The Search
How the Evolution of Finding Information has Changed L&D
We search for a lot of things: meaning, our keys, a partner to share our lives with. We humans, we’re seekers. Explorers. Discoverers. Endlessly curious. My wife and I can’t watch a movie without looking at least one thing up. It feels urgent when we do. We simply MUST know where else we’ve seen that actor. What song is that? How old is Michelle Pfeiffer? (She’s 62.)
When was the last time you looked for some information? If you’re like 94% of the earth’s population, you did it within the last day and you did it on Google.
Digital search has impacted how we’ve learned, how we learn, and how we will learn. How humans naturally find information must be inextricably linked to how we deliver information in the field of L&D. Let me repeat that in another way: there can be no discussion about learning or training without discussion of how your audience will discover information.
What Does Learning Really Mean Anyway?
I could make the argument that “Learn” and “Search” can be used interchangeably. The main question is: how do I access information that is useful to me?
Learning is a loose term nowadays. What we really mean when we say “learning,” in the context of an organization, is information access. An employee accesses information, then is able to perform a certain task or function. Sometimes they don’t know how to perform a task or function at all, sometimes they just want to get better at it. Either way, our job as learning pros is to enable them to find information so they can perform.
Sometimes, we make them find information in their own brains. This is the most commonly used method. We make them sit in a classroom or through an eLearning and then at the end they’re supposed to know a thing so well that they can simply search their brain for information.
A Furnace and a Lesson
A couple of years ago, my heat wouldn’t kick on. It was November and I finally had to cave and turn the heat on for the first time after a long beautiful summer. I pushed all the necessary buttons on the thermostat and she just wouldn’t go. So I did what I always do and I FaceTimed my stepdad who is the guru of how to fix broken things in a house. He walked me through a bunch of troubleshooting tips and after some time, Eureka! We resolved the issue together. He was the brains, I was the hands. This story is an instance of the knowledge I needed being in someone else’s brain.
Now let’s fast forward to this year. I turn on the thermostat, expecting some warm air to circulate through the chilly house… and nothing. I went straight to Google, scrolled through quick tips, scanned videos and watched HVAC experts walk me through common issues. Eventually, I turned the switch off, then on and guess what started running? My furnace. It was a simple fix, but I was still proud. I had done it on my own! Perhaps I should get into the HVAC business because I’m clearly a pro.
In my broken furnace story, you notice that there are two different ways that I accessed information. In the first situation, I contacted a person. I had no confidence, I needed the assurance of someone who had done this before to make sure I didn’t electrocute myself or blow up my house. I had never opened the front panel of a furnace before — it was scary. In the second scenario, I felt more confident. With the support of YouTube, I tore that panel off like an old pro and got down to business. Which lights were flashing, was the pilot on, did I hear any clicks?
There’s an important lesson in there. Google and YouTube are great when the stakes are low and you feel more confident. But if you’re using them, you probably have a base knowledge already or the stakes are very low if you get it wrong.
The Search Eras
Let’s discuss the eras of how a human could find information. Keep in mind, the eras are not exclusive to a time period. All the methods are brought forward because they accomodate an eternal need. For example, the books of Era 2 did not replace a person explaining something to you in Era 1 — the books simply supplemented and added new options.
Era 1 — Someone explains a thing to you in person, one on one
Examples: Apprenticeship, showing someone how to do something like build a fire
Topics: Iron smithing, Cooking
Location of information: your brain
Era 2 — Someone explains a thing to you via the written word
Examples: Books, Scrolls, Maps
Topics: How to cross the sea, The Bible, Plant Biology
Location of information: a book or paper
Era 3 — Someone explains a thing to you in person, in a group
Examples: School, Socrates, Workshops
Topics: Math, Science
Location of information: your brain
Era 4 — Libraries
Examples: libraries
Topics: All
Location of information: a building
Era 5 — Digital (no one is physically here to help you)
Examples: eLearning, Virtual Training
Topics: All
Location of information: your phone, laptop, cloud
Era 6— Digital Helper
Examples: Search, Google Maps, YouTube, Podcasts, Voice Assistants, Social
Topics: All, but focused
Location of information: everywhere
Era 7 — Don’t Search (cutting edge)
Examples: AR, “Learning in the Flow of Work”
Topics: All, but focused
Location of information: delivered to you
Era 8 — Bio-enhancement (future)
Examples: Brain implants
Topics: All
Location of information: your brain — just think the question and the answer will be thought-whispered to you via implanted information transmitter.
Teasing out Eras 6 and 7
We’re in an age where our search helpers don’t even need you to ask anymore. Imagine you have a butler and when you would ring the bell, the butler would come and ask what you needed. You would say, “a glass of water.” The butler would happily retrieve it. Now, you have a new butler and this one is good. Really good. He brings you a glass of water every day around 3pm because that’s when you tend to get thirsty. He also knows your calendar so he’s already told your carriage driver to prepare the horses and how to get to the estate where you will have your meeting. Sorry, I went full Downton Abbey there, but you get the point.
Our Information Search butlers have gotten more sophisticated through AI and Machine Learning that they know what you need before you ask for it.
That’s the biggest difference between Era 6 and Era 7. It’s dumb search vs. smart search. It’s I’ll wait here search vs. predictive search.
Era 7 is a Graphical User Interface overlay that is available to you at all times. It can translate a food label for you in Tokyo. Or it can guide you through using a software system. What I love about accessing information this way is that it’s so meaningful, so useful. Offering relevant content is one of the ever-present challenges of L&D. And the search tools of Era 7 solve this problem within their very essence.
Moving Forward
So how does all this searching impact what we do as Learning Pros and what shall we do with this information? Here are my recommendations:
- Acknowledge how your learners currently access knowledge — and be realistic. In the learning biz, we have a tendency to be overly optimistic about how amazing our supporting materials are. We are so baffled when our users don’t use them. How dare they! We spent months developing that job aid or that infographic. If your learners are going to Google that is what they WANT to do. If they’re using a group chat rather than a cumbersome 1,000 page document that you tell them to use Control F to find things in, maybe you ought to reconsider some things.
- Create a Learning Landscape schematic. Map out all the different ways a learner accesses information and the location of the information. This will give you a full picture of the various learning modalities you currently have and it will help you identify where you have opportunities to create new learning pathways that will excite and inspire learners.
- Create a vision of the new Learning Landscape. Be bold. Are you missing out on adaptive learning opportunities? Are you offering an easy-to-use search option? Are you exploring how AI or AR can help your learners before they even ask?
- Create a learner profile for every new learning initiative. In it, detail their confidence level and what learning methodology they might choose for themselves. Do plenty of learner interviews. Don’t guess at what they’d like. But I’d also caution here that while understanding what your learners prefer is important, take it with a grain of salt. You’re the learning professional, they’re not. If they’ve only been exposed to Classroom Training then that’s what they’ll say they want always and forever. Most learners wouldn’t recognize a group chat as a learning vehicle.
- Apply these principles on both a macro and micro learning initiative level. If you’re thinking bigger picture as a Learning Architect, you’re going to be the one supplying all the materials, technology, and resources for the Learning Designers. Meet regularly with the Designers to understand their challenges and be open to their ideas. If you’re focused on a specific project as a Learning Designer, if you see a gap in a best practice of how to deliver content, fight for your learner. Ask for what they need, be their voice.
Thanks!
Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment below or reach out. I love talking about this stuff and would love to hear from you.
