Masie Learning 2007 Review, Part 1

I’m not the best person to write up my reactions to a conference—any conference—if only because I don’t like big groups of people. Of course, conferences are all about big groups of people with name tags and tote bags, scurrying about as though it were the start of a new semester at Learning U.

Conferences, however, can often feel more like Bizarro U. They exist within a work context and most people are there for a variety of work-related reasons. Few are there for avocational or higher purposes, and that’s the twisted part. The (evil?) genius behind conferences is that they create the powerful illusion that they offer more than work; they offer purpose and meaning.

Masie’s Learning 2007 did this exceptionally well, so well, in fact, that it could soften the heart of even the most dedicated cynic. This year’s Masie conference was largely about making a difference—why training and learning matter in the world.

One of my favorite speakers was an expert on the avian flu pandemic. It was a great case study of how learning can create change. The theme of “Learning Changes” was everywhere. In the hall, a non-profit group recruited volunteers for eLearning for Kids, a group that aims to teach basic reading and math to elementary age children. There was also a big push for Malaria No More, promoted by no less than an American Idol. These may have been the most obvious appeals to meaning and purpose, but nearly every session and keynote invited attendees to reflect on their work and to infuse that work with greater significance.

I spoke with one of our clients in the hall between sessions. She told me she preferred the Masie conference, because she learned more here than at ASTD or ISPI. She views this conference as “forward looking.” I kept reflecting on this because I didn’t learn anything new about technologies or their applications to training. The same topics on 3-D virtual environments, Webcasting, and gaming appear at other conferences. What’s different about Masie is the feeling of purpose and community--and that’s vital.

One of the technology demos featured HD video delivered over the web. The application? Well, it was to expand the reach of the Manhattan School of Music so that their teachers can work with kids all over the world. We watched in awe as a talented, young violinist from Spain worked his magic: all of the finger work rendered beautifully via HD video. For that moment, we weren’t corporate training drones. No, we were teachers spreading opportunity and wisdom, bringing beauty to the world, enlisted in a movement larger than ourselves to revolutionize how people learn.

It’s a powerful message and one that perpetuates itself. If we agree that people learn best when they are motivated and that meaning and purpose are good motivators, then one of the most effective ways to teach people at a conference is through that same channel. Of course, I also returned with my shortlist of ideas to improve things here at home, but that list is puny and probably not worthy of the real challenge put forward by Elliott Masie.

Award-Winning Projects

I recently returned from Santa Clara where I accepted on behalf of the Allen team an award for our work with AHRQ on courseware for their healthcare database. This is the eighth time we have won a Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Award for Custom Courseware. The obvious question winning brings to mind is, “What we can do better to make all our courses award winners?”

Then again, maybe the obvious is dead wrong! Completing over 100 projects each year and with an average employee tenure of ten years, most of Allen’s team has touched an award winner sometime during their stay here. While awards and industry recognition give the market a window to our dedication to instructional design, high quality is a benchmark first and foremost applied internally at our organization. In fact, internal benchmarking and measurement are crucial for anyone involved in training at any level. So what are some awards we as training organizations could use to measure ourselves? Here are some recommendations:

The On Time, On Budget Award
Training projects have many moving parts. Design, content creation, reviews and large companies can create bureaucratic processes. Very often, the art of good design must overcome the uncertainty of training development by injecting project management and processes that make sure the project is brought home on time and on budget. Give yourself an award star if you are able to overcome the nature of the beast and consistently make your projects come in on time and on budget.

The Optimal Design Award
How often are we asked to do things we know from experience are wrong or will be ineffective? As a vendor or as an internal training group, you serve groups who may not be as sensitive to the impact quality design has on training. You get an award star if you are able to inject the appropriate amount of instructional design while maximizing its impact on any given project based on its budget, timeline, and learning or training challenge. After all, your creativity and professionalism is measured as much as by what you produce as by your ability to find the optimal solution for any given training situation.

The Trust Award
While I often will laud the process of good training development, we must recognize that what we do for a living has many intangibles. Much like our favorite teacher in high school, a certain level of trust must develop between teacher and student to raise the quality of learning and transfer. In the training development process, trust is a crucial component that must be nurtured—it doesn’t rely on a hierarchy of the classroom but is build on relationships. Have you been there for your customers? Were recommendations from each side to the other addressed and discussed? Did the trust you have given and taken lead to a better quality project and experience? Give yourself an award star if the project you have undertaken has helped your customer build a trusting relationship with your group.

The Designer Growth Award
Lastly is the most overlooked award in our business, The Designer Growth Award. How often do we find ourselves doing the same old thing over and over again? Have we boxed in or templated our design and creativity? I firmly believe that not all projects are created equally from the perspective of the demands they make on creative people. You get an award star if your project was able to challenge and move you forward as a better designer or project manager.

Since 2000 alone, we have been fortunate to win 27 awards for our work with our clients. While each award stands on its own, taken together they make a bold statement to the industry about our philosophy:

> Never abandon good design
> Always remember that “optimal” can be synonymous with “great”
> Trust is the fuel that good projects run on
> Never stop perfecting the art and science of good instructional design

The Future of Right Brain Thinking and Learning

With the recent release of the latest "Harry Potter," a buzz whizzed around the office of excited whispers and tired eyes, of no one wanting to give away the story, but everyone wanting to share. I know I was one of them—staying up until two with my nose inches from the book hoping that if I was too tired to read, osmosis would kick in. Just one more chapter, I thought. When was the last time you stayed up too late to finish a book because you couldn’t imagine going to sleep without knowing a little more, without understanding why? This excitement should carry over into our work, but often it doesn’t. I often wonder how we can create this buzz or capture it in our workday. A feeling like this creates a connection to work, a desire to be there because you are a part of something larger. Maybe this is the reason "A Whole New Mind," by Dan Pink sparked my attention.

Pink argues that right-brained people will rule the world. No maybes about it. He points out trends across the world and calls this new dawn “The Conceptual Age.” So, what will all the left-brained people do? Well, the premise of the book isn’t about touting Pink’s own right-brained wisdom, but about tapping into that unexplored right-brain region to help all of us see things differently. If you are a left-brainer, he provides some ways to develop your right brain. If you already are a right-brainer, he provides some ways to stimulate that part of the brain even more. Pink breaks it down into six senses—design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning—then shows you ways to develop these creative senses through websites, activities, and role-play. Pink states that since we are moving toward this new age, we must work on developing both sides of the brain. “Both halves play a role in everything we do,” explains Pink.

As a society, we lean toward left-directed thinking or the logical, more concrete thinking as the better half and consider right-directed thinking as something for artists and flightly people. “But this is changing—and it will dramatically reshape our lives,“ states Pink. He then sets up how to use more of our right brain in the workplace. By further developing our right brains, as we shift into the Conceptual Age we will better be able to play an active role in that larger movement.

I find this interesting for two reasons. One, Allen is sponsoring a booth at Elliott Masie’s Learning 2007 conference in October where the theme is “Learning Changes.” The theme is indicative that more people than Pink believe a shift is happening. And two, Pink is speaking at Learning 2007 about reshaping the ways in which we learn. Will Pink’s delivery differ from the others? Will he engage his audience through right brain techniques? And more importantly, if we are moving toward a Conceptual Age, how will this change the face of corporate learning?