Jennifer Hofmann, president, InSync Training, Branford, Conn.

For a long time we weren't focusing on best practices in design and delivery of LMSs, and we also weren't focusing on how participants were learning. We just thought that if we invested in the technology somehow, magically, it was going to work for us. People are beginning to revisit their existing curriculum, and they're making sure it's getting delivered appropriately. They're starting to create more blended learning, though we haven't really mastered that as an industry, and they're thinking of blending more as connecting content, not just picking related titles. People are trying to find the best way to get their curriculum out.

We're getting used to the technology. We're saying, "The technology is cool, but we're over it." We need to use it as an instructional tool, and it's almost becoming a commodity. It doesn't matter which car you buy; it doesn't matter which virtual classroom you buy. It's about which features support our needs the best. People are learning to look beyond the "whiz bang" technology.

Many now are less hesitant to embrace e-learning. Everybody is just more accustomed to it, and I think that there's a generational impact, where younger workers are accustomed to using technology to get things done. So, whether they like it or not, whether it's their preferred learning style or not, they know it's an expectation. We're also getting better at it. Companies are actually investing in getting their training professionals re-skilled to succeed. We're not taking a 50-slide PowerPoint deck, reading the deck online and calling it training.>


Want to read other takes on what '06 will bring to the training world? Check out our full list of industry leaders at Six for '06.

See also Ready or Not, Here Comes Podcasting and Six Resolutions for the New Year.


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