Just-in-time open learning

Availability, consistency of message, cost-efficiency, quality and flexibility are the main reasons why computer based open learning is helping organisations cope with the effects of change argues Adrian Snook, in this article originally published in Open Learning Today

People need to receive training at exactly the right time. Give training too early and the chances are that the learner will have forgotten the content of the programme by the time its required. Give training too late and the learning will have already taken place by trial and error with its usual corollary of the instillation of bad habits, upset clients and general frustration all round.

Either way is a recipe for disaster.

Most organisations are currently engaged in regular if not continuous, change. So recognising the need to provide opportunities for learning at exactly the right time has never been more important. New products, systems and working practices are being implemented at an ever-increasing rate. Yet, no matter the scale of the investment to bring about change, it is the ability of the organisation's people to operate effectively within it that determines the return on investment.

Fortunately, however the trainer has never been in a better position to influence training strategies or had a better set of tools to meet the variable needs of the modern organisation.

The importance placed on employee competence in the Business Excellence Model, together with initiatives such as Investors in People, indicates that the relationship between employee development and business success is recognised at board level. At long last, the training department is becoming recognised as a value-adding function.

At the same time, the tools available to plan, manage, deliver and assess learning have evolved to a state where technology can significantly ease the trainer's lot. Consider some basics:

Formal learning involves moving from a position of (ittle or no knowledge/skill to or possessing a basic level of competence. Typically this phase is recognised as a course.

The format of this course is immaterial. IT training may be undertaken in a classroom, reading a book, via computer based trainining (CBT) or sitting with a colleague.

An important point to note, though, is that people learn at different speeds. There are many reasons for this, including their educational background, work experience a preferred learning style. So a learning mechanism that allows learners to study at the pace best suited to their needs may well deliver a more satisfactory outcome.

Another major issue in most organisations is the delivery of training at the exact time that it is needed. Where large numbers of trainees are involved, the management, administration and logistics associated with training can put even most effective training department under strain.

If learning is undertaken too soon - leaving a sigificant gap between study and the application of the new knowledge/skill - people enterr the skills redundanry curve (outlined above). Unfortunately, this is an invisible process. By the time the knowledge/skill is put into practice, much of it may be forgotten or have become confused. Errors, confusion, delay and costs naturally ensue.

So it is important that all managers recognise e critical period (see Figure 1): the optimum time when learning should be undertaken. While the length of the critical period varies for each person, in general the more technical the subject the shorter this critical period is.

Once people start to apply their new knowledge/skill, they continue up the learning currve, developing with experience and coaching, until, hopefully, they achieve expert status.

In practice, this is hard to achieve because traditional classroom instruction can be flexible. Consider a typical scenario where an organisation is implementing a new IT system to be used by several thousand people located at ffices spread across the UK. Limited trainer and physical resources might mean that some people receive their training many weeks before the go-live date. Often, they receive training before some parts of the system are finalised. People will need to plan their time away from the office, and travel and accommodation issues will need to be addressed. And those attending a classroom course will have different levels of knowledge and experience, along with different knowledge/skill needs and learning styles.

The training programme supporting major change initiatives is often project-based: when implementation is complete so is the training. Having been trained, these people go back to their places of work. Even if it could be identified that an individual had failed to grasp the subject fully or had slipped onto the skills redundancy curve, how likely is it that they would be sent on the course for a second time?

What do we do about new starters or those who miss their training slots? Today's trainers have a range of delivery options available to help them design training strategies that accommodate the needs of both the learning curve and learners. The evolution of open and distance learning methods and the deployment of technology itself can improve the effectiveness of major training programmes significantly. By themselves, traditional, classroom-based methods of training are not able to meet today's business requirements. This is not because the content and delivery of the training material is sub-standard but, rather because of the increasing costs associated with this method of training delivery. In addition to the rising travel and subsistence costs involved now, typically, up to 50 per tent of any training budget, there are the opportunity costs of taking staff away from their jobs. Since organisations have right sized over the last decade or so, sending staff on courses lasting several days can produce reduced levels of customer service and customer care.

There are five features of CBT which give it a significant advantage over classroom-based training:

• Availability: training can take place when and where required, regardless of the number of people being trained. Crucially, CBT can be studied just-in-time. Learning can now be guaranteed to take place at exactly the right time, no matter where the trainee is based.
• Consistency: everyone receives the same message which, research has shown, improves the overall quality of users' performance.
• Cost-efficiency: independent research shows that people can learn up to 50 per cent faster using CBT compared with classroom-based training. In addition, using CBT eliminates the costs associated with facilities and trainers, as well as travel and subsistence costs.
• Quality: using reputable developers ensures that programmes are developed which apply recognised educational principles and incorporate competence assessment techniques to monitor learners' progress.
• Flexibility: the modular nature of CBT programmes enables learners to learn at a pace which suits them and their circumstances. It can be configured to deliver a variable curriculum, ensuring that all learners receive only the instruction relevant to them and their role. Online assessment methods enable the trainer to verify learning and to do something about it where appropriate.

CBT is not the answer to everything but, in many instances, it will form a valuable component of a mixed-media delivery strategy.

Open Learning Today is the Journal of the British Association for Open Learning (BAOL). For membership details and further information visit http://www.baol.co.uk