Let the Learning Process be Your Guide

Technology advancements have changed the way we live and work. New capabilities and opportunities are becoming available on nearly a daily basis. Today we can instantly connect, communicate, and collaborate in a variety of ways almost anywhere.

So it’s easy to get caught up in all the "whiz-bang" new technology and sometimes lose sight of what we are really trying to accomplish. Look back on recent training history and you can see this in action. Fifteen years ago, elearning was all the rage and pundits were sure that classroom training was going the way of the dinosaur. And before that it was video training modules. And if we really want to go back, it was the development of the printing press! Each of these new technologies, while expanding the capabilities for teaching and learning, ultimately succeed or fail on how well they are implemented. In other words, how well they engage the learner.

When the mind is receptive and engaged learning will occur in any medium. Of course, the medium can help create initial interest and engagement. In fact, we generally say our Blueline Blueprint™ learning visuals pique interest and curiosity even before a training session begins as learners are confronted with a rich, colorful, table-size visual as they enter the room. And our eSimulations often start with an eye-catching, interest-grabbing opening. But this initial interest will quickly fade if the overall design does not continue to engage the learner.

While the new technologies provide us with great new options for engaging learners, practically anytime and anywhere, they only enhance the learning when they work with the process by which we as humans learn. In his book, The Power of Learning, Klas Mellander outlines the basic process that the mind goes through when truly learning. This process must be in action, whether the learning medium is the classroom , an elearning module, a 3-D simulation , or mobile learning enhanced with Augmented Reality. To accomplish our training objective – to facilitate people learning what they need to know to be successful – Blueline designs with this process in mind regardless of the medium.

Read more about the Learning Process – (and implications for training design):