Which statement is correct?

A. Information overload is a problem common to many learning environments.
B. Many learning environments suffer from a lack of the right information.

Unfortunately, both are correct.

Environments can suffer from one or the other but not both simultaneously. Often the second is predicated from the first. In an attempt to streamline the menu of available educational content, organizers prune aggressively. Learning paths are created to organize data into bite size chunks. Finally, the information is ordered in a ‘logical’ linear format. Consume this first, then this, and finally this. This method is neat, clean, organized and is wrong a majority of the time.

What’s missing is context. Learning is a highly contextual experience by nature. Good teachers, naturally use facial expressions, eye contact and body language to determine if their students get it. In contrast, many courses or learning activities that are developed and delivered to sales professionals and support staff alike, are devoid of this. A popular excuse is, virtual, online, self-paced learning prevents this from happening. That assertion too, is wrong.

What’s missing is the ability to process the digital body language (DBL) of the audience. The DBL is processed by calculating the sum of a person’s:

Sales performance (or lack there of)
Previously completed learning activities
Job function
Career path
Areas of interest
Market dynamics
Departmental & organizational objectives
Upcoming product releases
Upcoming program changes

This data is then used to create a personalized learning campaign that follows audience members indefinitely. The content delivered to the learner can be anything from pertinent blog posts, articles, and white-papers to formalized activities such as self-paced/online courses with quizzes attached. The premise is, to truly enable an audience, content must be delivered, cheaply, in a timely fashion and to the right people at the right time.