On this, the shortest day of the year here in the northern hemisphere, it seems like a good time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the coming one. It’s certainly been an interesting year, and a good one personally. I feel there are lots of reasons to hope for good things to be coming too. The opportunities are big.
First of all, mobile really has taken off. I know that many people are still wondering about how to take advantage of mobile, but awareness of the opportunities are growing. I’ve conducted several mobile brainstorming sessions with clients who have started with some apps and are looking to go further. I think more should be thinking about mobile from a strategy perspective as well. While an initial initiative or two is ok, you have to recognize that mobile is a platform upon which solutions are created, and consequently the approach should go beyond just individual development efforts. Still, the benefits of supporting workers wherever and whenever they are can make some big impacts on organizational outcomes.
Another area of excitement is social and informal learning. Even firms that have big concerns about security and government scrutiny are finding that they need to address it, and are beginning steps. Hey, if the CIA can deal with it, your organization can. With the ITA in particular we have been successful in getting some traction in this area, and hope to help more organizations come to grips in the coming year. The chance to really accelerate innovation and more is hard to ignore.
And I personally am excited about more activity around content: about more quality design, more structure around the content, and more awareness of the need for architectural work around it. I was thrilled to hear more discussion about this in a number of forums, and I think the opportunities to capitalize on finely granulated and articulated content will provide flexibility and personalization going forward.
Finally, it does appear more organizations are getting the message about moving to a strategic position in terms of learning technology. And, of course, that means getting strategic about learning (big ‘L’ learning), and then aligning with the overall organization strategy. Of course, such an effort will not only result in better outcomes for the organization but also more credibility for the L&D group.
I’m really grateful to all those who’ve had a role in the past year (and in my past, period) in co-developing new understandings, and I look forward to more opportunities in the coming year.
These are some good thoughts Clark. We are living in some very interesting times. Thanks for sharing your insights Clark. You are a great resource of information.
Cheers,
Phil