Chary Krout

November 2019  - TD Magazine

First Tech Federal Credit Union launched two software solutions to engage and connect employees through recognition.

Building a Culture of Social Recognition

Lifelong learning is an ongoing journey that evolves with us, shaping our growth, adaptability, and potential at every stage of life. Whether you’re just beginning your career, navigating mid-life challenges, or enjoying the rewards of retirement, each decade offers unique opportunities to expand your horizons. Understanding how to approach learning in every phase can make this journey more structured, fulfilling, and rewarding.Below is a decade-by-decade guide filled with actionable tips to help you chart your lifelong learning path:In Your 20s: Laying the FoundationYour 20s are a time of discovery, where the choices you make can set the trajectory for your future. It’s a decade filled with opportunities to explore different paths and establish a strong base for personal and professional growth. Focus on:Explore Various Interests: Try out different fields to discover what excites you. Attend workshops, join industry groups, and take online courses in diverse subjects.Develop Core Skills: Sharpen essential skills like communication and project management through platforms like Coursera or Udemy.Expand Your Network: Networking is crucial. Attend events, join professional organizations, and seek out mentors for guidance.In Your 30s: Advancing and SpecializingDeeper career commitments and the pursuit of specialization often define the 30s. This is the time to solidify your expertise, climb the career ladder, and refine your focus on what truly matters to you. Maximize this decade by:Pursuing Certifications: Enhance your qualifications with advanced certifications in your field.Developing Leadership: Build leadership and management skills with targeted courses in team management and strategic planning.Balancing Work and Learning: Integrate learning into your routine. Set aside weekly time for professional development and apply new skills at work.In Your 40s: Expanding Horizons By your 40s, you’re likely well-established in your career, but that doesn’t mean growth should slow down. This decade is an ideal time to broaden your knowledge, explore new passions, and continue evolving both personally and professionally:Learn New Technologies: Stay ahead by enrolling in tech workshops or online classes that keep you competitive.Start a Personal Project: Launch a side business or personal project that aligns with your passions and enhances your skills.Mentor Others: Share your expertise by mentoring. It reinforces your learning and positively impacts the next generation.In Your 50s: Reinventing and ReflectingYour 50s offer a unique blend of reflection and reinvention. It’s a period where you can take stock of your achievements and consider new directions, whether in your career or personal life. Embrace this time by:Exploring New Interests: Dive into fields or hobbies you’ve always been curious about. Take courses that spark new passions.Prioritizing Health: Incorporate wellness education into your life through seminars on nutrition, fitness, and mental health.Planning for Retirement Learning: Prepare for continued learning in retirement by exploring volunteer opportunities, part-time work, or educational programs.In Your 60s and Beyond: Lifelong EngagementAs you enter your 60s and beyond, the focus shifts toward sustaining engagement and continuing personal enrichment. This is a time to fully embrace the pursuits that bring you joy and keep your mind active. Stay engaged by:Pursue Passions: Dedicate time to hobbies, art, writing, or volunteering—whatever brings you joy.Keep Mentally Active: Challenge your mind with puzzles, reading, or learning new languages to maintain mental sharpness.Stay Connected: Join clubs or communities that share your interests. Social connections and shared learning experiences enrich life.Tips for All DecadesSet Learning Goals: Specific, achievable goals keep you motivated across all stages.Leverage Technology: Access learning anytime, anywhere with online resources and apps.Stay Curious: Maintain a mindset of curiosity and openness to new experiences, keeping your lifelong learning journey vibrant and ongoing.Mapping your lifelong learning journey means recognizing each decade’s unique opportunities and challenges. You can make the most of every stage of life with clear goals, a willingness to embrace new technologies, and an engaged approach. Remember, learning is a continuous, evolving process—approach it with enthusiasm and an open mind.

Mapping the Lifelong Learning Journey: Tips for Each Decade of Life

A lot has been written about the pros and cons of the Netflix-style interface that learning experience platforms (LXPs) are deploying and learning management systems (LMSs) are attempting to emulate.Netflix is great for binge watching. The streaming service can recommend new shows based on your history. When this approach is applied to training, it helps learners find their next module, which speeds up access to new skill building with little effort.The Netflix-approach many LXPs have adopted is enjoyable, and it’s possible that learners may binge new skill-building courses when the suggested topics interest them. This method can encourage learners to start something new. However, these suggestions are not enough to develop and master measurable skills that businesses need for success.Learning is more like a journey than a task list, and that requires navigation. When you are on a journey where your goal is to learn a new set of complex skills efficiently and effectively, a suggested list of places to see and things to try won’t optimize your experience.A Great Learning Journey Is in the DetailsThink back to your favorite trips. Most of your fond memories are probably unplanned side trips where you explored the surrounding area in more detail. But not guiding your learners on their education journeys leaves too much to chance.LMS and LXP technologies in isolation cannot properly develop the skills demanded by the business. Guide the learner to new skills while still allowing each person to keep control of their own steering wheel—in other words, provide a learning GPS.The Value of the GPSIn order to provide deeper personalization, the Netflixes of learning need a GPS to guide the learner. With a GPS, your trip becomes more efficient, effective, relevant, and agile. With the assistance of a guidance system, you:Know exactly where you are.Navigate one neighborhood and even one turn at a time.See the detailed path to your precise end point.Know when you should slow down and when it is safe to speed up.Identify useful places to visit, as well as prior stops to revisit, based on goals, previous decisions, likes, and detailed stopping points you have set.Without a GPS, the playlist of content that LMSs and LXPs serve up misses these important aspects of guidance by focusing on a barebones list of cities you need to pass through on the way to your destination. It is like navigating a trip with no details regarding the actual roads between cities. The turns are not there, the options are not clear, the landmarks of interest are sparse or non-existent, and there are certainly no live traffic updates. Your ability to communicate where you are when you need help will be limited to the names of cities you are in or trying to find. The model is incomplete. The planning may be easy and fun, but the execution needs a more detailed map to make meaningful progress.Deep Personalization Powered by an Adaptive Learning GPSA GPS takes the journey deeper. It leverages another level of AI and machine learning to get to know you and how you like to travel. It knows if you prefer the highway or side streets, and it knows what types of sites you are interested in. It has access to real-time data to allow you to navigate safely and effectively, reaching the destination in the shortest amount of time. A GPS can truly guide you, and this is where the Netflix model of learning breaks down.In a sense, a training GPS personalizes the learning journey with real-time intelligence, engaging learners to develop skills and apply them effectively. The depth of personalization that a next-generation, GPS-oriented learning solution can deliver at scale is only possible with adaptive learning technology. Personalized learning powered by adaptive technology optimizes both the journey and the learning content.Adapting the JourneyAn adaptive system becomes a GPS for learning by understanding each competency area and the corresponding skills at a much more granular level. This deeper understanding allows a detailed knowledge map to be drawn that provides the learner a much more engaging view of their path. It shows dependencies with alternate routes that can be taken. More than a playlist of e-learning modules, it integrates all learning approaches—self-led, instructor-led, and micro-learning—in the flow of work on a single map. Just like a GPS, the adaptive layer guides but does not restrict learners, allowing for the most direct route as well as more “scenic” pathways to meet varied needs of the individual.The details of the journey are not only helpful to the learner. When an employee needs help navigating their way to new skills, their training coach or instructor can observe the learner’s path using the details found in the GPS. That data shows where they have been, how the trip is going, what is next, and what alternate routes are possible, all of which guide the training assistance.Adapting the ContentAs the learner follows the GPS’s guidance and achieves new milestones, each stop on the map addresses learning needs in a more personalized way, because a GPS adapts what it shows and offers at each step depending on the situation. Is traffic heavy or light? Do I like visual or audio cues? Do I travel this road often, or is it new? Each variable alters the user’s experience without changing the actual map. Likewise in learning, adaptive content helps each employee get the most from their experience based on attributes such as:The learner’s profile, including their language, their job role, and their stated preferences for how they like to learnThe learning context, including how the training pertains to each part of the organization, the learner’s specific goals, and preferred technologiesThe learner’s previous knowledge or proficiency in the subject matter, including a method for constant re-evaluation of the learner’s mastery of the subjectThe learner’s own engagement, including observations of the learner’s efforts, motivation, and behaviors exhibited during the learning process to ensure learning is delivered in ways that are most successfulCrossing the Bridge to Personalized LearningThe ability to provide deep personalization of both the learning journey and the content at scale is the missing puzzle piece for today’s LMS- and LXP-focused training organizations. Adaptive learning systems provide the bridge from one-size-fits-all content and superficial playlists to a personalized learning environment with detailed guidance. And once the bridge to personalized learning is in place, the uses for the learning GPS multiply. Building that bridge from the traditional static approaches to personalized learning may sound like a future workforce training goal, but next-generation adaptive learning solutions are here today.If you would like to hear practical stories on how adaptive learning technology can solve current challenges and improve employee experience, engagement, and performance, check out this webinar by Realizeit CEO, Manoj Kulkarni, “Adaptive Learning for Today's Workforce—Understand and Chart Your Journey.”To learn more about how you can provide a learning GPS to maximize performance, reach out to our Realizeit team to discuss training and learning personalization needs at your organization.

Chary Krout

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