Today's Custom Learning is Tomorrow's Customizable Learning Solution

Although she's probably never heard of me, I've heard of Jane Hart (@c4lpt).  She had the most evocative tweets (at least to me) recently in a #lrnchat discussion.

"Many see a "course" as the only solution to a training problem - until they u/s other ways of learning, things won't change"

"Stop training! Start developing self-directed self-managed learners"

"The new skill for L&D in 21stC is letting go - and helping others develop themselves!" 

Coming from custom content development organization, this resonated with me probably more than many in the industry.  However, to expand on it, I truly feel Jane is not only on to something, but that this something should be considered as an alternative to how we approach individuals and corporations alike.

tools of every color...

If I'm trying to learn a given subject, such as "How to Paint a Room", I simply hit up my search button with that very phrase.  Now with the myriad choices for search engines, I can easily find the following:

• pages that describe the best procedure
• pages that describe best practices
• who's talking about painting a room right now on microblogging sites
• groups out there that contain laymen in the field of painting (from apprentice to expert)
• videos that demonstrate the procedure and best practices

I can simply filter all this information to come up with the appropriate information I need to successfully complete my task at hand.  If I run into challenges along the way, I can look up those pieces of information as well (how to paint a ceiling, how to apply painter's tape, etc...).

I could have called in some practitioners in my network (probably some friends who have done this many times before), and ask them for specific feedback in my scenario, like removing a light fixture, or the best way to paint with the room setup I have.  I could have called in some experts, and paid for it.  Seriously, Sherwin Williams would love me if I called them in to consult on the whole job, or to actually pay "Jim's Brush Rush" to come in and do the job for me.

I think about real-life situations like these when it comes to customized training.  Simply put, I customized my own personal training using the tools I had at hand.  Each of these tools, be it blogs, videos, wikis, groups, practitioners, and experts, can be combined to form a unique learning solution that is perfectly tailored to my needs.  Why?  Because I'm the one who knows what I need in my specific situation. 

Of course there may be situation that can't be learned immediately, and there are some activities that I would need to be certified to perform, but I'm not referring to these.  I'm referring to on-the-job performance.  Even if I couldn't perform a certain task, or needed to be certified to perform it, my network can provide me this information as well, instructing me to stop when necessary and what information is explicitly delivered via formal learning events (such as accredited academic organizations, or in a contained environment with special conditions and tools), as well as special assessment conditions (such as certification exams).

Why can't we at least get this far for our organizations that are willing to pay for customized learning solutions?  I look at the example ACME corporation willing to pay thousands (if not hundreds of thousands of dollars) for a customized learning course or solution that will fit their needs for no more than 1- 2 years until the tasks change for the target audience.

Why can't we offer the chunks of information, and facilitate the technology to offer some of the solutions offered so readily at the hands of the Cloud?  We need to provide the technologies and mechanisms necessary to make the search for this on-the-job performance help as seamless as typing "How to Paint a Room".  What will be more beneficial for the ACME corporation?  A customized learning course or solution that they will have to refresh on a bi-annual basis, or a mechanism such that they can create their own learning courses, insert their own how-to web-pages, and attach their own job-specific resources?

Imagine, instead of taking a course "Microsoft Word: Level 1", that a user could create course like "Microsoft Office, for ACME project managers" that would be specifically designed to their needs.  We keep on talking as if learning professionals provide the necessary instructional design and delivery expertise to give a corporation the ultimate learning experience, however, how relevant is that learning experience if it is only valid for 12-18 months at the most? 

In the end, motivation to continue through a course and successfully change behaviors is based on relevance.  We need to provide our learners the ability and skills to customize and create their own learning solutions at will.