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St Albans, Herts, United Kingdom, 12/17/2009 – At Learning 2009, the principal issue seemed to be the key role that learning and development can play in the present difficult economic circumstances, according to Learning Light, a company limited by guarantee organisation which focuses on promoting the use of e-learning and learning technologies. A team of UK learning technology specialists, including Learning Light’s David Patterson, along with UKTI’s Nigel Goddard, Assessment 21’s Gerard Lennox and Sean Gilligan of Webanywhere joined the 1,300 or so delegates at Learning 2009 - which was subtitled ‘Learning in uncertain times’.
Historically, hard times prompt reductions in training budgets, so a key theme for delegates was the need to maintain the value and currency of learning and development in the eyes of corporate decision makers. This meant that conference sessions focused on return on investment (ROI); ‘virtual (world) learning’; achieving value from existing learning management systems (LMSs); the need to develop effective partnerships to deliver cost effective solutions, and how social networking can influence learning.
Elliot Masie, the event’s organiser and world renowned learning technology ‘guru’ advocated dropping the ‘e’ from e-learning, given the all-pervasive role in corporate learning that e-learning now plays. Masie argued that e-learning had evolved, and its future highlights will be around the use of video in learning and the concept of ‘falling forward’ – in that e-learning needs to become more challenging.
Masie also pleaded for both greater research into the pedagogy of learning to address learning styles and a realisation that social networking will play a growing role in learning – including the use of ratings, peer teaching, project based learning and structured competition/collaborative learning.
The conference explored ‘what learning would look like in 2019’ but there was also a general fascination among the delegates with what Google is doing - or might do - with e-learning.
“The use of video as a medium to put across learning messages was prevalent in a number of sessions,” said Lennox “It could be seen in a variety of ways - such as using commercial DVDs such as ‘Twelve Angry Men’ for negotiation training at Google, YouTube style homemade video clips for updating the workforce in one of the USA’s largest chains of pawnbrokers, or for creating immersive, TV soap style situational training at KFC.”
Patterson believes that this illustrates a trend towards more social, informal learning where knowledge is gained by ‘sharing stories’ as much as by formal learning practices.
Issues that were ‘played down’ at Learning 2009 included standards – with only one session in over 230 at the event on the role of SCORM and its future iterations. Also under-represented were learning design, gaming and immersive learning scenarios along with e-books, e-assessment and e-portfolios.
“In addition, human capital management - a hot term at the 2006 event - seemed to have been forgotten as a key metric framework for people management although talent management seemed to retain currency as a term,” Patterson added.
Patterson’s full report on Learning 2009 is available for free download at Learning Light’s website.
About Learning Light Ltd
Sheffield-based Learning Light (learninglight.com) is a centre of excellence in the use of e-learning and learning technologies in the workplace. Its knowledge base contains over 400 papers offering insights and advice on how to use e-learning & learning technologies.
Learning Light works closely with the Universities of Leeds and Sheffield, and has undertaken a Systematic Literature Review of the available papers on the effective use of e-learning in conjunction with the University of Sheffield.
Learning Light, which is supported by Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency for Yorkshire and the Humber, operates the E-learning Centre website which is one of the leading resources on e-learning in the UK.
Learning Light occupies a unique space in the e-learning and learning technology sector networking with:
• Suppliers of e-learning and learning technologies to support the growth of the sector
• Buyers seeking out learning technology solutions to improve the effectiveness of their business or organisation
• Leading organisations worldwide who provide it with market knowledge from around the globe
It:
• Provides unbiased and impartial advice to both suppliers and buyers
• Hosts events and workshops that provide the platforms to impart and gain knowledge by encouraging collaboration and sharing of best practice
• Acts as a conduit between suppliers and buyers to forge successful business partnerships
• Provides market intelligence and benchmarking information gained from its many contacts and networking partners
• Provides access to research materials from leading learning technology professionals.
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