E-learning-A Blueprint to the Future- Building Professional Mentor Networks in Education

The question in the last post at the end is an important one:

"What happens in cross disciplinary collaboration if those who are tasked with coming up with a solution to a real world issue lack the level of knowledge and skill set development to complete the task?"

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This is where access to a network of mentors becomes important. Professionals in the disciplines, especially the sciences, are already recognizing the importance of cross disciplinary learning in their research efforts.

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With the networks already in place, a transformation needs to take place in which the professionals collaborate to:

1. establish frameworks to operate from
2. to identify areas where there is overlap in their skill sets and coordinate what they offer for the best fit as a resource for students
3. to extend their professional networks mission beyond collaboration for research purposes to include a mentoring relationship with promising students as they collaborate to solve real world issues. Within this mentoring relationship they would help keep students up to date in advances within their disciplines as they pertain to the real world issues that students are tasked with solving and make available a forum where students can present their solutions for real and relevant feedback.

Obvious Question: "Why should the disciplines want to take on such an endeavour that might be quite time sensitive? How would the disciplines benefit from such an ambitious arrangement?"

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Potential Benefits:

1. Through the continued association with students, they will obtain insight into students who demonstrate attributes and skill sets that fit well with the needs for the future growth of their disciplines. They will be able to determine if students have an interest in pursuing their specific discipline as a profession. If so, then a mutually agreed upon mentor relationship can be established as part of the student's personal learning plan to help guide the student in developing their skills.
2. The mentors can benefit from "fresh thinking" that breaks them out from set patterns and allows them to entertain student initiated innovative ideas from a different perspective.
3. These students can become the new "life blood" of cross disciplinary learning that leads to future evolution in the specific areas.
4. Collaboration takes on a global context with a focus on the future with the goal of developing a vibrant culture of innovation.

Next.....E-Learning: A Blueprint to the Future- Instructional Designers, Trainers and Business Innovation--Part II

E-Learning: Blueprint to the Future: Cross Disciplinary Learning and Transforming Mentor Networks-Part II

By identifying the problem that needs to be overcome, we can propose that the solution involves the transformation of compartmentalization of subjects to cross disciplinary learning.

The STEM(Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) initiatives have the right ideas but what we should realize is that this cluster of subjects having complimentary skill sets are not the only configuration that could be used. The nature of the problem determines what skill sets are needed to get a clear and complete picture of the problem presented.
We can come back to the metaphor that was used in an earlier post of the six blind men describing an elephant.

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 Each blind man had his own perspective in dealing with the problem but their perspectives were compartmentalized. There was no collaboration to gather more information or data among them that would help shed light on the problem. The only thing that they had in common, as far as we are told, is that they were blind.

The Nature of Collaboration: Cross disciplinary learning suggests that collaboration is important only as long as the perspectives brought to the problem help give a more detailed analysis of the problem. In order for this to be effective it is necessary to know what talents and attributes each person brings to the collaboration and how this helps bring to light the full picture of the problem. For online students what this would mean is that they would need time to socialize with each other for a directed purpose of finding out what the others were good at. Sir Kenneth Robinson pointed out the great myth of dividing students into academic and non-academic. What this myth ignores is the great capacity that all have for creative thought which is essential for divergent thinking which leads to innovation. The following is a problem example:

Scenario: " The Preservation of the Remains of the R.M.S Titanic

Problem: Suppose that a collaborative team was presented with the following scenario:

" The R.M.S. Titanic has rested upon the ocean floor since its fateful sinking due to a collision with an iceberg in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912. Today, the ocean based sensor net system has detected growing seismic shifts in the area that is the final resting place of the Titanic and a crevasse has opened up in the area threatening the remains of the Titanic.

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Since the remains of the Titanic is part of a world heritage site and a memorial for the families whose ancestors were part of the final voyage, it is imperative that your team come up with a solution(s) to this distressing problem. We need solutions to prevent this disaster!"

Collaborators Profiles:  In order to begin to solve this problem, the collaboration team needs to find as much out about each other as possible. In an online environment, the use of YouTube to produce autobiographies highlighting the talents and attributes of each student could be made.

Analysis of the Problem: In order to get a complete and data rich picture of the problem the following question needs to be discussed among the collaborators:

"What skill sets and what knowledge from what disciplines will be required to fully understand the problem?"

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Question: "Although the collaborators bring their skill sets and attributes to apply to the problem, what happens if they are lacking in the prerequisite skill sets in order to fully analyze the problem and come up with solutions?"

Next..the importance of the transformation of mentor networks.

E-Learning Blueprint to the Future: Cross Disciplinary Learning and Transforming Mentor Networks-Part I

One of the consequences of the "industrial model of education" has been the compartmentalization of subjects into separate and distinct boxes. In the age for which the industrial model was created, they served the purpose of their creators.

However, in this age of transformation in public education, the compartmentalization of subjects is an anachronistic concept. The problem that arises is that this idea is dangerously out of synch with the desire of societies to have educated populations that are to be agents of change who will bring about a new culture of innovation. A better quality of life for people now and in the future is the hope of nations. In order for learners to become agents of change capable of creating new knowledge and new skill sets, they must have the proper habits of the mind and skill sets to be effective problem solvers. They must understand how to capitalize on online technology and concepts for deriving useful information that can be applied to real world scenarios.

The seriousness of the problem can be illustrated by an exchange I had with a World History student:

Problem: Students were studying the Battle of Thermopylae fought between the Persian forces and the Greeks in 480 BC. In this battle a small Greek force defeated and discouraged a larger Persian force. Students were given a "what if" scenario where they were asked to take the role of the Persian leader, Xerxes, analyze the potential problems and come up with a winning plan.

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As a part of this exercise, students were asked to make calculations with respect to timing of advancements, numbers of forces, topography calculations...ect. They also had to consider whether or not angle of the sun in the sky would be of advantage. I was then asked the following by a student who I knew to be a sincere and intelligent learner based upon my past experience with him.

Student: "Why do we have to do Mathematics and Science work when this is History?"

Students have been so inculcated with this compartmentalization concept, that they could only see the problem and its solution from one perspective. Compartmentalization of subjects has taught students to analyze a problem from only one perspective within the context of a subject.

This type of mindset runs contrary to our need for problem solvers who are divergent thinkers, able to analyze a problem from a number of perspectives. Sir Kenneth Robinson, in a talk entitled:"Changing Education Paradigms" expresses the nature of the problem well.

E-Learning: Blueprint to the Future-Innovation Lessons From 3M

It has been noted that having a systemic plan for innovation from the grassroots up within a company culture can bring benefits that are far reaching for a company, especially in regards to the ROI. It is better for a company to be proactive in pursuing innovation which requires that the right talent is at the company's disposal and in place to lead the way. A company that is not proactive ends up in a game of global "dodgeball" because just like in that children's game, the company ends up with its back against the wall and then acts reactively to avoid from getting hit. The frequency of the global hits increase as technology advances, as competition making use of all the digital resources makes aggressive moves to maintain and gain market share and clients look to companies that are more in synch with their needs.

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One important step to understand is the process of talent acquisition. In the past and even at present, the process involved in assessing a need within the company, posting a job description in the appropriate venues and then collecting resumes and cv's is the typical path followed. Then a selection process for prospective candidates would take place and an interview list compiled. Then actual interviews would take place and in some cases a candidate might undergo a series of interviews. The time and resources that went into this process were substantial. I know that I am simplifying this process as most HR people would point out to me. The question I would pose is this:

"Is this process the most efficient way to pursue talent in the 21st century?"

I pose this question for a couple of reasons. First in this age, candidates have professionally designed resumes and cv's at their disposal. There are even organizations that will design for a candidate a "winning, guaranteed to get the position" type of resume. As much as a resume can reveal much about a candidate, they can also hide information that might be crucial to the decision making process. The sorting process can be cumbersome. 

The second reason and one that I would say is the more important is the growing realization that there is a growing competition to acquire talent. In this age, talent acquisition has become more and more of a "blood sport." Companies need to go out and recruit those who have noticeable talent before the competition does so. Innovation needs people who have the right skill sets.

What About 3M?

There is something that we can learn by studying the following diagrams that deal with innovative companies:

In 2009, it should be noted that 3M was considered the third most innovative company after Apple and Google.

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In 2013, 3M was ranked fifth in terms of innovation.

"What happened?" 

"Did other companies simply surpass 3M due to the innovation plans that they put into place or did 3M forget an important caveat that in the world of innovation, you have to review and upgrade the systemic plan that you have in place?

A lesson that companies should learn is that no company no matter how successful it is can rest on its laurels. The E-Learning program that a company puts into place will have an impact on the level of innovation that a company is able to rise to. If the the necessary transformations are not made to deliver challenging, inspiring and personally relevant learning experiences to employees, there will be a ripple effect that will be felt throughout the company and in the global market place. This is just one person's thoughts on a seriously important subject.

Next......Adding to the blueprint----The Need for Cross Disciplinary Learning and Global Networks

E-Learning: A Blueprint to the Future--A Case of Innovation Planning in the 3M Company

One of the key elements in developing E-Learning programs within a company is the level of engagement of employees at all levels. This engagement needs to move from the typical mandatory edicts that are passed down to the point where employees are engaged out of a desire to be part of a great mission and that they know and feel that what they bring to the table is valued by the decision makers. This needs to be shown in real and tangible ways. Innovation that is built throughout the company is part of a mindset that everyone shows daily by their actions and discussion. Companies that are resistant to granting such freedom to their workforce will find it difficult to hold on to employees as they will be recruited from under their noses or will become part of a rising group of digital entrepreneurs. Companies that see no need to innovate will fade into being niche organizations running to hold on to what share of the market that they already have.

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The obvious question that a company should ask is:

"What benefits will the company see in adopting such an approach?"

Some of the potential benefits are:

1. This change would give employees across the board a solid sense of company unity and will nurture loyalty to the company brand.
2. It will enable mentorship relationships to develop to benefit the company as a whole.
3. It gives employees a desire based upon collaboration to improve on what they do and allows employees to see the challenges that each face across the company's various divisions. It allows for a concerted effort to work to find innovative and lasting solutions.
4. Personal acknowledgement of innovative ideas in real and tangible ways by company leaders go along way to increasing desire on the part of the employees in making a personal commitment to the well being of the company.

 

Developing a Systemic Innovation Pattern in Business: The Case of 3M

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I think that most people would agree that when it comes to innovation, Google and Apple lead the way. Perhaps one thing that people don't realize is that while Google and Apple were experiencing a meteoric rise to fame, a company called 3M was developing a systemic pattern for innovation which was ahead of its time.
I have to give credit to Therese Berglund, a professional training and coaching consultant, for drawing my attention to the case of the 3M company in 2009. The pattern for pursuing innovation within the company is summarized below:

1. Build Support Networks: Business is encouraged to build web-based social networks. The purpose is to create a resource that would enable employees who are confronted with a problem to find those who have an answer. With the case of 3M, they created a grass roots networking initiative called Tech Forum. However, it was more than just a database style resource. This employee run group also organized speaker events that would help to address areas where there was a pattern of recurrent questions. Open collaboration between employees and the speakers were encouraged.
2. Build Collaboration Into Your Employee Evaluation System: 3M created a system that not only rewarded employees for developing an innovative technology, idea or process but also for spreading it. The rationale was that it doesn't advance collaboration which is in the company's best interests if managers or employees hoard or stockpile innovations only to reveal it at the next quarterly meeting.
3. Encourage Curiosity: 3M allows employees to spend 15% of their time on projects of their own choosing, giving them permission to develop ideas or technologies that were outside their immediate work focus. This type of approach increases the odds of collaboration because employees will venture beyond their own professional knowledge base to seek the insights of others.
4. Create Innovation Funds: One of the reasons that some innovations that create a lot of excitement in a general meeting end up gathering dust on a shelf has to do with protectionist attitudes when it comes to spending department money on something that is not core related. To overcome this barrier, 3M created what it called the Genesis Fund which was where employees could obtain grants to fund innovative products that didn't fit neatly into defined departments.

Keep in mind that this was the pattern that 3M was following in 2009. There is much we can learn about transformations as they relate to innovation but there are also some warnings that need to be heeded. One value that a business should never surrender is prudence.

Next...Some caveats that we can take away from the experience of 3M

E-Learning: A Blueprint- Instructional Designers, Trainers and Business Innovation--Part I

The modern 21st century business has a crucial stake in the transformations that will take place with respect to the roles of the learner and educator because very similar role transformations need to happen with respect to the trainer, the employee and the instructional designer.

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Business needs future employees who have skill sets that are geared to bringing about change in the business culture with an eye to developing a systemic culture of innovation within the business. Sir Kenneth Robinson in a seminar given to Marketing Profs titled:" Leading a Culture of Innovation", states:

"...Innovation has to become a habit... Innovation needs to be systematic, deliberate; it is what defines you as an organization."

Business needs people who have skill sets that will allow them to help the business transform with as little disruption as possible. It is also important to keep in mind that the future clients will be those who have grown up in the digital age and now function using all the digital resources that are available to them. They will expect that the businesses they deal with will be 21st century businesses who will know what they are talking about when they express their needs. For businesses who are content not to institute transformations, they will relegate themselves to obsolescence.

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So, what transformations will be needed in designing effective learning experiences within the business culture? How should the roles of the trainer, instructional designer and employee be transformed?

The following are suggested transformations that focus on a the roles of people within the organization with the mandate to develop a learning community within the business:

1. Learning Principles Expert(LPE): A new individual needs to join the training team. This individual is important to help the training team provide engaging learning experiences for employees. As much as we accept that SME's have been an important element in training, we need to realize that if the business is to employ a blended learning approach we need someone who understands how people learn in an online environment. It needs to be someone with practical teaching experience in an online environment coupled with formal training in curriculum design. This person would also be responsible for networking with people leading new technologies that could be used by Instructional Designers in creating learning experiences that are irresistibly engaging and lead to sustained deeper learning.
2. Instructional Designer:  The role of the ID would transform to include the following:

• create real world simulations in collaboration with the LPE that are irresistibly engaging to the learner in that the learner gains new skills sets and understandings through collaboration with other employees both within the company or through a matching up of employees from within the branches or divisions making up the company. So that means that during a simulation there may be a matchup between employees of the company in the Seattle, Washington branch with employees in the Toronto, Canada branch.
• lead a Council of Innovation and Learning within the company made up of Instructional Designers, Trainers and Learning Principles Experts. The council's mission would be to present a forum where employees who have developed new innovations, processes or ideas may come and present their ideas. The company executive officers should be part of this council as well.

     3. Trainers/Mentors: Trainers would coordinate the learning events but would also have the    responsibility of developing learning profiles of employees based upon big data that is collected and act as mentors to employees in helping them nurture and develop their skill sets. They would also provide individual feedback to employees on an ongoing basis in regards to their development. During the learning events, trainers would have the opportunity and ability to introduce challenging variables into the simulation while it is running to measure responses from the participants to unexpected changes.

If innovation is to become automatic, as suggested by Sir Kenneth Robinson, then effective collaboration can not be an afterthought but must be built into the learning experience on multiple levels across an organization.

Next: An example of systemic innovation planning--The Case of Innovation Planning in the 3M Company

E-Learning: A Blueprint to the Future--Transformations--Educators and Students

In striving to create a new blueprint to the future for E-Learning, the operative word becomes "transformation" and the necessary questions that need to be asked are:

" What transformations need to take place to create a needed evolution in E-Learning as we presently understand it?"

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"If we know the vision that we aspire to with respect to creating an enriching, sustained learning experience for the learner, what will the map look like?" 

E-Learning Educators and Trainers 

Transformation of the E-Learning educator and corporate trainer is an essential part of a new blueprint and is a building block for the development of global learning networks ascribing to the vision of being agents of change in our societies.For the corporate community this is one of the ingredients for helping to develop systemic innovation within the business community. For the E-Learning educators this means breaking with the way that they were trained as educators. Most educators received formal training at faculties of education attached to universities that subscribed to the industrial model of education. They were trained with the idea that their professional purpose in life was to train students to be efficient, obedient workers and to teach them to accept that their mission in life was to get a job that gave them purchasing power so that they would find fulfillment as life long consumers. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with being a consumer. The problem arises when you are told that this is what gives meaning to life. Every commercial and paper ad that came out bombarded students and educators alike with that blatant message. Educators who even suggested that perhaps students should be thinkers who could effectively bring about change in society were often labelled as radicals bringing back visions of the 1960's and therefore should not be taken seriously.

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So, what transformations are needed for the present E-Learning educators?

The following changes should be considered :

1. Educator-Learner Relationship: The past roles followed by the educator and student under the old model of education stated that the educator was the source of all knowledge, skills and wisdom and that the student came to the educator's class as essentially a "tabula rasa". The skills and knowledge of the educator were never to be disregarded or questioned by the student on the penalty of being disciplined. Discipline was designed to enforce conformity and re-focusing. This was in the truest sense "assembly line education" where students moved from educator to educator and much like rats in a maze, the rules of behaviourism  were judiciously applied. Students who didn't comply on a consistent basis were relegated to the "drop out" pile.

The new relationship that should be developed between educator and learner could best be described as a "mentor relationship". In this relationship, the educator is not seen as the fountain of all knowledge and skills but instead could be compared to a conductor of a world class orchestra.

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 In such a role, the educator recognizes that there is a great diversity of unique gifts and talents in all the students that he or she instructs and that in an online environment, his or her role is to be intimately familiar with all of the resources and avenues that are available to a student to pursue a personal learning path for their lives. His or her role is to help the student bring into alignment all the elements that are available from potential technology uses to networks of disciplines that can be used as a resource. The educator would also seek contacts within the web where students can showcase new knowledge and skill sets before those who are on the leading edge of their respective disciplines. A close analogy to this concept would be the apprentice(learner)-master(mentor) relationship that existed in the guild system of the Middle Ages. Students can and should be creators of new knowledge and skill sets with the guidance of the educators as mentor.

2. Educators As Design Thinkers: The quality of the learning experiences in a digital age requires that there be a focus on engaging the student in their learning in a sustained manner. We live in an age of distraction and one of the great myths of this age is that the more you are able to multitask and balance a number of commitments at once, the better all things will turn out. IMHO, the experience of attempting this results in many tasks being competed with a large measure of mediocrity.
We can learn much that is of value by watching university students in a lecture hall in the 21st century. What is their level of engagement in what is being presented? How many are using their mobile devices to supplement and enrich what they are being taught during that lesson and how many have already disengaged from the presentation a few minutes after it has started and are using their mobile devices to simply "fly away".

"As design thinkers, how can we take what we learn from student cyber distractions and change them into student engagement through our instructional design?"

Next---Transformation and Corporate Trainers...