The Learning Explosion

I discovered this book - the latest addition to the growing library of books aimed at new virtual classroom facilitators - by accident.

In fact, I can't even remember how.  But "The Learning Explosion" [Kindle-only version in the UK] caught my eye as it originated from the FranklinCovey organisation and at first, knowing them as I do, I couldn't initially see where this fitted into their highly-regarded portfolio.

It's only when I saw that it was penned as a way to share the lessons they learned when migrating from a predominantly instructor-led, face-to-face approach to virtual classrooms, coupled with their unique take on the challenges faced by every training making this same transition, that I "saw the light", so to speak.

This is a very interesting book, not because it covers anything new, but because of how it covers the subject.

The authors start off by introducing two concepts, what they term "The Learning Explosion" ("The perpetual explosion of knowledge into countless learning fragments...") where "Learning Fragments" are the "scattered bits of information and knowledge...found through many different [offline and online] sources".  Together, these two notions provide the catalyst to make the move to using virtual classrooms within the training delivery mix. They also set the scene for a new learning mindset, which in turns leads the new rule set that comprises the remainder of the book.

To help make the point, throughout the book, pull-out boxes deliver a series of short learning fragments, directing the reader to other useful sources of information or ideas to try.  Each chapter also starts off with a summary written as a Twitter posting - limited to 140 characters.  If you've read The Backchannel, then you'll recognise the usefulness of scoping out your content in terms of what you'd like the reader to tweet about your work.

So what of this new rule set.  Cleverly, the authors have pulled together the various factors, skills and knowledge required to deploy successful virtual classroom training sessions into nine intriguingly named rules.  They do an excellent job of defining each rule, but to guide you through the main content of the book, I've translated each rule into my own description, based on how you might see the material described in other books (the italicised text that follows).

1. The rule of continual change - the changing face of how we communicate and prefer to learn.
2. The rule of knowledge transfer - the key differences between design and delivery in face-to-face and virtual classrooms.
3. The rule of learning circuitry - getting the right team together to successfully deploy virtual classrooms.
4. The rule of overcoming bias - overcoming stakeholder and learner reticence.
5. The rule of virtual accountability - creating engagement and interaction in your sessions.
6. The rule of personal practice - preparing and rehearsing for your first session.
7. The rule of thumbs up - soliciting feedback after your virtual classroom sessions.
8. The rule of global positioning - delivering virtual training across borders.
9. The rule of sustained orbit - launching virtual classrooms in your organisation.

This is a quick book to read.  The content is well presented, full of practical hints and tips - based on first-hand experience - and as well as the learning fragment pull out boxes, each chapter ends with a checklist/action plan.

Of all the chapters, I just want to expand on Rule 5:  The Rule of Virtual Accountability, which looks at how to actively engage learners in your webinars.  Their Virtual Accountability Model, based on how you hold your learners "virtually accountable" during a session, looks at the three dimensions of verbal, visual and kinesthetic.  Given the direct link to learning styles, the twenty suggestions they make provide an excellent introduction to tried and tested ways to easily introduce meaningful interactions into a virtual classroom session.

If I've whetted your interest in this book, then you can read some more about it here.