In today’s highly competitive business arena, executive trainers not only are seeking technology that can streamline their training and corporate communications but also advanced network platforms that will enable them to strategically grow faster and more profitable than their competitors.
Even though satellite-enabled distance learning allows instructors to interact with their workforce using audio, video and data, today’s corporate trainers focus more on the Internet, as Web-based training is gaining momentum.
“I do not know any innovation upon existing methods more radical and revolutionary than this.” Rev. Joseph Odell spoke those words nearly 100 years ago while delivering the keynote address at the dedication ceremony for the instruction building of the International Correspondence Schools in Scranton, Penn. Educators and trainers always have sought new and better ways for people to learn.
Yet, despite recent advances in technology, live or instructor-led classroom training still takes the lead, accounting for nearly 74 percent of total learning hours as reported by 281 U.S.-based organizations representing a variety of industries and sizes, according to the 2005 State of the Industry Report, recently published by the American Society of Training and Development. Next was self-paced online learning at 16.3 percent, followed by CD-ROM training at 2.5 percent, self-paced print at 2.3 percent and audio/video at almost 3.5 percent. Any way you look at it, there are more training formats available today than at any other time in history, making training more convenient, accessible and affordable.
Despite its successful track record, satellite has yet to become a mainstream delivery tool. The industry’s lack of supporters able or willing to educate human resource executives and trainers about satellite’s long-term efficiencies and strong return-on-investment has kept it in the slow lane. To compound the problem, corporate trainers have only scratched the surface regarding its capabilities. Still, satellite and other technologies will continue to drive the demand for unique learning experiences. Some industry experts firmly believe that satellite will have a permanent home in training’s future if it can rise above the stubborn myths and misperceptions that surround it. As they glance into training’s future, they discuss some of the more creative trends and satellite’s growth potential as a delivery tool.

Mobile Learning

Trainers will design more blended learning environments and evaluate the role of handheld mobile devices that are hitting the market. As a result, training programs will target individuals rather than classroom-size audiences, says Jolly Holden, who teaches master-level education courses in instructional technology at American Intercontinental University, an online school based in Georgia.
No matter where people are, he says, they will have access to training content delivered on a variety of formats, including satellite. As an example, content can now be delivered over an Apple iPod. Likewise, as the use of video and other media-rich components are integrated into training, the availability of bandwidth to support the delivery of those training courses may be constrained. Satellite, however, can overcome those bandwidth constraints. Instead of delivering media-rich instructional content to the Internet or wide area networks, it bypasses them, sending the information to local area networks and ultimately to employee desktops.
But before that happens, he believes vendors of satellite products and services along with satellite associations must assume a more aggressive role at training conferences, providing attendees with accurate information about satellite’s costs, flexibility and return-on-investment. “Satellite’s future can be bright,” says Holden. “The application or use won’t go away. It just needs some marketing. Otherwise it will remain an under-utilized technology.”

Defined Technology

Throughout the past decade or so, the satellite industry has done itself a disservice by delivering material that is much better presented over the Internet, says Kevin Wheeler, president at Global Learning Resources, a consulting firm in Fremont, Calif., that focuses on recruiting and employee development. For instance, he says teaching employees how to use Microsoft Word using satellite is “ridiculous.”
In the future, he believes various technologies will each assume a specific role or function in the training process. Take the Internet, which is ideal for most skill-based training programs. However, he says e-learning tools are leave a large gap in training programs that require more of a personal touch. Wheeler says this will be satellite’s niche — to deliver more intimate training by recreating a global, conversational environment. For example, if a company is conducting a leadership development program, he says satellite would be perfect for engaging top executives in conversations about key issues in their area. “Today, people are using tools that offer very clumsy ways to recreate that personal experience,” he says. “Satellite has the spontaneity and will become more of a conversational training tool where trainers can really encourage people to get into discussion. They’ll have a large screen image of people and two-way audio. It will be an incredibly powerful experience.”

Small Training Chunks

To maximize efficiencies, trainers tend to teach fairly large blocks of information at once, such as in a two-day seminar or self-paced online program. However, that is not always conducive for just-in-time training.
Distance and self-paced learning via satellite offers developers the opportunity to decompose large courses into short segments, says Rich Arnold, senior vice president of training and simulation at Unitech, a company in Centreville, Va., that designs, develops and delivers training programs.
He explains that trainers will create on-demand programs composed of small, manageable chunks of information, whether they are delivered via Internet courses or the traditional classroom. While neither format will vanish anytime soon, he says the time for such courses or workshops will shrink and be more focused on specific skills relevant to a person’s job. Besides, he says, when is the last time any employee had two uninterrupted hours at their desk to complete online training?
Training also will become more performance-oriented and be delivered at training facilities or satellite-based distance learning labs that offer rich learning environments that support collaboration and rich levels of media. Future trends like haptic interfaces, will enable trainers to develop more performance-oriented, hands-on skill training like maintenance and repair operations. As an example, Arnold points to a mechanic learning how to tighten a fitting with a torque wrench. With a haptic interface, that employee can “feel” the torque associated with the operation as if they were holding a wrench while also observing the torque reading on a dial.
But satellite’s role in all of this cutting edge technology is still debatable, Arnold says. “The question becomes one of, ‘Can satellite folks drop their per unit cost down so that even small companies can pay for downlinks and uplinks to support a rich collaborative training distribution system?’ … Satellite systems enable us to deliver learning in a very concrete way. But you’ve got to pay for it. A better mousetrap doesn’t work unless you can afford to buy the mousetrap.”

Home Learning

Training’s next phase will be to deliver courses via satellite to TV screens at small businesses and homes. People may even visit their local Kinko’s or office supply store to rent a studio for an hour, says Drew Stevens, president of Getting to the Finish Line, a St. Louis-based firm that specializes in sales and management training. While studio time, uplinking and downlinking remains too expensive for most individuals or small companies, he says those costs will decrease as the technology becomes more prevalent.
Although employees can be trained via Internet technology, the only way to ensure productivity — that they’ll correctly apply what they learned — is to engage them in the learning process. “That absolutely ensures not only their accountability but their using it on a systemic, day-to-day basis,” he says, explaining that satellite is really the only technology in today’s market that can best achieve this goal. “If they’re not involved, not engaged, you’re not going to hit home by making that training as useful as it can possibly be.”
Meanwhile, he says trainers and techies have been pushing the Internet envelope, even though satellite actually offers more capabilities and training opportunities. He believes this focus will change and shift to satellite because of its interactive nature. “Even if someone wanted to do coaching, which is still considered training, coaches can uplink via satellite and talk directly to somebody,” he says. “They can see the other person’s body language and linguistic interpretations to get a sense of what’s really going on. More one-on-one training will occur, versus one-to-many.”

Conversation Triggers

During a training session, certain phrases or key words may pop up that explain key concepts to participants. When heard later, these conversation triggers can remind participants about what they have learned.
For instance, during sales training, Brian Drum, president and CEO of Drum Associates Inc., an executive recruiting and training firm in New York City, uses the phrase POP, which stands for preparation, organization and presentation. At least 30 minutes is spent addressing the acronym, drilling down to dozens of details. Drum believes this enables salespeople to visually and audibly capture (on-demand) key moments of any workshop to remind them what they learned.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if right before sales people walked into an important client meeting, they could press a button on a handheld device and listen to or watch any portion of a seminar they attended,” Drum says, adding that this is another way that satellites can enrich training. “They could also communicate with others about a product that might be quite complicated and requires a visual description or explanation of how it operates.”
Drum believes satellite training will be used much more intensely in the future, because satellite transmission is a lot cleaner and clearer than the Internet. Satellite also is ideal in an era when most people’s attention spans have become very limited, he says. They are unable to sit in one spot for a long time, absorbing very detailed or massive amounts of information. “Imagine having a handheld videoconferencing system,” Drum says. “Visual reminders are extremely effective. They could be a wonderful way of developing employees.”

Extended Learning

Much of today’s training is a one-shot deal. Little effort is made to follow up on participants’ progress in how they apply their newfound knowledge or skills. As more human resource departments are being held accountable for proving training’s return-on-investment, reinforced learning will become critical. More trainers will require participants to submit real work scenarios that are difficult to resolve, says Cal LeMon, president of Executive Enrichment, a corporate training and consulting services firm in Springfield, Mo.
After the workshop, trainers could distribute small devices with screens that can be clipped on to a participant’s belt. Participants then receive reminders — delivered via satellite — about what they learned. For example, say several supervisors attend a training course on how to manage difficult employees. Before the course, they each submit a real scenario that involves a situation with a troubled worker. After the course, the trainer sends a brief message or video clip to each supervisor’s device that reminds participants about key points that relate to their specific situation. “The important point is that this is episodic,” LeMon says. “It’s intended to reinforce the training for a short period of time.”
Another idea is that during training sessions, on-the-street interviews similar to live news broadcasts are conducted with employees. For example, maybe a company lost a big account. On the same day the company holds a meeting with senior executives to address the scenario, schedule a mandatory employee meeting. With help from satellite, participants can watch the meeting live, contribute suggestions and learn more about what went wrong.
Until then, LeMon says the satellite industry must pitch bottom line benefits about the technology to company decision makers. The satellite providers “can’t talk about it,” he says. “They’ve got to show it. They need a promo that demonstrates what satellite can do.” n