The #LearningEcosystem comprises of the learners, the available learning resources and the infrastructure or the technology that supports it. The external factors however, that influence the ecosystem is the organisational culture and the business strategy. An effective and efficient #Learning and #Training Ecosystem can be built on the four pillars. Theses pillars are:
1. Re-usable Content (RC): #Content should always be written in the perspective of the organisational context. It should be captured with a measurable #LearningObjective which should be ultimately linked to the #competencies chart as per the organisation structure, Job Roles & Responsibilities and Key Performance Indicators (#KPI). Importance of assessment, results and linking to the #ROI is going to be very important in future. Therefore, while you are developing content it should be linked with the assessment questions and level should be designed ultimately based on the business measures. Say for example, how effectively you have used the self-assessment technique by giving feedback as a path for the learning path? Are these #assessment questions are designed based on the actual case based scenarios captured from your own people? When you have interacted with them to capture the actual business challenges faced by them? Therefore, the content you are developing should be job-based, mutually exclusive and re-usable as part of different types of modules. Another important decision, however is related to content, whether you can curate from third-party providers versus how much you need to create internally based on your company’s area of expertise and need. In order successfully run your ecosystem as a cohesive whole is possible by involving your people as much as possible in your content decisions, not only with what should be taught, but how it should be delivered and consumed by them. Have you checked your content whether it is culturally sensitive or not? Have checked with the learners that in which language they will be more comfortable in understanding and applying it to their business environment? There could be many such self-check questions one should prepare before approving the content.
2. Visually Rich Presentation (VR): One of the most challenging component is to simplify the learning user experience (UX) by using the right blend of instructional content and available technologies and tools. The most commonly used tools and software used digital course production in modern times are the blend of following:
a. Articulate (Storyline)
b. Vyond
c. Adobe Captivate
d. Adobe Photoshop
e. Adobe Aftereffects
f. Adobe Premiere
g. Augmented and Virtual Reality Tools
h. Video and Audio Recording Studios & Tools
The blend of the above tools and software is used, based on the factors like learner’s demography, learning objective, demand of the content for graphical representation, and many more such factors. #InstructionalDesign for multi-sensory learning would thus be the perfect solution. The digital course should be designed in such a way that it should trigger the learner’s senses such as sight, sound, and tactile elements. Right selection of font, mix of colors, use of high level graphical elements, high definition videos, powerful voice, etc., can evoke certain emotions of the learner and finally boost their retention and knowledge comprehension. By enabling learners to click on the screen to make a choice or embark on a learning path can make their learning experience more interactive and immersive. Think of grabbing and maximizing the retention span of the learner and making it so easy for them so that they can remember for a maximum period. At the same time, it is also very important to stick to one subject or idea at a time so that you avoid cognitive overload. This also help the learners stay on track and keep the spotlight on the key takeaways. The learning capsules which could be small duration (#microlearning form) should be developed in such a way that it can be consumed easily and faster using any device and supported by any browser. Design and develop your #DigitalCourse more immersive, interactive, and emotionally-cantered by using multi-sensory principles. If your online learners can touch, see, and hear the content relevant to them, then they are more likely to recall it for longer period which is the primary goal of any digital learning transformation.
3. Modern Digital Platform (DP): Decision for choosing right configuration of Learning platform is also critical for smooth distribution of content and management of the learning ecosystem. It should have the following key features apart from the typical Learning Management System (#LMS):
a. Supports both #synchronous and #asynchronous environment.
b. Built-in Artificial Intelligence (#AI) and #BigData.
c. Easily integrated with the current #ERP system
d. Hosted on #CloudServer
Does your system supports Learning Experience Platforms (#LXP) and provide a consistent, unified, and personalized consumer-grade experience to your employees across all items in your ecosystem? Does your system supports your people to both curate content as per their personal aspirations and also create content which will add value to his professional goals. Does your platform support in fetching more challenging questions as your progress? Does your system suggest which learning path you should choose while you progress an assigned course? There could be many such indicators which will help you design the ecosystem.
4. Cost Effective & Measurable Outcome (%): The very purpose of designing an effective ecosystem for the organisation is to ensure its effectiveness. System effectiveness is the outcome of assessment. If the system is good, then the assessment results will reflect the efficiency improvement of the learner on the job, both in qualitative and quantitative terms. Therefore, once the people will start contributing more in the same time frame, then the cost will reduce and growth of the organisation can be ascertained. Please remember that your whole effort of shaping a modern digital ecosystem is not going to be valuable unless you link the training measure with the business measure.
As part of ensuring a modern ecosystem, alignment with business strategy is very important. That means the key stakeholders particularly the head of L&D should instill confidence in the top management that it is going to be more performance linked and measurable.