video diary


An emotional connection L


Unicorn Training’s Learning Technologies video diary sheds light on industry chatter. CEO Peter Philips listened in


earning Technologies provides a fascinating snapshot of the state of our industry. But it’s often what’s being chatted about on the shop floor, as much as what’s preached from exhibitors or speakers, that provides the real insight.


We took a camera crew to Learning Technologies this year, intending to capture some short video interviews with industry thought leaders to populate our new learning app. Almost 30 interviews later and we’ve, almost inadvertently, curated an eye-opening snapshot of the e-learning industry in 2016.


We found an industry that’s booming but where the technology appears to be evolving faster than the learning community’s ability to harness it; an industry where the learner/ technology connect remains an ongoing conundrum; and an industry that maintains the propensity to see itself as a standalone pillar in performance management, not part of a wider business solution. To stretch a metaphor beyond breaking point, we appear to be up to our necks in opportunities, sinking in a swamp of new technologies and in danger of forgetting why we were swimming here in the first place. On one hand the appetite for using technology in learning is apparently greater


Click on the purple


names to view the videos


than ever. As technologies continue to be intrinsically intertwined with education, regardless of sector, it is little wonder the big hitters and newcomers alike are trying to grasp the potential in the marketplace, and LT suppliers are wrestling with how do you differentiate yourself and give people something that really stands out? In his interview Alan Bellinger, Chief Learning and Performance Consultant with the Learning and Performance Institute hit the nail on the head. “I use the Henry Ford quote of ‘Before I invented the car if I’d asked people what they wanted they would have said a faster horse,’” he observed. “It’s very interesting to categorise companies around


Learning Technologies in terms of whether they are faster horses or cars. What you find is no more than 20-25% of the companies here are really cars.” But for the consumer, in this tempting LT showroom,


how do you distinguish the Ferrari from the 2CV or the Sinclair C5, and do you really need a Ferrari anyway?


Turning the Titanic


We all know the days of top-down didactic training should be numbered. But there are few signs of that happening. Why? Because embracing new technologies in businesses can often involve major culture change, challenging senior leadership and long-maintained status quos, not to mention IT implementation hurdles (perceived or otherwise). How technology can best be applied to provide scalable/future-proofed solutions, which actually enhance the performance of both staff and the


We found an industry that’s booming but where the technology appears to be evolving faster than the learning community’s ability to harness it...


28 e.learning age april 2016


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