One of the problems I've found with analyzing whether net/web based training is effective is that we tend to treat training as if it were all one thing. In fact there are lots of different forms of training.
Formal courses are available in classroom versions and self-paced versions. There is also counseling and tutoring. Reference materials and job aids are part of training, too. All those components have a place and a purpose. They interact with one another.
To analyze all of this, I've started thinking of various training components as laid out along two dimensions.
One dimension is whether the training is need-based or sequence-based. Need based training is generated by a person's immediate need. You have to attach a file to email and you've never done it before, for example. Most adult learning happens this way.
Consider how we learn to handle household projects, or learn to cook or garden. Most of us learn by doing small projects, picking up what we need for each project and adding it to our bag of skills.
Sequence-based training happens in the context of a structured program. This is necessary when one bit of knowledge or skill is necessary to learn others. We learn to count before we learn to add. And we learn to add before we learn multiplication.
Up till now, most of our learning has been need-based, but most of our training has been sequence-based. Training jargon refers to "Far Transfer Training," which I define as, "We give you a class and hope you'll remember this stuff when you need it."
The other dimension of training components involves whether the training needs to be done with other folks, at the same time, or can be done on an individual schedule.
Synchronous training happens in groups. This is necessary sometimes. It sounds trite, but you can't do group exercises all by yourself and exercises are a key way of enhancing learning.
Asynchronous training can happen when schedule doesn't matter. That's been the lure of correspondence courses for years. Learn at your own pace. Learn while you keep your regular job.
Need-based asynchronous training includes job aids and reference materials. The pocket reminder cards that I've used in my leadership classes for years would be a good example.
Up till now most of our training has been designed on a model of limited availability. Most training was classroom -- synchronous and sequence-based. There were bits of counseling and self-paced courses, but classroom training, supplemented with a fat notebook of reference material has been the norm.
What net and web technology allow us to do is to improve the mix. We have more ways to deliver sequence-based training and we can make reference and support material available in more and more effective ways.
The future of training, I think, will involve using a mix of delivery methods, appropriate to the content and audience, to design effective learning experiences.
This article originally appeared in Wally Bock's Briefing Memo newsletter in 1999.
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