face now is that not enough has actually changed. LMS vendors still talk about how they can improve and increase the instances of training, how they allow better tracking of what has been done and the cost savings of elearning when opposed to traditional group sessions. All of these are parts of the corporate performer support puzzle, of course, but I’ve yet to see an LMS vendor who truly embraces and incorporates the critical area of social (if you like, informal) learning with their products.
When I joined The Salvation Army Employment Plus, almost four years ago, one of my key briefs was to modernise the Learning and Development business unit to take advantage of innovations in the field of communications technology. As part of that strategy, we invested in a quality LMS, an excellent web conferencing tool and new content creation tools. We conducted a pretty comprehensive search for an appropriate LMS and found one that suits our needs well in DOTS (Dynamic Online Training System), from DOTS Talent Solutions here in Australia. DOTS’ very name, though, is illustrative of one of the mental blocks that LMS vendors seem to have when it comes to learning - the systems are very good at hosting and tracking online learning courses, and they allow the creation of competency tracks and other excellent features. But they don’t incorporate any of the new social learning tools that are so important to performer, and so business, performance today.
DOTS does offer a kind of discussion group option, but it is poorly designed and messy to use (don’t worry, that’s nothing I’ve not told them myself, so I’m not stabbing them in the back). To their credit, the team at DOTS Talent Solutions were very receptive to our feedback regarding the incorporation of social learning functionality, and advised they are working on some of our requests for the next major release. I’m keenly looking forward to the new version, and the news of when it might be ready, because as I look around the field of LMS vendors, I still see nothing to convince me that the larger, more famous names (the very ones that should be able to invest in innovative additions to their wares in order to maintain their position) have yet grasped the importance of this shift in learning.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m actually not one of those who believe the LMS is dead and has nothing to offer learning and performance professionals anymore. I firmly believe the LMS can (and will) continue to play an important role in business (and individual) learning strategy going forward. Any product, however, needs to be constantly evolving to meet the needs of its users, and this is especially true when we talk about supporting businesses engaged in knowledge work. Critical knowledge and skill transfer, and point of need learning in particular, require a flexible, responsive support system that incorporates more than the traditional LMS. If the LMS can integrate and draw upon the value of new performer support tools and practices, it can continue to be a critical portal for learning, and the hub of a business’ learning strategy. As Jay notes in his post on the history of elearning, though, those vendors who cannot or will not adapt and evolve will find themselves consigned to a footnote in the next chapter of elearning’s story. Only by keeping up with the needs of their customers can any business hope to thrive, or indeed survive. LMS vendors, the message is very clear for you, and it’s coming from an increasing number of sources.
- January 30
- , 2011
