How Learning Design Can Help

 

Organizations use training for a lot of different purposes, but training can really only help in two ways, by:

• Shortening a learning curve, and / or

• Increasing the consistency of results.

 

Finding information is no longer a difficult task in a world where internet search returns millions of articles on nearly any topic in a fraction of a second. Useful, relevant information is more difficult to find and if you want that information to align with specific organizational goals your challenge is even greater. Effectively designed learning can help learners find and apply information faster, ramping up their skills more efficiently than simply leaving them alone with an internet connection and a desire to succeed.

 

Well-designed learning can also help people to come to the same conclusion as their peers and colleagues - leading to more consistent results throughout an organization. Sometimes this isn't important – but sometimes it is. For example, in regulated environments where a rogue sales person saying the wrong thing can create significant problems for the company, consistency can be a very valuable component of a successful business.

 

Learner Centered Design

 

While all of our work is designed in partnership with specific subject matter experts within our client organizations, these experts are not at the center of the learning interventions we design - the learner is. By focusing on what the learner is going to DO with the information, we can create experiences that help learners apply information in the context of their work. These interactions give learners the opportunity to practice the relevant skills in a structured environment where mistakes are part of the learning experience, and not expensive lessons that can damage the overall organization.

 

Working with Learning Architects

 

Brining a learning architect into a project starts by figuring out what the goals of the project are. Do you need a guided learning experience to convey the necessary information, or are self-directed help menus and related documentation the right way to go. A learning architect can help to work through those choices, or simply work on creating the relevant materials if the decisions are already made.

 

At the Learning Architect Group, we work with multiple technologies from the written word to video to live presentation of material, so we can create the materials that are right for your project. To learn more, call Lisa Meece at 317-626-2163 or connect by email at lisa@learnarc.com.