Learning Tech 2011 - riding out the wave together

This was my first Learning Tech but have experienced similar in the form of several London Book Fairs. Trade shows - walls of human energy, tsunamis of thrust and vigour. Fortunately there was a twenty-strong Brightwave team present on both days, riding out the wave together.

The months of planning and preparation needed instant implementation - like athletes in the blocks for the Olympic 100 metres - then bang! We were off... presenting seminars, manning(!) the stand, hosting lunches and setting up a keynote debate at a moment's notice.

I really enjoyed Roger Schank's opening address - a man who has dedicated his life to transforming the way we look at learning. Although not to everyone's taste - judging from the parallel Twitter chat - I loved his use of video to bring points to life - and wholeheartedly agree with his views on cognitive processing. An inspirational start to LT2011.

Next up was the joint Brightwave / Sky seminar on the theme of customer service and how the Get Up To Speed learning portal has saved the broadcaster more than £1m in induction costs so far. The session also looked at Sky's Broadband & Talk, and how this immersive scenario-based learning programme significantly raised the confidence and knowledge levels of new sales advisors.

Stuart Coyle, Sky's Curriculum Design Manager, explained how crucial it was to get all key stakeholders on board and make end users feel a sense of ownership for their learning. Brightwave MD Charles Gould stressed the importance of all relevant parties agreeing on the business and learning objectives before any instructional design takes place.

Wednesday's learning lunch - 'New to e-learning' - was well received - the hints, tips and pearls of wisdom went down just as well as the wraps, tarts and samosas on offer.

Brightwave got several mentions in despatches during the Bupa seminar 'Successful learning for real business benefits', in which Keith Stopforth, Head of Talent for Bupa Europe and E-HR consultant Clare Shell explained how the rapid 'One Plan' change management solution developed with Brightwave had helped reinvent the organisation. Along with several choice snippets of advice, the session emphasised:-

• how Bupa had deliberately 'grabbed' responsibility for engagement at the start of the project, so that they could be confident that learners would be ready and engaged to learn

• how important the competency tests were - not just for tracking for management to know staff were ready, but also as a way of reassuring anxious learners that they were ready to go before go-live

Clare also conducted an interesting exercise, asking the audience to raise their hands if they loved their LMS, but more importantly to keep their hands aloft if their learners loved it. A disappointing (but not surprising) number of hands were in the air at this point. Just goes to show how often the end user - the most important person - is often overlooked in terms of LMS design.

The final Brightwave activity of note on day one of LT2011 was our keynote debate - a full report of which is elsewhere.

A packed audience seemed to really enjoy the cut and thrust of the discourse such as Laura Overton's advice for L&D to be on its toes. “Technology is going to play an absolutely critical role for businesses, which are in turn transforming – selling in new ways and connecting with customers differently. Businesses are demanding more performance, more rapidly, and will look to technology to enable their people to do this.”

Day Two

Thursday's Brightwave team briefing was slightly less bright-eyed and bushy tailed after a full and vigorous first day - as always there was plenty of esprit de corps on show to pull us through.

The first of our events was Charles' and James' collaborative seminar - An innovative approach to compliance: thinking out of boxes not ticking them - during which they showcased some of our courses on 'cinderella' subjects such as audit independence and information security, and how they can be vivid, engaging learning experiences.

Key messages were to keep the training 'front of mind' with the use of monthly viral comms campaigns. The four-step strategy for these vis-a-vis learners is to a) surprise them b) entertain them c) keep it relevant and d) make all assessments meaningful.

Next up was the LiveTime Learning lunch, where we outlined the benefits of our live online interactive training channel and how it can operate as a replacement for - or a complement to - face to face learning for a variety of topics.

The highlight of the afternoon was attending the excellent 'Winning with a high-impact learning culture' session conducted by David Mallon, the Principal Analyst for Bersin and Associates, which highlighted best practice across the US. It was gratifying to note what he was describing wasn't too removed from what Brightwave already does, and what changes in workplace learning culture we are trying to instill.

All too soon it was time to start taking down the stand, wheeling packed trollies into goods lifts and reflecting on an exhausting yet thoroughly enjoyable couple of days.

STOP PRESS: According to the LT2011 exit poll, Brightwave was in the top five most popular stands at the show, and the debate was considered by delegates to be the most appealing seminar to attend.

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