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Taking the initiative
00 Standfirst Clive Shepherd I
f you ask any learning professional whether they believe that learning events or content should be interactive, then they will invariably say yes, interactivity is a vital ingredient. Of
course what they mean is interaction initiated by them whether that is directly, through questioning, discussion, exercises and assignments, or indirectly, through material that they design such as quizzes, questionnaires, tutorials, scenarios, games and sims. Yet somehow people everywhere seem to be doing just fine learning using inherently passive forms of content such as videos, books, web articles, TV, radio, podcasts and so on, or largely passive activities such as attending lectures, participating in webinars or just observing the world around them. Somehow, individual learners seem to be able to build knowledge, explore ideas and develop skills without external mediation. We know that learners need to be emotionally
engaged in order to learn in any meaningful way, whether that’s because they come to the learning already motivated to solve a problem or meet a goal, or because the learning experience itself creates that emotional impact. But we also know that this is just the start of the learning process. We need to work with knowledge, skills and ideas over a period of time before they really stick and become part of our day-to-day capability. We need more than the passive experience; we need some form of interactivity. It is my contention that interaction can be and is routinely initiated by learners themselves, typically without a second thought: n They make notes or highlight passages of text. n They copy content to tools like OneNote or Evernote.
When you are required to interact with new ideas your attention levels shoot up.
n They bookmark interesting websites. n At live events they photograph things and make videos or audio recordings.
n They use Google and other tools to find out more about a subject.
n They share what they have discovered with others and compare opinions.
n They reflect on what they’ve experienced, perhaps posting to a blog or tweeting.
n They rehearse, practise and try things out.
In fact, they do all the things which learning professionals would prompt, perhaps even force them to do in a classroom or in an e-learning module. You may be wondering whether I’m suggesting
that you should remove interactivity from your workshops and e-learning materials. Of course not. Externally-mediated interaction is necessary for some very good reasons: n Because novices do not know what they do not know and what is important for them to know. Left to their own devices, they would not necessarily know what to focus on.
n Because some people are much less capable of learning independently - they are lacking in metacognitive skills.
Learning materials and activities that are predominantly passive can bring about powerful learning as long as they are relevant and emotionally engaging.
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n Because sometimes people are a little lazy and need some extra encouragement. n Because employers, governments and other institutions have a strong interest in capability and performance. They want to have an influence over what people learn. In some cases, they need absolute confidence that learning has taken place.
When you are required to interact with new ideas your attention levels shoot up.
You are much more likely to commit those ideas to memory and be able to recall them when you need them. Interactivity with coaches, facilitators and other learning professionals allows you to challenge, to clarify, to obtain feedback and build your confidence. And by interacting with peers you get to test ideas out, compare perspectives, share tips and receive support. As humans, we like to externalise our learning, to share it with others. It is uncomfortable to learn entirely alone. So, my point is not that interactivity is unimportant.
Far from it. Just that, as learning professionals, we should not kid ourselves that learning depends on the interaction that we contrive. Learning materials and activities that are predominantly passive can bring about powerful learning as long as they are relevant and emotionally engaging. If they are, there is a good chance that the learner will initiate all the interactivity needed to ensure lasting results.
Clive Shepherd is an e-learning consultant
@cliveshepherd e.learning age september 2015 Learning events and content do not have to be interactive
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