This works pretty well if you have clearly recognizable patterns. Pattern recognition becomes the barrier. I’m pretty impressed with the demonstration.

(1) What tools can I provide (job aids) to help the performer get the job done?
(2) Are there any skills / knowledge that the tools just don’t hit well enough? What can I do to fill those gaps?
(3) People are generally smarter than we give them credit for. What can I provide that can help folks figure things out for themselves (little things)?

When I taught electronic systems repair eons ago, we re-engineered my six week course down to a three week dual completion by following this option order. We reworked all of the job aids and retuned all of the materials so that they helped the performer on the job, better meshing with and supporting the use of the technical manuals (monster manual set). We started with performance support.

We then reworked all of the goofy activities we did in class that didn’t benefit everyone equally. Before we handed out colored pencils and had students trace signal paths through miles of circuit schematics. After, we handed them schematics with the important signal paths already colored (I redrew hundreds of schematics and block diagrams on the computer – we only had copies of copies from technical manuals or hand drawn blocks). Result of this simple change = students paying attention when we were talking about the application of that knowledge vice carefully plotting crayon marks with an oversized ruler.

We separated the need to know from the nice to know. Even though we cut down on the lecture time by 60% or so, the early test cases were finishing the practical portion of the labs in around half the time. So we doubled the amount of practice to compensate:) A serendipitous improvement.

We implemented electronic projection of the course materials, replacing our overhead projector. The class size also went up from 6 to 10. But at two weeks some of the students left, having completed the smaller vessel maintenance portion. When the rest of the students graduated they had actually completed two courses… in half the time of the older course.

Some students hated the new format. But performance scores don’t lie. Our level three evaluations also indicated no decrease in ability between the older course and the revised course.

On the mobile front I do think that there’s untapped potential. We need to rethink our modes and goals before we hit the sweetspot. Don’t think we are there yet. For our organization, mobile device availability, consistency, and use is hot and cold. The most reliable mobile platform for us is the ubiquitous ‘paper’. For now, paper based alternatives and supplements are going to have to tide us over until someone else bleeds on the edge:)

I’m interested in the ARG. But I have a sense that we are farther away from keen implementation of consistently usable applications that many might think. Think about voice recognition. A decade ago, the technology promised so much that it failed to deliver. We’ve had a decade of Moore’s law and we haven’t gained much ground on the voice recog. front. I’ll be happy to be wrong:) But it feels like the devices aren’t packing the power to do much more than track a single target to show off the promise of the technology.

On the voice recognition topic… I’ve always thought that an adaptive voice response system would be an excellent performance support resource. So, you have xyz problem. You have a telephone (everyone has one of these). You dial a phone number (the main interchange uses the same number). A synthetic voice comes on and says ‘Please state your issue.’ You say what you are working on, what problem you have, what issue you have, etc.. and the system confirms or asks more questions before sending you to the response chain that will help to guide you down the right path (OR the system calls the expert that’s in the system ON THE PHONE to connect you with the right resource). The plain old telephone system is an oft forgotten, yet sterling performance support device.

Steve

Brent, ARG is definitely hot. And the camera/screen thing: I remember an old Treo game (yes I know, you and you’re Treo had relationship issues :) ) where you panned around, and what the camera saw showed up on your screen, but so did aliens that swarmed around you, and you shot them. Imagine taking that same approach, but leveraging it for more important things in the environment (or that *could* be there).

And, of course, there’s our old ‘sales training demo’ that I still think is a hot ARG idea.

In addition to the canned material, the device could have links to the suppliers and other
users.