Turning your Software Application Training into an Effective Learning Experience!

I recently received a mail that read, ‘Are your employees drifting away during online meetings and training? It got me thinking and thus this post...it’s also a follow-up to my previous post (Learning vs. Training) as promised to my friend David.

Would you Flaunt It, just because you have it?
Getting online and broadcasting e-training over web conferencing might be a great means to Rapid Training or on-the-fly-training, but it won’t necessarily ensure Rapid Learning for your learners... I agree using web conferencing for e-training is a great medium for synchronous learning, but it certainly shouldn’t be the only one, except if you want the learners ‘to be left high and dry’, with lot of noise and no action...

The Expert and his Tool Stock!
And then there are interactive demonstrations and simulations painstaking created using fancy simulations tools...they go around the whole screen clicking, pressing, selecting and once in a while letting you do the same all the while telling you what to do with captions like ‘Click the button or press to start’... Now this sort of training would definitely ensure effective learning ...Right? After all the training did give the learners a chance to get their hands dirty.

No! Unfortunately not.

Just like e-training via web conferencing , software simulation is a just a great component of effective training, not a means in themselves and certainly no substitute to real learning. A collaborative and a blended approach to e-training would certainly be more fulfilling for the learners as an experience.

Here’s my two pence on making your e-training an effective e-learning experience for your learners.

Always keep the 'Adult Learning Principles' in mind while designing learning interventions for adult learners that is if you want to shift from designing training to designing effective learning. Remember that your focus should be on the Adult Learner’s training needs and not that of the Organization.

Employ the tried and tested approch of 'Overview, Process and Practice' to your application training! It always works!

Get them Excited! Wow them...
Start the training with an ‘OVERVIEW’ to the software application; give the learners a taste of all the good things to come. Get them excited about the Training. Provides your learners with information about the software, its benefits and how the training and the software can help them improve their performance at work. The need to do so emerges from the fact that adult learners like to be aware and responsible for their learning.

Build the Excitement! Keep them Wow-ed about it...
Remember that adult learners are goal-oriented and appreciate training programs with well-defined objectives. Since they like to be in charge of their learning and want to know what they will achieve on completion of training it is best to list these right upfront of a training program.

Show them the Value! Show them the goodies...
Adults are also relevancy-oriented and must see a reason for learning or a training they take on. They are usually better motivated to learn when they see a relevance of the training and its application to their work. In other words, knowledge and learning that effects and improves the numbers on their paychecks.

Get the Show Started! Get the ball rolling...
Employ a ‘show and tell’ approach to the 'PROCESS' phase of the training and demonstrate how things the application works. Provide step-by-step instructions throughout the demonstration of the process by showing where to click or what to enter. Start with the basic and then build on as you proceed. Make sure there is no user interaction at this point.

‘Show and tell’ approach to training would work well both in a synchronous and asynchronous teaching approach. You could be either teaching virtually using desktop sharing software like WebEx or Adobe Connector or delivering e-training through application simulations built in Captivate.

Keep them Entertained! You don't want them to doze off....
Although the ‘show and tell’ approach is useful for the first time learners, it could be frustrating for the more experienced learners, since we all know that repetition bores adult learners. Make sure to build a navigation system that allows the learners to move on the next or higher level of learning it could also let them jump between practice and assessment sessions.

Tip! If you are conducting a virtual session, make sure you request your learners to bear with you, while you cover the basics for the benefit of the first time learners.

Time to Get the Hands Dirty! It's time for some PRACTICE....
Software simulation building tools like Captivate allow you to build interactive exercises or practice sessions with step-by-step audio and textual (captions) prompts, allowing your learners to get comfortable using the software.

Many a times adult learners build up barriers against participating or taking on training. Lack of confidence is one such barrier that could cause hesitation to learn new things.

This technique of practice using interactive exercise is especially helpful for learners new to the usage of computers and software application as it helps them build confidence through trial and error method in a mock or virtual environment, rather than on the real software.

Tip! Interactive exercises or practice sessions could work well as a follow up to the virtual e-training session also.

Time to put it all to a Test! Assessing all that they learned...
While attempting to put the learners’ newfound knowledge to test make sure to assess the adult learners on their ability to use the new acquired knowledge to new and challenging settings.
You could create the higher level of interactive exercises, similar to the ones in the practice session, minus the guidance and prompts.

Tip! Do remember that while solving a challenging situation could motivate the adult learners, an overload of information and demeaning exercises could turn them away.

The 'Overview, Process and Practice' approach to software training works best as it gives the learner the opportunity to build expertise and confidence. You could try various permutation that work best for you and your learners. For example, conduct a synchronous event or a virtual class that could include the ‘Tell and Show’ phases and then encourage to learners to pick up the ‘DO’ or the Practice phase, as a asynchronous activity.

Learners could either get familiar with the application using interactive practices created in software like Captivate or jump straight into the software with the help of step-by-step e-tutorials. Whatever the amalgamation of training you choose, make sure to include the full cycle of Overview, Process and Practice approach to complete the cycle of the learning.

Last but not the least, build in a support system in the training, which the learners can turn to whenever in need. It is always nice to know, that there is someone to help you out, if need be.

Learning vs. Training

So often are words ‘Learning’ and ‘Training’ used interchangeably, that the difference between the two seems blurred to the normal eye. To most these two words might seem synonymous, but in truth, they are not and Thank God, they’ll never be.

Learning is about the people. Training is about the organizations or, let’s just say, learning is what people naturally do and training is what the organizations expect them to.

Learning is natural to humans, we learn, we do, or at least every intelligent being tries to. We learn to kick from the time we are in our wombs, to becoming great football players and all the other sports in between that we employ our feet on, (I won’t get in all the details here), but the bottom line is, yes, learning is natural to us.

So? Shouldn’t we just learn whatever we want to, as life go by, like picking daises on a cool spring morning, why do we need to be trained. Maybe because it would sound rather absurd to say, ‘I am a learnt teacher, rather than saying I am a trained teacher.’ To start with, the English language won’t allow of it … and secondly someone needs to pay for the whole business of learning and training.

Guess you get the basic idea and agree that we need training about some of the basic stuff about being civilized human beings. However, once all of that is taken care of, can’t we just learn things that excite us, and that we can in do in our own time and space, without someone training us all the time?

Well, the answer to that could either be, “ No, you can’t learn on your own, you never have been and you education system would vouch for that…” or that you’re your company was low on budget and decided to make-do with ‘One-Training-Fits-All’ approach, with no special considerations for your interests, your learning style, etc, etc. In addition (and to makes this worse), your organization would expect wonders in your performance post this ‘training’.

What do you do? Maybe nothing much, but your organization can. They can hire companies that would exclusively design learning for you and your needs. How cool is that? And, if the question in your head is, "Will this exclusive ‘Learning Design’ be any better than the training you been put through?", Well! The answer to that is...Yes!

‘Learning Design’ focuses on people and bringing about the desired change in their behavioral and their performance, contrary to ‘Training’ that deals with teaching specialized skills and knowledge.

Training enforces learning in more mechanical terms like saving a word document (…and you better didn’t have an attitude about it…lest you want to lose it). On the other hand, ‘Learning Design’ focuses on the learners and helps them achieve their individual potential (…you can have an attitude and we will call it your learning style, and cater for it).

Learning Design focuses on the learners and aligning their potential to their work. It involves instructional methodologies and strategies that entice the learner, help learners enthusiastically take on the task of learning, which eventually influences behavior and performance at work.

Learning allows learners to do what they are most comfortable and most capable of, it focuses of what they enjoy, and their strengths, rather than what others try (or train) them do and sometimes be.

Training is something that happens at work (or when your mom is around). Training is usually treated as a task; people do it because they're paid to do so (or because your mom makes you to).

Learning is very different. Learning is something that people can pursue at work or at their own time. Ummmm! Don’t you like the sound of that?

People respond to appropriate learning because they want to; because it benefits and interests them; because it helps them to grow and to develop their natural abilities; to make a difference; to be special.

'Learning' as an experience is far better than 'training' as it is self-driven and self motivated.