Professional Education

Lately, those of us in the military and government space have been hearing more about sequestration and the impact it could have in Washington and beyond. But what exactly is sequestration, and what impact could it have on government training?

According to Politico, sequestration is:

“The formal term for mandatory cuts to federal programs – the process of cordoning off money that may have been authorized by Congress but is now prohibited from being spent. Literally, the money is being ‘sequestered’ – taken away from the federal agencies affected.”

Today’s round of sequestration is aimed at cutting the federal deficit, and and totals about $1.2 trillion in mandatory cuts ($500 billion from the military alone).

As always, budget cuts mean that programs will be cut across the board within federal agencies, and for many, learning and training programs are some of the first to see significant spending reductions.  However, as a proponent of the benefits learning can bring to government, I believe it is critical for government agencies to understand the value of training when these budget cuts are being considered.

Here are five reasons why government learning and development professionals should make a business case for training in the face of sequestration:

1. Improve work quality and efficiency: Simply put, effective learning and training makes employees better at their jobs.  This can boost efficiency, decrease the likelihood of making costly errors, and even improve safety on the job – all of which will save money in the long run.

Recently, we had the opportunity to partner with the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) and GovLoop’s Andrew Krzmarzick to host a webinar on mentorship within government. In the presentation, Krzmarzick described the evolution of mentorship and the growing need for effective, government-wide mentorship programs.

In the beginning of his presentation, Krzmarzick points out that while professional mentorship itself is long-established, there is a new type of “social mentorship” that has recently taken root.  According to his definition, social mentorship “leverages social networks and social media to forge connections among individuals in need of advice, admonition, or assistance.” And he should know, as GovLoop is already harnessing social mentoring for the benefit of government.

We have probably all heard the adage that “the only constant is change.” Undoubtedly, this phrase rings true for those of us in today’s military space. Over the past several years, the military has seen vast changes in everything from the challenges it faces to the technology it uses.  With soldiers stationed and deployed throughout the world, a new generation of young, tech-savvy recruits, and ever-tightening budgets, the military must remain agile enough to evolve with these changes.

With these factors in mind, how can military trainers best adapt to current trends while preparing for what lies ahead? Here are my thoughts on best practices for modern military training:

• Use time wisely: Effectively engaging military learners is easier said than done especially when you consider the extraordinary demands placed on their time. Instead of spending critical training time teaching young, tech-savvy soldiers how to use technology they are already familiar with, including learning management systems (LMS) and smartphones, focus on instructing them on how to leverage these tools on the ground.
• Foster collaboration: The military prepares soldiers to work together as a team, so why should their classroom training be any different? Use collaboration tools that combine formal instruction with informal learning and structured social interaction to help learners share knowledge with one another so they will be best prepared to succeed as a unit.

This October, ASTD will host a conference in Washington, DC on the future of learning in government. As a Premier Sponsor, Blackboard is excited for this opportunity to share our expertise in government learning technology with practitioners who work to promote government innovation through better professional training.

The Government Workforce Innovations Conference will not only present unique discussions on developing strategic training plans, but will also provide critical insight on the most pertinent trends for today’s federal instructors and trainers.  Here are my top five themes from the conference you won’t want to miss!

1.  Budgeting: In this era of tightening budgets for learning and training, learn how to demonstrate a business case for your agency to see learning as an investment, not an expense.

2.  The multi-generational workforce: Discuss the challenges and opportunities brought on by a multi-generational workforce, including ways you can leverage technology to engage new and experienced employees alike.

3.  Political transition:  Learn how to create a roadmap during an administrative transition to keep you agency agenda on track while managing relationships between career and political appointees.

These days, many of us take PowerPoint and other slide-sharing tools for granted.  Presentations that feature slides have become so commonplace in colleges, boardrooms, and professional training environments that the phrase “death by PowerPoint” is not unfamiliar to those who feel inundated with slide-centric lectures.

But how can those of us in the military and government space ensure that we aren’t boring our audiences to death with slides, but are instead using PowerPoint to make presentations more engaging and memorable? A recent post by Federal Computer Week’s Steven Kelman titled “Confessions of a PowerPoint convert” offers some insights to help answer this question.

As a professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, author of several books on public policy, and former Administrator at the federal Office of Management and Budget, Kelman can speak from many perspectives on the ways we learn and teach in the government space.  Kelman offers the following tips to government readers on delivering engaging, informational PowerPoints:

1. Minimize text on slides and use concise bullet points instead of paragraphs
2. Use different colored text to draw focus to specific content
3. Try animations (such as text zooming into view) to grab viewer’s attention
4. Focus on appealing visuals such as photos and charts – and don’t be afraid of image-only slides!

And what results did Kelman see when using PowerPoint for the first time in his classroom while following the guidelines above?  He states:

“I saw the first results while I was teaching, which was a dramatic increase in the amount of student notetaking. But I just got more detailed results — my students’ evaluations of the first classes where I used the PowerPoint presentations. My overall teaching ratings went up. But there was a very dramatic increase in one specific area: “Clarity of the main ideas presented in class.” With the slides, participants were able to absorb main points and themes better.

This has been a real eye-opener. I know some people believe slides inhibit learning. I am now inclined to think that, used well, they really do help learning. And this is with executives who are not part of the videogame, text-message generation. I haven’t even tried this yet on my twenty-something master’s students; this will happen when the semester starts in a few weeks. There is something here, I think, not just for professors, but for managers or anybody else trying to get messages across.”

Be sure to read the rest of Steven Kelman’s “Confessions of a PowerPoint convert” for his full thoughts on adopting slides in his presentations, and please share any additional PowerPoint tips you have with us in the comments below!