Elliott Masie, the highly praised futurist, analyst and researcher of the eLearning community, engaged in a lively and intriguing conversation with the 2011 LUC attendees on Wednesday May 11th. Attendees loved the opportunity to gain invaluable feedback from the world renowned learning guru. Masie began the session by encouraging the audience to “ask me anything”. Here are some of the best questions and answers from the session:Q: Have you ever tried to learn in a style different than your own? What was the result?Masie’s Answer: I am a skeptic that we only have one learning style. In fact, I think we have a whole range of styles. At various stages and stress levels of a task, an individual learns in different styles. Even the time of the day can impact learning. For example, I do not learn anything between 3:30pm and 9pm. This does not mean that we have to change the whole style of teaching. Often, we can change one small aspect of the course to fit the learning style. Flipping one element of the course in order to accommodate your learners can enhance understanding and determine the success of the course.Q: What is your advice for someone who is in a company where learners are afraid of change and technology?Masie’s Answer: Here are three things I believe. First, most people want to come to work and succeed. If my learning helps them succeed, they will appreciate it. Secondly, most people don’t want to have a technology experience; they want to have an experience. We have to figure out how to hide the technology, so that people can focus on the experience, and not the technology. Thirdly, in an organization, there immediately becomes a reputation for anything “learning”. Instead of addressing the reputation, designers ignore it. We need to do more branding and reputation management in the area of learning. In addition, I suggest you approach the most resistant people early to get them “in it” and engaged. To engage people, the course needs to be usable. Instead of simply testing to see if the product works and does not crash, we need usability tests. I suggest developers watch someone else use their course, to ensure that the process is easy to use. An engaging and useful course that allows learners to focus on the content and not the technology will ease the fears of the learners in your company.Q: What are your thoughts on the future of mobile learning?Masie’s Answer: I actually have never used the term “mobile learning.” I believe that people are turned off by the idea that their sanctuary, their precious smartphones and tablets, are now being invaded by “learning” which can have a toxic reputation around it. I do believe that learning in mobile ways will be strong in the future. I especially am a fan of Learning Apps. Apps take weeks to design, not years, and are extremely financially accessible. The idea of eLearning is to engage people, and the option to learn through mobile devices does that.a
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