Learning 2019

Spending a few days with learning professionals around the world is always energizing and fun. I had the chance to attend the Learning 2019 conference, along with the rest of our instructional design team. Attending this conference for the second time was a great opportunity! It’s interesting to see how things evolve from year to year and what new topics take center stage as a focus for our field. Here are some of my takeaways from the conference.

Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality

Technology continues to rapidly evolve and its potential for the learning field remains high. 5G speeds are expected to improve bandwidth speeds and make the experience of using these technologies more seamless. High hopes are being placed on 5G to help deliver learning experiences that immerse participants in ways that seem difficult now. This can be especially useful in high-pressure or high-stakes situations, such as safety training, where putting people in a real-world scenario can be dangerous and costly. 

I’m excited to see how improvements in technology continue to shape what we create and classify as learning experiences. 

Agile 

Agile was a big buzzword this year. The term comes from the software development field where collaborative teams work in “sprints,” or short phases, to roll out updates. Agile also requires teams to reiterate, improve, and reflect on what’s working and not working, ideally pushing products toward continuous improvement. 

For learning, agile can represent an enhancement to existing project management practices or a new framework and way of thinking to use altogether. As more L&D teams adopt agile processes, it’ll be great to see examples of what they create and how their workflow enables success. 

Analytics

The importance of measurement and data remains a main focus for many organizations. Data helps drive decisions and identify results or areas of improvement. I noticed people want to be more purposeful about what is being measured and how we use data that truly matters to drive successful outcomes. Rather than simply talking about measuring everything, sessions focused on measuring the right things at the right times.

Performance Management 

An ongoing topic is performance management which has picked up steam over the last few years. This requires learning initiatives to tie back to larger business goals. It also means looking at learning as more than just events in time, but rather integrated moments in the workflow. 

In general, it seems there’s a consensus that instructor-led training and digital learning material are unlikely to ever be fully removed from people’s lives. However, while accessing material in moments of need has been discussed previously, I felt this conference made it a point to weave it throughout and even showcased it in general sessions. It reminds me of the Memorization Goes Away: Impact on Learning session I helped facilitate at last year’s Learning conference where we discussed how to create content that’s easy to find and access, rather than making people spend repeated time in lower levels of recall.

I believe true and intentional management of organizational knowledge can provide significant improvements in the way people access up-to-date content. It could help reduce the amount of time people spend in formal training and add value to the time they do spend. The role of curation is still valuable in this space and as AI continues to improve, it also represents a significant opportunity to assist in this area. 

Other Takeaways

Attending for the second time was a great experience. I talked to lots of people about their work and heard about their struggles and wins. I was also able to reconnect with members of last year’s 30u30 group and meet this year’s cohort, as well as alumni from past years who have gone on to lead learning teams in various industries. This continues to be one of the most valuable professional development opportunities I’ve engaged in. It reminds me to always remember the valuable support of peers, leaders, and mentors who I’ve been fortunate to work with. 

Lots of people in learning say they landed in the field accidentally. I’m fortunate to feel I chose it early on. As a whole, being in a space with other learning professionals at all levels of their careers in such a wide range of industries reminds me of the larger value our roles and skills can bring.