As educational content becomes a more and more of a commodity, it’s more important than ever to remember that access does not equal learning.
Hordes of people have accessed MOOCs. Few of them finish. And even fewer of them engage with the courses in a way that results in lasting learning.
As enticing as it is to think a Netflix-type model can apply to learning, a huge amount of research tells us there simply is no such thing as “binge” learning. Organizations that latch onto this concept and promote it are irresponsible.
Yes, you can accelerate some types of learning – somewhat – but the bottom line is that most real, lasting learning takes time and it takes work.
And therein lies an advantage.
Individuals who are willing to put in the time and do the work will thrive.
Organizations that are willing to do the hard work of truly being learning organizations will have a significant – often decisive – competitive edge.
Leaders who think in terms of leading learning – in their sectors, in their societies – will transform the world. Those who don’t will simply contribute to the type of dysfunctional mess we currently see in much of the U.S. political system.
So it goes in the learning economy.