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When I was in graduate school I had to miss a day of class.  Lectures were key to our classes so reading the text couldn’t  make-up for a lost day.  A classmate offered to tape the class and give me the tape so I accepted.

The classes were several hours so I had a lot of listening to do afterward.  I listened to the tape while driving around running errands in the next few days - by the nature of my days I ended up listening to 5 - 15 minute chunks of the lecture all throughout the day.  I remember being at a McDonald’s drive-through, stalling in a parking spot to hear the final points of a topic and just driving around with the tape playing.

When I showed up at the next class my classmates were amazed at how much I could contribute to the discussion about the lecture I had listened to on tape.  I was too.  I had never expereinced that kind of retention - I felt more prepared for that discussion than I had for any of the other sessions. 

I am now working on a project in downtown Denver and take the bus.  The memory of the taped graduate school lecture came to me Friday morning as I navigated my way down the icy sidewalk on the way to the bus stop…luckily it wasn’t too startling.  Nevertheless, I realized I was missing a great opportunity for learning.

I got an iPod a few months ago for my photos and music.  After Friday’s revolution I looked on iTunes and searched through their business Podcasts.  I selected subscriptions from Harvard Business Review, BusinessWeek and a few other sources - all free.  Now while walking to the bus stop, riding the bus or walking to the office I can be listening to the most up-to-date information in the business world.  

Whether through an iPod, carrying magazines with you, saving webinars on your computer to watch on-demand or any other means, look for opportunities throughout the day to learn.  Then seize them.

This month’s Big Question on Learning Circuits Blog is: 

Are ISD, ADDIE and HPT relevant in a world of rapid elearning, faster time to performance, and informal learning?

In a world where products, targets and strategies adjust constantly the application of these models (ISD, ADDIE, HPT) will be greatly diminished.  As the roles of knowledge workers expand and require them to use information that changes quickly it will be more important for the workforce to have easy access to information rather than them be required to retain it as the result of a well-designed course. 

I use the term ‘greatly diminished’ because I don’t feel the models will become obsolete or completely irrelevant.  The in-depth analysis and often time consuming design and development associated with these approaches can still be leveraged for content that is not likely to change.  For an organization to invest the time, money and resources required for formal training it must be for something that will prove relevant for a long period of time.  For topics that meet this criteria, there will still be relevance for the models of traditional training.

For all other learning required by employees (what Jay Cross and many others consider to be 80%) a new approach to learning is required.  The models used by learning professionals will need to expand to include cultivating communities of practice, managing knowledge, facilitating open-ended dialogue, creating performance support tools and embedding their deliverables seamlessly into the workflow of their workforce.

The models listed in this month’s Big Question were designed for a type of training that was relevant for the needs of an environment different from today’s.  As times have changed our approach as learning professionals must as well so that they provide the learners what they need for success.