Learningclub7

Lately I have decided to explore other ways of learning aside the classroom way. I see that many times we do not use what we have to get what we want i.e. to learn and drive a learning organization. Please mind you just because you send people out for trainings or you have a learning academy doesn't make you a learning organization. A learning organization provides a psychological safety net for sharing and acquiring knowledge for the purpose of innovation. That is another topic for another day. Today we will be looking at what we do with our company website/portal and how it can be used as a learning tool: 1.   Is there a "resources" section?  How can learning occur if we do not share our knowledge products e.g annual report, newly developed tools, updated processes? It is important to have a  resource section  that provides  information for your investors, customer and staff as well. We cannot say we are learning and nothing is being produced in terms o...

We all know that the world is no more moving slowly with almost everything. Everything is fast paced and what is new today can be old in couple of months. iphones are good examples. This is also true for learning. Learning has changed from just classroom to online and mobile learning. There are innovative and convenient learning solutions coming up on a daily basis. Why should learning content remain the same? We teach using instructional materials  developed years back with no form of review. Maybe because we cannot think about the hard work involved in updating instructional materials. Here are few ways to a stress-free instructional material update: 1. In developing new content, always think about the future. What is the future of the topic, concept, skills or behaviour? Never design instruction without considering future plans, improvement or strategy. 2. Leave room for flexibility through use of interactive methods rather than lectures via PowerPoint. This gives r...

Show me that person who has never made a mistake or error and I will show you someone who hasn't been adventurous or tried anything new. We all make mistakes and errors. Mistakes and errors can be a very good opportunity to learn; however the fear of not making mistakes has crippled innovation in many organizations. Nobody makes a conscious effort to make errors; it is in the process of doing or creating something that we make mistakes.  How can we turn mistakes or errors to a learning opportunity? 1. Separate personality from the error. Who goes about breaking plates? 2. Have a discussion about what was the reason for the error. 3. Ask what could have been done better. It gives room for improvement. 4. The fear of mistakes and errors can cripple a team or company; create room to try new things even if it is not the norm. 5. Avoid the scenario of sidetracking the individual because they have made an error. Challenge them the more. The mere thought of th...

We have all sat in those performance discussions, as I wish to call it, that seem to be a boring meeting about what you have done in the last 6 months or one year. Probably you walked out of the door feeling the same way you felt 2-3 years back. Performance reviews seem to be a routine with no real meaning anymore to many employees. Here are ways to use frequent performance discussions for learning and performance improvement. Note the word frequent not once in every 6 months or a year. You can call it a discussion; "review" sounds like a court room while "discussion" sounds more personal and encouraging 1. What was agreed upon in the last discussion? What actions should have taken place? We have to start somewhere. We are concerned about progress here. 2. Change will only occur with frequent communication. Communicate the desired expectation early enough and discuss how to achieve them.  3. Keep an open door for people to discuss their challenges. We all ...

Maybe you just opened your mail and received a mail with a recent report as an attachment. What is your immediate response? Probably you download the attachment and keep in view for reading. We really don't read them. Let us be truthful. Annual reports are hardly read by the employee who work there. A report is a written repository of knowledge and latest insights.   Today we will look at how to use reports as a learning tool; there are too many unread reports that can be useful for knowledge sharing. How can you use reports as a learning tool? 1.  Always have an executive summary. Who reads a 100 page report? Who says you cannot state in bold the key lesson learnt. 2.  Discuss the report  outcomes, lesson learned, recommendation and next steps with the team or organisation. It could be a 10 minutes meeting. 3.  Any mail on a finalized report should have the  executive summary as the main body  aside from ...

Stand at the train station or by the bus stop and you will be amazed at how many people are busy with their phones. There's an immediate attraction to what is happening on our mobile phones. I must agree I'm not exempted too. Think of the number of times you have glanced on your phone today. Why can't we leverage on the use of mobile phones for learning? We religiously check our Linkedin, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook updates; why can't we also check our online platform update too or corporate social media page for learning updates. That beep is a call to learning.  Mobile learning is interesting and it is a step away from the e-learning in a way. I think I have read more articles and pdf documents on my phone than on my laptop. Mobile learning gives a sizeable amount of information in an interesting way to capture your attention and reflection in few minutes. Have you ever read an article as you sat waiting for the bus or train or an appointment or  a frie...

Often we read about e-learning from the perspective of the developer and hardly think about the user. Forget the end of course evaluation that is only for reports. While we all know that online learning saves cost and is often times a one -time cost compared with the face-to-face learning, it is important to note that the blended or 70/20/10 approach is the best. Here are the tips for effective e-learning: 1.       Make it relevant to the user and what he/she does. There are too many boring content flying around in the e-learning world. 2.       Participants get easily discouraged when they spent hours trying to navigate the online environment. Tell them how to get started in a simple manner not a text book literature. The number one reason for discouragement in e-learning is the wasted time trying to navigate the online environment or get started. We all know that most people are not so patient. 3...

Over the years, we have seen a separation of roles with knowledge management and Learning. Knowledge management is the process of capturing, developing, sharing, and effectively using organizational  knowledge. L earning is the act of acquiring new, or modifying and  reinforcing , existing  knowledge ,  behaviours , skills  and  values . Lately we have seen the use of technology in knowledge management and learning is not left out.  Where does learning fit in the process of capturing , developing , sharing knowledge? First we need to realize that without effective knowledge management, learning cannot be sustained. Note the word sustained and learning is sustainable application of knowledge.  Learning tries to transfer explicit knowledge( that can be readily articulated, codified, accessed and verbalized ) derived from tacit knowledge ( is the kind of knowledge that is difficult to transfer to another person by codifying ...

Non-governmental organisations conduct a lot of trainings in the course of a project or program. There are a few tips I would like to share: 20 Tips for conducting effective NGO trainings Treat every training differently; just because it is the same topic doesn't mean it is the same audience. A simple needs assessment can be very useful  Know your audience before your class. It is crucial. If  you don't have the opportunity, start on the first day of training. If there are multiple players or organizations involved in the learning, get their inputs even if they have none. It saves the day. Involve supervisors by carrying them along through the process of participant selection  Always ask about the training environment and required training equipment Always think about the in-country context Culture is important in trainings. Cultures are different. Always customize content to the audience an...

The very thought of not having all the money we need for learning activities can be very discouraging. That is the  REALITY  in many organisations. We need to be creative about our learning solutions. We do need to solicit for more funds but we also need to be prudent with the resources we have and how we use them.  What can be done about the budget?   - Depending on the amount and time frame for the budget provided, determine the cost per head. The calculation is total budget divided by the number of employees (Total budget/Total number of employees).  - You need to look at the individual department. Do they have a departmental budget for trainings? Some department, units or teams have such privileges. This will help you recalculate the average training cost per head.  - Take a look at the learning solutions; how can we train more with less without compromising on the learning content or structure?  - Determine a mix of solutions...