For many learning and development (L&D) professionals, especially those who are a small (or one-person) team, those at companies still using in-person training (ILT) with PowerPoint slides, and/or those who have years (or decades) worth of printed training materials, all the talk about the latest L&D technology can feel overwhelming, if not downright frightening. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be. There have been decades of successful training without these tools. Implementing any (or all) overnight could cause confusion, frustration, and (possibly) an employee revolt with pitchforks and torches.

So, let’s take a deep breath and a giant step back to figure out the right place to start.

First, some definitions.

The Learning Management System (LMS) vs. Learning Experience Platform (LXP)

An LMS provides a central location in which to store, manage, distribute and track training content, whether that content is in PowerPoint, video, SCORM, MP3 or many other formats. LMSs can also track and report learning metrics. Recently, advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have led LMS platforms to provide more personalized training experiences.

In the past, LXPs sometimes were considered to be more learner-centric and personalized than LMSs. However, LMS platforms (and other learning technology platforms) have largely adopted many of the functionalities associated with LXPs in order to deliver a better learner experience. Thus, the term “LXP” is becoming less commonly used.

Gamification

Gamification refers to the ability to present content to the learners in a way that allows them to win points, level up, and compete by completing training.

Augmented (AR) vs. Virtual Reality (VR)

The terms AR and VR are often incorrectly used interchangeably. In the L&D space, AR keeps the learner in the real world while augmenting their training with something like a smartphone, tablet, or other technology to learn a skill or set of skills (like a doctor learning how to place a chest tube in a tablet-based game). Whereas VR takes the learner out of the real world completely and creates immersive simulations. VR is often used to simulate dangerous and/or life-threating situations (like that same doctor who now needs to place a chest tube in a combative patient who has a collapsed lung in the hallway of a packed emergency room during Mardi Gras week in New Orleans within a VR game).

Artificial Intelligence (AI) vs. Machine Learning

While also often used interchangeably, machine learning is required to make AI possible. Machine learning is what the programmers and coders do to “teach” computers how to think “like a human,” while true AI would take the ML and not only think like a human but then eventually learn from that thinking and evolve.

ChatGPT (Chat Generated Pre-Trained Transformer)

An AI-powered tool that uses natural language processing to allow the user to generate a response to a question or to generate content. For example, an L&D course developer needing assessment questions could ask ChatGPT, “What questions should I ask a doctor to ensure they know the proper steps for inserting a chest tube?” ChatGPT can not only generate quiz questions, but also could create the content needed to build the full training on chest tube insertion.

With those (hopefully) clear definitions, when is it time for an L&D professional to implement one or more of these technologies into their organization? The answer will depend on many factors such as: What are the desired goals of implementing the new technology? What is the organization’s tolerance for implementing new technology? Would the technology be accessible to all employees once it’s implemented? What’s the budget? Will content be built internally or curated from third-party providers? What’s the business’s vision for the next two, five and 10 years?

Organizations looking to expand their training beyond an in-person, classroom-based format are generally doing so because of one or more of the following reasons:

• Rapid employee growth (due to expansion or a merger/acquisition).
• Expansion beyond a single location, state or country that requires simple, dependable distribution of content from anywhere at any time.
• To centralize and standardize content currently on paper, personal drives, OneDrive, Box, SharePoint, etc. and in multiple (often conflicting) versions.
• A need to generate real-time regulatory reporting.

While an LMS checks every one of these boxes, it’s still a big leap if you haven’t already put a plan in place for writing the SOPs, gathering all the existing content to determine what’s still relevant (and what needs to be burned at the next company picnic), and determining whether the skill sets of those on your team or within your organization support the successful implementation and administration of new technology. So, start there. Get your proverbial ducks in a row.

Then, take things one step at a time. Can ChatGPT or another generative AI platform help you build, refine or curate content? (Yes, it’s free but be wary: A recent study by Stanford University and UC Berkeley shows ChatGPT getting “dumber” as the versions increase.) Does your organization even have processes or procedures that could benefit from AR or VR? If not, there’s no need to consider implementing those technologies. If so, would the benefits outweigh the cost (this is rare)? Could you achieve similar benefits with role-plays? (Those are free, too.) If you’re already tracking training within your organization — even if it’s just in Excel — can you gamify by putting up a scoreboard in the breakroom or on your intranet?

Too often, there’s a perception that technology will solve all our problems. But without a clear understanding of where they will truly help, proper planning, implementation and adoption, these technologies can become nothing more than expensive toys no one uses.

L&D is most often viewed as being a cost center and not a revenue generator (arguable, we know, but this is still often the perception), therefore, while it may be enticing to bring some fancy new technology to the table, it’s imperative we’re only doing so when it makes sense for the learners, the L&D function and the business at large.