In the natural world, the term “ecosystem” is defined as the “complex relationship among living and non-living things.” No offense to the scientists who map and study such ecosystems, but the learning space has its own set of unique complexities. Learning professionals must continually understand and evaluate a myriad of existing and emerging learning technologies, figure out how all the pieces fit together, and, most importantly, find a strategic balance suited to their own people, processes, and technology (a mix of living and non-living things).
During the first part of this featured session, hear about innovative connections among the technologies that make up our ever-changing learning ecosystem, including both traditional and emerging technologies. Then you will learn about best practices taking place inside forward-thinking organizations and the ways they mix and match technologies to meet many different types of needs. You will hear about examples such as moving learning closer to the point of performance; creatively expanding learning opportunities to meet the needs of partners, customers, association members, and others; strategically using blended learning to better meet instructional needs and compress learning contact time (and cost); and using single-source methodology to create content once, yet have the ability to deploy for use in the classroom and virtual classroom, for eLearning, performance support, mobile devices, job aids, knowledge bases, and more. These are just a few examples of what is possible when we take the time to fully understand the ever-changing learning ecosystem.