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A Comment on Bob Mosher's article in CLO Magazine "Moving from One to the Many." |
| Tuesday, July 04, 2006 |
I read through Chief Learning Officer Magazine for July 2006 (see http://www.clomedia.com/content/templates/clo_section.asp?articleid=1448&zoneid=99) yesterday and was impressed with their articles on blended learning (2 articles), simulations, innovative technologies (Brandon Hall), and the democratization of content (Elliott Masie). I was perhaps most moved by the article from Bob Mosher (who has a chapter in my blended learning handbook) entitled: "Moving from One to Many." See page 15 of the July issue or see http://www.clomedia.com/content/templates/clo_article.asp?articleid=1439&zoneid=51
I just zipped off an email to Bob. Here is what I said to him:
"I appreciated your article in CLO this month. There are masses of hypocrites out there who espouse problem-based learning, virtual teaming, collaboration, and online communities of practice, yet the tools for training remain centered at discrete knowledge bits of individuals. My e-learning and blended learning surveys indicate that it is the boring LMSs which have caught everyone’s attention. Why? Well, they can track learners and their learning that way. I am reminded of my accounting exams back in undergraduate days that sacrificed many a student with such tests but those who eked through the slaughter were no more prepared for the real world interactions and collaborations that were needed.
Yes, LMSs place learners in silos as you say, in a time, when learning is viewed best as a social event. We learn from our interactions with others—trainers, supervisors, experts, peers, team members, SMEs, guests, mentors, coaches, semi-intelligent agents, etc. Yet we continue to push learners into these silos and drool over mindless data that an LMS provides—minutes or hours online, tasks completed, time of day online, throughput, etc. As a former accountant, I see this computer log data as nearly meaningless. It took minutes to program into the system. When are vendors going to start to build tools and tasks for human learning and collaboration? Tools for brainstorming with team members, tools for mapping out one’s thoughts and ideas, tools for evaluating thoughts or ideas suggested, tools for comparing or categorizing ideas, tools for teaming, tools for timelining, tools for role play or debate, tools for juxtapositioning of ideas, and tools for mentoring and coaching? What say you?
We are in a learner-centered world using learning “management” systems. It is still the preprescribed behavioral approach that is winning out not an active or constructivist learning one. How come few people see this and raise the red flags as you have done? Why? Well, because they have done the easy part here—they can map out the learning of factual knowledge among individual learners. We must do better.
Nice article Bob. Think that the hypocrites will wake up? Me neither. Keep writing this good stuff!" |
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