COMMENTS
You are right. We have so much information thrown at us in today's world. Something more to 'read' or 'watch' just adds to the information overload and no real change in behavior takes place. Learning that leads to behavior change requires focus (with no distractions) and practice. You can get that with "faster and cheaper."
Correction: You CAN'T get that with 'faster and cheaper.'
Good point, Helena. More information just goes onto the mental pile with everything else. Something that they actually DO has a chance to sink in!
I love the idea of making our training more interactive to keep employees awake! But what if we don't have the budget to pay for all the avatars and immersive learning. I would think that is much more expensive than power point and webinars.
Your concerns are nearly universal, Cathleen. However, as the saying goes, "tellin' ain't trainin'!" It may well be that the money you're spending now is simply going down the drain, with no real learning gain or behavior change. Are you able to test your results? If you could spend more, and get a serious return on your investment, then you make more money by spending more. That's better than a loss in anyone's accounting.
It's also proven that "learning by doing" increases ROI. Mainly because the sales force are highly engaged in the product or service being sold. This in turn creates loyality among your sales force with transfers to loyality among your prospects.
Good points, Kathleen. Anecdotally I know this is true...you wouldn't have a study you could point to, would you?
Learning at your own pace, exploring new concepts, experimentation, practicing new skills in a safe, simulated environment, receiving feedback and recommendations for review--all of these are the hallmarks of good e-learning. (I would also add the ability to go back and review content whenever necessary.) But all of this doesn't come "fast and cheap." Creativity takes time. So does the type of programming required for a complex simulation. Linear page-turners can be put together quickly but, as Jack points out, not as much learning is likely to take place.
I think a lot of the "e-reading" and "e-listening" programs out there may not even be suitable for e-learning. Not every topic is. But that's a whole other conversation...
To me it sounds like a matter of keeping up to date with learning. There was a time when Powerpoint was an amazing new way to learn, after awhile it was realized that powerpoint is just a digital book, we are still just reading. Technology is always changing, page turning courses are not new technology, it is always nice to keep up, instead of being left behind, and learning nothing new.