Societal Development

In research and university environments, there has long been talk about the technological revolution.  Soon, we will have left the industrial society behind, with both feet firmly planted in a technological society.  From a historical perspective, this process has gone fast.  Only 25 years ago, the Internet was pretty much exclusive to academic university environments.  And who would have thought, in 1985, that 20 years later we would be walking around with telephones in our pockets?

In many ways, we can say that the transition to a technological society is driven by the development of user friendly technology.  Better usability means that more people integrate technology as part of their daily lives, simply because technology makes life easier.  But, there is a big but.

Not everyone is interested in technology, worshiping every new innovation and improvement.  There are lots of technology sceptics.  There are those who are not convinced that every new technological innovation actually makes daily life easier, and they experience frustration when new software requires yet another round of training and changed work methods.  Not everyone does somersaults when it is time to buy a new mobile phone and so many different types of phones to choose from.  Telephones that are packed full of functionality we didn't know we needed.  But some people are thrilled and use their mobile phones for much more than talking and sending text messages.  Their identity is wrapped up in their new phone, and they depend on it just as much as they depend on oxygen.

Generational Training Needs
What is it that separates those who are sceptical of technology from those who love it?  In many ways we can say that there is a generational divide.  At the risk of generalising, we can say that, while 40 to 60-year-olds struggle to understand and make sense of concepts like SMS, MMS, Facebook, Youtube, RSS, and Bluetooth, teenagers can't imagine their lives without them.  How do generational differences affect the way we approach learning?

We can look at the development from an industrial society to a technological society as a relay race with three legs.  Beta, 1.0, and 2.0 web.  These legs are covered by the beta generation, the 1.0 generation, and the 2.0 web generation.

The beta generation consists of people over 50 who grew up and became adults in industrial society.  They carry with them industrial society’s linear assembly line logic.  A logic based on predictability and structure.  Traditionally, they are acquainted with practical training.  Many served as apprentices or were educated for professions where further education was less usual.

The 1.0 generation comprises those over 25.  The children of the beta generation, who grew up in industrial society but became adults in technological society.  They have one foot in the industrial society’s logical thinking and one foot in technological society’s more fragmented logic.  In this group, there are a lot of people who are interested in technology and have experienced how technology can make daily life easier.  The 1.0 generation are consumers of training.  Many like to do one thing at a time, and follow a linear training plan where knowledge can be measured and tested based on given criteria.  The criteria are often designed by a training manager who also administrates the training.  The courses can be e-learning administrated and broadcast through an LMS.  This kind of hierarchal approach to learning provides control over the level of knowledge in the company.  This is often how we think of adult learning today.

The 2.0 web generation are those under 25 who are running with both feet in technological society.  They take technology for granted, and for them it is unthinkable not be able to contact one another on their mobiles.  They wrinkle their eyebrows when we suggest that there has been a paradigm shift because they have not experienced such a change.  They are multidimensional and must listen to music and be online with MSN, Facebook, and their mobiles, while they do their homework.  They are consumers and also producers; many learn best when they do many things at the same time.  They are more committed to relationships than to knowledge itself.  “Learning on demand” is their way of tackling new problems.  Many in this target group demand a network-based approach to learning, where learning doesn’t just come from one channel or source, but from a network of formal and informal arenas.

Hallmarks of a Network-Based Learning Culture
When sources are more decentralised and recipients more active, learning culture must be changed and adapted.  The desire to create and produce knowledge indicates a shift from information technology to interaction technology with various tools.

The hallmarks of this kind of network-based learning culture can be described as:

• It turns learners into producers.
• It makes it easier to personify learning processes.
• It analyses the informal learning in the company and uses this information when planning formal training.
• It alternates between learning arenas, for example, e-learning courses, podcasts, blogs, Wikipedia, booklets, books,
• resentations, virtual arenas, classroom courses, articles, etc.

How can we adapt learning processes to the 2.0 web generation?
Most of those who are in the 2.0 web generation are still in school, and the school system is aware of these changes.  More and more, they have left behind the hierarchal learning structure and emphasised a network-based approach to learning.  The idea is that students learn all the time; they learn math when they travel and English when they watch films.  Children in today's schools also make their own learning material, instead of constantly consuming ready-made materials.  What will happen with training in the business world when the 2.0 web generation takes over the office chairs?  Can business continue using hierarchal logic?  Most likely, the most attractive employers in the future will be those who manage to adapt and adjust work tasks and training in a way that appeases the 2.0 web generation.  To make this happen, it is important to understand employees’ daily lives, work tasks, motivation, and inspiration, and see all this as it relates to the company's competence.

In order to realise the company's potential, companies with 2.0 web employees are striving to develop a learning culture that is much more fragmented and adapted to individual employees’ needs.  Focus should be shifted from a hierarchal way of running training to a network-based learning culture.  The whole person is in focus, using both formal and informal learning forums.  In companies, thinking about learning as network-based will, as it has done in the school system, change the way training managers fill their roles.  In the future they will function more as facilitators and guides, and courses will be more fragmented.

So, when do we change from a hierarchal to a network-based approach to learning at work?  Most likely, the transition will be gradual.  It will take some time before the 2.0 web generation dominates the business world.  But I believe that training managers and competence builders should already start thinking about how this shift to a new approach toward learning should be met.

Find out which leg your company is on and choose your initiatives based on what you find.  Has the baton been passed to the 2.0 web generation or is the1.0 generation running for their lives - knowing full well that their leg is almost over?

Sources:
Anthropologist Anne Kirah, Microsoft, Paris
Tapio Koskinen, Helsinki University of Technology Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli

Article by: Kristine Norberg, Pedagogue, Project Manager, and Scriptwriter, Mintra AS