By Zack Devin
There may be a silver lining to COVID-19 in terms of workplace training: an end to those long and boring training sessions that amount to nothing more than staring at slide decks and listening to instructors read the text on the screen. The other side of that coin is that training has gone virtual overnight. So where do we go from here?
As long as workplace training has been turned on its head, we might just as well find a better way to do it. That better way starts with better tools. The days of slide decks and monotone presenters are over. A new day has dawned; a day that will reveal new ways of learning things.
According to Salt Lake City-based Fulcrum Labs, the day of adaptive learning is well under way. All of us being stuck home as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses to go online. Thus, there is a perfect opportunity here to embrace adaptive e-learning with tools and technologies that facilitate knowledge and skill building rather than information presentation.
Forget Meeting Software
Meeting software absolutely has its purpose in the new world of COVID-19. Without it, there are plenty of companies that would not be able to keep the lights on. Yet meeting software doesn’t qualify as a training platform. All it does for training is facilitate the same old same old – slide decks and lectures. This is not training. It is information presentation.
Keep the meeting software for meetings. For training purposes, an adaptive learning platform is the way to go. Such a platform allows workers to engage in their training courses at their own pace and according to a personalized pathway. They do not end up wasting time in virtual meeting rooms getting nothing done. Instead, they are learning, practicing, and demonstrating mastery.
One Size Doesn’t Fit All
If we learned anything from the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of how workplaces function, it is the reality that one size doesn’t really fit all. There is nothing in the workplace environment so black and white that it works equally well for everyone. The one-size-fits-all approach certainly doesn’t work well for training.
Adaptive learning is so named because it adapts to the individual’s capabilities and preferences. The best platforms in the industry rely on artificial intelligence and computer algorithms to tailor the environment to each individual student. Personalization is observed in learning formats, student pace, and pathways to mastery.
When workplace training is conducted via meeting software, such personalization is not possible. Meeting software only replicates what is being done in corporate meeting rooms around the country. Personalized adaptive learning does so much more.
Being Different is Okay
The whole point of finding new workplace training tools is to maximize training opportunities. Adaptive learning, facilitated by modern technology does just that, accounting for the fact that people are different. And guess what? Being different is okay. Our differences are what make us unique.
The fact that we are all different further implies that we all learn differently. Rather than forcing workers to conform to a static method of learning that appeals to a small minority, why not give them the opportunity to learn in whatever way suits them best? That is what adaptive learning is all about.
Adaptive learning platforms are now beginning to emerge as an alternative to other virtual training tools. Companies choosing to go the adaptive training route are discovering just how well it works. So now that workplace training has gone virtual, companies should really take a hard look at adaptive technology.
