Information Overload and New Initiatives

A recent article over at CLO online talks about the problem of information overload in the workplace. The article talks about the impact of this problem on the quality of work, the morale of employees, and the amount of time information overload causes when people have to keep re-orienting to tasks they get pulled away from, or get prioritized into.

While the thrust of the article is about how to reduce and manage information overload, what I think this article partially highlights is the importance of the design and adoption of informal learning solutions for workplace learning and performance professionals. The explosion of new technologies for activities such as social networking, social media, collaboration, and the various means by which information can be made available in different content forms, means that people are going to be forced to choose, and some may adopt a new initiative for things like internal social networking or collaboration, but others may choose to stick with the tried-and-true methods that they drew success from prior to the new implementation. As is often the case in today's world, it's about change management.

I have been in situations where I've researched different options for an effective informal learning implementation, and the design that ends up taking hold (because time constraints are short and no time is given to experiment, a separate organizational concern) is the one I know most employees are going to use, rather than the one that may be more effective at connecting people with information, and put that ever-important content curation dimension in the hands of experts. The influence of existing practice and the it's-what-I-know factor can be a serious challenge when trying to change the information behaviors of an organization.

The lesson of the article above, for me, is that buy-in and a sensible implementation and marketing strategy to move an organization away from older, less efficient formal or informal information systems, is the key to an organization's success from transformational and learning perspectives.

Ansel Adams: 20th Century Informal Learning Pioneer

My wife and I attended the final day of the Ansel Adams exhibit here at the Phoenix Art Museum a few days ago. Adams' photography is familiar to nearly anyone, and he has produced some of the most stunning images of the 20th century without the use of the high technology. I am a bit of a hobby photographer myself, and have always admired Adams' ability to find a kind of depth in monochrome that many cannot find in color.

One aspect of Adams' career I was not aware of however, was his contributions back to the field, and his short stint as a formal instructor. The exhibit made a point of highlighting not just his images, but his methods, his advancement of the art, and in some cases his activism. The Wikipedia article on his life describes some of his contributions.

Ansel Adams put a lot of work into teaching others the art of photography. He started out using informal methods, inviting interested individuals to go into the field with him and work on their personal craft. He held workshops, he published manuals, he attended conferences, he started publications. At one point he entered formal teaching, however he later returned to informal instruction. He brought his passion to us, and we're richer for his expertise today.

When I entered the museum, I expected to see a lot of wonderful black and white images from one of history's most notable photogs. What I got was so much more, and I think Adams' work and advocacy is instructive. It shows that someone absolutely devoted to their craft can bring so much to the rest of us, get us engaged, and improve the practice in general.