- Picture in your mind a traditional
instructor led training, which most people
in the biz call an ILT.
The focus is very much on the instructor.
They control what material is taught,
the pace of the class,
the activities of the class,
and when they do them.
It's a little weird to think of online training
as being traditional, but a lot of it
follows this mold too.
But this time, it's the instructional designer
who created the module that's determining
what content is presented,
and the path through which the learner moves through it.
Digital learning is different, in two ways.
One, it's often self-directed,
meaning the learner who initiates the learning.
And two, it's often consumed at the point of need,
which makes a lot of digital learning
a second cousin of performance support.
Here's an example.
Let's say you're working with a new software process
at work and you've forgotten one of those
complicated steps at the end.
You think to yourself, hm, I remember someone
from the training department saying
all this stuff was documented somewhere.
I wonder where that could be?
You remember where it is,
and you see that the support documentation
is housed in the company internal website,
and three clicks later, you're downloading
a screened recording that walks you through
the step that had you stumped.
Point is, you don't wait around for someone
to offer a class on it.
No, you start searching for the information.
You initiate the learning.
And when do you do that?
When you need to.
This just-in-time quality is a big reason
this type learning is so promising.
You know how trainers and instructional designers
are always expounding on the importance
of real-life contexts, immersive design and the like?
Well, with digital learning you're often learning
at the point of need, in the flow of work.
And man, it doesn't get more real than that.
This just-in-timeness also compliments
the constant change in processes we all have to deal with.
Okay, so let's sum this up.
Digital learning differs from traditional learning
in two important ways.
Do you remember what they are?
One, it's often, right, self-directed.
And two, it's often consumed?
Right, at the point of need.
And that's the beauty of digital learning.