Training is moving to ever more virtual space - with mobile learning, social media and increasingly sophisticated e-learning. Overall, I applaud this - the more flexible we can be as training providers, the better. And of course, people have different learning styles, so a formal workshop may not always be the best approach.
BUT... I do believe that some skills (or topics) lend themselves more to one type of training method than others. For knowledge transfer and process training, more passive and remote methods are great - but would you want a surgeon to operate on you if all the 'trainng' they had was loads of reading, completed e-learning modules, watched videos and participated in webinars? I think not. Some things need to be practiced for real.
Training and coaching skills (and indeed many interpersoanl skills) fall into the same category as surgery. OK, the consequences may not be so grave if things go wrong, but they are still damaging. As well as learning the facts, the priciples, the models and 'what good looks like', people need to try things out for themselves, and recieve feedback and coaching on their skills. I can tell you exactly how to swing a golf club and get a great drive...but that doesn't mean I can do it ;-)
There is talk on LinkedIn of training trainers via virtual methods, and whilst I can see how a blended approach could be very useful, to put the whole thing 'on-line' is dangerous in my opinion. There is a tendency these days to jump on the technology bandwagon. As training providers, I think that the question we should ask is not 'Can we put this on-line?', but 'SHOULD we put this on-line?' and always remember that the success of training should ultimately be measured by how well learning is applied.
Louise Gelsthorpe
