From your point of view, which is the most appropriate form of learning at the speed of business?


David James Clarke IV: I firmly believe that the capacity to "learn at the speed of business" is as efficient and effective as it has ever been in the history of man thanks to recent advancements and applications of new technologies. Among the many online learning tools available today, immersive online environments present the most unlimited potential to reshape business training by enabling organizations to develop and deliver "virtual internships" that are extremely effective and can be scaled inexpensively.


Each of these experiential learning environments creates an immersive, real-life experience for students where they interact with characters to gain information, form ideas, and synthesize knowledge acquired into a demonstrable product by way of the assessment elements. The "natural assessment" elements are contextual in nature and allow instructors to assess a student's level of knowledge while providing an experience that is in keeping with the storyline. Some of the best immersive learning environments are unique in their simplicity of design, yet extremely powerful in their ability to engage students.


With the speed of business increasing almost exponentially, each business needs to ensure that its people are equipped with a pre-defined set of skills (pre-armed). These skills are typically taught from a structured and formal learning standpoint. Then, as the business evolves and employees' skills lose relevancy, companies must employ aggressive, state-of-the-art informal training programs for on-the-job skilling. This is a key differentiator in the highly competitive global economy.


Do you address experiential reflection and learning processes as a form of informal learning that's part of normal workday life, or are you talking about a special technology and highly individualized user configurations?

David James Clarke IV: Achieving deep, long-term knowledge retention requires that individuals experience all four stages of the cognitive learning cycle: learn, discuss, experience, and feedback. Ninety-five percent of the learning in business occurs while on the job. Unfortunately, in many business settings, individuals are so busy that they do not have opportunities to experience all four stages of the learning cycle. In such cases, special technologies can be the most efficient and effective way to fill these gaps.


Some of the best learning techniques for experiential reflection and informal skills retention are coaching, mentoring, and immersive "virtual internships". Learning by doing is the most effective way to learn and practice new skills in a safe, known, good environment.

Wouldn't it be desirable to combine business learning processes and knowledge management both in technology and in creating new content out of companies' experiential background?

David James Clarke IV: It would not only be "desirable"; I would assert that it is absolutely essential that successful businesses in the future combine learning processes and knowledge management to build a virtuous cycle whereby the organization and its constituents are consistently engaged in training practices that are authentic and experiential.

In business, information and knowledge are used to drive critical decisions and create productive actions. The quality of these actions is dependent on the relevancy and currency of the information. The most relevant, valuable information is always that which is timely and can be delivered to learners "just-in-time" within a flexible internal architecture.

What do you expect for the future?

David James Clarke IV: Most individuals in this world spend the great majority of their lives in two places: school and work. Unfortunately, engaging and inspiring motivated individuals in these setting has often been a challenge. As a result, business efficiency and effectiveness has suffered. In my opinion, the top-down, standardized approaches to training and education that have predominated institutions, especially over the past 150 years, must change.

My vision is that to catalyze this change, organizations must adopt a more learner-centered institutional architecture. Institutions that successfully accomplish this will be better prepared to consistently produce intrinsically motivated, self-actualized individuals who have a clear vision for how to achieve their learning goals. These individuals will be more productive in the workforce and more capable of making productive contributions to society.

In the future, successful business will learn that knowledge is no longer equal to power. Instead, access to knowledge brings competitive power. Further, shared access and collaboration will empower organizations to catalog their most valuable asset - i.e. human capital and employee skills.