A Road Trip to Interactive Learning
At iCONECT our training team uses an interactive learning approach to our teaching. I will use the analogy of a road trip to help explain this method. When I was younger, I used to go on road trips with my dad. He was a big planner so would always tell me the route weeks in advance. However, if you were to ask me the directions a couple weeks later, I’d probably only be able to tell you our destination. As I became his co-pilot I would be forced to navigate the map or GPS. By doing this I became more familiar with the various highways and points of interest on the route. We ended up doing this trip at least once every summer, so as a passenger I only would have to look at my map every so often (let’s be honest I was napping for parts of it). It was only as I got older and started driving it myself (no more naps allowed!) that I knew the exact route.
So what does this have to do with interactive learning? At iCONECT we believe the best way to learn is to do! Research has shown that if you were to learn only by reading and then try to recall that information 2 weeks later, you would only be able to remember 10%. If you were put in a situation to be able to apply your learning through a simulation or real situation, you would be able recall up to 90% of the taught material. In relating this back to my road trip, I was only able to fully recall everything on my route when I started driving it on my own. At iCONECT we use a layered approach to help build upon our students’ learning. We recognize that there are multiple intelligences and just like our software, our training team is flexible to what works best for your education.
Our Training
We have a variety of courses and certifications to take depending on what your role will be in the iCONECT XERA System, that must be re-certified yearly. All of our training videos begin by setting objectives. With our new curriculum, we are going to apply this to our courses as well. This will allow students to have a concrete goal for what they should feel confident doing in the system by the end of training. We always set each student up for success by ensuring they have the background and knowledge required to achieve their course goal. For example, we would never have a student take advanced analytics before completing the project management course. Our courses consist of a power point presentation in combination with hands on system exercises during and after class. This applies the learned material while working collaboratively as a group and individually. For these activities students will always have resources available to them: documentation, video links for references and/or trainer support. At the end of every course there is an exam, this is an opportunity to measure student knowledge but also a chance to reflect on the current curriculum and better ourselves as trainers.
Our training team is working on a roll-out for the newest release that will only highlight the changes to help ease the transition into those releases. Think of it in the perspective of our road trip, a new bridge has been built along your path that will shave time of your trip, all you need is a little guidance at that point of the route to keep you going!
We do our best to teach and provide the resources you need to remember that 90% of the material, but we know that there are always bumps in the road. So for that 10% call support! They’re an awesome group and happy to help you reach your end destination. We also always encourage your feedback when it comes to your XERA education and getting the best results out of your review. So, feel free to send an email to training@iconect.com.