We at Media 1 are throwing down the gauntlet to challenge existing paradigms in corporate learning. Over the past two years, we at Media 1 have seen an increasing move away from our original core business practice of developing eLearning content for large, global corporate clients. It has become evident that we have to adapt to the changing needs of today’s corporate learners. At first, it wasn’t readily apparent what the next iteration of corporate learning was going to look like or how our foundational skills in instructional design and development would translate—but the picture has now become clear.

Our first draft of The Integrated Learning Manifesto is the culmination of our two years of intensive work in designing and piloting a new direction for corporate learning—shaped by a new set of skills and tools (such as social media and SharePoint™) that add necessary functionality and workflow to learning opportunities. Please join us in taking a bold step to move away from the confines of the eLearning course and begin integrating seamless learning into the day-to-day activities of corporate learners. This Manifesto sets forth the vision for our continued work in that direction, and we’re pleased to share it with you.

The Integrated Learning Manifesto
We at Media 1 believe effective learning needs to happen as a process, not a series of disconnected events strung together out of context. The time has come for a new, integrated model for corporate learning. Technology should provide a platform for seamlessly delivering carefully selected, timely, role-appropriate learning opportunities at the right point in career development. Learner needs must drive the LMS, not the other way around.

With that, we at Media 1 declare this first iteration of The Integrated Learning Manifesto.

I want to learn. I want to succeed. Help me by providing learning opportunities that are:

1. Social
At home, I use social media sites to keep up to date with the latest in news and technology that affect my career. I post questions and get feedback and answers from my friends. I have much to learn from my managers and peers at work. It should be just as easy to reach out to them as it is to seek advice from my social network. Give me social media tools behind our firewall I can use to exchange job-related information with my coworkers.

2. Relevant
I need to know how each learning opportunity applies directly to me and my role in the organization. If I don’t understand the purpose of a course or see what’s in it for me, don’t expect me to naturally engage with the material or automatically transfer what I learned on the job. Make it easier; help me put everything in context.

3. Self-Directed
Recognize that I am engaged in multiple tracks of learning simultaneously. I have to meet a number of annual HR compliance requirements and keep up with general business initiatives and personal development courses. I am taking technical courses to master the ever-changing systems and tools I need to do my job, as well as courses specific to my role in the organization. To advance my career, I am enrolled in a management program. I want visibility and control over options within each of these various learning tracks, and I want to chart my progress through each curriculum.

4. Integrated
The LMS is no longer the center of my learning universe. I am also learning through social media hubs and information portals. I make regular visits to various corporate sites and systems of which the LMS is just one. Please tie everything together for me and give me a simple, integrated path across the corporate ecosystem.

5. Focused
Like you, I’m busy. When I make time for learning, my other responsibilities don’t go away. In the vast and ever-deepening sea of content and learning options, please don’t make me wade through an unwieldy content store or course catalog. Make it all available, but provide good filters to direct me to exactly the right learning from which we both will get the most immediate benefit.

6. Timely
Make sure that I have access to up-to-date, just-in-time learning and support for the things that matter today. Don’t try to cram a year’s worth of learning into a one-week “boot camp.” Six months from now, you’d much rather I look up and work to the most current process anyway.

Start Today
The goal of this Manifesto is to shatter old corporate learning paradigms and spark thoughts and conversations in new directions. Meeting some of these goals requires simple changes in the way we manage our current corporate learning environment—finding new ways to direct learners through our existing curricula and across systems. These short-term goals can be accomplished in the weeks and months ahead. Others require changes in policy or implementing new technologies; establish those as long-term goals, and start planning and working toward them one step at a time. There’s no reason not to start today.

If you need more ideas to get you started, be sure to read more at our Media1derland Blog. In the weeks ahead, CEO Chris Willis and VP of Operations Harrison Withers are booking speaking engagements to share our vision and case examples of pilot efforts that move us in line with our new Manifesto. And as always, feel free to contact us to schedule a presentation to your team, and open dialogue on how you can move closer to fully integrated learning at your organization.