MarketScale EdTech 01/08/19: The Power of Continuous Education

2019 is going to be a big year for EdTech, mostly because of the shift in generational teaching. Gen Z’s flexible learning style is leading to new methodologies, new technology and new initiatives for what works in today’s modern classroom. These methods of transmitting knowledge are changing and going more and more online, in both corporate education, higher education, and personal education.

What we’ve come to find, though, is just because something’s online doesn’t make it engaging or innovative; eLearning is experiencing a transition of its own. On today’s MarketScale EdTech Podcast show, we speak with Clint Clarkson, founder and managing partner of e-Learning Alchemy, Ltd., and Shelley Osborne, head of learning and development at Udemy. From how to present information to get employees interested, to the importance of continuous learning as an adult, this week’s podcast shines a light on the power of never being done with your education.

eLearning & Corporate Training Doesn’t Have to be a Drag

Any subject can be interesting, if you are willing to be interested in it. That’s the main challenge that faces anyone tasked with teaching another human being something, and the problem seems to be exacerbated in the corporate space. On today’s podcast, MarketScale Host Sean Heath sat down with founder & managing partner of eLearning Alchemy Ltd., Clint Clarkson, who has dedicated himself to making corporate traning and education less by-the-books, and more in-line with what’s working in today’s classroom: story-based and character-driven.

Heath and Clarkson discussed where the true challenge to a positive training environment can come from (it is not the students), the difference between a straw and a firehose, how comics are a perfect analog for a good training protocol, and how training can, in fact, be extremely engaging.

“One of the biggest challenges we have is apathy within the organization towards the learning. I’m not necessarily speaking about the learners. The learners pick that up from the leaders inside the organization. There is a lot of research that shows that learning is more effective when it’s properly supported before and after the learning event has occurred by the managers,” Clarkson said. “So, a lot of that apathy that translates into the learners and comes into a classroom or into an e-learning course while they’re completing it, is the result of the fact that the learners know that their managers don’t care. So, why should they care?”

From You to Me, Udemy is Powering Adult Education

On our second feature, MarketScale Host Tyler Kern spoke with Shelley Osborne, head of learning and development at Udemy, about trends in adult and continuous learning. What Osborne has found in the last several years is that Generation Z students taking classes through Udemy are seeking more flexibility in their jobs, and they recognize that more intellectual diversity is the key to that flexibility. This mentality is leaking its way up the generational spectrum, impacting how adults approach their education post-college. From sourdough baking to complex coding skills, Udemy is giving adults the tools to keep their skills up to date, and Osborne came on the podcast to explain why this is becoming a “need” in the workspace, not just a perk.

“People don’t just do one thing for their entire lives. They often jump careers, or try different industries or different fields. And I think both of those things really inform this need to keep rescaling and upscaling,” Osborne said. This is especially important as the skills gap continues to widen, especially the gap between what we learn at the universities and what is needed in the modern workplace. Osborne explains it’s becoming more and more necessary to continue learning and to become an increasingly well-rounded professional.

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