TRAINING HAS CHANGED — BIG TIME!
October 5, 2016
“They were born the day before yesterday, or so it may seem. Millennials have no memory of a world without the World Wide Web, cell phones, or personal computers. They are an Internet-surfing, iPoding, texting, Googling, Facebooking, and IMing generation. They have come of age during a time of dramatic technological changes in our society. Just consider the fact that the cell phone has become the fastest-adopted invention in the history of humankind. For many of them, texting and instant messaging have become the chosen methods of communication. Perhaps most of all, they have been plugged into one or another electronic device since they were toddlers.” (“Teaching the Millennials” by Jeff Nevid, The Observer, Association for Psychological Science)
Training . . . It ain’t what it used to be!
Nope — we’ve come a long way down the technology trail in the past four decades. The training challenges for our industrial workforce have been immense. And, the trade-offs involving instructional design, production values, plus cost and efficiency issues have complicated the entire process.
However, the heart of the matter has not changed. Learning values have always been balanced against corporate issues, involving both money and efficiencies.
Maintenance and Operations training for our workforce has never been more necessary. And, the opportunities for more effective learning have never been greater. Video-based e-Learning has made more and better learning a reality, while increasing the necessary retention time. Mechanical Maintenance, Electrical Maintenance, and Instrumentation Training are all better attuned to job and task applicability today. Full media-rich training has, provably, contributed to the financial returns enjoyed by the wiser American corporations and to America’s workforce.
We’re going to need these better skills, too, as processes get more complicated and multi-craft training continues to evolve. Well-designed, media-rich training will help secure incomes and improve conditions for our workers and their families.
Training can never be replaced or long delayed. Media-rich training has reopened the doors to productive learning. We are successfully transitioning from less successful lecture-textbook instruction to the newer multi-sensory learning opportunities. E-Learning, Simulations and Gaming will lead our way.
Our workforce will embrace these new learning platforms because, after all, they are already ingrained into our modern learning culture.
Enjoy your Columbus Day! More next Wednesday – – –
— Bill Walton, co-Founder, ITC Learning
www.itclearning.com/blog/ (Mondays & Wednesdays)