Editorial

Citation

Gimson, A. (2009), "Editorial", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 23 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/dlo.2009.08123daa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Development and Learning in Organizations, Volume 23, Issue 4

In this special issue of the journal, we explore the increasing influence of emerging technologies on the world of learning and development. Organizations can now access a multitude of different tools that will enable them to deliver far more flexible and individually relevant offerings to learners. And new ones seem to appear overnight.

How many of us feel as though we have been transported into a different country? We do not all understand the language and the terrain is unfamiliar. But there is now a generation who have been “born digital”; who are natives of this new land. They will have high expectations of the world of work as they enter it for the first time and, as L&D professionals, we need to be ready. In the articles that follow, you will find useful “maps” and “phrase books” to allow you to navigate some of these new territories.

We begin with the world of computer “haptics” – where you can not only see an object but can also touch and feel it – even though it is not physically there. Stephen Furner shares some of the applications to which this technology is already being applied and gives us an exciting glimpse of its future potential.

Kirstie Donnelly challenges us to engage with the world of “mobile learning”. As well as their prime purposes, mobile phones, MP4 players, PDAs and pocket PCs can be used to give learners choices on when and where they wish to engage with learning material. The advice offered on design and content considerations is particularly useful.

The world of computer gaming often gets a bad press – young people spending too much time glued to computer screens. However, Tim Neill introduces us to “serious gaming” where the enjoyment, interactivity and challenge of games is applied to organizational learning. His two case studies are illuminating and you might find your fingers itching to have a go at driving the train.

Technology on its own is never enough and Anne Bartlett-Bragg makes a great case for the need for organizations to engage with social learning networks. People are already communicating and collaborating with each other in networks such as Facebook or Linked-In. This article gives us clear guidelines on how organizations can harness the same principles for learning. Anne’s research on the inhibitors really hits a few nails on the head.

Our final authored piece looks in more depth at one particular aspect of social software – that of “wikis”. Johannes Moskaliuk and Joachim Kimmerle provide sound advice on how organizations can employ wikis in an efficient way and avoid their disadvantages. They highlight six functional and six psycho-social principles which need to be understood and/or implemented to ensure a wiki becomes an embedded part of an organization’s knowledge management processes.

Our review pieces look more broadly at aspects of e-learning. “When e-learning is not enough – The importance of design and content in lifelong learning” exhorts us to take a holistic approach to learning interventions and programs. Just being driven by the technology is not enough.

A number of useful ideas on how to improve participation levels in on-line learning programs is shared in “Listen to the learners – how to improve the effectiveness of online training”. Collecting, analysing and acting on data from learners as they are using an on-line program can improve the experience for others.

We are treated to the results of some interesting research on the impact of technology in the academic sector in “From an e-storm to calmer waters?”. Based on the results of a large-scale e-learning project during 2001-2005, Glamorgan University in the UK has spent the last three years embedding more blended approaches into their programs.

Finally, spare a thought for those who have not grown up with technology at their fingertips. “Taking advantage of e-learning’s new tricks – But do they work for old dogs too?” is a timely reminder that the world of wikis, blogs, twitter and social networking is not second nature to all of us. Those with low “virtual competence” need support to catch up.

So, as one of those “old dogs”, all the contributions in this special issue remind me that technology is not the enemy. I just need to remain curious and nimble enough so I can make the most of the evolutions and revolutions to come. How about you?

Anne GimsonBased at Strategic Developments International UK. E-mail: anne@stratdevint.com