If there’s one single learning trend that is most disruptive in the way learning is done, it’s the increased use of video in training, said Elliott Masie, of the Masie Center, in a webinar on January 29, 2010. Masie was addressing trends in learning for this year. By disruptive, Masie clarified, he meant disruption in how we do things and how the use of video is changing our plans and putting pressure on some of our systems and processes, he said.

"Over the last 18 months, there has been a dramatic spike in the increased use of video as a component of learning,” Masie explained. And the videos being used aren’t necessarily professionally done; the use of short video stories, like business-focused youtube type spots, has been one way for people to repurpose live content. Trainers are unobtrusively recording live content with small, out-of-the-way video cameras and adapting them.

The acceptance of the video-conference, particularly desktop conferencing like Skype and webinars, is another trend Masie sees only increasing this year. Video-conferencing "is so natural that we just open it up. Where does this fit into learning?” It allows a learner to have asynchronous moments of training and then time with facilitator without the cost of travel. This allows for "more easily distributed kinds of interaction.”

With the increase of user-created content also comes the necessity to have a fast approval process. The approval process ensures the information is accurate and defensible. Have people in an editor role who can determine where the material is appropriate, Masie suggested.

Masie also said having three tiers of user-generated content may not be a bad idea: from the field and not approved; from the field, not approved, but highly-rated; from the field, approved and part of core content.

Another trend Masie sees on the increase for this year is social learning, the use of collaborative environments and tools. In your training, "include an internal version of facebook where the learner is being directed towards, encouraged or even assigned to use social learning as a component of how they achieve the objectives of the course,” Masie said. To do this, "give assignments. [Have learners] talk to 3-5 colleagues and dialogue with them around these specific topics…the [instructional] design embraces social learning.”

Collaborative learning also is on the rise, Masie said. It’s "less about the learner going to peers or experts in field, but where the learner is increasingly asked to work dynamically with other learners.” According to research coming from the University of Minnesota, with collaborative learning, the rate of acquisition goes up, the depth of understanding increases and the rate of transfer increases. At the end of training, "don’t give a quiz. Give a project or assignment with 2-3 other people located in other parts of the organization or world. It’s a very effective modality.”

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Becky Pluth’s book 101 Movie Clips that Teach and Train, click here.