Technology, combined with training, opens doors, provides flexibility once not considered, that can creates a student population spanning the globe. As we know, companies large and small are using technology to train their employees while benefiting with the return on investment (ROI). Employees can attend training without packing their bags and traveling to a city across the country.
Employees are working second and third shift that, if taken off shift to attend training, causes a negative impact to the company bottom-line. Companies are smartening up and moving towards training that utilizes technology to reach, greet, and support their training (Meyer, 2015). Let’s take a look at four technologies that have their foot firmly in the training arena.
1. Interactive distance learning (Webinars/Webcasting) – provides live instruction to multiple locations simultaneously that enables participants to view and communicate with the instructor and fellow participants (Noe, 2013).
a) Adobe Connect (http://www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect.html) enables the presenter to share a specific application, their desktop or documents.
b) Webex https://www.webex.com/ provides video conferencing and screen sharing, and provides WebEx Training Center provides specific support for trainers.
c) Gotomeeting https://www.gotomeeting.com/webinar provides mobile and desktop options that enable the user to conduct a meeting/discussion and provide a recording of the meeting.
2. Virtual World – anyone not see Avatar, in 3-D, back in 2010 (www.avatarmovie.com/index.html)? I did, and thought it was cool…Ok, don’t laugh too hard, but I did. Virtual world, a computer based, simulated online 3D representation of the real world where the student learns by experiencing (Noe, 2013). Wheelock & Merrick (2015) highlights that students are able to visit virtual environments view, analyze, evaluate and create content that are linked to Bloom’s Taxonomy.
a) Second Life (http://secondlife.com/) the Second Life education module provides immersive teaching, real-time collaboration, a global community and safe secure campuses
b) Robot Virtual Worlds (http://www.robotvirtualworlds.com/) provides a virtual world that enables students to learn about programming.
3. Learning Management System – LMS needs to provide automated administrative, development, and delivery of a company or campus educational content (Noe, 2013). In my humble opinion can make or break a training class. If the student stumbles because the LMS isn’t built to support the content, then the student won’t participate.
a) www.coursesites.com provided an excellent platform for me when I developed an Orientation 101 to online learning. I was able to navigate and produce a course that functioned as it was intended to be.
b) Moodle -- https://moodle.com/ is a popular LMS platform that even provides a Free package for teachers with limited resources.
4. Shared Workspace – how much can you learn when you share with your fellow classmates or co-workers, lots.
a) Google Classroom (https://classroom.google.com/u/0/welcome) is becoming a popular option local public schools.
b) Microsoft SharePoint Site has multiple options to provide a secure location to store, organize, share, edit and access from any device. Great option for group projects or discussions that require multiple participants. (https://support.office.com/en-US/article/Get-started-with-SharePoint-909ec2f0-05c8-4e92-8ad3-3f8b0b6cf261)
The above technology is great, but we cannot forget an important aspect of using the technology; training. When a teacher/instructor attempts to use the technology, and results in lackluster performance in deploying them, it impacts the student’s ability to complete the training they enrolled in. Minott (2015) and Leggatt (2016) conducted separate research looking at technology training for teachers and how important it is to provide and attend training to become proficient with the technology before implementing. Personal experience forced me to seek out available training for Adobe Captivate so that I could produce appropriate level eLearning products for graduate program and at my first job as an instructional designer.
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Reference
Leggatt, S. (2016). Overcoming the Barriers of Distance: Using Mobile Technology to Facilitate Moderation and Best Practice in Initial Teacher Training. Journal Of Further And Higher Education, 40(3), 432-446.
Meyer, P. (2015). Fostering Change. HR Magazine, 60(6), 60-61.
Minott, M. A. (2015). Teaching tasks and the composition of a 'piece' using music technology in the classroom: Implications for the education and training of teachers. Journal Of Music, Technology & Education, 8(3), 261-272. doi:10.1386/jmte.8.3.261_1
Noe, R. A. (2013). Employee training and development (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
Wheelock, A & Merrick, S. (2015). 5 virtual worlds for engaged learning. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/explore/articleDetail?articleid=395.
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