Where are we heading?

The school system is generally known as conservative, slow to adapt, and slow to embrace changes. Yet, gradually it adapts itself to the internet world: laptops instead of notebooks, homework submission via the school internet site, content provided via the web, and consumed either individually, or as a mix of self learning and class discussions.
The role of the teacher is changing. From being a knowledge source, the teacher gradually becomes a facilitator, a mentor and a guide.
Are we - the high-tech learning organizations - quick to adapt? Do we realize what's ahead of us?
In the next couple of posts, I took the liberty of envisioning where learning organizations are heading, or should be heading.
In the past 10 years or so, we witnessed learning organizations adapt to the internet, primarily by moving great deal of their curriculum to elearning, or running synchronous sessions using video conferencing or platforms like AT&T Connect.
In parallel, we saw the learning unit evolve from “yearly needs analysis” modus operandi, to a much more proactive and dynamic consulting mode, positioning learning partners in the field, close by to their internal customers.
The prime goal of the learning partners was, and still is, two folded: on one hand to help managers in the field use learning more professionally and efficiently. Advise them how to hook learning solutions to support their business. On the other hand, the learning partners gather ongoing requests for learning, and funnel them to the learning organization’s back office operations for execution.
The two above mentioned transitions indeed made corporate learning more efficient and versatile, and more aligned with the business.
However, the change we witness today in the way the world communicate is far more dramatic. With all of its new agile approach, the learning organization did not yet cope with a number of fundamental changes:

• The learning organization is not the knowledge source. The field experts are. The new trend of “users content” calls for shortening the time-to-market cycle, by having the field experts develop and publish their own content, eliminating the learning experts involvement altogether.
• Culture: Gen Y, people at the ages of +- 25 years old gradually take dominant positions. People who are internet natives, short concentration span. Their learning style has changed.
• Dynamicity. The time elapsing between introductions of new trends gets shorter. Adoption time has shortened, and the need to learn new stuff every other day becomes a way of life.

In previous posts I have discussed how technology impacts the way we learn. This post and the following few posts attempt to shed light on the learners' behavioral changes and their impact on the way learning organizations need to function.

Amir Karmin