eLearning Adoption: Recession Proofing TechComm?

Why eLearning should be your next skill set.

Just a few short months ago I had a podcast interview where I explained my interest in eLearning as a shift of my Technical Communication focus. Today I’ve been able to continue some of my research threads leading up to the Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) analysis, and it points towards further conclusive evidence that moving into Rapid eLearning was a well-timed and strategic move.

Having started years before with documentation and procedures in the military, I’m a firm believer in well structured TechComm. Working with the early RoboDemo / Captivate product team really showed me where instructional design and eLearning could go, and eLearning products now available like Articulate’s Studio 09 are one step beyond amazing.

I have felt for some time that continuing an eLearning track in my TechComm career would become more important in the years to come. Evidently Michael Hanley saw similar influences in the market when he wrote his post a few months ago: The Half-Life of the Knowledge Worker.

Michael defines a Knowledge Worker not as a TechComm, but rather…

…as anyone who works primarily with information or one who develops and uses knowledge in the workplace. (Michael sources this to Peter Drucker’s 1959 definition).

I strongly recommend checking out Michael Hanley’s seven part series on eLearning Adoption in Organizations for a clear view of how adoption of eLearning for Knowledge Workers may impact your personal TechComm.

Becoming familiar with user education aspects as well as the eLearning tools makes your technical writing more valuable. Knowing what message your content should take in a Help file or user manual in order to educate the reader is always a benefit. In the uncertain global economy these skills might just land you the next job, or allow a shifting role into user education.

Will eLearning Recession Proof Your Tech Comm Career?

In addition to his well-sourced Adoption series, further analysis and data supporting my parallel research and conclusions that eLearning is a recession proof industry:

By developing content with smaller, more flexible teams, the value proposition of e-learning has been enhanced, and the total cost of ownership has been significantly reduced.

Of particular interest to my XBox 360 eLearning research is his segment on the Playstation Generation where Michael draws similar conclusions:

This generation is in the workplace right now. It will expect to learn new skills as their careers develop using the tools that they have always learned on in the past: that is, by using e-learning.

In an update earlier this year on the subject, Michael states:

The prevailing feeling seems to be one of optimism, and that this is in fact a time of opportunity for the industry…

Yes, I’m adding another influence into my RSS Feeds.

In my previous post about LiveMesh and eLearning I continued a review that I had put on the back burner for nearly half a year. I stated that a push into the $58.5B LMS sector by Microsoft would be hard to beat at this stage. Michael’s post really crunches the data behind the HMH move.

I’m impressed with Irish lad Michael Hanley. He wraps up his yearlong investigation with a great post regarding Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s expansion plans validating his earlier hypotheses:

Based on the level of investment one e-learning enterprise has committed to developing the industry in the medium- to long term, the market in now in a place to support the proposition that the ROI on e-learning makes sense, and generates profit.

For now I echo Michael’s sentiment that nobody seems to be watching these groundbreaking industry moves. Read his stuff.