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Experiential Learning at a Distance
December 18, 2008
Distance learning often is seen as a compromise in which the intimacy of the in-person classroom is sacrificed for the low cost and convenience of online methods. But the medium can provide some unique advantages.
By Jacob Stoller
Imagine yourself in this nightmare scenario: You are a customer service representative for a financial services firm, and your job is to help relocating employees sell their homes and make the necessary financial arrangements when they transfer to a new city. You are on the phone with a client, explaining the relocation package your firm has negotiated for her. Upon hearing the figures, she bursts into tears. Sobbing, she describes how this spells financial ruin for her, and how she won’t be able to afford to get her disabled son the care he needs. Your heart sinks as you try to stammer out a few words of empathy.
This conversation really happened. The client, however, was a professional actor. Real-life simulations such as this are the stock and trade of e-roleplay, a Toronto-based company that helps salespeople, service representatives, and managers master the fine points of real-world business conversations. No punches are pulled here—learners have to face some of the toughest, most emotionally charged situations that they likely would face on the job. Interestingly, all this is done not in person, but over the telephone.
E-roleplay is just one example of a growing number of learning providers that use the advantages of distance learning to provide a safe, experiential learning environment. "It's a realistic experience," says founder and Managing Director Amy Marcus. "In fact, we always remind learners to stay on the line after the call with the customer is over, because they’re going to get feedback and coaching. Often, they hang up anyway because it’s so realistic they forget."
Beyond the Comfort Zone
Distance learning often is seen as a compromise in which the intimacy of the in-person classroom is sacrificed for the low cost and convenience of online methods. The medium, however, can provide some unique advantages. One of them is privacy, which allows learners to venture outside of their comfort zone without fear of making a bad impression. "We do this in a safe environment—nobody listens in to these calls, so learners can take risks," says Marcus.
The relative safety of an online environment also can work in groups, and Murry Christensen, director of Learning Technologies for Jet Blue, has found that many people who are wallflowers in a face-to-face classroom come to life in a virtual environment. "There are people," says Christensen "call them shy, introverted, or any term you like—who better express an opinion in the absence of face-to-face and body language than they do in person. And so I've found some people are more willing to share somewhat divergent opinions in a virtual classroom environment."
Handled properly, the online classroom can level the playing field by preventing some of the more gregarious participants from dominating the discussion. "There's this expression, 'He fills up the room,'" says Christensen, "and that's certainly true, and can be intimidating for people who don’t behave that way. I think if you create the right environment, and if the facilitator creates the sense that this is a safe space, those people who in a face-to-face environment tend to monopolize the conversation kind of dampen down, and the more reticent members of the audience feel a little freer to express."
"Ideas have a way of expressing their natural weight better when there's not so much bandwidth," adds Christensen.
Facilitators Need New Tricks
Online training represents a learning curve for facilitators. Instead of relying on their presence in the room to create an atmosphere, facilitators have to learn new tricks to keep learning sessions on track. "It's almost like being a radio personality," says Christensen. "You have to express all of that through your voice. So not all classroom facilitators end up being as good in virtual environments as they are in the classroom."
The bells and whistles found in online Webinar platforms also are helpful. "Some of these sessions, even though they're mediated, have a more spontaneous tactile feel than a classroom session," says Christensen, "because you can give people the whiteboard, you can let them interact with applications, you can do things you can't do in a classroom session."
To fully leverage these tools, Christensen recommends running online sessions with two facilitators, one who focuses on the content, and the other who operates the technology. He also runs regular sessions to help classroom facilitators make the transition.
Online learning environments also can give learners a chance to play, which is ideal for picking up technical skills. Mori Seiki University, the training arm of the major high-tech machinery manufacturer, uses an online simulator to provide basic training for equipment operators. "We try to keep the text at a minimal level," says Mori Seiki University Chief Learning Officer Rod Jones, "because we believe people, especially in the manufacturing environment, learn with their hands and their eyes."
During virtual training sessions, the learner sees a control panel that is identical to the one on the machine. The company has invested significantly in high-end simulation graphics and game technology to help convince learners they are dealing with the real thing. "This is extremely detailed," says Jones. "It looks and acts just like the machine does in real life. We find we have to put in this kind of detail to make it relevant, or else learners become disinterested. We take them to every button and switch on the machine."
Although the online training program has been in place for less than a year, Mori Seiki already has seen a huge jump in the completion rate for online courses, and now is translating the materials into nine languages. The training also is attracting younger learners—a group the industrial sector is eager to reach. "We feel this is one of the ways to draw them in," says Jones, "to use the kind of technology they're used to."
Jacob Stoller is an independent writer and course developer based in Toronto, Canada. His Web site is www.jacobstoller.com.
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