VIRTUAL LEARNING IN GOVERNMENT BREAKING DOWN WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW GOVLOOP POCKET GUIDE 2017
VIRTUAL LEARNING ADAPTS INFORMATION TO A VARIETY OF FORMATS THAT MAKE LEARNING MORE MODULAR AND ENGAGING
FOREWORD FROM BLACKBOARD Continuous learning is critical to the professional success of public servants, whether they’re civilians working to preserve and extend local or federal government institutional knowledge, or soldiers receiving new training while deployed in a far-flung region. Today, using technology to facilitate that learning is critical. Agency resources are strained with cuts to both budgets and workforces. An outflow of retirees – as well as their institutional knowledge – only
exacerbates this resource problem. To backfill gaps in workforce and knowledge, agencies compete with the private sector to recruit new talent. But hiring freezes, coupled with a shortage of highly skilled candidates, make that difficult to achieve. As a result, current public servants have to fill those skills gaps and take on more responsibilities to continue meeting agency missions. They can’t do that without training.
But traditional training models, where an instructor teaches a classroom of students for days at a time, can’t meet this learning need in government. In-person training costs money state, local and federal agencies simply don’t have. And with a workforce that is increasingly spread out in locations outside of agencies’ walls, it doesn’t reach every employee. Most importantly, classroom lectures are shown to be ineffective at providing the necessary hands-on practice and understanding that personnel need to retain and apply new skills to their roles. To overcome these challenges and meet training objectives, many agencies have invested in learning management systems (LMS). A basic LMS provides an opportunity for agencies to move training online, reducing travel costs while making content more accessible to employees. It’s a sufficient
solution if you just need to launch and track completion of certifications or regulatory requirements. But if you want to develop new knowledge throughout your agency, your personnel require more than simple online training. A robust virtual learning strategy that blends in-person and online teaching methods in a thoughtful, personalized way can set your agency up for success. Use this pocket guide to better understand the demands of government training today and how agencies can meet them with virtual learning. You’ll also learn how to develop your own virtual learning program to encourage, inform and prepare your knowledge workers for the next stage of government.
—Alex Kissal, Vice President of Sales for Blackboard Business & Government
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CONTENTS Foreword
02
Executive Summary
07
What Is Virtual Learning?
08
Learning by the Numbers
Industry Spotlight
Virtual Learning in Today’s Government
Virtual Learning in Action
09 10
14
16 18
Cheat Sheet
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The need for employee training in government has never been greater. Extensive budget cuts and department restructuring mean employees have to be more productive with limited resources. In many cases, that also requires learning new skills to fill talent gaps created by workforce reductions. What’s more, many agencies are facing the loss of large segments of institutional knowledge as their most experienced personnel reach retirement age.
The answer lies in virtual learning. By thoughtfully creating online learning programs, agencies can minimize training costs even as they better prepare their employees for the demands of government.
This pocket guide will provide an overview of virtual learning in the public sector. We’ll explain why it matters now more than ever, and offer tips for how government can create better virtual experiences for learners. We’ll also provide But with agencies already insights and case studies from challenged to meet these government training leaders new resource and workforce constraints, how are they going to help move your agency’s strategies forward. to provide effective training that both meets individual needs and educates at scale?
WHAT IS VIRTUAL LEARNING? In this section, we’ll highlight common misconceptions about virtual learning and provide a more accurate definition of the topic. Most agencies have invested in some level of online training either to cut costs or reach an increasingly spread out workforce. But while many agencies have placed their training materials online, they haven’t all created real virtual learning. What’s the difference? First, it’s critical to identify the misconceptions of virtual learning that often lead agencies to invest in and deliver ineffective training.
“I think the biggest pitfall is trying to replicate the classroom experience through a virtual delivery medium. When we start using these new tools, we need to rethink the relationship between the learner, the thing to be learned and whoever is teaching that material.”
VIRTUAL LEARNING
IS NOT
• Transferring in-person training content to an online environment • Creating static online content for remote users • Developing a one-size-fits-all curriculum • Using in-person tactics to train virtual users • Removing personal contact and support from learners
—Rich Douglas, Chief Talent Officer for Service Center Operations, a directorate within United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
Virtual learning is the strategic use of online technologies – including but not limited to learning management systems – to deliver relevant training that is interactive, flexible and personalized. More than the simple transfer of content online, virtual learning adapts information to a variety of formats that make learning – whether about HR regulations, new IT skills or management tactics – more modular and engaging.
LEARNING BY THE NUMBERS Why is virtual learning growing? Who is using it? How does it impact the efficacy of learning? These statistics tell the story. Levels of content retention by type of learning engagement (Source: Bersin By Deloitte)
75%
50%
5% 10%
CURRENT VIRTUAL LEARNING TACTICS LEARNING ARE INSUFFICIENT IS THE FUTURE • Within government agencies, 85 percent of every dollar spent on classroom training goes toward delivering it, including travel costs. (Source: Blackboard) • Forty-seven percent of organizations want to replace their current LMS solution. (Source: Blackboard)
Hearing Reading Discussion & Interaction (as in blended learning) On-the-job experience
VIRTUAL LEARNING IS EFFECTIVE
• More than 58 million people • Students who participate in enrolled in massive open online digital learning simulations courses (MOOCs) between 2011 for science, technology, and 2016. (Source: Proceedings engineering and mathematics of the National Academy of (STEM) learning had a 23 Sciences) percent higher achievement rating than those who do not. • Learning through e-learning (Source: U.S. Department of typically requires 40 percent Education) to 60 percent less employee time than learning the same • Seventy-one percent of material in a traditional academic leaders rate online classroom setting. (Source: learning outcomes the same Brandon Hall) or superior to face-to-face learning. (Source: MeriTalk) • Eighty-four percent of learners think online learning • eLearning increases retention technology helps instructors rates by 25 to 60 percent. teach more effectively. (Source: (Source: Research Institute Online Learning Consortium) of America) 09
VIRTUAL LEARNING IN TODAY’S GOVERNMENT In this section, we explain why current learning models fail to meet the demands of today’s government learners. We’ll also explore how virtual learning can help agencies overcome staffing, resource and skills gaps to create a more prepared workforce.
THE PITFALLS OF CURRENT LEARNING MODELS In-person trainings have obvious pitfalls in the era of tightened budgets, diminishing workforces and heighted expectations for digital experiences. They are costly in terms of employee productivity lost, resources spent on physical training materials and locations, and travel expenses. They’re also largely ineffective when they use the traditional classroom style of one teacher lecturing multiple students at once. Lectures are often un-engaging and the potential to share knowledge across peer groups is lost. To remedy these inadequacies in training, many agencies have started integrating online learning with their classroom instruction. Using standard Learning Management System (LMS) solutions, agencies have begun providing blended learning experiences – where in-person and remote experiences are combined – to more personnel.
This approach has its merits – it’s particularly wellsuited to compliance-focused training in which administrative items such as registration and certification tracking are critical. These strategies often fall short of delivering effective, engaging training, however, because they employ the same instructor-student dynamic. “One of the biggest challenges in the government workspace is making the student – that is the worker, the performer, the employee – the center of learning, as opposed to focusing on the people doing the teaching,” said Rich Douglas, Chief Talent Officer for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Agencies need to reimagine the way they deliver training, going beyond simply altering the medium of instruction to thinking through how it can be used as a tool to engage and educate employees.
MATCH LEARNING TO AGENCY NEEDS In addition to educating the workforce, effective virtual learning can provide a number of benefits to agencies. But to gain support for investing in new training solutions, you’ll want to do more
than highlight the benefits of training. Be sure to match training solutions to the unique challenges of your organization to make the best case for online learning.
Agency Challenge
Virtual Training as a Solution
Constrained budgets
Leverage online training to reduce travel costs and prevent extended time away from the job
Difficulty developing and retaining workforce
Provide opportunities for continuous learning without sacrificing productivity
Mobile workforce required to work collaboratively and virtually
Enable employees to communicate and collaborate in regularly scheduled online meetings and ad hoc sessions available from desktops, laptops and mobile devices
Loss of institutional knowledge resulting from high turnover and retiring public servants
Create online spaces for knowledgesharing and skill-building
High costs associated with training facility, equipment and personnel
Increase training capacity and leverage existing trainers with online participants who can join from where they are
Skills gap for technical professionals
Provide in-agency training to teach existing employees new skills and promote from within
5 CRITICAL COMPONENTS OF EFFECTIVE VIRTUAL TRAINING 1 Diverse 2 Interactive 3 Accessible Forget the glorified PowerPoint presentation with recorded audio to accompany it. Effective training requires providing the same material in a variety of formats, including audio, visual and hands-on exercises. Allowing your users to engage in content the way that best suits their learning preferences will dramatically increase the likelihood of them completing the training and retaining the knowledge afterward.
Similarly, including interactive elements in virtual training encourages users to immediately apply what they learn. That increases retention and helps illuminate areas where further study may be required. Effective interactive training includes simulations, knowledge checks, discussions and other in-themoment activities to help users engage with content.
4 Personalized 5 Responsive No two people learn the same way or at the same pace. Effective virtual training accommodates the user, allowing them to set their own pace and review information in a way that works for them. In some cases, this might include giving students the ability to “test out” of topics for which they have existing knowledge. For other users, a personalized learning path will include the ability to review information multiple times, in a variety of formats, before moving forward.
Most importantly, your virtual training environment, content and tactics should be responsive to the needs of your users. This goes beyond providing custom learning paths to truly incorporating user information into each step of virtual training. When something isn’t working, users shouldn’t have to wait until the end of a course to provide their comments or concerns. Instead, your platform and curriculum should offer feedback mechanisms to students throughout the learning experience. Additionally, your facilitators should have the ability to immediately access and act on that information.
Whether users are at a desktop in the agency or on a tablet in the field, they should be able to access your content without sacrificing quality or engagement. With more than 25 percent of people using only mobile phones to access the internet, your LMS should have robust mobile capabilities that allow content to be viewed from any device. Additionally, you’ll need to offer services for offline and remote learning to ensure that both training materials and support are available around the clock, for every user. Finally, ensure your programs are accessible for employees with unique learning needs or disabilities.
THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN LEARNING As Douglas explained, “One of the biggest limitations is control. Most of what we do in the learning technology area is an outgrowth of IT.”
Once your objectives are defined, seek an LMS that can meet those needs. Different functionalities will better facilitate different types of learning objectives. For instance, interactives Virtual learning requires technology to produce and simulations can help a learner apply new and manage training content online. It’s important, knowledge, while a simple quiz is better-suited to however, to avoid letting that technology dictate achieving recall. the way you deliver content to your users. Your LMS should be a mission-enabler, but it should not The next step to take back control of your learning define your mission. By starting with a strategy technologies is to acquire a solution that gives and then acquiring a flexible, easily managed LMS non-IT administrators the ability to curate, edit and platform, learning professionals can take control of update content. What does that look like? their training technology. As you consider technologies to accompany your Start by defining your training objectives. The learning strategy, seek platforms that are: traditional Bloom’s taxonomy of creating, evaluating, analyzing, applying, understanding and • Easily updated with new material remembering is a useful way to determine what you’re trying to help your learner achieve. • Compatible with third-party LMS and other learning tools • Able to link with outside resources, including videos, graphics and even subject-matter experts
“One of the biggest limitations is control. Most of what we do in the learning technology area is an outgrowth of IT.” —Rich Douglas
• Equipped with tools for instructor-led learning, collaborative learning or both • Capable of facilitating asynchronous and synchronous learning, including virtual classrooms and real-time interactivity The less you have to depend on your IT staff to maintain your LMS, the greater freedom you’ll have to create responsive training that suits your learners’ needs. Over time, you’ll discover more about what works for your learners and the staff who manage your online content. Incorporate that feedback into your learning strategy and allow that to guide your technology use for virtual training.
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT AGENCIES NEED MORE THAN AN LMS An interview with Alex Kissal, Vice President of Sales for Blackboard Business & Government, and Brad Koch, Senior Director of Product & Services Management at Blackboard By now, many agencies have invested in an LMS to make their training content accessible to more employees, at lower costs. But training leaders often fail to achieve those results. Why?
In a recent interview, Koch and his colleague Alex Kissal, Vice President of Sales at Blackboard, outlined the capabilities agencies require beyond simple LMS functionality. Blackboard delivers a comprehensive suite of online learning technologies for government. But as Kissal and Koch explained, the company provides more than a standard LMS to help agencies make the most of their investments in virtual learning. “Especially in the first year with agencies, we deliver the platform but we also greatly assist them in understanding what it means to develop good, engaging courses that are accessible to the right people,” Kissal said. The first hurdle for many agencies is determining how to translate in-person content to a different environment. Online training should be engaging, personal and flexible to the learning styles of different users. That’s no easy task, especially for training professionals who are accustomed to classroom settings.
They’re mistaking the transfer of materials to an LMS as the end goal of virtual learning. “We’re past the phase where LMS has become ubiquitous in teaching and learning environments,” said Blackboard’s Senior Director of Product & Services To overcome that challenge, agencies need both Management, Brad Koch. “Now the focus has to be a robust platform and content that makes sense on effective use.” for virtual learning. That’s why Blackboard’s
learning platforms use extensive collaboration and interactivity to fully engage learners with activities like group projects and discussions, wikis, blogs and the ability to incorporate a wide range of multimedia content. They also provide different pathways, including mobile options, to engage learners in diverse settings. But to take advantage of those engagement tools, agencies will also need a diverse curriculum that goes beyond simply talking at learners online. As Kissal explained, agencies need to understand what successful teaching looks like in a new setting, with a wider audience of employees. That requires interactive, modular content. In many cases, building that content will require help. Blackboard helps agencies reimagine their content for virtual, self-paced learning. They can also work with external subject-matter experts to create new content for agencies that lack the internal assets to build a full training curriculum. Once a curriculum is developed, the next obstacle for many agencies is keeping their content upto-date and relevant to learners. That requires an adaptable platform that makes creating, updating and customizing training fast and efficient. On Blackboard Learn, new content and courses can be deployed in hours or days, not weeks or months, so agencies can keep pace with advances in federal practices, policies and technological developments. And when learners offer feedback on their training, administrators can quickly integrate that into the curriculum to make sure they keep their courses engaging and relevant. Moreover, administrators should be able to react to users’ preferences and actions in real time. Blackboard’s LMS uses data to constantly assess and improve learners’ experiences and performance. Contrast that with a traditional LMS where the burdens of curating, grading and offering feedback often fall heavily on instructors. Blackboard’s learning platforms can automatically track learners’ activity and guide them to relevant content as they
“We see ourselves as change agents that can help clients to move from brick-and-mortar learning environments to more virtual methods.” —Alex Kissal, Vice President of Sales at Blackboard
progress. With those tools and data, Blackboard has been able to fine-tune their implementations to the point where online completion rates are equal to those in face-to-face environments. “You can imagine a circumstance where a student may be working through a module, takes a formative assessment, gets immediate feedback after that assessment in terms of where they’re strong and weak, and then can be given choices of where they want to go next to help either fill gaps or enrich what they’ve been working on,” Koch said. That’s the ultimate goal of Blackboard – to focus learning on the user, rather than the technology or the instructor. Agencies often share that goal but lack the tools to make that vision a reality. To create effective learning, they’ll need more than the standard LMS often used today. That’s where Blackboard can help. “Blackboard has always been a platform that delivers learning management systems and associated technology,” Kissal said. “But we also see ourselves as change agents that can help clients – whether they are DoD or federal civilian agencies – to move from brick-and-mortar learning environments to more virtual methods.”
VIRTUAL LEARNING IN ACTION
BUREAU OF THE COMPTROLLER AND GLOBAL FINANCIAL SERVICES Since the passing of the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990, federal agencies have been required to train their financial personnel on financial management best practices and regulations. For the Department of State, Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services (CGFS), that’s no easy task considering it trains nearly 3,000 students each year spread across about 240 embassy and consulate locations worldwide. To reach all of its employees, CGFS leveraged an online LMS. The solution’s functionality, however, was limited and complex. As a result, CGFS only used the technology for registering students and granting them access to materials, without any real interaction or updates to course content. Additionally, the system was quickly outdated – risking agency security because the solution could no longer be upgraded or patched.
To continue meeting regulatory training requirements and achieve learning objectives, CGFS turned to Blackboard. Using the Blackboard Learn platform, the agency created the CGFS Learning Hub to replace its outdated systems. The new system can be used not just to track registrants but also to curate and update content in real time. It provides a means for learners to interact with course content in various formats, including quick, modular courses. Learners can also search for reference materials as they need it. “With the system we have now, we have more tools in our toolbox,” said Phillip Chastain, Program Manager for CGFS. Now, CGFS is expanding its content offerings beyond the training required by the 1990 Act. It has added an Orientation to Financial Management module to serve as an introduction to all new financial management employees. The CGFS is focused on creating more job-specific orientation materials to provide additional information, knowledge, and training, both in the classroom and online, to the State Department’s financial workforce.
CHEAT SHEET 8 STEPS TO LAUNCHING A SUCCESSFUL ONLINE TRAINING PROGRAM
1
2
3
Don’t dive into online learning simply for the sake of going virtual. The critical first step to building an effective online program is to understand what operational, budgetary or academic problems your agency can solve with virtual learning. Then create a plan that will meet those specific objectives.
Make sure you have buy-in for your virtual training program. The best way to accomplish this is to clearly align your program to the goals of your agency.
Any new project requires a point person to champion the approach and ensure organizational goals are considered and met.
CREATE A BUSINESS PLAN
GAIN LEADERSHIP DESIGNATE COMMITMENT A LEADER
4
5
Build a multi-disciplinary team to support your project’s technical, content and administration needs. That means ensuring you have trainers, technical staff and individual program leads. In some cases, you’ll also require external partners to supplement internal staff resources.
To create an effective training program, you’ll likely require a mix of technical support and thought leadership to form your curriculum. Understand your unique agency needs before partnering with a vendor or seeking technical solutions.
6
7
8
Take the time to understand your audience and how blended or virtual training will make learning easier for them. The more you tailor your program to individual needs, the more engagement and adoption of the program you will realize.
Start small to prove readiness and viability. Once your pilot program has completed, evaluate the success of it and look for areas that you can improve.
ORGANIZE A TEAM
CONSIDER USER NEEDS
PILOT AN ONLINE OFFERING
UNDERSTAND YOUR PROGRAM NEEDS
LAUNCH HIGH QUALITY MATERIALS Your launch day is the moment employees begin to form impressions about your online effort. Staff adoption is a critical feature of success, so when you offer high-quality content, compelling instruction, appealing visuals and “human” interaction via web-based delivery, employees will adopt online learning faster.
THANKS TO BLACKBOARD FOR THEIR SUP IN PRODUCING PUBLIC-SECTOR RESOURCE.
PPORT G THIS OR
About Blackboard At Blackboard, we have a legacy of learning. With 20 years of experience in educational technology, we’re dedicated to providing today’s diverse employees and learners with the flexible professional development, training, and online learning that they need to be successful. Built on the fundamentals of how people learn, our solutions deliver a unified and fully accessible learning ecosystem that’s intuitive, enjoyable to use, and proven to drive results. Through our innovative technology and services, we help government and corporate organizations turn learning into a strategic advantage. Learn more visit: www.blackboard.com/government
About GovLoop GovLoop’s mission is to inspire public sector professionals by serving as the knowledge network for government. GovLoop connects more than 250,000 members, fostering crossgovernment collaboration, solving common problems and advancing government careers. GovLoop is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with a team of dedicated professionals who share a commitment to the public sector. For more information about this report, please reach out to info@govloop.com
Agencies must reach beyond simple online delivery of in-person content to create a personal and engaging experience for the next generation of public servants.
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