There was a recent article, How to Design E-Learning for Multiple Generations By Sarah Boehle,
February 19, 2008 It's a pretty interesting article about how Aetna did a study of their employees learning styles and reactions to types of training by generation (Silent Generation, ages 62-77; Baby Boomers, ages 52-61; Late Baby Boomers, ages 43-51; Generation X, ages 31-42; and Generation Y, ages 18-30). The article offers a summary of tips for those who are interested in developing their courses for multiple generations.
"• There are exceptions to the rules. You can lump people together by generation, but there are always going to be exceptions. We have seen people in the Silent Generation, for example, who are extremely competent with computers, prefer to learn by searching, and like new technologies—just like Generation Y learners. It's difficult, if not impossible, to design training around all of these exceptions, but one thing you can do is keep all of the e-learning you design as open as possible. Design it so that learners, themselves, can choose how to learn and interact with the content.
• Learning styles are upwardly compatible by one generation. If you build a course targeted at Generation Y learners, Generation X learners will look at the course and say, "I'm progressive enough to accept this," even if it's not targeted specifically at them. If you have a learner population comprising 50 percent Generation Y learners and 50 percent Baby Boomers, however, and you design the program to appeal to Generation Y learners, Boomers will resist the course. It's simply too big a jump for them to make. In that situation, it's best to design two different programs—one for each group.
• Learning styles are not downwardly compatible. If you have a group of learners consisting of both Generation X and Generation Y, always design for Generation Y. If you design for Generation X, Generation Y will view the course as antiquated and won’t accept it.
• Weigh the costs and benefits. We don't have many learner groups that comprise one generation, and there are very few that are even 50-50. With most courses, we look at the majority population and design with their proclivities in mind. When the split is somewhat even, however, we weigh the costs and benefits to determine whether taking the time to develop two different programs makes sense. We are lucky in that we design all of our e-learning within a content management system, so it’s relatively easy for us to reformat the same content in different ways to make it to appeal to each generation. It's not like building two courses; it's more like building a course and a half."
Janet Cleary over at her Brandon Hall blog compares a few different perspectives of the generational e-learning development approach, and I suggest you check out her post, Digital Maturity & Design for Generational E-Learning
Dave Boggs
SyberWorks, Inc.
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