Digital Learning: Democratization Or Dehumanization?

Digitalization Of Training: Democratization Or Dehumanization?
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Summary: Digital training does not replace human interactions but offers the opportunity to create personalized training experiences with more precise support.

Digital Tools Make It Possible To Accompany Training

Not only is the necessity of training now unavoidable, but it has taken on a new dimension: we must train more, faster and more people, so with improved efficiency and by using tools providing greater leverage. In the service of this ambition, it is clear that the profession of trainer is also undergoing a real change. The training and assessment tools make it possible to control the risks, guarantee a certain quality, and limit the costs. Digital solutions make it possible to support training, to manage and capitalize on knowledge and to validate knowledge, whether it relates to general education or specific business expertise.

The Essential But Not Uncontrollable Digitalization Of Training

In terms of training, as in all fields, digital tools spark as much fear as hope. They promise to greatly improve the effectiveness of training courses, but will they supplant the human and dehumanize training? Entrusting assessment to automated systems can be a source of concern for human resources managers as well as trainers and learners, each of whom may fear a loss of power and autonomy.

However, everyone must be allowed to keep up to date with the rapid changes in their profession in order to adapt and even to learn a new trade. Everyone must have the freedom to train as they see fit and this must be done on a large scale, thus reducing costs. Digital solutions support the trainer and the service they provide. Digital tools are part of the response to the challenges of effective and large-scale training. It is therefore imperative that training and assessment platforms, such as LMS and LAS, aim for efficiency as well as motivation and acceptance.

To this we can add the environment friendly argument. Is it still necessary to print voluminous course materials, little read and very quickly tossed away? Do you always have to travel to follow your training? Admittedly, the digitalization of training has an energy cost, but the carbon footprint remains very advantageous.

Towards Personalization Thanks To The Digitalization Of Training

Of course, training is more effective when it is personalized. That is to say, adapted to the wishes, the needs, the motivations, the availability, the location and the specific cognitive processes of each individual. Thanks to technology, a trainer can provide training to a greater number of people. Industrialization does not mean standardization. On the contrary, by increasing the spectrum, the digital solution will make it possible to analyze all the interactions on different user profiles to adapt the pedagogy and refine the course materials. Thanks to the history it has, the LMS or the LAS will select the most relevant course elements and questions to adapt the training course to each learner.

In hybrid training (or blended learning), the trainer, by targeting the needs of learners upstream and continuing training downstream, will considerably improve the impact of their training. And of course, they will also have time and attention to further personalize their approach, and build these valuable course elements and questions that promote memory anchoring.

Digital At The Service Of People

The goal is never to supplant the teacher, but instead to relieve them of repetitive and tedious tasks in order to give them time to devote themselves to the essentials: that is to say the creation of content, a task with high added value. The digital solutions will not replace human trainers! The tool is at the trainer’s service, allowing them to better transmit and learn better. This is where the digitalization of training finds its place.

Some tasks (such as corrections, for example) are both repetitive and daunting. Others, such as the statistical and multidimensional analysis of the results, and the plotting of curves and diagrams are too complex to be generalized, whereas their pedagogical contribution is often significant. The digital learning solution therefore allows the trainer to focus on the variety of content, on the teaching methods, on the pace of each learner. They will also be able to work on a larger scale, thus benefiting from a significant leverage effect, allowing them to put their talent and expertise at the service of a greater number of people.

Entrusting certain tasks to the machine is therefore both a relief and a factor of creativity, reliability, and quality. If diagnostic assessment and training must be demystified and dramatized to become allies of progress and productivity, their tools must be open and customizable in order to adapt to each learner. Modern technologies should not isolate but unite, in particular by exploiting tools for online discussion, real-time sharing, collaboration and interactivity. Thanks to the digitalization of training, the trainer saves time and is more flexible. The person retains a central role, not only to produce quality educational content and orchestrate the acquisition process, but also to listen to the inaudible in the learner and invent the best ways of teaching.

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Originally published at www.experquiz.com.