Session 1: E-Learning Warning Signs
The first session I went to was about e-learning warning signs. The talk was given by Marc J. Rosenberg of Marc Rosenberg and Associates. He gave 10 different issues to watch out for. I’ve summarized and included some of my own comments for each one.
1. Technology as a substitute for strategy
- Technology is balanced with other critical success factors
- Technology is added iteratively and carefully, and verified before long-term investments are made
MY COMMENT: I think we do ok on this one.
2. Weak focus on business and performance requirements
- Emphasize critical learning needs, even if it means cutting back on variety
- Why catalog everything, when you can focus on the three things your CEO identifies?
- Use e-learning only when warranted, rather than as a miracle cure
- E-learning is linked directly to business requirements
- E-learning efficiencies have been clearly demonstrated
- Your metrics are business metrics
MY COMMENT: I think we’re ok on this one. From what I know, our training decisions come from MAT/E-team and Jim and Linda. They obviously know our business needs and have a good sense of the field. I still think a needs analysis would be a good idea at some point to really assess what kinds of content are most necessary. I wonder if it’s possible to survey Directors and RMs at the ALC this year?
3. Poor collaboration with IT
- Develop a joint e-learning technology strategy
- Recognize and respect the expertise and limitations of the other side: learn each others’ jargon
- Allow time for network testing
- Both sides create liason positions
- Share successes
MY COMMENT: I can’t really speak to this. I know Helen and Joe have done a lot of work to bridge with IT. But I know we don’t do network testing and sometimes have issues come up, such as the new intranet portal, that we can manage and communicate about better with IT.
4. Minimal e-learning expertise
- e-learning expertise is a bit of rock science and is worth investing in
- new skills are very important so professional development is very important
- have a good esen of balance between internal and external skills.
MY COMMENT: Hooray! This is Helen, MaryK and I. This conference and Mary’s upcoming conference and our access to Lynda.com point to our investment in professional development.
5. No attention to the unique attributes of e-learning design
- Need to recognize the differences between quality classroom and e-larning design and delivery
- you assign e-learning development projects to qualified staff
- you employ instructional design techniques in specific ways to get the most out of your e-learning programs
MY COMMENT: I think we do a fair job of creating interactive courses. Certainly CDA does a good job of it. Essentials is a step below. Our courses can be more engaging, but I think we do a good job with considering the tools we have.
6. Weak assessment
- Need to assess e-learning on a wide array of different measures
- Track impact in addition to satisfaction and learning gain
- Document business benefits of e-learning
- Prototype and pilots are used to test e-learing deliverables before rollout
- E-learning project management has evaluation component.
MY COMMENT: I think this is a particular weakness of ours. We don’t know how our courses impact the business, the cost of training, etc. We don’t have any ways for users to provide feedback and we don’t have measurement for change.
The Kirkpatrick level of assessments
Level1: reaction, did you like it?
Level 2: learning: did you learn anything?
Level 3: behavior: did you change your behavior?
Level 4: impact: did it make a difference?
It doesn’t seem that we’re assessing on any of these levels – and that’s a big problem.
7. No focus on workplace learning
- Work more closely with line organizations to build learning directly into work processes.
- You seek to improve work processes and documentation as important in reducing the amount of training required.
- Need to provide performance support. E.g. Starbucks used to get orders wrong. Training – didn’t work. Now they write on the cup – so they can’t make a mistake.
- Align e-learning with actual work. Don’t take them out of work context.
MY COMMENT: The learning bursts get to this. We’re trying to align our e-learning with work in the centers. But I think we can do this better. An interactive P&L, etc. Taking tasks that people in our organization need to do and providing tools to be able to do that.
8. No governance
- Collaborative process between various training organizations in company.
MY COMMENT: This isn’t as much an issue for us because we only have one training department at BFAM. Still, we do get different ideas for what different courses should cover. We can do a better job of communicating our initiatives and getting buy in.
9. Weak sponsorship
- Identify sponsors willing to put some “skin in the game”: invest, participate, promote, share risk, role model
MY COMMENT: I don’t see this side of our work at all, but my impression is that we have great buy-in and support from the e-team. Dave made a big plug for BHU last year at the Leadership Conference. Based on the discussion in the conference session, I realize how unique and wonderful that is.
10. Failure to manage change
- “If we don’t change direction, we’ll end up where we’re headed”
- Balance change management. Change management isn’t the same as marketing and communication.
- Set proper expectations and incentives
- Build support at all levels, including the front-line. Need buy in from managers. Need to launch e-learning to managers in addition to users.
- Implement change management before the change itself.
- Commit to sustain the change long after initial deployment
- Early adopters may not be your most important audience
- Understand resistance and inability to change – they are different
- Recognize that implementation is not behavior change
- Think big, start small, scale fast
- View change management as a long-term effort
- Promote BENEFITS, not features
MY COMMENT: We did a good job to launch BHU to directors at the ALC and to launch to teachers later in April. But we really need to make sure directors push and advocate for BHU. We need to make sure they can answer the question: Why are we doing e-learning more than classroom training? And why is e-learning important.
The speaker emphasized ways to sustain momentum. So that we don’t just launch courses and then let them flounder. We need to do things to keep users’ hearts and mind with us. Publish success stories about how e-learning is affecting change in the BHU catalog, for example. Provide resources, such as the BHU helpdesk, guide to online learning, etc to support them.
TAKE HOME MESSAGE: The presenter suggested that we focus on weakest points and improve them. In my mind, where we really need to think hard about our metrics and aligning our courses with performance measures.
1. Technology as a substitute for strategy
- Technology is balanced with other critical success factors
- Technology is added iteratively and carefully, and verified before long-term investments are made
MY COMMENT: I think we do ok on this one.
2. Weak focus on business and performance requirements
- Emphasize critical learning needs, even if it means cutting back on variety
- Why catalog everything, when you can focus on the three things your CEO identifies?
- Use e-learning only when warranted, rather than as a miracle cure
- E-learning is linked directly to business requirements
- E-learning efficiencies have been clearly demonstrated
- Your metrics are business metrics
MY COMMENT: I think we’re ok on this one. From what I know, our training decisions come from MAT/E-team and Jim and Linda. They obviously know our business needs and have a good sense of the field. I still think a needs analysis would be a good idea at some point to really assess what kinds of content are most necessary. I wonder if it’s possible to survey Directors and RMs at the ALC this year?
3. Poor collaboration with IT
- Develop a joint e-learning technology strategy
- Recognize and respect the expertise and limitations of the other side: learn each others’ jargon
- Allow time for network testing
- Both sides create liason positions
- Share successes
MY COMMENT: I can’t really speak to this. I know Helen and Joe have done a lot of work to bridge with IT. But I know we don’t do network testing and sometimes have issues come up, such as the new intranet portal, that we can manage and communicate about better with IT.
4. Minimal e-learning expertise
- e-learning expertise is a bit of rock science and is worth investing in
- new skills are very important so professional development is very important
- have a good esen of balance between internal and external skills.
MY COMMENT: Hooray! This is Helen, MaryK and I. This conference and Mary’s upcoming conference and our access to Lynda.com point to our investment in professional development.
5. No attention to the unique attributes of e-learning design
- Need to recognize the differences between quality classroom and e-larning design and delivery
- you assign e-learning development projects to qualified staff
- you employ instructional design techniques in specific ways to get the most out of your e-learning programs
MY COMMENT: I think we do a fair job of creating interactive courses. Certainly CDA does a good job of it. Essentials is a step below. Our courses can be more engaging, but I think we do a good job with considering the tools we have.
6. Weak assessment
- Need to assess e-learning on a wide array of different measures
- Track impact in addition to satisfaction and learning gain
- Document business benefits of e-learning
- Prototype and pilots are used to test e-learing deliverables before rollout
- E-learning project management has evaluation component.
MY COMMENT: I think this is a particular weakness of ours. We don’t know how our courses impact the business, the cost of training, etc. We don’t have any ways for users to provide feedback and we don’t have measurement for change.
The Kirkpatrick level of assessments
Level1: reaction, did you like it?
Level 2: learning: did you learn anything?
Level 3: behavior: did you change your behavior?
Level 4: impact: did it make a difference?
It doesn’t seem that we’re assessing on any of these levels – and that’s a big problem.
7. No focus on workplace learning
- Work more closely with line organizations to build learning directly into work processes.
- You seek to improve work processes and documentation as important in reducing the amount of training required.
- Need to provide performance support. E.g. Starbucks used to get orders wrong. Training – didn’t work. Now they write on the cup – so they can’t make a mistake.
- Align e-learning with actual work. Don’t take them out of work context.
MY COMMENT: The learning bursts get to this. We’re trying to align our e-learning with work in the centers. But I think we can do this better. An interactive P&L, etc. Taking tasks that people in our organization need to do and providing tools to be able to do that.
8. No governance
- Collaborative process between various training organizations in company.
MY COMMENT: This isn’t as much an issue for us because we only have one training department at BFAM. Still, we do get different ideas for what different courses should cover. We can do a better job of communicating our initiatives and getting buy in.
9. Weak sponsorship
- Identify sponsors willing to put some “skin in the game”: invest, participate, promote, share risk, role model
MY COMMENT: I don’t see this side of our work at all, but my impression is that we have great buy-in and support from the e-team. Dave made a big plug for BHU last year at the Leadership Conference. Based on the discussion in the conference session, I realize how unique and wonderful that is.
10. Failure to manage change
- “If we don’t change direction, we’ll end up where we’re headed”
- Balance change management. Change management isn’t the same as marketing and communication.
- Set proper expectations and incentives
- Build support at all levels, including the front-line. Need buy in from managers. Need to launch e-learning to managers in addition to users.
- Implement change management before the change itself.
- Commit to sustain the change long after initial deployment
- Early adopters may not be your most important audience
- Understand resistance and inability to change – they are different
- Recognize that implementation is not behavior change
- Think big, start small, scale fast
- View change management as a long-term effort
- Promote BENEFITS, not features
MY COMMENT: We did a good job to launch BHU to directors at the ALC and to launch to teachers later in April. But we really need to make sure directors push and advocate for BHU. We need to make sure they can answer the question: Why are we doing e-learning more than classroom training? And why is e-learning important.
The speaker emphasized ways to sustain momentum. So that we don’t just launch courses and then let them flounder. We need to do things to keep users’ hearts and mind with us. Publish success stories about how e-learning is affecting change in the BHU catalog, for example. Provide resources, such as the BHU helpdesk, guide to online learning, etc to support them.
TAKE HOME MESSAGE: The presenter suggested that we focus on weakest points and improve them. In my mind, where we really need to think hard about our metrics and aligning our courses with performance measures.
posted by nurit at 10:47 PM
1 Comments:
yes to # 6. Let this be the year of the needs assessment. Amen.
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