Mailbox

T+D, Jan, 2003

One of the Best

Regarding Craig Taylor's article, "Second Wave," in the October 2002 issue: I've been subscribing to T D for years, and Taylor's article is one of the best.

As an HR manager in a company that isn't considered high-tech --let's face it, it's beer-yet has the challenge of finding a blended approach to learning, I found Taylor's article extremely helpful. He did a great job explaining the details of each component so that a new e-person could comprehend. I also loved the Lego analogy!

Tracy Burns-Martin

Boston Beer Company

tracyburnsmartin@bostonbeer.com

Also Dazed and Confused

Gary Segers's article "Dazed and Confused by E-Learning" (October 2002) directly and eloquently states what many experienced training professionals are feeling.

I'm glad to see that [T D recognizes] the need to print such articles. I'm usually the first to support new and different methodologies, but my inability to grasp the miracle of e-learning has left me a bit dazed and confused. Bravo!

Sandra Torres

TrainingBuz.com

storres@trainingbuz.com

I'm in full agreement with Segers's article. I too attended the e-learning conference in April. It seemed like everyone was there for some answers or clarification about e-learning, but from discussions with many (like myself) [there weren't] a lot of aha! moments. Many vendor programs seemed [to require] more time and money than they were worth--almost what an organization could formulate on its own.

I did a big proposal to our education committee to set up an LMS, and the committee had so many questions and concerns about time, cost, and whether it would pay off in years to come that the proposal didn't stand a chance.

Thanks for confirming that I'm not spinning my wheels in "getting my arms around" this e-learning thing. I think I'll wait to see what the water temperature is before we test e-learning again.

Naomi J. Kinney

Providence Hospital Washington, D.C.

nkinney@provhosp.org

Stereotypes?

[Re: Michael Lee's article "Post-9/11 Training" (September 2002)], I was more than a little shocked at the Cultural Awareness Quiz. It would've been more appropriately titled "Cultural Stereotype Awareness Quiz." He might as well have [asked] who's more likely to be involved in a drug crime or whose diet is most likely to include rice.

The quiz seems to imply that it's OK to apply broad statistical information about a cultural group to an individual. By definition, that's stereotyping. The key to diversity is understanding the reasons behind behaviors and viewpoints so that we can look beyond a person's cultural group to [his or her] value....

The article teaches us nothing about training that good training practice doesn't already account for. We should always seek to accommodate a wide variety of learning styles and interactive formats regardless of the cultural makeup of our audiences.

Gary J. Fritsch

Disability Management Solutions

gary.fritsch@cigna.com

Prophetic Words

I just chanced on Haidee Allerton's editorial from September 2001, and noted the irony of her statement, "Here I am in July writing the [September] Front Page....I have to wonder: What momentous (or even not so momentous) event might happen before September?"

Quite interesting how her editorial turned out to be prophetic.

Sean D'Souza

sean@cartoonz.co.nz

P.S. As you can see, your words are read in far-off New Zealand.

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