Face-to-Face vs. Digital Learning — The Future Is Not Either/Or

For many learning organizations, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a digital transformation by forcing an almost-overnight shift from in-person training. Having spent decades delivering the majority of their learning in classrooms and dabbling with eLearning, companies are now scrambling to finetune their digital strategies. The silver lining to all of this is that they were forced to take a hard look at their in-person training, their digital approach and what it means to have a truly blended approach.

The pandemic does not mean the end of the classroom. Face-to-face training may be on hiatus but it will return, though maybe not at pre-2020 levels In fact, in Brandon Hall Group’s Learning Strategy Survey, 94% of companies said that redesigning the classroom experience was at least somewhat important to helping them achieve business goals. Nearly one-third said it was critical. As we head in that direction, companies will need to get far more innovative at combining digital with the richness of ILT in blended learning solutions. 

For most, the problem is that “blended learning” meant giving classroom attendees a follow-up link for more information or a thumb drive containing related materials. This still treats the two elements as unique, separate experiences. We now have an opportunity to rebuild our approach to blended learning and make something with much higher engagement and longer retention. 

There are many ways to do this and I am hosting a webinar with Steve Meyer, Managing Director of Rapid Learning to look at their Micro-Virtual Professional Training (MVP) framework. It brings facilitated learning like ILT and VILT together with digital elements and collaboration to create a truly blended experience around a single-content focus.

I encourage learning professionals looking ahead to their post-COVID strategy to join the discussion as we talk about what blended learning could and really should look like. 

David Wentworth, Principal Analyst, Brandon Hall Group

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Mike Cooke

Chief Executive Officer of Brandon Hall Group Mike Cooke Prior to joining Brandon Hall Group, Mike Cooke was the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of AC Growth. Mike held leadership and executive positions for the majority of his career, at which he was responsible for steering sales and marketing teams to drive results and profitability. His background includes more than 15 years of experience in sales, marketing, management, and operations in the research, consulting, software and technology industries. Mike has extensive experience in sales, marketing and management having worked for several early high-growth emerging businesses and has implemented technology systems to support various critical sales, finance, marketing and client service functions. He is especially skilled in organizing the sales and service strategy to fully support a company’s growth strategy. The concept of growth was an absolute to Mike and a motivator in starting AC Growth, in order to help organizations achieve research driven results. Most recently, Mike was the VP and General Manager of Field Operations at Bersin & Associates, a global analyst and consulting services firm focused on all areas of enterprise learning, talent management and talent acquisition. Tasked with leading the company’s global expansion, Mike led all sales operations worldwide. During Mike’s tenure, the company has grown into a multi-national firm, conducting business in over 45 countries with over 4,500 multi-national organizations. Mike started his career at MicroVideo Learning Systems in 1992, eventually holding a senior management position and leading all corporate sales before founding Dynamic Minds. Mike was CEO and Co-Founder of Dynamic Minds, a custom developer of software programs, working with clients like Goldman Sachs, Prentice Hall, McGraw Hill and Merrill Lynch. Also, Mike worked for Oddcast, a leading provider of customer experience and marketing solutions, where he held a senior management position leading the company into new markets across various industries. Mike also serves on the Advisory Board for Carbon Solutions America, an independent sustainability consulting and carbon management firm that specializes in the design and implementation of greenhouse reduction and sustainability plans as well as managing the generation of carbon and renewal energy and energy efficiency credits. Mike attended University of Phoenix, studying Business Administration and Finance. He has also completed executive training at the Chicago Graduate School of Business in Chicago, IL.

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