Learning changes

I wish I knew how to distill the excitement I feel after an inspiring lecture by a top-tier speaker. I'd then find a way to encapsulate it so that I could dose myself with it every morning. When I left the Metropolitan yesterday after listening to Elliot Maisie talk about learning changes, I thought my brain was going to explode as a result of the intellectually energy generated without the possibility of release. (I prefer attending events with a colleague so that we can chat during the ride back to work, but I was solo yesterday.)

Maisie's objective was to emphasize the importance of design when thinking about not just elearning but learning in general. In order to accommodate the changing L&D landscape, educators need to be agile. They need to understand what their learner needs and find the best tool to satisfy those needs. It could be an app on an iPhone, a blog, online coaching, a help function, or a social network. Whatever the solution, it shouldn't be shaped by the tool. The tool should always be chosen after the design. The reason he's so adamant about this point is that he sees the majority of online training as being rigid and unimaginative shaped by a linear, slide by slide tool that only serve to compress the boredom of classroom training into a smaller chunk of time.

I don't think anyone was shocked by what Maisie had to say and I think probably everyone agreed. But what made his voice so powerful was the fact that even though he is considered one of the "fathers" of elearning, he's willing to keep his understanding of elearning broad and flexible. He's as agile as he wants others to be.

Another reason for his significance as a speaker is that he's tuned into the White House agenda. He told us that the next dialogue initiated by the White House after health care will be about Reskilling. Maisie, and my guess the President, believe that we'll be seeing an employment crisis. We simply won't have the right people with the right skills at the right time. Anyone who cares about learning needs to take part in the dialogue about what education needs to look like.

When all is said and done, it's not Maisie's message which sets him apart from other speakers. It's his gift as a storyteller. He recognizes how important a good story is for anyone with something to teach.

The story that won me over was one I"m sure he's told a thousand times to illustrate not only his disdain for powerpoint (which he believes should be regulated by the FDA and removed from the desktops of all senior executives), but also his willingness to "tell it like it is."

Maisie told of a conversation he had with Melinda Gates at a party full of IT hotshots. He set the stage for the story with the statement that Melinda was the creator of the much-loathed Clippie, that evil paper clip who appears when you need help in MS Office. During the meal, Melinda leaned over to Maise and asked him the loaded question, "What is the most important training software tool on the market?" Maisie said he could see the "P" forming on her lips and he paused. But not being one to curb his tongue, he blurted out "Google." He said that the "P" and some food practically fell out of her mouth as response. I guess they then had a lively and intelligent discussion. Isn't that great?