Learning in the METAVERSE
While we are still turning the key in the Zoom lock welcoming participants into breakout rooms with a click of a button, the Western world is already transitioning into the metaverses— not just for meetings but also for creating virtual offices, hybrid events, and casual meetups in gamified platforms.
Almost two years ago, learning specialists had to adapt faster than anyone else and master online facilitation. Some adapted quickly, relying on their learning agility mindset, while others had to push themselves hard, wiping away tears as they packed away Neuland markers into the far corners of their desks. And some breathed a sigh of relief, glad that they no longer had to stand for 8 hours in a stuffy room in front of a flipchart, needing to arrive at least two hours early to prepare.
In almost two years, we've perfected the art of hosting online events, to the point where we can condense a two-day program into just 4 hours. At the same time, we manage to look at three screens — one with training participants, another with the presentation, and a third with our own materials — while in the five-minute break, we still manage to feed our pets, kids, or spouse.
Stoics say the best comforting phrase is, "This won't last forever."
In the context of VUCA/BANI worlds, this phrase has taken on a new meaning. Life shows that once you get used to something and learn it, it's the perfect signal that it's time to learn something new or at least check if your skills are still relevant.
So, online facilitation platforms like ZOOM or any other virtual meeting software are already nearing the end of their short life cycle, just as the books predicted — skills today have a shelf life of just 1 to 3 years. Virtual metaverse worlds are now on the front line, offering far more opportunities than Zoom windows, no matter how familiar and comfortable they may have become.
Resources like
take online communication to new levels, creating an immersive experience for all participants.
Imagine — studying Dickens’ works while immersed in 19th-century England, strolling through the streets of London, meeting the author of The Pickwick Papers, who is habitually fiddling with his hat, and observing his quirks almost in real life. Yes, these approaches are already being used in learning for fields like microsurgery, aviation, and the military. But today, they’re also being applied in retail for product knowledge training, language schools to work on accents, museums and concert halls for creating a sense of presence, and labs for practicing biochemical experiments without the risk.
Corporate universities and academies, LMS, and LXPs are nearing the end of their lifespans. The future is about managing digital universes. It's best to start learning about it today.
I’ll never stop saying that we, as learning specialists, cannot afford to fall behind or show that we are stuck in one method or approach.
We are role models in the ability to learn, relearn, and find and offer new solutions, both in content and in the forms and technologies of delivery.
January 15, 2021.