Why are we not evolving how we learn?

Recently while in a shopping centre I noticed a person who had purchased 3 educational guides on using Excel. I didn’t get a chance to see the full details of the book, but I noticed enough to see they looked like they were published 5 years ago, and I wondered how much value these books could really provide.

In 2019 Microsoft introduced a new formula into Excel called Xlookup. While Vlookup and Hlookup formulas can still be used, the Xlookup formula has made them irrelevant. Their purpose in Excel now seems to serve as either a comfort blanket for those still holding onto “how things were” or a reminder that software systems are being updated so quickly that your “best practice guide” can become out of date as quickly as you can write it. I don’t say these words to scold those creating instructional guides but rather to highlight how we need to change how we learn. As someone who uses Excel on a daily basis much of my original learning came from a place of necessity rather than sessions spent reading books. I’m not sure I would have remembered how to create a dependant dropdown list, if I had of been shown before I had a specific purpose for it.

For a brief period I worked as a trainer, specialising in Excel. I believe those group based sessions provided value, however I wonder if more value could be provided working on a smaller scale showing people how to improve spreadsheets they use on a daily basis. I question if rather than bogging people down with many possibilities, should we be giving them the tools to become independent in their learning? Should more focus be put on understanding the terminology for programs rather than how to complete one specific task - so instead of manually highlighting cells in a spreadsheet learners can at least start googling what conditional formatting may do for them.

I’d be interested to hear how you learn best and if you feel you’ve received benefit from reading paperback educational manuals when using evolving software.