Leveraging Technology-Enabled Learning

Recently, our chapter hosted a presentation by Kee Meng Yeo, Learning Director at Unilever, on the topic of Technology-based Learning. Eileen Gerety, who writes the chapter newsletter, provided a comprehensive summary of Kee Meng’s main points:

Kee Meng Yeo – Top Five Lessons Learned in Leveraging Technology-Enabled Learning

By Eileen Gerety

On June 14, 2007, our chapter was very privileged to have Kee Meng Yeo, the major architect of the first e-University at Johnson and Johnson, present his thoughts on the Top Five Lessons Learned in Leveraging Technology-Enabled Learning. Kee Meng’s entire presentation can now be downloaded from the MID ASTD chapter blog (http://midnjastd.wordpress.com/) under the June Events – Recap post. This article will capture some of the highlights of a very enjoyable evening with this engaging speaker. It was apparent to those who attended that Kee Meng spoke from the heart and from a depth of experience. His “lessons learned” were gathered from his years of experience in the corporate world and mostly drawn from his work building the e-University at J&J.

Top Five Lessons Learned

* Vision

Kee Meng stressed that the vision comes first. The organization must have clarity about the task that is under hand. Answers to questions such as “why are we doing this?”, “what are we trying to achieve?” must be clearly identified.

Key concepts:

o Building a system is not just about e-learning.  It is about making a connection, a learning connection, which will assist the organization in making the optimal use of the resources at its disposal.

o It is about “creation not destruction” – a process that builds from the past instead of destroying it.

* Technology

Make sure to identify an IT person who understands what you are trying to achieve.

Key concepts:

o At some point along this journey, an IT person will be needed to be a champion for the project.

o  Kee Meng eloquently states, “It is not about the technology AND it is about the technology.” That is, be aware that both the technology and the process will impact and change one another – more than you might have thought.

o If used, blended-learning must be rigorous and robust. It should be more than a few web based modules and live presentations

* Communications

Keep everyone in the loop

Key concepts:

o When you have something special to demo, you can let the world know. Until then, keep a low profile. Be careful about the expectations you are setting. Kee Meng says it best in his presentation; “Blow your trumpets only when there is something to show.”

o Don’t promise more than you can deliver.

* Let Go of the Need to Control ALL learning

Learning happens all over the organization and it can not all be controlled centrally.

Key concepts

o Be aware of the need for independence. Sometimes the best decisions are made “closer to the action.”

o Be respectful of other’s viewpoints

* Resist Fads

There are no easy miracle solutions that will meet your needs. The task will involve dedicated work and more than likely some experimentation.

Key concepts

o Be willing to try new things and push the envelope. Don’t become too invested in it. If an idea doesn’t work, be willing to let it go.

o Beware of simple solutions.

Some Personal Observations

Kee Meng Yeo captivated the attention of all the attendees at this presentation. His easy-going style, openness to questions throughout his talk and passion for the subject material was apparent from the start.

Several things stood out and made me particularly glad to be there for the evening.  Kee Meng spoke very frankly, openly, and from a wealth of experience. When he related a story and/or a particular “learning,” it rang true to the participants. We knew that we were getting something of value. We recognized the stories because we have all been there. His rapport with the audience was very evident. As presentations go, nothing comes across better than people in a room sharing a common experience, people who are trying to work individually and collectively towards a common goal. 

One of my favorite examples of Kee Meng’s genuine “down to earth” conversational style was when he discussed his statement “Blow your trumpets only when there is something to show.”  In summary, he stated that if you tell the world all the wonderful things that your project will do and you successfully implement it, you may encounter a reaction similar to, “So? – you said you were going to do that!” However, if you hold off on the specifics until you have a product to demo, the response may be filled (and deservedly so) with appreciation. His method of relating real-life experiences resonated with the audience.

Throughout his talk, Kee Meng referenced four or five different researchers and books which he has read and used in his journey of building and optimizing Technology-Enabled Learning Systems. The reference list that he made available to all participants contains approximately ten different authors; all of the books deal with subjects of interest to the members of our chapter. Kee Meng closed his talk by briefly covering the importance of measurement in the assessment of Technology-Based systems.

 

June Events – Re-cap

The chapter enjoyed two excellent meetings in June:

First, the Sales Training SIG (a joint venture between the Mid-NJ and Northern NJ chapters) hosted a presentation by Sean Murray, CEO of Real-time Performance Group, and Nancy Anderson of Johnson & Johnson. This discussion focused on developing the talent pipeline in sales – the real training and succession planning challenges of moving people from sales roles, into positions of management and leadership. The many questions and lively discussion made it clear that this was a very relevant topic for the audience gathered on June 7 at the Raritan Valley Community College.

A copy of this presentation can be downloaded here.

Then, on June 14th, we had the privilege of hearing from Kee Meng Yeo, Learning Director at Unilever. Prior to taking on this role at Unilever, Kee Meng directed J&J’s eUniversity. He shared his Johnson & Johnson (J&J) experience in establishing a federated approach to learning. Kee Meng explained that knowledge exists through the organization and is shared among smaller groups. His goal was to be the catalyst to allow learning to be shared worldwide within the organization. The audience found Kee Meng to be quite engaging, and very knowledgeable in the subject at hand!

A copy of his presentation can be downloaded here.

 

Training the “Gamer” Generation

Last night, the Mid-NJ ASTD chapter hosted an excellent presentation given by Dr. Karl Kapp, a familiar speaker in the technology training community. Dr. Kapp is a Professor of Instructional Technology at Bloomsburg University, a consultant on technology-based learning, an author…and a very good speaker.

He recently authored an excellent book (reviewed here) called Gadgets, Games, and Gizmos for Learning. A main thesis of the book is that young people who grew up as “digital natives” have quite different learning styles from those of us who grew up as “digital immigrants” (that is, we had to adopt computers and digital gadgetry later in life, as opposed to growing up surrounded with them).

Dr. Kapp contrasted the learning styles of the Boomer generation with that of the upcoming generation of workers, and outlined the need to transfer knowledge – quickly, and in ways that appeal to the younger workers! – before the millions of Boomer workers walk out the door into retirement, with critical knowledge also walking out untapped.

So, a question for you, readers – as you train the newest generation of learners in your sales training classes, what are you seeing as far as learning styles? Are you seeing increasing impatience with didactic learning? Addiction to multi-tasking? Readiness to question authority and find out information independently (and through informal networks)? Put your impressions in the Comments…

Image credit: Flickr

 

“A Goldmine of Instruction”

That pretty well sums up our experience of sitting at the feet of Ed Betof, CLO at Becton Dickinson.

Ed spoke at our Mid-NJ chapter meeting on the morning of April 18th, and we had the privilege of hearing how a well-designed leadership training program can truly have a broad impact.

We learned about BD’s embrace of the Leaders as Teachers approach to training, and how it has percolated through the entire corporate culture in the last 7 years, bringing profound changes in its wake. There were questions aplenty, and the consensus was that we could have stayed for hours longer tapping this rich vein of professional wisdom!

Ed also generously gave away two books; he is pictured here with Ronni Rubenstein, our chapter VP of Programs, making a drawing from the cards of the attendees.

Our thanks to Ed for such an engaging presentation, and to the attendees who fought the traffic (and the aftermath of our spring floods!) to enjoy such a helpful session!

 

Book Review: Gadgets, Games, and Gizmos for Learning

 

In May, the Mid-NJ chapter will be hosting a meeting featuring Karl M. Kapp, EdD, a professor of instructional technology at Bloomsburg University. Karl’s new book, due for release in mid-April, takes on a very important topic in learning/training – namely, how to move knowledge from one generation of workers (the Boomers) to the newest generation (the Gamers), when there is a gap not only in age, but also in learning style. This topic will be the focus of the event.

The book (I was forwarded an advance copy for review) is quite well written, full of interesting anecdotes and helpful insights drawn from personal experience. Karl, like many of us, is part of the Boomer generation, and as we see our kids take to technology like fish to water, we struggle to enter fully into their thoroughly connected/always-on/multi-tasking world.

Further, we face what the main thesis of this book underlines – a new way of learning. Gamers are digital natives – they’ve only ever known this connected world of technology. Kapp accurately calls those of us who still remember black and white television “digital immigrants” – we entered into this techno-world from another time and place and don’t always “get” how the natives think!

The Foreword, by John Beck (co-author of the book Got Game: How the Gamer Generation is Reshaping Business Forever), contains this telling paragraph about the new mentality:

The Gamer Generation has grown up in the video game world of immersion, unlimited do-overs, and instant feedback. The result is that they have verifiably different mind-sets, attitudes, and behaviors, regarding business, education, and culture from those who did not grow up playing video games.

The business challenge, from a succession planning perspective, is clear to Kapp:

Over the years, the boomers have “built up a tremendous amount of knowledge about how things work, how to get things done, and who to go to when problems arise. In some cases, this practical knowledge will be extremely hard to replace because it has been developed in an era of unprecedented technological and scientific advances.” The knowledge is starting to walk out the door and will soon be sprinting toward the exits…Muddying the water is the fact that the incoming gamers have grown up in a vastly different world that the boomers did. Gamers have different ideas about connectivity, reporting hierarchies, learning, and communication, all forged while playing games, manipulating gadgets, and surfing the Web…Organizations that successfully transfer business acumen and hard-earned experiences to the incoming gamer generation will see tremendous leaps in productivity, quality, and profitability. Organizations that cannot transfer knowledge will experience dire results.

This generation can be decidedly non-linear in thought process, having a high comfort level with multi-tasking, and Google-driven expectations of instant information retrieval. Through early exposure to gaming, the upcoming group of workers is used to strategic thinking, creating their own paths, and immediate feedback. When viewed in this light, we have to question many of our current training methodologies, which are based on a different learning style carried over from a different generation.

A very helpful snippet from the book is a chart (on page 16) showing how games have evolved in four different stages, with ever greater levels of interactivity, immersion, complexity, and collaboration. This was an eye-opener for me, as the level of mental dexterity has ramped up over the years, requiring higher-level thinking and learning patterns.

From a corporate training perspective, the case study of visual job aids as a replacement for printed SOPs (pages 136-138) was a fascinating application of technology to a real training problem. This was one of many illustrative stories sprinkled throughout the book that increased its practical value.

For any serious training professional dealing with the issue of incorporating the newer generation of workers into a company, I highly recommend this volume. It is not overburdened with academic abstractions; in fact, the book is loaded with practical suggestions, including ways to introduce these new styles of learning into a resistant corporate culture.

If you’re a training professional in need of ammunition to argue for new modes of learning, look no further. Gadgets, Games and Gizmos will give you everything you need to make your case! Or at least, as Kapp recounts, to be able to justify your purchase of various technological toys to your spouse as “research” expenses!