Bringing the Attention Back to Learning

Any kind of face-to-face (F2F) work or learning opportunities are now at a standstill due to the global pandemic. The move to digital learning is no longer a “nice to have”, but rather an organizational need. However, the traditional approach to pursuing online education has left many organizations and their employees at a loss, with many training teams seeing little to no engagement in their online courses.  

Professionals are more and more often left overwhelmed not understanding why the recently modernized strategy, supported by the newest technology, is not returning the expected results.   

How can we provide the right learning materials to enable the modern learner to gain the skill set they need to thrive in the new normal?  

The modern learner

Regardless of educational background, modern learners have experienced all sorts of different learning methods to learn new skills for their careers.  

These are people who are busy, easily distracted, and who want to learn on their terms. They are hungry for information, using multiple devices to communicate, they have priorities, deadlines, and commitments. And most likely, if you are reading this now, the modern learner is you. And as a modern learner, you know that the professional learning environment is no longer what it used to be.  

Modern learners are learning at times of their convenience. It is a great sign that modern learners are interested in pursuing learning outside of their normal working hours. This proves the demand for providing access to the right kind of digital learning programs.

Learning used to be seen as a long-term process that required consistency, repetition, and time to settle. While all that is still true, the reality is that digital learners are more impatient and expect shorter learning cycles.

Organizations need to reach learners wherever they are. They have to provide solutions (such as mobile learning) for all possible scenarios: working in between flights, or to someone working in a remote location without an internet connection.

Today’s modern learner wants relevant information that is directly related to their field of work and that is available on the go. Learning online is streamlined through the use of smartphones, providing access to content at the time of need for the user. For most modern learners, acquiring critical knowledge for their professions is usually demanded at a moment’s notice, leaving smartphones as the obvious method for obtaining information at the moment it is needed.

What motivates learners to learn online? 

Learning online comes with many advantages, but the motivation behind it comes from:

• Wanting to be able to do their job better and faster
• Wanting to learn for personal development
• Wanting to increase productivity

We know the modern learner is motivated to develop and implement their professional skillset. In fact, 60% of IT professionals have paid for their training themselves. L&D managers and organizations need to meet them halfway by building and securing the proper context for effective learning to take place. This includes the technology, the necessary time as well as a tailor-made learning path for each employee.

As you may know, the response to supplementing F2F with digital has been remarkable. However, just like all industries, HR and L&D were expected to respond to the immediate demands of digital transformation to make processes more efficient and accessible.

It’s important to take this into consideration, because learning online does not always appeal to the modern learner, because of:

• Lack of time for self-study
• Lack of somewhere appropriate to study
• Finding learning content uninspiring

Taking the time to identify where you can implement digital learning will motivate your modern learners and appeal to them even in times such as now when they might be lacking motivation.

Keep reading this article on the Speexx Exchange blog and find more information on how to prepare your modern learners for the new normal, and what matters most to them!