Emerging Technologies

I recently attended Elliott Masie's Extreme Learning Lab where he demonstrated how a number of emerging technologies are being used for learning. These technologies included videocasting, podcasting, gaming, blogging, and social networking sites. What are the affordances of these technologies? Does research show them to be effective? If research has yet to be conducted regarding their impact, should they be used?

The learning professionals in the group appreciated Elliott's enthusiasm for the affordances of these technologies but quickly began listing the barriers to their use: security concerns, cost, and the organizational changes (attitudes) they would necessitate. What other barriers exist?

Gaming at Work

Educational gaming is growing in popularity as a topic among K-12 circles. It is also being discussed as a possibility in corporate environments. One reason it hasn't been used more frequently is the cost associated with its development. Does your organization use gaming? If not, what are the barriers?

Does research show gaming is a viable and successful way to learn? Common sense says it is, but I couldn't find any research conducted in corporate settings. What are your thoughts on adults learning through gaming?

Interesting Statistics

The Learning and Development Roundtable (LDR) is a reputable research organization devoted to conducting research in corporate settings. In a survey conducted in 2005, they found the following distribution of formal training by delivery method:

Instructor-Led Training 56.1%
E-Learning 33.6%
Blended Learning 8.2%
Other 2.1%

What surprises you about these findings? Are they in line with your organization's delivery methods? I'm a supporter of blended learning, so I'm happy to see that percentage so high. What do you think about blended learning experiences?

The LDR also found that the average L&D yearly budget is $15.6 million dollars. Learning departments spend quite a chunk of change on designing and delivering formal training. I wonder how much that number would decrease if we spent more time encouraging or designing informal, on the job learning experiences. You know...where you learn the most about how to do your job. What are your thoughts?

In 2004, Myung-Hwa Koh and I conducted a mixed methods study comparing and contrasting employee perceptions of online learning at two major corporations, one headquartered in the US and the other in Korea.

We wanted to investigate and compare the components of web-based training that US-based and South Korea based employees recognize as helpful and challenging in the learning process. Details concerning the study can be found at http://fsjones.myweb.uga.edu/portfolio/ispieurope_pres_fjones.pdf, but the major conclusions of the study were as follows:

The overall satisfaction expressed by the employees in both countries was quite high (85% US and 70% South Korea), indicating that while there are challenges with web-based training, employees do find it useful.

Key factors to success in engaging in web-based training were as follows:
􀂉 Motivation
􀂉 Time management
􀂉 Well-designed, organized content

What is your reaction to these conclusions? Are you surprised or do they mirror similar experiences that you or others you know have had while engaging in web-based training at work?

Do you know of any other research studies which explore employee perceptions of online learning?

Research in Corporate Settings

In searching for research regarding online learning at work, I noticed that there is much more anecdotal information than research. Why is there a lack of published research that is conducted in the context of corporate settings?

One of my interests is in bridging the gap between research and practice. Do you think this often-talked about gap actually exists and if it does should it be bridged?

My opinion is that it should. Research should be conducted to ultimately impact practice. Otherwise what's the point of doing it? Tell me what you think.

Welcome to my blog!

Let me introduce myself and tell you about the purpose of this blog. My name is Frankie Jones, and I've recently received my PhD in Instructional Technology from The University of Georgia.

As a graduate student, I researched the ways in which technology facilitates workplace learning by engaging in two research studies--one concerning employee perceptions of workplace learning and one concerning how technology facilitates informal learning among virtual workers. In the coming posts, I will discuss the findings of these studies and situate those findings within a discussion of how emerging technologies are impacting workplace learning.

As a Learning and Development Manager at a major corporation, I will also reflect on how the research of workplace learning aligns with the practice of instructional design.

I now invite you to introduce yourself by replying to this post. Tell me about yourself--your interests, your expertise, and what you would like me and others to dicuss about technology-enhanced workplace learning.

Looking forward to blogging with you :-).