My Learning Blog

Today, I am in one of those moods when I just want to oversimplify. The generalizations below are convenient derivatives of my very limited experience. I have to confess that I am embarrassed about this posting — I just want to lock these generalizations in this posting and then forget about it. I cannot allow these thoughts to interfere in my interaction with clients. Preconceived notions can be expensive. Finance : Paranoid and finicky—stickler for details and content accuracy. Their typical mindset—no one knows how to represent our facts better than we do. They seem to be paranoid about legalities—given a choice, they would probably follow each sentence with one disclaimer and two exceptions. They expertise in making straightforward thought/sentence seem complex. Pharmaceutical : Similar to Finance. Paranoid particularly about the content—how the formula is written and explained, chemical compositions of the drugs, application of the drugs, the physiological impact of the drugs on h...

Of late, I'm hearing that e-learning is on the decline. That our world is changing--e-learning would soon get replaced by say, mobile learning (learn anywhere, even while riding back from work). That the tools are getting smarter--allowing organizations and corporate to cater for their training needs internally without having to go to the training companies. The way I see it, these developments are great! We might then have within reach a breadth of media--ILT, online basic (say, e-briefings), online advanced (e-learning), WBT, mobile and a blend of all these. Most likely one media would not win over another. Just as radios, television, films, theatre and television have a definite place in the entertainment world. If organizations cater for their training needs through inhouse teams (with tools getting simpler and more powerful), our expertise would demanded for times when the training does not need to be just rapid but both effective and extensive. Whether e-learning/training sho...