Reading this,you probably have a passing interest in learning technology. You likely find itvaluable, perhaps revolutionary. But it’s apt to have disappointed orfrustrated you once or twice as well. You want to do more, but you also want toup the odds that it’s more of the first and less of the latter.
Learningtechnology can keep everyone informed. It extends reach and access. It helps acceleratelearning and makes it personal. It supports knowledge sharing and createsinstitutional memory. It lowers costs and is available on demand—at the momentof need. You want to be invested in technology, but be careful you’re not too invested.
The problemwith learning technology is not the technology itself, but how well it’s used. Hereare seven cautions to keep in mind as you develop and implement learningtechnology solutions of all shapes and sizes. They will help to assure that youdon’t jump into things blindly, and that you see the bigger picture.
1. Technology is not strategy.
Do you have asound training, learning, and performance strategy for your organization? Manydon’t, either because they never worked at it, or they have confused it withoperational tactics. Technology is a great example. It’s not a strategy; it’san enabler. Getting a new LMS is not strategic, but it may enable you to bettermanage your eLearning program. Using state-of-the-art authoring tools won’t getyou where you want to go if you don’t design good learning in the first place. Askyourself what benefits, changes or improvements you want to bring about throughthe use of technology. That’s your strategy.
2. There is no guarantee of success.
If you thinkgreat technology turns bad eLearning into great eLearning, you are likely to bevery disappointed. What you’re more liable to get is more efficient badeLearning. When technology fails, your eLearning initiative fails, but when itworks, there’s no guarantee that your initiative will succeed. The bestinfrastructure, tools, platforms, and networks can’t compensate for lousyinstructional design, poor content, or the wrong training delivered to thewrong people at the wrong time.
3. The cool factor may not be so cool.
Just because ittastes good doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Sometimes, the “sizzle” gets thebetter of us. For example, not so long ago, everyone was gaga over Second Life,the virtual reality world that promised to be an eLearning game-changer. Not somuch anymore. Second Life had the cool factor for sure. But most eLearningorganizations were ill prepared for it and the software itself wasn’t as primetime as it should have been (for one, it wasn’t easy to use). There’s atendency in this business to go after the latest and greatest new technology,sometimes without thinking. It can become addictive. Like the next smartphone,and the one after that; the more you have the more you want.
4. Easy-to-use may not always be such a good thing.
This seemscounterintuitive, but sometimes when technology gets easier to use, it alsogets easier to misuse. Here’s an example. When document production moved fromcentral word processing, with graphic and printing specialists, to end-userdesktop publishing, the results were more like ransom notes than cohesivecommunications. That’s because although the technology got much easier, mostpeople did not know how to really use it effectively, or they thought it coulddo more than it did.
5. User preparedness is key.
So it’s clearthat you simply can’t dump new, even better technology on end users withoutmaking sure they can use it appropriately. Rapid eLearning tools certainly madeauthoring easier, but without knowledge of instructional design and other approachesto effective eLearning, what we mostly got, at least in the beginning, wasautomated PowerPoint. Instructional designers and SMEs need sound, practicaltools, but to be used well, those tools need well-prepared instructionaldesigners (and SMEs).
6. Support is a long-term proposition.
It’s true thattechnology decentralizes learning delivery, putting learners on their own, butit’s a mistake to think that they can all flourish without long-term support. Infact, it is precisely because eLearners do not have access to instructors, andinstructors are not able to constantly monitor learner progress, that along-term support plan is essential. It’s not just for technical issues, asthere is no doubt that learners will also have legitimate, perhaps unanticipatedcontent and job-application-related questions. Whom should they ask: a helpdesk, their boss, a peer mentor? There are many good ways to approach this.
7. Trainers are often terrible managers of technology.
There’s along-held belief that training organizations can manage their own technology,but that ship has sailed. First, the technology has gotten so large, expensive,and complex that a true, dedicated IT staff is likely needed to run it. Second,and perhaps more important, this is not what trainers are paid to do. Focusingon applying technology for learning, rather than managing that technology, willlikely result in better eLearning and, surprisingly, a more professional andconfident team.
Nineteenth century Americanauthor Henry David Thoreau once said, “Men have become the tools of theirtools.” Take this to heart: You must manage your technology well, or else itwill manage you.
