Learning is Social

As I write this, we are in midst of a "lockdown" - due to health reasons, we're being asked not to travel, congregate, or even leave our homes. This affects all aspects of our lives, but I want to focus on one of them: learning.

I've been teaching and presenting for over 40 years. I've used multiple modalities: classroom instruction, radio broadcasts, television, books and articles, and later online through podcasts, webinars, teaching online at the University of Washington and countless webinars and video recordings. All of these (done properly) are effective ways of learning, and in these times of isolation, there are more opportunities than ever to avail yourself of them.

I really enjoy distance learning. I grew up quite poor, and did not enjoy my primary education. There was so much drama, it was quite dangerous, and very distracting for me. I would have really enjoyed the distance learning options children now have, not having to interact with difficult people and environments.

However, as much as I enjoy the remote learning experience, there is no substitute for human contact for learning - for the instructor, and the students.

Humans are social creatures. As much as we say we want to avoid crowds and people, we seek them out. True, some folks are not quite as fond of being around people they do not know, but most everyone longs to be with those they like. Since our society is just that - a society, it naturally follows that all aspects of our life are shaped by contact with other people, especially learning. From a young age, we learn by observing, copying, and being corrected by others.

As an instructor, I can teach online, and I've learned to do that effectively over the years. It's far more efficient, I have more control over the final product, and I can easily edit the content once I create it. However, in-person training - given that it is done correctly and the student is motivated - is more effective in every way. There are a few reasons for this.

One of the primary reasons in-person training and presenting is so effective has to do with focus. If the student is learning online, there are far too many distractions, from their surroundings to other inputs, that compete for thought time. When the student is in a room, facing an instructor, they tend to focus only on that task - unless of course they have a smartphone out, or the instructor is not using an interactive teaching style.

For the instructor, teaching and presenting live also has a focus advantage. When I am recording my training, I always have in the back of my mind "if I don't get this right I can just fix it in post-production", whereas when I am on stage and live, I have to be fully prepared to do a "single take". That makes me prepare more, and give the content more attention as I am teaching.

For the student, if the session/class is interactive, they have a chance to ask questions, do exercises with others and other types of engagement. For the instructor, the faces, emotions, answers and other inputs from the audience or class is invaluable to instantly gauge the uptake and understanding of the content.

Online and recorded instruction will continue to be a part of our learning landscape, and in fact because of this situation probably get better. But in-person, live training and presenting will return, and remain the richest form of education for everyone from children to adults. We will get back together - there will be on-campus school, college, presentations, conferences, user groups and teaching cruises again.

I can't wait to see you again. I miss you.