Better e-Learning Using "Small Data"

If you change realities or media you need to change your design and strategies.

With e-Learning learners cannot cope with huge information or “big data”. Big data drives business strategy. Small data should drive learning. If you design enough e-Learning or read enough modern research on educational theory you will probably come across the concept of “chunking”. When creating quality training programs one of the key tasks for designers lay with properly partitioning, or chunking, learning into “digestible” pieces. Part of that process must also include making the examples used and the stories told or questions asked concern more personalized or “small” data. Why?

Think of the most common uses of e-Learning today. Corporate lunch and learn sessions, new product training or demos for sales agents, webinars for information sharing or best practices, orientation programs for new employees, chapter reviews or introductions in academic settings.

In all of these settings the learners face an impenetrable barrier – time. And, from a organization’s perspective, the barrier of achieving certain learning goals (tied to business goals) in that chunk of time.

Big data is impersonal. Yes, sales are anticipate to go up 30% this holiday season across the company but if you are a store manager taking an e-Learning course or webinar about this year’s strategies you want to know – what is my projected increased, where did that number come from, and what can my store (me) do to achieve that goal.

Big data also facilitates the continued presence of “pontification” and “lecture” in learning programs. You’ve seen it. I’ve seen it. Heck, I’ve facilitated it. There’s still plenty of “sage on stage” going on in classrooms – real and virtual. Effective learning professional know that selecting the right learning strategy and the proper media play a critical part in learning. But using “small” data also helps make the learning more personal. And isn’t that the point.

Training is personal. Educational is personal. Learning is personal. I bite my tongue when I see business professionals express opinions that the cost of personalizing training is high or that the cost of making learning interactive is too high. Well your marketing professionals have convinced you well enough to spend money of personalizing ads and in various formats. What about your own employees? Regardless of the content, regardless of the learning objectives, regardless of reason for a training program, making learning more personal increases retention and increases user motivation. Plus, it’s not that hard. You can still incorporate “big data” – you just need to include opportunities for participants to take each piece of “big data” and make it theirs.

If you spend enough time around programmers or digital designers you might come across the field of user acceptance testing. Even self-described “trailblazers” like Steve Jobs really did find out what users thought of their products before release. Part of any training regime must include the trainees believing in the program. Using “small”, personalized data – or including activities that force learners to translate big data into their worlds increases not only retention, but also their buy-in. Small data lets you see the landscape better. Think about it this way. Say you are travelling through a forest with thick underbrush. You are constantly fighting to see if you are still going in the right direction. Do you climb the tallest tree around to get a view of the end of the forest? Sure. But you do that sparingly. If you always climb the highest tree you’ll spend more time than you need to climbing. Set a goal and then go. Along the way use what’s available to give you a better view – that is the small tree. It will give you what you need to whack through the underbrush. Once you hit that goal, climb the big tree again to spot your next goal. Along the way use the other trees to make sure you are still on the right path or heading in the right direction. Just as good performance management is personalized for employees, training needs to be personalized to. It make learning more manageable and it makes learning more about the learner.

Idea: If you are designing e-learning, incorporate personalized discussion questions. But don’t just limit this to the obvious “virtual sessions”. You can use chat rooms, blogs, or any 2.0 technology to pair a discussion thread with an e-Learning course.

There are two types of HR models out there. One model forces HR to act mostly in a “transactional way”. Process payroll, answer benefits questions, provide legal advice to leaders, etc. Unfortunately that model still exists in many organizations. The other model, one I’ll call the “HR Business Partner” model thrives in many organizations and incorporates the various functions of Human Resources – (perhaps payroll), talent acquisition, compensation, training, organizational development, internal communications, performance management, across the organization. Big data of any type is about the “organization” and its goals. Small data is about the individual. It’s about the individual’s goals. In modern performance management you don’t simply say okay we see sales growing by about 15% this year, we have 5 regions so that means each region should grow by the same number. That’s not fair to the individual sales reps. And it’s not fair to the company either. Incorporating small data or incorporating activities to personalize big data into training sessions sends a very clear message – we’re invested in you as an employee and we understand that you want to learn more and we’re going to help you.

Idea: When facilitating/designing discussions force users to share real examples. And check their learning. If someone can’t produce an example in the given timeframe, come back them later to see if something popped loose in the meantime.

Small data is personal. Small data is what you share with retailers everyday online – your likes, your dislikes, your preferences, your habits. You give permission to groups to collect your small data. When we talk about big data we’re talking about the stuff you ask organizations for permission to access – sales numbers, GDP, state-wide test scores. Why is this distinction important? Because it’s in the small data where a person lives, where their job exists. A cashier doesn’t keep track of the convenience store chain’s sales numbers everyday. Ask them to identify what they’ve notice selling. Want someone to up-sell a product or service or get a consumer to purchase an additional item, don’t harp on a price point. Invest in them knowing complimentary products and understanding the consumer in front of them. Focusing on small data makes learning more engaging because it relates to what the individual does and validates their experience.

Idea: Don’t expound in an idea without getting into any detail or providing any resources. For example, if you decide to design customer service training and say “don’t ever let your anger out at a customer” and leave it at that, don’t do it. Even if you can’t incorporate ways to quickly avoid a confrontation into a course or virtual session – make it part of the follow-up – have a job aid, a webpage, or a discussion thread in the store’s intranet where a list can be maintained of ways to effectively blow off steam quickly and while not interacting with a customer. 

So, with all that, what steps can you take to incorporate small data into your e-Learning?