Work environments present new elements that directly involve people: continuous, mental and physical mobility, diverse hierarchical and relational complexity, the need to get involved in new contexts and projects, continuous opportunities to interact with cultural and generational diversity. These factors require a new and more effective training response than traditional classroom and eLearning models. They require training capable of adapting people, professionally and emotionally, to important and continuous changes and especially the increasing complexity of the organisational and social environment. The work of Amicucci Formazione, supported by intensive research with University partners and over 1,300 training projects developed in the 15 years of its history, has produced new educational models and languages: Pillole Formative® (Training Pills), LearningPath and Software del Pensiero (Thought Software) are only some of the original formats which have become common lexicon in the field. The Skilla method is the reference point for training in Italy on Blended Learning, Adaptive Learning and Open Badges. The two exploring eLearning events in 2015 and 2016, which were collectively attended by 860 trainers from the main Italian companies, explored the main innovations for current and future training. The innovation of 2017, which honours the best experience of these years, is skillaLibrary+ What is skillaLibrary+?
- It is first of all a big online library, with hundreds of courses in Pillole Formative® (training pills), over 3,000 Micro Learning training objects, dozens of LearningPaths (able to respond to the training needs of all business areas and all HR processes. In addition to covering traditional business needs on organisational behaviour, soft skills, basic economics and quality, the Library Skilla responds to the emerging new digital skills).
- Along with skillaLibrary+, Amicucci Formazione has launched two new and exclusive tools for the HR function, corporate trainers and managers of Academies or Corporate Universities: Smart Academy and Happy Learning. Happy Learning helps designers make the best use of skillaLibrary+ guides for developing LearningPaths, recommendations and suggestions to support the design and launch of blended courses, webinar support, assistance with attendance so that users are involved in and motivated in regard to self-training and to ensure projects are a success.
- Smart Academy consists in a multitude of resources for upgrading and the training of Academy trainers and designers, for which specific LearningPaths and an eMagazine are made available. Every two weeks, the magazine offers formats, templates, infographics and operating cards to provide practical tools and methods on topics that vary each month (e.g. the management of webinars). Corporate trainers will be provided with training tools (Learning Plans), to make classrooms and e-learning more engaging, to involve users in continuous improvement projects).
A service to accompany the corporate training structures in relation to learning systems innovation and provide tools that make their service more effective (to users) and increase the perception of the value of their activities (in relation to the company’s management). A new and more effective learning model All the content of the Skilla Library is based on the culture of micro learning. With this approach, all forms of knowledge are represented in minimum units that are self-consistent, with full meaning, combined with other objects to create new meanings and forms of knowledge conveyable in different and multiple digital spaces within the learning ecosystem. It is this granularity that allows “liquidity training”, adaptable to the spatial and temporal needs of an organisation and its employees, able to deconstruct classic, linear and solid models that are separated in time and space in relation to organisational activities and which open the way for new experimental teaching, specific for the digital age. Permanent training is thus ensured, integrated with everyday work, which is much more effective because it intervenes where it is needed, when needed, to the benefit of those who need it. ELearning courses therefore evolve in libraries of objects broken down into micro learning objects, which can be modelled in numerous ways in ever changing paths. No more catalogues and classroom courses, but LearningPaths, individual learning experiences and a rich community of stimuli, meanings and passions. Each person within the organisation, modern knowledge nomads, will decide paths, stages, how many times and how to cross and re-cross the new landscapes of knowledge to grasp the opportunities of the new organisational worlds and not feel overwhelmed. Finally, the language of innovation is achieved through a process of continuous innovation, no more boring and difficult eLearning courses, but pleasant and engaging experiences:
- greatest exemplification of all content, through simple language, visual formats and continuous linking to experience
- lightness, pleasure and humour. Using these methods, which the design content is based on, learning is facilitated because it is associated with pleasant stimuli. resistances and fears are overcome with a touch of humour
- very rigorous planning, with extensive attention to training messages, the pace of the presentation of all objects and coordination of the same
- variety of stimuli and consistency of content. The variety of stimuli (videos, images, text, audio, etc.) and sensory channels involved (auditory, visual, tactile) are accompanied by the highest level of cohesion in terms of format and topic consistency
- emotional involvement. The creation of wonder and surprise, a hint of transgression, linked to practical experience, involves users and capture their attention
- content storage, facilitated by presentation methods involving all sensory channels, the use of metaphors and emotional involvement
Franco Amicucci