E-Learning and Knowledge Dissemination

With GPT-5 anyone can build an e-learning course. But nothing beats 20+ years of experience, here’s why. The “one-prompt e-learning course” is a myth. Type a single prompt into GPT-5 or an AI authoring tool → get a “complete” course. But let’s be honest about what actually comes out: ❌ Info dumps ❌ Endless text ❌ Zero interaction That’s not learning. That’s content dressed up as education. And it’s part of a bigger trend researchers are now calling “workslop” — AI-generated work that looks polished but falls apart under scrutiny. Recent studies (MIT, McKinsey, Gartner, and Harvard Business Review among others) show the same pattern: AI often produces surface-level outputs that others have to fix, redo, or verify. The result? Lost time, lower trust, and declining quality. In corporate learning, this “digital workslop” is everywhere: Slick-looking modules filled with generic AI text and random stock images, impressive at first glance, useless in practice. The cost isn’t just money; it’s credibility. Learners tune out. Teams stop trusting the content. And organisations end up with entire course graveyards full of modules that create no retention, no behaviour change, no ROI. That’s why truly impactful e-learning has never been about speed or scale. It’s about: ✔ Sound instructional design ✔ Creativity ✔ A deep understanding of how people learn and apply knowledge AI can absolutely help, but only inside a framework that ensures clarity, quality, and feedback. Without that foundation, it just generates educational workslop: noise packaged as learning. The myth is that AI replaces instructional design. The truth? It makes instructional design expertise more essential than ever. 👉 The High Impact E-Learning Program is my response to that myth. Built on 20+ years of corporate learning experience, it shows you how to combine AI with proven design frameworks to create learning that drives real performance, not just pretty screens. Ready to elevate your impact and design smarter with AI? Comment “HEF” and I’ll send you the details. Because AI won’t replace you, but a designer who knows how to use it will.

"Only a small percentage of employees consistently engage in effective learning." Working and learning in a hybrid workplace: challenges and opportunities by Nataša Rupčić, published in The Learning Organization (Vol. 31, No. 2, 2024). 🔍 Overview The article explores the implications of hybrid work environments on learning, productivity, and organisational culture. It draws on multiple studies conducted during and after the COVID-19 lockdowns, highlighting both the opportunities and challenges of hybrid and remote work. 🌟 Key Opportunities 💠 Learning Culture Development: Hybrid work can foster a learning culture if supported by leadership. Employees benefit from flexible, self-paced learning, especially when resources are accessible and varied. 💠 Work-Life Balance: Reduced commuting time and increased autonomy improve employee satisfaction and productivity. IT and knowledge intensive sectors adapted more easily to hybrid models. 💠 Social Support: Support from family, colleagues, and managers is crucial for mitigating stress and enhancing life satisfaction. Virtual social networks can provide both professional and emotional support. 💠 Affective Commitment: Emotional attachment to the organisation boosts learning engagement. High performance work systems enhance this commitment, especially in hybrid settings. 💠 Training & Development: Digital and blended learning can be more effective than traditional methods. Customisation and balance in multimedia use are key to engagement and retention. ⚠️ Key Challenges ❌ Inconsistent Learning Behavior: Only a small percentage of employees consistently engage in effective learning. Many organisations struggle to implement a true learning culture. ❌ Barriers to Learning: Lack of guidance, poor self-organisation, and home distractions hinder learning. Younger employees miss out on informal knowledge transfer. ❌ Teamwork & Knowledge Sharing: Hybrid work can weaken team cohesion and slow decision-making. Knowledge transfer to new employees is often insufficient. ❌ Infrastructure & Equity: Poor internet and power infrastructure can limit effectiveness. High internet costs and lack of ergonomic setups are common issues. ❌ Mental Health & Isolation: Social isolation, especially among single employees, can lead to depression and reduced productivity. 🧩 Recommendations for Practitioners ✅ Foster a learning culture through leadership, support systems, and communities of practice. ✅ Promote affective commitment by valuing employees and offering development opportunities. ✅ Ensure balanced multimedia use in training to avoid cognitive overload. Encourage social support networks and informal interactions. ✅ Tailor hybrid work policies to employee roles, infrastructure, and organisational goals.

In many AEC firms, specialized knowledge accumulates around a single person. They become the go-to expert, the one everyone relies on. Over time, that expertise becomes central to how work gets done. That was the context at Boulder Associates. They had a senior medical planner, Kate, who had developed a set of powerful tools to help support her project work. Naturally, she became the person everyone turned to for guidance. The opportunity was clear: how could that knowledge be shared more broadly so others could grow into it and contribute at a higher level? Todd Henderson, Director of Practice Improvement, started by breaking the work into smaller pieces. Each of her custom tools was assigned to another planner. Their job wasn’t just to use it, but to understand it deeply—at a “Kate-like level.” They interviewed her, studied how the tools worked, and then presented short internal “MED Talks” to their colleagues—explaining what the tool does, when to use it, where its limits are, and when to go deeper. There was one rule: Kate couldn’t present. Each presenter became the steward of a specific tool. Over time, a broader network of expertise has started taking shape—people connected to particular tools, confident in how they worked, and able to support others. And something else happened along the way. By teaching the tools, these planners didn’t just learn them—they internalized them. They became visible contributors. The “nextperts” emerged: people who could support the work, evolve it, and extend its reach. Meanwhile, Kate was able to step into a more elevated role—coaching, guiding, and continuing to advance the work. This is what modern learning organizations do well: create simple, intentional ways for knowledge to be shared, practiced, and carried forward by others. 📺 🎧 This clip comes from “Partnering with AI to Solve Knowledge Problems,” episode 7 of our Welcome to KM 3.0 series with the TRXL podcast. You can watch or listen here: https://lnkd.in/gBP3-JPa 📖 I also mentioned this story in “Overcoming the Unspoken Barriers That Keep AEC Experts From Sharing What They Know”, issue 16 of the Smarter by Design Newsletter. You can read it here: https://lnkd.in/gWB8vHTM #AEC #KnowledgeManagement #ModernLearningOrganizations

𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗛𝗦 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗺𝘆𝘁𝗵𝘀. A 2025 study examined 𝗙𝟮𝗙, 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, and 𝗲-𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 for 899 workers — and found: ➡️ 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 across all modalities when training was well-designed. 𝗙𝟮𝗙 showed only a 𝟮.𝟱% 𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲, considered too small to matter in practice. Where differences did appear was in 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, and 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗰𝘆, with F2F scoring highest, then distance, then e-learning. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 — 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻. The study shows: • 𝗘-𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗙𝟮𝗙 for knowledge • Engagement gaps point to design improvements, not modality failures • 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 drive learning — not where people sit This matters for manufacturing and high-risk environments where scalable, effective training is essential. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜/𝗢 𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝘀 I/O Psychology strengthens training by bringing: • 𝗘𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 • 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 & 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 • 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗲𝗿, not just completion • 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗿𝘀 that prevent on-the-job application The authors note that future research must explore skill acquisition and workplace transfer — core strengths of I/O. 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗔𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻-𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿. 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗶𝘀. #WorkplaceEngineer #IOPsychology #TrainingAndDevelopment #LearningThatSticks #ManufacturingExcellence #HumanCenteredDesign

There’s a battle being fought in Enablement and L&D — and it’s not about content. It’s about how we deliver it. 🏰 In the old world, learning is static: hour-long e-learnings, webinars, PDFs, PowerPoints, and “microlearnings” (shorter e-learnings) buried deep in an LMS. These formats have their place (especially for really complex topics) but are overused, outdated, and ineffective — learners forget 90% within weeks or just don't engage in the first place. What do you actually remember from that internal webinar from last October When's the last time you actually took a course in the LMS? 🏙️ In the new world, learning is dynamic and relevant: concise, AI-generated (but human-reviewed), delivered in the flow of work, pushed based on internal data, and grounded in learning science. Think thoughtfully concise content, quick AI-graded scenarios, and daily nudges-to-action — delivered exactly when and where it’s needed. You can see this first-hand. Ask ChatGPT to tutor you — it gives concise lessons, adjusts based on your input, and gradually increases complexity. Tools like Arist use this same model to push targeted learning in moments of need via chat platforms like Teams or SMS, with enterprise safeguards built-in. 🌏 This wins in the real world. One tech company spent months making AI e-learnings that got <2% org adoption. They switched to building targeted experiences using AI and pushing them in Teams chat, and AI usage went up 215%. In the end, the best learning experience wins. And it’s not a 60-minute e-learning.

The counterintuitive approach to eLearning design that dramatically increases knowledge retention. Most training programs overwhelm learners with information overload. Let's break down why traditional approaches fail: 1️⃣ Content Chaos • Excessive information dumps • No clear structure or focus • Cognitive overload kills retention ↳ Solution: Strategic content chunking 2️⃣ Microlearning Magic • Break content into 5-10 minute segments • Focus on one concept at a time • Let learners control the pace ↳ Solution: Bite-sized learning wins 3️⃣ Clear Learning Pathways • Start with crystal-clear objectives • Guide learners step-by-step • Show progress milestones ↳ Solution: Transparent structure 4️⃣ Smart Content Layering • Hide supplementary details • Use accordions and tabs • Reduce cognitive load ↳ Solution: Progressive disclosure 5️⃣ Visual Power • Strategic multimedia use • Break up text walls • Enhance understanding ↳ Solution: Purposeful visuals 6️⃣ Active Learning Hooks • Regular knowledge checks • Self-reflection prompts • Engagement boosters ↳ Solution: Interactive elements The science is crystal clear: • 20-30% better retention rates • Higher engagement scores • Stronger knowledge transfer Think about it: When was the last time you remembered everything from a 3-hour training video? 🤔 Master these principles and watch your training shine: ↳ More intuitive learning ↳ Better comprehension ↳ Results that actually stick What small change could you make today to align your training with how people actually learn?

Is your eLearning actually learning; or just content delivery? There’s a huge difference between sharing information and designing experiences that lead to behavior change. I still see so many people confuse content creation with instructional design. It’s not just: ❌ Putting slides in order ❌ Narrating facts ❌ Slapping “Next” buttons on screens It’s about: ✅ Aligning to business goals ✅ Solving real learner problems ✅ Reducing friction between learning and doing ✅ Designing with the learner, not just at them When we treat learning like a one-way broadcast, we’re missing the point. Instructional design is a creative, strategic process rooted in human behavior, brain science, and business impact. Let’s stop measuring our work in slide count and start measuring it in transformation. 💬 What’s your go-to tip for turning passive content into active learning? #InstructionalDesign #eLearning #LearningExperienceDesign #DigitalLearning #IDOLAcademy #LearningThatSticks #CorporateTraining

Many digital learning experiences (eLearning and microlearning) lead with explanation. Screens present the concept. Narration walks through the logic. The learner clicks next. But learning does not happen because we explained it well. It happens when learners are guided to think. Socratic questioning offers a different approach. It functions as cognitive scaffolding, helping learners move step by step from understanding to application. Well-designed questions direct attention, activate prior knowledge, and support deeper processing without overloading working memory. This quick reference includes practical design guidelines for embedding questions into eLearning and microlearning. If we want thinking, reasoning, and transfer, we have to design for it. Where could a well-placed question do more than another explanation in your next digital experience? #microlearning #InstructionalDesign #training #neuroscience #instructionaldesigners #elearning #elearningdesign #talentdevelopment #education #learning #StrategicLearning #LearningDesign #LxD