The New Blend of Learning (#ASTDLN)

These are my live blogged notes from ASTD Learn Now Session with Conrad Gottfredson and Bob Mosher of Ontuitive (formerly LearningGuide Solutions). I am a co-facilitator for this 1.5 day conference, along with Bob, Conrad, and Chad Udell of Float Learning. About 55 learning colleagues gathered here at the lovely Hilton in San Francisco.


The "new blend" must be:

• aligned
• embedded (in the workflow and available at the moment of apply.  Two clicks, ten seconds.  Needs to be close to the moment and instant...don't want lengthy responses if it needs to be immediate at the moment of apply. I need to transfer that information immediately at the moment of application.  Sharepoint and LMSs can get it to you, but it's not immediate -- the content is too long.)
• contextual (according to circumstance, specific roles and varying access needs. Anticipate the key and critical contexts: moment of need, job role, work flow, content access requirements, circumstance.  An instance could be different than a specific workflow -- e.g., a teacher has to respond to an angry parent. That's an instance...not something that happens in a specific place in a workflow. Or the instance of an upset customer.)
• just enough (only what's needed in the form needed to effectively perform inside the business process. They pyramid's the key.)
• integrated (with formal learning to compliment and extend current learning investments)

The training wheel metaphor:

1. metacognition
2. cognitive apprenticeship

In your training/formal class: build in an evolutionary methodology of trust, comfort and belief.  Start a training program off with cases...over the formal class pull away the training wheels -- trainer walks them through it, solve a problem with a peer, and so by the end the individual is solving the problem on their own.