Reg Friddle of Reading Borough Council defines some of the must-do tasks and key behaviours to help you move into the fast lane of e-learning and take your organisation with you.

1. Swimming against the tide
Reg Friddle
Reading Borough Council
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2. Taking charge of
change
“You cannot force commitment, what you can
do…You nudge a little here, inspire a little
there, and provide a role model. Your primary
influence is the environment you create.”
Peter M. Senge
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3. Warm waters of
learning
What I thought
• So many opportunities!
• Aren’t I great!
What I did
•Went on some authoring & DLE training
•Sent an e-mail telling everyone how good e-learning
was
What they did
•A couple of people dipped their toes
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4. The ring of hope
What I thought
• I’ll start small with a useful project, they’ll love it
What they did
• Nothing much
What I did
• Launched a re-purposed course on HR procedures
• Sent an e-mail around
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5. Paralysis in the abyss
What I thought
•Why aren't they using it?
•How can they not want to use it?
What I did
•Kept the poolside clean & tested the water with
that little bucket thing
•Sent another e-mail around
What they did
•Nothing
•Well, maybe a little when it was blended
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6. The lifeguard has left
the building
What I thought
•I'll leave it to look after itself- it's been built so
they will come
•I just don't have the time!
What I did
•Not a lot
•Worked on other things
•Sent an email … with a screenshot of the DLE
What they did
•Not a lot
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7. Treading the waters of
frustration
What I thought
•E-learning isn't as good as... face to face training or
coaching, blah blah blah
What I did
•Carried on as if e-learning couldn't really achieve any real
benefits
•You guessed it...another e-mail, plus an article in the monthly
staff newsletter
What they did
•Nothing new or surprising
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8. Learned a few new
strokes
What I thought
•I’ll keep it ticking along and develop a few
new skills
What I did
•Went on authoring tool refresher training
•Developed a new module
•Gained a little momentum
•Dropped e-learning into more and more
conversations
What they did
•The right people started taking notice
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9. Engagement and
timescales
What I thought
•Things are beginning to move
What I did
•Worked with SMS on key corporate goal – E&D
•Showed value to Equalities Officer/ Steering Group
•Corporate Management Team took notice
What they did
•Commissioned org-wide implementation of E&D module
•Linked to compliance
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10. Provided solution to corporate need
Number of course completions
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0 Remote Working Young People and Risky
Behaviour - Online Course
Capability Poor
Performance Procedure
Time Management & E-mail
Management Homepage
Capability Ill Health
Procedure
Equality Impact Assessment
E-learning Module
Coaching Pool and
Coaching Resources
Being Green at RBC Appraisal Training Module Information Security E-
learning Module
Equality and Diversity
Online Course
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11. So what changed?
I changed
• Stronger - worked on my weaknesses
– Authoring
– Instructional design & DLE
– Sales skills
• More confident
– I lead this – I can make it work
– Top of mind
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12. "I am not going to allow myself not to
perform well just because I don't feel
well. I am bulletproof to the extent that
a lot of things can be thrown at me, but
it's about how much I am prepared to
let them affect me".
Ian Thorpe (Three times Olympic gold
medal winner)
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13. Not everyone likes e-learning
at the beginning
E-learning is an active process
Be active
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14. I needed to be a
• Coach
– Develop confidence – mine and others
– Grow my own skills, work on making e-learning
• Lifeguard & pool attendant
– keeping things working and safe
• Pool manager & Head of Sales
– Integration with everything
– Evaluation & measure (80/20)
– From 'why e-learning?’ to 'why not e-learning?'
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15. What four things
have worked for me?
1. I’m responsible – I’m leading this
2. I’m not alone
3. I get below the surface – find out the sore points & sell
the right solution
4. Organisations are often chaotic – I have become
comfortable with a bit of chaos
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16. What next?
• Still going
• Still promoting
• Lots more to do – more swimmers needed!
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17. There is still time...just remember
The early bird catches the worm
but...
the second mouse gets the cheese
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