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Newsletter...
***Training Doctor News February 2010***
In this issue:
1 Who Owns Training?
2 Is Virtual Training a “Runner Up?”
3 News and Views – Collected from Here and There
4 Do You Have Any Memory Left?
5 Training Doctor Courses & Public Offerings
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1 WHO OWNS TRAINING?
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Recently we attended the Training 2010 conference
in San Diego, CA. One of the key note speakers was
David Wilkins from Learn.com. In his talk he gave a
number of examples of organizations using social
learning methods to collect and / or distribute knowledge
and training content.
One example was a national hardware store franchise
that had a variety of experts across the US (e.g. a
store owner in Seattle was expert at paint, while
another in Miami was expert at plumbing). The company
created a discussion board that allowed store owners
to post questions and get advice from their peers /
experts across the US.
Another example included competitive intelligence
information that a financial services company collected
from its clients who came in with stories of what they
had learned or encountered with their competitors.
The question that Wilkins posed, and the one that we
will pass on to you here, is this: who “owns” this training?
In the hardware store example we were pretty much in
agreement that it was a knowledge management function
which may or may not fall under the auspices of “training.”
In the latter example, most of us felt competitive
intelligence gathering and dissemination was the domain
of the sales department.
Wilkins then went on to compare the “world” of training
to the world of newspapers just a few years ago. It wasn’t
long ago that newspapers “owned” job ads, personals, store
sales announcements and more, and now all those avenues of
revenue generation have been replaced by “social” sites
such as Monster.com, Facebook, and the like.
So, the dilemma we will be faced with soon, is – are we,
in the training world, expendable? What can replace us?
Can we be replaced? And how long do we wait to have this
just happen to us? Can we be proactive in some way?
Things that make you go hmmmmm.
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2 IS VIRTUAL TRAINING A “RUNNER UP?”
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Virtually delivered training is just as good, and perhaps
better, than traditional, classroom based training.
In June 2009, SkillSoft (a former client) randomly polled
Approximately 1,800 previous attendees of SkillSoft virtually
delivered training courses. Of those polled, 70% said that
virtually delivered training is either the same, better or
much better than instructor-led training.
In addition, a U.S. Department of Education study
reviewed research comparing online and face-to-face
instruction and concluded that “On average, students in
online learning conditions performed better than those
receiving face-to-face instruction.”
In addition (adds The Training Doctor) the cost-savings
can make virtual delivery the best decision your training
department has ever made!
For a free virtual platform, check out www.vyew.com.
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3 NEWS AND VIEWS - COLLECTED FROM HERE AND THERE
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= A recent Conference Board survey has discovered
that 64% of workers under age 25 are DISsatisfied with
their work.
= Look what one of our former clients is doing
with their training!
Pretty cool stuff! http://www.lce.com/Webinar_Presentations_153.html
= Having evaluations of training is key to future
improvements. There are many fr~ee evaluation tools
for use, check these out to find the one that will
work best for you and your organization.
Google Forms http://docs.google.com/#
Survey Monkey http://www.surveymonkey.com/
Zoomerang http://www.zoomerang.com/
Survey Gizmo http://www.surveygizmo.com/
Question Pro http://www.questionpro.com/
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4 DO YOU HAVE ANY MEMORY LEFT?
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One of our former students passed along this fun –
and spot-on – comparison of how the adult learner
learns and how computers store and process information:
Hard disk: Long term, accessible storage. This is
the target for all learning and training. . .BUT while
children write directly to their hard disks, most adult’s
disks are full and “write protected” by their 20’s.
Since the hard disk is full, any new information
must link to something currently on the hard disk,
because no new folders can be created.
Most training goes to the “buffer” which is a short-term
Holding area for information while the learner determines
where to link it on the hard drive. You can help your
learners by showing them where to save their new
knowledge or skill – otherwise it’s like closing the
document before saving it first.
Ways to help learners know where to save:
- Link to material, knowledge, or experiences in their past
- Create examples and experiences that link to their job
Thanks to Sharon Goodenow, based on Elliot Masie’s The
Computer Training Handbook, 1988, Chapter 4.
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5 TRAINING DOCTOR COURSES & PUBLIC OFFERINGS
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We are currently working on our 2010 schedule. Stay tuned.
And be sure to follow us on Twitter because that is
the ONLY place we will announce coupon codes for
upcoming public classes. (@TrainingDoctor)
Don’t forget that all of our online classes are
available as private offerings which can be
customized for your organization. Call us to find
out more: 800-282-5474.
* REPRINTS: Don't hesitate to reprint in whole or in part.
But please credit any excerpts: (c) 2010 The Training Doctor, LLC
http://www.trainingdr.com.
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