Digital Learning Essentials Series: 1
A new set of blogs that quickly define and address how companies can transform their strategy, adapt to modern learning, and do it the right way from the start. Here is the first episode:
What is Digital Learning?
Digital Learning or modern learning is the transformation of corporate learning and development to meet the expectations and needs of today. That is a strategy, not a technology.
It has been around for a while, but has been accelerated by the COVID and racial crises. Adding speed to strategy is something we can do. In the pandemic, for example, we saw that enterprises that adopted modern learning adapted better and saw others switch in days.
First and foremost, digital learning is a strategy and approach. Despite the name digital, it is not all about technology (although that can be helpful). The strategy boils down to: easy to find, easy to consume and easy to create: blends of assets using multiple modalities. And, please let me say, it is not converting ILT to VILT.
Blending different types of content or assets is fundamental. In the recent past, a blended program would be some eLearning prior to an ILT program. Now, it can be an all online solution, a blend of synchronous and asynchronous that can address all learning types: audio, video, text, animation, internal and external, along with coaching and practice.
Another aspect digital learning is addressing moment(s) of need. Employees are busy, need immediate answers and while working. That involves integrations into typical workflows and products.
Making learning as easy to find and do is a result of the expectations of employees today. Afterall, we all have mobile devices; we all can search for anything and we are all too busy to take time to “learn.”
Your learning and HR ecosystem can play a big part in the effective delivery of this solution. Yes, you can do this without modern platforms, but it is really better with them. That does not have mean a huge investment nor a long implementation. But do make it easy to create, curate and deliver solutions that drives engagement with focus and purpose. Integrate step by step into an ecosystem.
Lastly, think about more than learning. Think knowledge, capabilities, internal mobility, upskilling, performance management, social, communications and, of course, business impact. With the right tools and strategy, you can create analytics that resemble marketing, making learning a core value that will be invested in, not cut.
One thing to keep in mind is that part of the goodness of face to face learning or ILT is the networking. Any smile sheet that I developed always marked that as number 1. But there is no reason to lose that in digital learning. In future episodes, we will cover that.
Why do I want digital learning? Recent studies have shown that high performing companies prioritize learning, especially self-directed and on line learning. Per the annual LinkedIn Learning study, the top challenges are almost all in the area of digital or modern learning.
“Given that time is of the essence, learners are craving a highly personalized learning experience that serves up the right learning at the right time, without having to dig for it. Learners across all generations also want to learn with their colleagues ….”
That, my friends, is what digital learning does.
In the coming weeks I will talk about other key aspects of Digital Learning and how your company can be more agile and transform.
If you miss any chapter, check out our website: WillLearnConsulting.com
