The CLO's blend of learning modalities continues to change course with organizational and economic needs.
by Cushing Anderson
June 27, 2010
The CLO’s blend of learning modalities continues to change course with organizational and economic needs.
Content, audience and environment — each plays a role in how learning is delivered. The content being taught, to what audience and with what tools all continue to evolve.
Every other month, IDC administers a Web-based survey to Chief Learning Officer magazine’s Business Intelligence Board (BIB) on a variety of topics to gauge the issues, opportunities and attitudes that make up the diverse role of a senior learning executive. This month features the annual look into learning modalities and how they are evolving. More than 550 BIB respondents shared their thoughts on the appropriate mix of learning delivery.
The survey results continue to suggest that organizations are becoming more sophisticated in their choice of modality. Asynchronous e-learning is increasingly seen as the preferred delivery method when needing to train a group with varied skill levels. Classroom training remains the most significant form of training — in spite of the alternatives.
This survey last year predicted both asynchronous and synchronous delivery modalities to grow in portfolio share and that classroom-based information and learning technologies (C-ILT) would decline. While CLOs this year report a shift in their emphasis away from C-ILT toward e-learning, the overall portfolio share hasn’t changed very much.
The Current Mix
CLOs are using the full range of options for learning delivery. Consistent with previous surveys, classroom training is used more often, though the combination of synchronous and asynchronous e-learning represents a growing modality. 2010 results show a small increase in classroom delivery as a reflection of the ease of creation and a mindset to “stay local” and not send students to external classes or purchase external e-learning courses. A significant number of organizations are leveraging formal on-the-job training, though its use hasn’t changed much in the past couple of years.
CLOs changed their use of various modalities for cost and convenience reasons. Organizations that reduced their C-ILT were most often driven by cost. Convenience drove the addition of asynchronous e-learning in many organizations, and cost remained the most significant motivation for firms to adopt more e-learning. Formal on-the-job training continues be considered an effective delivery option in specific situations.
For the second straight year, portable learning technologies did not gain share as much as expected. CLOs attribute this to availability of content and of a complete technology solution.
During the coming year, CLOs expect C-ILT to continue to represent a declining portion of the delivery portfolio primarily because of cost and flexibility. Both synchronous and asynchronous e-learning will gain portfolio share in most enterprises in reaction to the continued pressure on development budgets and the greater flexibility in scheduling and delivery. Text-based training, while remaining a relatively modest proportion of most enterprise training programs, continues to be considered a cost-effective and therefore useful option for CLOs.
In spite of the availability of tools and continued research that supports the effectiveness of blended learning, the most significant driver of blended modality remains the availability of various options. This year, like last year, most CLOs were forced to select the modality for their blended offerings based on the availability of content and modalities. The value and potential of blended learning continues to be constrained by the availability of content in a variety of modalities.
Matching the Message to the Medium
CLOs are increasingly trying to apply the right delivery option for their content, audience and environment. CLOs continue to prefer one modality over another for a particular course because it represents the most appropriate method for the content and the learner. But the impact of the economy has pushed cost ahead of effectiveness in some cases. The most frequently selected driver for both asynchronous and synchronous delivery was the cost savings over C-ILT. And, for asynchronous e-learning, flexibility is the other significant driver.
Interestingly, portable technologies are being used by fewer organizations this year than last year. This implies that the benefits of mobility and portability do not currently outweigh the switching costs associated with developing content and deploying a new technology.
Each of these shifts reflects that CLOs are letting the content dictate the delivery options. In some cases this is because it’s appropriate, while in others it’s because it is the modality that’s available. Clearly CLOs are increasingly inclined to let the message drive the medium.
One way the message can be defined is broadly by content type: business skills courses or IT content. Preferences for delivery modality by content domain have changed little since 2007. A far greater majority of CLOs describe C-ILT as the primary delivery modality for business skills training than describe C-ILT as primary for IT skills training.
While not a delivery modality, informal learning always arises when delivery choices are considered. As noted previously, on-the-job experiences reflect a powerful and frequently used method of instruction. Whether those experiences are formal or informal is often a matter of semantics. In separate research by IDC on informal learning, nearly half of CLOs stated they believe their organizations should do more to support informal learning in their portfolios. CLOs also believe that informal learning has the same impact as formal instruction. In spite of the recent and continued emphasis on social media to support learning, the most significant types of informal learning aren’t technology based at all. On-the-job experiences, mentoring and discussions and networking with other professionals are traditional, low-tech forms of instruction considered among the most important forms of informal learning.
Business skills courses largely focus on soft skills and, CLOs believe, lend themselves to face-to-face experiences with instructors and peers. It is clear from IDC research that CLOs see the value of classroom instruction when it is an appropriate method for the content to be conveyed. E-learning, however, is consistently seen as a more appropriate method for delivering IT skills content. More than 40 percent of enterprises select at least one form of e-learning as the primary delivery method for IT skills training compared to only 15 percent that selected it as their primary modality for business skills training.
Current instructional practices for IT skills tend to emphasize both independent study and practice over shared learning and group work. At the same time, both research and practice suggests that teaching technology using technology results in effective instruction more often than teaching non-technology content using technology. As collaborative technologies make their way more completely into online instructional modalities, we will likely observe increased value and use of collaborative e-learning experiences when teaching both IT and business skills, reflecting the trend in work itself.
Modality, Skill and Seniority
In every organization, the training team has to account for a mix of skill levels among its workers. Similar to responses from previous studies, CLOs reported that classroom instruction and formal on-the-job training are considered more effective for lower-skilled workers, and e-learning, both synchronous and asynchronous, is considered more effective for higher-skilled employees. Because asynchronous e-learning is consumed at the student’s pace, it’s preferred as the modality for higher-skilled employees and in instances where scheduling is a challenge.
Interestingly, portable technologies — leveraging smart phones, MP3 players and CD-ROM based courses — are considered to have better results with more senior-level employees.
Even while survey results imply different audience types react differently to different content types, specific combinations of content, audience and environment can make any delivery modality the most appropriate. CLOs and training managers must consider the unique circumstances necessitating a training intervention and determine the most appropriate combination of content and delivery modality.
Subtle Changes and Small Steps
Corporate learning programs do not change radically — they change slowly, as organizations’ developmental requirements are fairly stable. So, while the economic crisis forced organizations to control cost, the overall impact on corporate learning has not been a transformation.
The delivery mix remains largely consistent even while CLOs increasingly work to match the delivery medium to the content and audience. CLOs will continue to monitor the impact of learning. Matching the delivery to the content and to their students’ needs is the primary tool to achieve high impact.
As the U.S. economy continues to improve, the change in corporate training also will continue, but slowly. CLOs will continue to assess the strengths and weaknesses of different delivery modalities and leverage content that facilitates use. Given the economic times, leveraging existing content across as many applications as possible will be common as CLOs prioritize using what they have. Over time, this suggests that more training will be provided using live-over-the-Web, synchronous e-learning, probably leveraging existing Web-conferencing technologies. The use of classroom training will remain the most significant mode of training, but CLOs are getting better at incorporating other delivery approaches — texts, self-paced work, action learning — to make the classroom experience richer and ensure the content becomes part of the working memory of the student.
Training vendors will increasingly provide a selection of delivery modalities that anticipate changing trends in delivery options, learner preferences and capabilities. This will enable their clients to have content on the shelf in a format that is more likely to be consumed by their stakeholders.