eLearning or eTraining?
Mood:  caffeinated
Topic: Presentation

"Creating experiences is a challenge for any industry. There was a time when market was governed by selling and buying of commodities interpreted as simple products or things to be used in a certain manner. Today, experience is the differentiator that drives the consumption of both products and services, irrespective of the segment of industry."

One of my pet peeves is the easily-acquired addiction to eLearning technology, and not a focus on the principles of learning. Many LMS systems imitate the classroom, not the workplace.
The tools of learning are not the latest-and-greatest software. The tools of learning are (in AEmeritus' terms) Engagement and Motivation, which lead to Achievement.

Even in electronic formats, trainers must create an experience as defined by L. Ravi Krishnan and Venkatesh Rajamanickam in their insightful blog.

A simple example is a plumber.
A plumber enters with his toolbox and looks over the problem.
He (or she) sees the steps required to fix it.
Laying out the tools for the first step, he (or she) begins.
First step finished, some tools are put away and others taken out.
When the job is done, the plumber puts the tools away and tests the results.

Another plumber might have a toolbox filled with shiny new tools.
The latest-and-greatest tools always look impressive.
He (or she) may not know how or if any of them work.
This plumber is going to look very slick though.
This plumber may not finish the job that day.
Why? He (or she) is too fascinated by the new tools.
The experience he (or she) has created has been for himself (or herself.)

Whether you're dealing with old tools or shiny new ones, you finish the job first. The job is to teach, whether that means vocationally or academically.
The craftsman uses the tools; the tools don't use the craftsman.