Interview
Lee Maxey, Chief Learning Officer, Pathlore
Given the chance, Epic loves to hear the
opinions and experiences of influential figures within the learning
industry. You may remember we ran an interview with John Brown of
Ufi Ltd. back in October. This month, Lee Maxey, Chief Learning
Officer at Pathlore, has generously answered our e-learning questionnaire.
The questionnaire aims to get personal views, rather than general
thoughts on the state of the market and the questions have been
designed acccordingly.
Introduction by Donald Clark, Epic.
Lee Maxey has been a constant
source of inspiration for me. We have bumped into each other at
many conferences in many cities and I'm always amazed at the freshness
of his thoughts. One of his most endearing habits is his ability
to change his mind. Having promoted the idea of LCMSs, he now sees
them as red herrings. As an American who spent his early years in
Europe, he can also see things from both sides of the pond. His
sheer enthusiasm for learning and the internet comes through in
this interview.
Q What's your INTEREST in learning/online learning?
I LOVE learning. My view is that if one is not learning, then one
is not really living. As a student, competitive athlete, teacher,
coach, and now as a parent, I continue to be amazed at how different
learning can be depending on one’s perspective.
Online learning is not the issue as much as one’s view of
learning as a whole. Having the understanding and appreciation of
how learning can change one’s world is far more important
than the delivery vehicle for learning.
Q What interactive technology do you use and have at HOME?
We have a wireless DSL connection to the internet and a basic TV.
We don’t watch much TV. Our use of the internet ranges from
email, to shopping, to searches for needed information, to finding
kids resources.
Q What stands out as your MOST EFFECTIVE learning experience?
Wood Badge training for Boy Scout Leaders and flight school training
to be a pilot were both powerful learning experiences. They both
were totally immersive, and continue to impact how I think about
learning today. One was a team-based collaborative experience that
involved a lot of behavioural and a “soft skill” focus.
The other was an intense solitary activity with high degrees of
precision and procedure.
Q What stands out as your LEAST EFFECTIVE learning experience?
Most of High School. Having done my primary education in the UK,
I developed a true love for reading. Although it may sound cynical,
most of High School in the USA seemed to be focused on cajoling,
motivating, and convincing students to read and regurgitate comprehension.
Since I loved to read already, the output activity was rather mundane.
Q Any really NEW AND INNOVATIVE IDEAS out there?
Of course! I think about new ideas as being either breakthrough
or incremental. Both are of value. So much attention and press coverage
is given to breakthrough concepts that I think the incremental ideas
and improvements are given short shrift. Most breakthrough ideas
take a while to gain acceptance and add value. Whereas incremental
improvements often add value immediately, but are often smaller
and less significant. The Japanese term “kaizen” was
very popular during the cost cutting late 80’s and early 90’s.
The dot.com era of wild breakthrough promises overshadowed the steady
kaizen initiatives of many organizations. Now there is a return
to valuing the incremental innovators because they are still in
business J.
In terms of learning and online learning, I think the breakthrough
ideas will be in the area of convergence of access and delivery
devices. Key incremental ideas will be around truly personalising
an adaptive learning experience.
Q What do you want that DOESN'T YET EXIST in learning/online
learning?
The list is long, but here are three key desires I have:
Access – 24X7 access to the internet regardless
of which airport, hotel, office, or train I am in.
Interface – With my fat clumsy fingers,
I struggle to interface with most of my devices. I would minimally
like accurate, and effective voice-activated interface, but would
prefer something approaching a neurological interface.
Personalisation and Organization – Beyond
bookmarks and blogs, I would like to intelligent bots that seek
out key information and then present it in a distilled organised
form based on my needs.
Q Any views on the phrase and concept 'BLENDED LEARNING'?
Yes. Stop using it, because it is obvious and a gratuitous label.
Can you name any learning solution that is not “blended”?
Q Any views on GAMES in learning/online learning?
Games will be the main way people learn complex behaviours, concepts,
and procedures in the future. Not next year, but in a longer term
future.
Instead of thinking of playing a game and then seeking to find
relevance and application to work or personal development, think
of “playing” the game as work/learning. The well-constructed
game could become our interface to work. Orson Scott Card’s
book Ender Game highlight’s an interesting perspective on
this idea.
Q Any views on MOBILE DEVICES in learning/online learning?
Yes, 1½” X 2” doesn’t do much for me.
However, as access to the internet (company networks, email, etc.)
becomes easier, they will be critical devices to staying informed.
Information that is available in the right context at the right
time can contribute to learning taking place.
I am looking forward to breaking out of the PDA screen box and
seeing projected images which will increase the “screen”
real estate issues.
Q What's your favourite PHRASE/QUOTE/EPIGRAM in learning/online
learning?
“Use technology that works today.”
Instead of chasing the next fad or emerging technology, learn to
make the most of what currently works.
When we tried to mimic the classroom experience with CD-ROM multimedia,
few people questioned whether the classroom experience was worth
mimicking. Now, the internet and networking is radically changing
our ability to access to vast amounts of information. I think we
need to catch up and learn how to use what we have. The Information
Age requires new paradigms for how we function and learn.
Q Could you recommend a BOOK in learning/online learning?
Everyday Genius, by Peter Kline. It is a couple decades old, but
a good job of challenging paradigms that still exist to day about
learning and people’s ability to learn.
Q Could you recommend a WEBSITE in learning/online learning?
http://www.e-learningguru.com/
Q If you were to pick one CONFERENCE to attend in learning/online
learning, what would it be?
CLO Symposium
Since most of my focus is on developing learning strategies that
impact organization’s productivity and performance, I am most
interested in events that focus on the enterprise as a whole. The
CLO Symposiums have high value sessions delivered by experience
executives. Additionally, the networking with other practitioners
is invaluable.
Q Any words/phrases/ideas you'd like to BAN from learning/online
learning?
“Blended learning” – it is all “blended”
“e-learning” – does the delivery vehicle “e”
really matter? The learning is the focus, and more importantly,
someone’s ability to do something better, more, and faster
is the real goal.
Q Anything in learning/online learning that you strongly
believed in, on which you have now CHANGED YOUR MIND?
The Learning Content Management System (LCMS).
As some one who spent many years building bespoke online courseware,
I truly valued the need for a collaborative authoring tool that
could enable rapid development of content. Even though the term
“LCMS” was more of a marketing ploy, I appreciated the
promise of enabling standards-based authoring while drawing from
a broad group of authors.
What has changed my mind?The standards have matured, and people
are more open to accessing key information that is embedded within
their workflow. There is a need to integrate and share information
(learning information included) across the extended enterprise.
I can’t imagine any organisation managing their information
with an LCMS. It would be the tail wagging the dog. Since much of
the learning content needs to be just-in-time, a Content Management
System (CMS) is a much more appropriate mechanism to use. CMS’s
need to be configured better to actually develop learning content,
but the framework is there, and it is up to learning practitioners
to configure CMS’s properly for learning content.
Q Anything else you'd like to add?
One of the dynamics that holds our entire industry back is that
our unit of trade is a “course”, and that segment of
information is artificial and doesn’t easily integrate into
the workflow. People want access to information in many configurations
for durations that are related to their need. Requiring “courses”
can be like taking a horse pill. Learners rarely need a whole course.
Hope you found the questions stimulating. Thanks for your answers.
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