1. Learning Cafe Call
MOOCs in
Corporate
Training
23 July 2013
MOOCs (Massively Open
Online Courses) can be a
mainstream employee
learning option. It offers cost
effective learning with the
benefits far outweighing the
challenges. L&D/HR need to
be proactive in exploring and
including MOOCs in learning
strategies.
1
2. Agenda
• Update and sharing MOOCs learner
experiences. – 10 mins
• Discussion - Futures Scenarios for MOOCs
for Workplace Learning
John Forrest - 15 mins
• Discussion - Business Case for MOOCs at
Workplace
Sian Hartnett - 15 mins
• Discussion - Impact on current state
Learning Processes/ Framework
Jeevan Joshi - 15 min
• Call to Action – 5 mins
2
4. MOOCs for Employees Update
• MOOCs Update
• MOOCs visibility is growing
• Media
• Learner/ consumer -
• Either you know about
MOOCs or your don’t.
Academic world knows
• Course are generally Uni
based MOOCs or short paid
courses on Technology/Start
Ups
• Other topics and models are
emerging
4
Web site – moocsatwork.com
@moocsatwork
LinkedIn Open Group
Moocs for Workplace
Learning
7. Proof of Concept
Agree on
approach
across the
participating
organisations
Get a small
group(2-3) of
employees to
undertake
MOOCs for
personal
development
Consolidate
learner and
organisational
experience
Develop a
framework for
using
MOOCs for
employee
training
7
9. Environmental Scan
• Business Case Focus &
Assumptions?
– Experimentation
– Tactical project within an existing L&D
Program / Strategy
– Strategic as part of a L&D
Transformation
MOOCs Future
Workplace L&D
Future
?
Learners
L&D Professionals
Managers
Businesses
+ Political, Economic,
Social, Technological,
Environmental, Legisla
Considerations
10. MOOC Specific Focus
• Assuming Massive, Open, Online Courses are, by definition, ‘en
mass’ – beyond the company context
• What are the key disruptive differences of MOOCs
• Inexpensive (economies of scale change L&D business models)
• Wide variety of content (growing ever wider)
• More immediate availability (towards on demand)
• Difficult to assure quality (is it easy now?)
• Learning goals and evidence not subject to business scrutiny or alignment (are
they now?)
• No (business) control over audience make-up
• Interaction with broader audience, work shared openly
• …
• Is it about control?
• Is this a threat to current bespoke, custom, closed approaches which
have struggled to deliver measurable results?
• How do these disruptive differences influence the environment and
how are they influenced by the environment?
11. A Future Influenced By the Past?
• Historical Content Examples?
• Software
• Music
• Books, articles and papers
• Movies
• …
• Historical Service Examples?
• Recruitment
• Product Sourcing
• Travel Agents
• …
Inevitable trends:
• Lower distribution costs
• Global accessibility
• More productive development
• Global sourcing
• Economies of scale for development
and maintenance
• Specialisation & intermediary costs
are more visible, require clearer ROI
to justify
12. Scenario Drivers
• Key decisions
• In general, what are the costs and benefits of
MOOCs over existing alternatives (if there
are any)?
• Are MOOCs available for your workplace
learning requirements?
• If so, how will they be made available and
managed in the workplace?
• What will be the roles of the intermediaries
between the MOOCs and Learners and the
business?
• Who will play these roles?
14. Scenario #1 – MOOCs Not Ready
• MOOCs do not now (and are not likely in the next 3
years to) offer a viable alternative to existing course
solutions
• Over-hyped, unrealistic, can’t deliver
• MOOCs go for lowest common denominator mass
markets – most workplaces have narrower, higher
quality, professional level requirements
• Continue to evolve in-house L&D maturity, use
technology, outsource some content delivery and
development but keep business control
1
15. Scenario #2 – Raise the Draw Bridge
• MOOCs are viable
• The L&D practice community feels threatened by the
consumerisation of learning
• L&D professionals try to apply existing training course
management / development mind-set to MOOCs
• L&D professionals are dis-intermediated as business
managers & HR allow Learners to go direct to MOOC
providers
• L&D budgets are redirected to business managers
and HR for discretionary spend
• With lower budgets, L&D function struggles to
demonstrate any measurable outcomes
2
16. Scenario #3 – Learners Not Ready (L-
Plates)
• MOOCs are viable
• Learners do not have discipline, skills and motivation
to self-drive
• As a result, L&D professionals are still heavily
involved as intermediaries between MOOCs and
Learners
• L&D professionals spend more time managing MOOC
sources than they would managing own content
creation
• Management overheads offset low cost of MOOCs
3
17. Scenario #4 – MOOCs Take Over
Guild Halls
• MOOCs are viable
• Rise of an alternate intermediary, displacing business
L&D
• Professional associations drive standardisation and
endorse MOOC catalogues
• Workplace management relies upon professional
development bodies to be responsible for L&D
• HR provides incentives / requirements for Learners to
be accredited by external bodies
• Learners receive most structured training through
professional association, union etc..
• L&D professionals migrate away from the business
and into professional development organisations
4
18. Scenario #5 – Adopt, Adapt and Evolve
• MOOCs are viable
• L&D professionals identify a value adding facilitation
and curation roles
• Provide governance and quality assurance over
portfolios of largely Learner self-service MOOC
offerings
• Business L&D focuses on the high value, low volume
opportunities for specialist intervention
• Business view MOOCs as one of the outsourced
products/services enabled and managed by the
business L&D function
5
19. Impact Challenges
• Short-form scenario challenges to Learning Café members
around these themes
• Encourage scenario based decision making and consideration
of enablers and constraints on possible future directions
• Open for group to share perspectives
• For example:
• You learn from a contact in HR that a business unit manager has
funded MOOC enrolments for their staff out of the unit’s operating
budget and allowed a few hours of week study time.
• The same unit manager recently refused to contribute a share of their
budget to an integrated corporate training program.
• What do you do?
• Are there policies which determine whether this initiative is within
business guidelines?
22. If a business case is required...
Organisational
Context
• Business
environment?
• Current &
emerging
opportunities?
• Rate of change
in customer
needs?
• Competition?
• Watch out for
hidden costs for
adoption e.g.
flipping!
Organisational
Priorities
• Is the
organisation
focused on
learning as a
priority?
• Product
leadership?
• Operational
excellence?
• Customer
intimacy?
• Do they view
bridging
capability gaps
as a current
business
priority?
Organisational
“Culture”
• Valued learning
events: “internal”
or “external”?
• Willingness to
allocate
resources e.g.
SMEs, time,
etc.?
• Approach to risk
(in learning
provision)?
• Employee
engagement to
learning?
23. Some key questions to ask
Structure
• Current / upcoming
organisational focus
• Do employees have
the capabilities to turn
MOOC learning into
value for the
organisation?
• Do employees have
the time, space, tools,
etc. to engage with
the MOOC “way of
learning”?
• Infrastructure and
access to required
technology?
Process
• Does the organisation
have defined job roles?
• Do employees
acknowledge impact of
“external forces” on the
organisation that might
require a focus on
learning / skill
development?
• What processes (and
the related costs!) will
be required to integrate
MOOCs into the
existing training
offered?
• Who “owns” the training
function – do you have
the power to change the
current approach?
• How will MOOCs be
integrated into existing
processes e.g.
performance reviews,
KPIs?
Culture
• Do the business
“stakeholders” have
the authority to
request the
integration of
MOOCs?
• How will MOOCs be
integrated into
existing processes
e.g. performance
reviews, KPIs?
• Possible barriers e.g.
political?
• Are employees /
leaders encouraged
to leave their “comfort
zones”?
• Who “enjoys
promotions”?
24. Possible business case “buckets”
Creating a
continuous learning
culture
Creating a new
direction / facet for
performance
management
Improving options
for talent
management for
individuals / teams
Improving bench
strength
Developing a wider
global mindset
Driving talent
mobility
Increasing offering
within a recruitment
model – “unique
people strategies”
Providing wider
options for
employee
engagement
...
27. MOOCs for employee learning
Impact – Where & How
27
Employee
Capability
Gaps
Organisational
Gaps
Individual
Gaps
Gaps
Plugged
Custom
Training
workshops
Online
Learning
Coaching
L&D Organised
Internal
Knowledge
Bases
Performance
Support
Not
L&D Organised
Internal Driven Learning External
Generic
vendor
courses
Further formal
education e.g.
degrees
MOOCs
Formal
Less
Structured
Informal
28. MOOCs to Learner Approaches
28
DIY Facilitated Organised
Laissez
faire
Learners
search for
MOOCs on
internet
Complete
Reporting in LMS
Learners go
to a portal set
up by L&D
Complete
Learners go to a
portal or
recommendations
pushed by LMS
Share with
internal
community
Complete
Share with
internal
community
Learners gets
personalised
recommendation
& supported by
L&D
Self Report Self Report Self Report L&D Report
30. Call to Action
30
Follow MOOCs at work
• LinkedIn Groups
• Follow on Twitter - @moocsatwork
• Sign up at
Identify your area of interest
Cost
Usually free – Certificate - $70
Commercial MOOCS - $60
35. Questions to Discuss
• One of the challenges the working group has raised is what part
does L&D get to play in MOOCs for Learning. The answer may turn
out to be very different to what we do now.
• Currently MOOCs are predominantly available for certain topics ie
IT, Management, Science which only meet part of organisational
needs.
