This week, we have been asked to look at the use of learning technologies in our own contexts; therefore, in my case, what is used at work.
Probably the most visible use of technology for learning at work is the webinar i.e. the use of audio/vidio conferencing tools like MS LiveMeeting, Adobe Connect etc which essentially work in a similar manner to the Elluminate tool used by the OU. While the tools used are primarily used for online meetings, there are a number of training and education sessions run on a regular basis that usually involve some form of presentation by an expert and then a question and answer session from the participants.
Perceptions of these sorts of events vary; there are those who seize them as an opportunity they would not otherwise have (travelling to offices for face-to-face sessions is less likely to happen on a regular basis for cost and time reasons), some are grateful they can learn from their desk and then there are those who see them as the company being 'too cheap to train people properly.' The fact is however that face-to-face training still takes place and that most of the webinars were sessions that would have run anyway for a handful of people but that are now being opened up to hundreds or even thousands of people simultaneously and for this reason alone I think the webinar is making learning more easily and widely available within the organisation than would otherwise be the case. With so many distributed staff and home-workers, this is the only practicable way of providing training and education on a range of topics.
Teacher perceptions are likely to vary considerably depending on their levels of comfort with using web techologies and also with training people. The technology could be seen as a barrier or a risk to those who are comfortable with face to face trainng; conversely it could be seen as a buffer or enabler to those uncomfortable with addressing large numbers directly or those for whom travelling and the demands of setting up a physical training session are undesirable.
The biggest potential benefit of these technologies that I can see however are not being fully exploited to my mind and that is the ability to embed learning in work and vice versa. In my experience, not many people are using these online conferencing tools to manage their day-to-day or project work but are instead reserving it for mass communication. However, with a large and widely distributed workforce, these tools-if used to more widely to actually do collaborative project work-would allow more people to participate, more experts to be involved (as travelling would not be an issue) and thereby better facilitate sharing of information and understanding. I firmly believe that corporate learning should not replicate the paradigms of education but rather embed learning within work and use it to underpin actual performance. We're getting there slowly but too many are wedded to the course and the certificate which are of dubious value in most working contexts.