Training and qualification: Essentials of new learning

Abstract

In an environment where the only constant is change, learning has become absolutely essential to every organization’s competitiveness. The rise of learning has precipitated a dramatic change in exactly what learning means in an organizational context.Digital media play a pivotal role in this transformation. They enable necessary changes – not only to how people learn within organizations but also to how organizations themselves can become much-heralded “learning organizations.”Demand is growing fast for new learning approaches that support performance and can be initiated and accessed on the fly from the workplace. Supply, on the other hand, has not kept up. This is largely because learners, and the professionals who initiate learning, lack sufficient experience in integrating modern media, particularly Web 2.0 tools, into learning processes.Against this backdrop, it has become essential to fundamentally redesign training programs with respect to media integration. This chapter focuses on Blended Learning 2.0 programs. In section “Introduction: New Learning: A Key Strategic Field for HR Managers”, it identifies the main forces shaping the development of learning and debunks common myths surrounding the use of (Web 2.0) media in organizational learning. Next, section “What is New Learning?” highlights the changes at seven concrete levels – from the shift to more informal learning right up to new target groups for business learning – and provides an overview of important formats and tools.Section “How New Learning Programs Come About” presents a key piece for the rest of its argumentation: a framework for developing Blended Learning 2.0 programs that fit in with the new learning philosophy. The development process is then explored – from the requirements analysis to blueprints and miniatures to the detailed plan for a new training program. The section concludes by going “outside the box” of formal education programs and looking at high schools and universities.Section “Leveraging the Opportunities of New Learning: Four Management Perspectives” analyzes the context from four perspectives that play an important role in the innovation/change process – from analyzing culture and emotions to evaluating risks and obstacles. Section “Final Comments and Outlook” presents concluding remarks, looks ahead to the future, and encourages further thought and discussion.