The Learner Experience: Part IV

In my last post, I explored if “free” self-directed learning is effective for students who are learning a complex product. There is no denying that students have less time to attend formal training. The amount of time it takes users to find “free” resources that may end up not meeting their learning needs is something that cannot be ignored. How do we provide self-directed learning for these students AND also provide them with access to product experts who can answer the more complex questions these students may have?

Many would argue that the best learning method is an informal learning method called knowledge transfer. For example, a knowledge transfer is when a “current” network security engineer who uses the product effectively teaches a “new” network security engineer how to use the product. While there are many benefits to this learning method, there are also several drawbacks. Let’s explore the drawbacks.

What if the knowledgeable network security engineer leaves the organization? The knowledge and expertise this individual possessed leaves too before the knowledge transfer has occurred – this is a common trend.

Remember the child’s game “Whisper Down the Lane?” In this game, a line is formed and the person at the front of the line whispers a message to the next person in line. That person conveys the message to the next person in line and so on. What happens to the message when the last person in the line gets the message? Often the message is very different from the original message. When a “Whisper Down the Lane” method of teaching is used to train a new network security engineer, the new user only gets trained on what the existing user knows about the product. In addition, if the deployed product is not updated to new releases, none of the users may be aware of the new security capabilities supported in the new releases. Due to this lack of understanding and the out-of-cadence product updates, the informal learning method results in knowledge gaps about the capabilities and best practices in using the product.

The reality is students have little time for training. Even with a limited amount of time, students still need formal training. A formal training program ensures that a baseline of knowledge and skills are transferred to the user from the beginning of product use. With a complex product like ours, training cannot be delivered solely as a self-directed learning experience. That being said, how do you ensure users complete self-directed learning AND get support from experts?

Here is the Customer Success Educational Services Learner Engagement Model we have engineered to support our students:

1.      Diagnostics self-assessments users complete to generate an individualized training plan.

2.      On-demand learning lessons with graded, hands-on labs. By design, we take a formal V/Instructor-Led Training course and break it out into small, modularized learning lessons. Each lesson becomes in itself a self-directed learning object that covers specific topics and includes interactive questions where learning can be assessed. After completing a lesson, the student can access a lab environment to complete specific skill-building tasks. These hands-on lab activities allow students to practice skills in an independent, on-line environment. In addition, the labs are graded.

3.      Office hours by appointment with an Educational Consultant who reviews/assesses a student’s progress, answers questions, provides feedback, and recommends next steps for the student independent of the classroom environment.

Beyond meeting the individual needs each student, this type of engagement methodology supports Customer Success. The Educational Consultant can assist each student in identifying additional knowledge and skills that are required to increase their knowledge and effective use of the product. From a Customer Success point-of-view, this increases customer adoption and, hopefully, expansion of our product in the customer’s network.

The learner experience continues to change and evolve over time. Learning organizations must adapt and evolve with it.