Learning New Software

  originally uploaded by Kris Kumar.

I’ve been surprised by all the people I’ve met who still use Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. They know the minimum amount of features by they still use it a lot like a typewriter.

Ask someone, do you know how to use styles? This will tell you all you need to know about what they know and don’t know.

The problem in learning this program is that people either have to learn on their own so they don’t even know what they should be learning, or they learn about features but never learn how to apply to their work.

When I’m doing facilitation, we often work with these document on a projector instead of flip charts. I’ll tell you that we spend more time on how things were done than the content. It’s the first time most people have see these features.

So when teaching any type of software, I’d forgot about teaching functionality and focus more on how it change the way people work.

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Great Alternative to Flip Charts

I’m doing more consulting these days which means we have a lot of brainstorming sessions and working through documents.  As an alternative to filling the room with unreadable flip charts, I’ve started to do all the recording of information in something like Microsoft word, projected onto a screen.

 This allows us to easily change and rearrange information, delete stuff and best of all read it.  If you’re attached to a printer, you can also continously print out copies for all attendees.

 Finally, when you’re all through you can email everyone the work from the session.

 We’ve also done this during training when teams work on case studies or other things that require a presentation to the class.  In every class there are always several people who have laptops.  The teams then create their report outs and presentation on their laptops.  Then use a flash drive to gather up all the reports so you can show then from the computer you are using to project your PowerPoint.  It’s really an upgrade from flip charts.

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More on Digital Learning

Here’s another interesting video on the digital learner.  Does it show a generational divide?

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How the Digital Learner Thinks

I must be spending too much time on Youtube.  But here’s another video that shows the change in how the new generation learns or wants to learn. 

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Another Learning Style

I’ve been reading  a lot about learning styles lately and it seems that there is a good reason to add one more style to the traditional list of visual, audio and kinesthetic…and that’s digital.  It seems that the new generations have grown up with thousands of hours online, playing video games, text messaging, etc.  This is different than the baby boomers who spend thousands of hours in front of the TV or the veterans generation that spent thousands of hours listening to the radio. 

So if you have a younger audience, it’s important to consider that their learning style might be digital.

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