LAS is an award-winning provider of elearning consultancy, design, development and training services in the UK and internationally.
Established in 2005 as LearningAge Solutions, we work with some of the best known organisations in the world to boost their performance through the innovative use of learning technologies. Working in partnership with our customers, we draw on proven principles from human behaviour, how people learn and how the brain works to create impactful digital learning solutions with real return on investment.
Tess is a director of LAS. She has worked in a learning environment for over twenty years. First, as a senior manager in universities, moving into digital learning ten years ago.
By Tess Robinson
Posted December 2019
When the pace of change is moving at breakneck speed, budgets are being cut and people are increasingly dispersed, it’s no longer an option just to carry on as normal. Changing times need a new approach to learning.
When you mention digital learning, classroom trainers can get very nervous. They naturally see it as a threat to their position. Who doesn’t fear being automated out of a job in this brave new world we find ourselves in? The introduction of digital is often met with resistance for this very reason. But what if digital learning could make their jobs more varied and interesting, more effective and give them new opportunities and skills? Wouldn’t those be great reasons for them to get onboard?
BBC Academy were facing many of these challenges. They wanted to focus on supporting performance at the point of need and increasing access to learning, as well as reducing costs. They had experienced our Next Generation Blend approach on other projects and were keen to embed it into everything they did.
Next Generation blends are different because they:·
1. Take account of the capabilities and limitations of the human brain
2. Include more advanced modes of delivery, providing multiple touch-points throughout the blend and beyond. These might include animation, videos, interactions, scenarios, quests, learning transfer tools, portal, apps and so on.·
3. Are more like campaigns that courses. In order to get the most out of a face-to-face training session, it can’t just be a one-off event. The technology supports the learning into the workplace ensuring ROI and making behaviour change more likely.·
4. Address big problems or opportunities. Considering the size of the problem you want to solve or the opportunity you want to make the most of helps you to decide the level of investment you should make it the training that will make that happen.
BBC Academy had been trying to move to amore blended approach to learning for a number of years. They wanted to get trainers on board and bring them with them in making this shift. In order to do this, they launched a blended skills development programme, based on our Next . Generation Blended approach. The programme was delivered as a blend, so that the medium was also the message. This helped trainers to both learn about and experience a blend first hand. Some trainers were more familiar with blended learning than others, so it was designed in such a way that learners could choose which elements they wanted to engage with and work at their own pace.
Run as three ‘seasons’ over 20 weeks the programme included learning how to choose the right format for content and making it brain-friendly, getting to grips with the tools, face-to-face surgeries and sharing best practice via a vibrant and active community. The learning was accessed from a responsive microsite, which was used to release content each week. The richness of the mix enabled the experiential learning that they were looking to achieve.
Demystifying blended learning has been the key to the success of this programme. It’s no longer something alien. Through experiencing a blend themselves, trainers can now clearly see how it can bring them new opportunities for creating effective learning interventions. They are inspired, excited and motivated to give it a go.
You can read more about the project at http://www.las-hq.com/case-study-bbc-becoming-blended Also, we are delighted to say that it won the Gold Award for Best Use of Blended Learning (public and not-for-profit sector) at the Learning Technologies Awards in London last month.
