Top Four “Hot Topics” from Masie’s Learning 2017

This week, we’re attending Masie’s Learning 2017 conference in Orlando. This conference brings together thought leaders in learning, technology and talent management to discuss the latest trends in our industry.

For those who couldn’t attend in person, we thought we’d provide a live update. Here are the top four “hot topics” being discussed at Learning 2017:

Topic 1: Evidence and Data

“Vanquishing the Measurement Dragon” – that’s just one of the learning program topics that will be presented this week on the theme of data and analytics. Assembling business-relevant data from training is still a hard nut to crack. L&D has long struggled with how to gather data that ties learning outcomes to business objectives and strategic goals. The great news is that a variety of new learning technologies provide deeper learner insights than ever before. These can help L&D departments more easily make the connection between training and corporate outcomes.

For example, our analytics dashboard makes it easy for instructors to see who is struggling, where they are having difficulty and why. Instructors can then provide additional remediation to target specific learning objectives, and prevent future mistakes that might result in waste, financial loss or even, in the most high stakes scenarios, death. This is a tangible way to tie learning to the reduction of corporate risk, a strategic priority for almost every company.

Topic 2: Storytelling

One of the Learning 2017 keynote speakers is John Lithgow, the Tony®, Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award winning actor. He’ll be talking about how storytelling binds humanity and present his one-man theatrical memoir, Stories by Heart. This is just one of many conversations and presentations centered on “storytelling” as a key competency in the field of learning.

Storytelling is really one of our oldest forms of learning. For millennia, humans gathered around the campfire to tell stories and pass along knowledge to younger generations. The campfire was the first classroom and stories our first lessons. In our modern world, storytelling is still an incredibly relevant tactic for boosting learner engagement and providing learners with additional context.

We marry storytelling with technology – delivering training through engaging videos followed by adaptive assessments. As a result of our storytelling-based approach, learners have experienced a 38 percent improvement in knowledge levels. They’ve also demonstrated greater training satisfaction, saying, “I loved this course,” and calling it, “the best computer-based training to date.”

Topic 3: Integrating a Mix of Learning Technologies and Methodologies

Microlearning. Personalized learning. Mobile. Gamification. Virtual Reality. Competency-based learning. These are just some of the methodologies and technologies that are top of mind at Masie this year. What’s the takeaway here? Instead of going all in with a technology that delivers against many of these methodologies within one framework, L&D departments are taking a piecemeal approach. This can result in significant challenges for learning delivery and measurement, because these are often stand-alone components that do not easily integrate with an existing LMS.

In contrast, our platform marries microlearning and competency-based learning within an adaptive, personalized framework. It can also be easily integrated into other systems, allowing for seamless SSO (Single Sign-On) authentication. As a result, our customers get the full spectrum of benefits that methodologies like microlearning and competency-based learning deliver –reduced training times, greater learner engagement, mastery, and so on – without the hassle of having to mange them in a one-off fashion and with the benefit of having the metrics easily tied to their LMS.

Topic 4: UX for Corporate Learning

One big surprise of this show? The focus on learning UX.

We don’t just think that content should be beautiful and compelling. We’re also big believers in creating an easy-to-use, intuitive platform. In fact, the digital experience of employees can actually be tied to their performance on the job and the company’s bottom line. That’s why we work hard to remove areas of friction in our system, ensuring that users and instructors find our platform easy to engage with. This conference was one of the first where we saw UX and learning discussed in the same sentence. We’re thrilled that the conversation is moving in this direction.

These are just four of the topics and trends we’ve been discussing at Masie’s Learning 2017. We’d love to hear what from this conference resonated with you in the comments below. Also, follow us on LinkedIn to find out what conferences’ we’ll be participating in next – and feel free to join us!