To engage and retain employees, government agencies must embrace modern digital learning platforms that empower staff to grow their skills. In this Q&A, Bryna Dash, Anthology (formerly Blackboard) vice president of government and corporate sales, describes ways to create learning opportunities that fulfill mission needs.
Q. How are government agencies evolving their approach to learning?
Government agencies have always been good at continuing education. We’ve used online platforms to do the mandatory annual training, but the focus now is using these platforms for mission-specific courses as well. From hybrid courses to full instructor-led online courses, agencies are gaining efficiencies in their training programs and improving mission outcomes as a result.
For example, California has a broader vision for its employees that involves connecting all learning opportunities, so no matter what agency someone works in, they have access to learning options across the state. That allows people to upskill and move across agencies as part of their career development.
Corrections departments are also modernizing to provide incarcerated people an online education that is equivalent to or better than what is available in their local community. They can offer course catalogs from multiple local colleges, giving access to a broader range of options with the goal of reducing recidivism.
These examples may sound simple, but doing it well requires the most innovative technology, unique expertise and many years of experience.
Q. How are governments using digital learning platforms?
The pandemic proved to many agencies that online training can be effective. Now there’s a combination of blended, online and face-to-face learning happening across mission sets that people never thought was possible.
Many government agencies have also tried to build and maintain learning tools on their own. Moving to the cloud or a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model frees up their resources to focus on their mission. SaaS offerings also allow industry to innovate quickly and bring functionalities to government at a faster pace than ever.
Q. What capabilities should government leaders look for in learning platforms?
A modern and intuitive user interface is key, but that’s just the beginning. Learning solutions must include embedded collaborative tools, allowing courses and programs to be highly engaging and produce the expected learning outcomes and mission improvements.
Within government, we see a very common use case where you’re not just training federal and state employees but also external stakeholders like contractors. Those user groups require their own workflows.
A learning solution with built-in authoring tools makes it easier and faster to create content, courses and learning programs. From there, courses can be quickly augmented and updated.
Beyond functionality, agencies must require FedRAMP Moderate, StateRAMP or higher-level certifications based on the types of course material and personally identifiable information that will live in their learning system. You need vendors who are committed to meeting the unique requirements of agencies and who have serious security standards for their offerings.
Q. What do governments need to think about to develop more robust learning programs?
Start with the program’s objectives. What are you trying to do better as part of your mission? You must be grounded in your overall goals because you want to assess the positive impact on the mission, not just the percentage or number of course completions. That’s hard to measure in traditional classrooms, but with a modern system, you can measure your successes and iterate against them.
This article is excerpted from the new Government Technology Q&A, “Providing Modern and Secure Learning Opportunities.” Click here to download the full paper.
Sponsor Content
