Learning 2.

0 to
Fuel Industry 4.0
From an Industrial Mode to an
Agricultural Mode
 AN Rao
About the Author
AN Rao, a lifelong learner and a Learning Sherpa, after wrapping up his corporate career spanning
35 years of leadership roles across automobile, computer peripherals, IT, IT services
and learning domains, started his life phase of purposeful impact. He worked with
various Global and Indian corporations such as Cognizant, HP, Wipro, Microland and TVS
Electronics. In his last formal role, he was the Global Head of Learning at Cognizant and was
responsible for designing and executing the learning strategies for a global workforce of
280,000 people spanning 50+ countries and five generations (Baby boomers to Gen Z).
He believes that opportunity and a hunger to learn continuously helped him be successful in
over 10 distinctly different roles during his career. He now consults in the learning domain and is
A. N. Rao (Pg. XXX)
a coach. He is a prolific traveller, and a self-taught photographer.

DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM

DIGITAL FUNCTIONAL
VALUE CHAINS

DIGITAL ASSETS

DIGITAL STRATEGY

DIGITAL BUSINESS LEARNING

TRANSFORMATION TRANSFORMATION

AUTOMATION CYBERSECURITY BLOCKCHAIN CLOUD

AR/VR PREDICTIVE ARTIFICIAL INTERNET

ANALYSIS INTELLIGENCE OF THINGS
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

Digital transformation is shaping and influencing future of work,

workforce and workplace. The impact on learning and skilling is also
profound, challenging the viability and relevance of existing learning
models and practices. Only a learning revolution that will change the
art, science and practice of learning will prepare us for the future of
work.
AN Rao comes with a rich experience of leading and driving learning in
several large global organizations, witnessing an evolving workforce
that spread across generations and geographies. He is recognized and
consulted for his insights in learning strategies and practices.
His chapter uncovers ideas and actions needed to prepare the right
mindset and capabilities for Enterprise 4.0 and Workforce 4.0.

#learningagility
#continuouslearning
#hyperpersonalization
#learningrevolution
#learningtechnologies
#futureofwork
#futureoflearning
#universaldesignforlearning

85
85
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

“  Each learner has fundamentally different

learning abilities, learning needs, preferred
learning modes and retention capabilities.
Learning systems for the future are centered
around hyper-personalization.

”
I metaphorically call it Batch Size N = 1.

86
86
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

PROLO GUE: THE STORY THUS FAR

Industrial to Agricultural? Am I going back in time? Not really. Industrial and agricultural
are my metaphors to an approach to a learner-centric world of learning. Join me in this
fascinating journey of exploring where learning came from, and how it is morphing
rapidly to fuel our lives and careers in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution—and
who knows what lies beyond.

I will start by talking about an absolutely fascinating 2010 TED talk, Bring on the Learning
Revolution by Dr Ken Robinson: “I meet all kinds of people who don’t enjoy what they
do. They get no pleasure from what they do. They simply go through their lives getting
on with it. They do not think they are good at anything. They endure it rather than enjoy
it and wait for the weekend. But I also meet people who love what they do. But these
are the minority. I think there are many possible explanations for it. And, high among
them is education because, education—in a way—dislocates very many people from “Our task is to educate their (our students) whole
their natural talents.” being so they can face the future. We may not see the
future, but they will and our job is to help them make
something of it.” –Ken Robinson
That is a huge statement, and something many of us reading this chapter, connected
with business or the world of learning, say quite often these days.
The task of breaking out of the learning paradigm of the past is not easy.

To wrap up that thought with a beautiful summary from Dr Robinson: “We have to
go away from industrial form of education which is based on linearity and conformity
and batching people. We have to move to a model that is based more on principles
of agriculture. We have to recognize that human flourishing is not a mechanical
process—it’s an organic process.”

Reforming the current systems is not sufficient because reforming only repairs the
broken. The whole art, science, practice and utility of learning need to undergo not an
evolution but a substantial revolution. Learning needs to go not from 1.0 to 1.1, but a
whole different paradigm altogether.
It has to be transformed into something else. I call it the 2nd Learning Revolution or
Learning 2.0.
To understand what learning has to transform into to be relevant for the future, we
‘‘ Reforming the current
systems is not sufficient
because reforming only
repairs the broken.
need to first understand what is wrong with the past and current practices for our future The whole art, science,
needs. practice and utility of
Learning agility1, the survival elixir for people and corporations around the world, is an learning need to under-

‘’’
element as important as oxygen. It came into our lives a long time ago—approximately go not an evolution but
a substantial revolution.
1 Learning agility is the ability and willingness to learn from experience and then apply
that learning to perform successfully in new situation.

87
87
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

2 million years prior to the arrival of the Homo Sapiens (you and I), and definitively
leading to our existence in the current form. I have every reason to believe that our
continued existence, success, relevance, survival and sustained growth as individuals
and corporations for a long time will depend on our learning agility. Profound? Let me
explain.
Paleoanthropology studied 3–4-million-year-old fossil evidence during the past 100 or
so years and hypothesized that our existence as humans is accidental, caused largely
by the Darwinian genetic mutations and selection. While the mutations may have been
random, some elements of the process may not have been. Many mutations could not
cope with the changes and disappeared, but those who learned how to master the
environment around them, acquire the abilities to succeed in them, survived. Homo
Habilis and Homo Ergaster were two early forms of humans. They co-existed around
2 million years ago and while they both started on an herbaceous diet, the Ergasters
soon learnt to turn scavengers and eat meat. The protein infusions lead to the significant
growth of the brain and the early forms of intelligence, which lead to making stone
tools, hunting and assured survival. The Homo Habilis did not change their dietary habits
and perished over time.
Thus, started a journey and the earliest evidence of learning to change and acquiring
of new relevant capabilities are the pre-requisites of survival. The simple principle
continues to date.

Learning in the Vedic Period (From b.c. 1000

to b.c. 600)
Cutting in from 2 million years ago to much closer, codification of learning content and
pedagogy to enable success of humans continued into the Vedic era. Vedas, the Indian
ancient book of knowledge, first time included a simultaneous emphasis on soft skills
(called Paravidya, the higher, spiritual knowledge) and hard skills (called the Aparavidya,
the lower knowledge or secular sciences). A balanced combination of character building
and vocational efficiency was imparted through face-to-face residential form of
education (the ILT or the instructor-led training as we call it today).
Education in the post-Vedic era evolved rapidly. More branches of knowledge evolved
as societies got more complicated. Learning and teaching in the post-Vedic period
turned multidisciplinary. Instructional design consisted of an early rudimentary form of
blended learning through three methods—Sravana (listening to the learned teachers,
as the documented knowledge was orally transmitted in a face-to-face setting), Manana
(the process of thinking irrespective of what the subject was to inculcate the ability to
reflect) and Niddhyaasana (complete comprehension and realization with a focus on
application).

88
88
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

A lot happened in other parts of the world too. But I am confining to a few data points to
explain, as the subject of this article is not a history of learning.

Arrival of the First Industrial Revolution:

18th Century and Learning Revolution 1.0
Fast forwarding to 200 years ago—the next big change to impact the human civilization
was the arrival of the first three Industrial Revolutions (Figure 5.1) annotated by

‘‘
standardization, efficiency and continuous infusion of technology and management
principles in various forms. Change acceleration started accelerating. The growth of standardi-
zation and assembly line
The Industrial Revolution set an important pattern for education in the early 20th manufacturing required
century. The growth of standardization and assembly line manufacturing required legions of skilled, and
legions of skilled and more educated workers. Standardization was the best way to more educated workers.
ignite education at scale. Classrooms became standardized in textbooks and content, Standardization was

‘’’
teaching methods and classroom design. This efficiency allowed important mass the best way to ignite
education for a growing country ever more hungry for a modern workforce. A literate, education at scale.
educated citizenry greatly facilitated the growth of industry and manufacturing.

INDUSTRY 4.0
INDUSTRY 3.0 Cyber Physical
INDUSTRY 2.0 Automation, systems, Internet
computers and of Things, networks
INDUSTRY 1.0 Mass production,
assembly line, electronics
Mechanization,
steam power, electrical energy
weaving loom

1784 1870 1969 TODAY

Source:  Industrial revolution stages from steam power to cyber physical systems, automation and
internet of things.
Figure 5.1:  The four Industrial Revolutions

89
89
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

I call this the arrival of Learning Revolution 1.0.

A growing and educated workforce resulted in new and larger schools, teacher training,
higher education and a diverse and broadening curriculum.
The rewards of getting an education allowed well-paid workers to buy homes, cars
and build communities. The value of education has skyrocketed ever since. Economy,
personal prosperity and education are invariably linked.
Industrial engineering, standardization of tasks through time and motion study and
scientific management enunciated by Frank Gilbreth and his wife Lilian Gilbreth in the
early part of 20th century were a great example of the thought in this phase.
At the cost of sounding blasphemous, and without taking away from the substantial
differences, I would describe the first three industrializations being similar in nature
from the point of view of learning and education. The infusion of newer forms of
technology with an enormous focus on efficiency was at the crux. The Fourth Industrial
Revolution is fundamentally different in many ways.

Mobile devices

Cloud computing IoT platforms

1. Digitization/Integration
of value chains Location
Augmented reality detection
technologies

4.0
INDUSTRY

2.Digitization 3. Digital
Multilevel customer Advanced
of product business
interaction and human-machine
and service models and
interfaces
3.0 1969-2010s customer profiling
offerings customer
access
Computing/Internet
Nuclear energy
Authentication &
2.0 1830s-1915 Big data analytics
fraud detection
Assembly line

1.0 1760-1840 Smart sensors 3D printing

Steam engineering

© Shockhoe Figure 5.2:  The Fourth Industrial Revolution

90
90
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

And then, we hit the chasm in the world of learning. The Fourth Industrial Revolution
arrived, with incredible velocity of innovation and its application in business—all at the
same time. It shook us up with an unprecedented rapidity of demand for comprehensive
change in our thought process.
By the time we reached the early onset of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, learning
and education acquired certain characteristics which earlier were probably right
and adequate, but became grossly inadequate to support the Digital Business
Transformation. What has been a virtue thus far started turning into a veritable sheet
anchor.

Where Learning Reached at the End of Third Industrial

Revolution
Learning Revolution 1.0 created some distinct characteristics in the world of learning.
Let us check out a few key ones. It is important to understand these characteristics
before we delve into what future needs.

The Theory of One: The Era of the Average Learner

Most learning (content and instructional methods) in the educational institutes and
corporate learning setups were/are designed for the average learner. The scale and
standardization needs of education and skilling created the whole concept of a
cohort, which operated on an innate assumption that giving the same inputs to a
batch of people gives them all the same capabilities.
It was, broadly speaking, on the same lines of producing
a batch of cars. So, I also call this the industrial mode
in learning. (Remember Dr Robinson in the opening
section of the chapter?)
This actually worked for a long time when the learning
content was simple, job requirements were based on
predefined tasks and the time available to learn was
unhurried.
Learning and its application in life and work were fairly
identical for a long time.
The first three Industrial Revolutions (1784 to around 2015)
broadened the set of skills tremendously. But the set of
skills was still definable and fairly static for a reasonable
period of time. As we moved toward the Third Industrial
Revolution, manufacturing, services, information

91
91
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao
‘‘ US Air Force had concluded
that pilot under performance
was due to the incompetence
of their pilots inspite of receiv-
ing the best of training and had
the best of planes to fly. They
then studied the problem and
realized that the cockpit seat
was designed for the average
sized pilot and that made the
cockpit use uncomfortable and
ineffective for almost 100 per
cent of the pilots. There is NO
average pilot. Adjustable seat
‘’’
designs kicked in to personal-
ize the seat for each pilot.
92
92
technology and research became the dominant clusters, adding an extra layer of
complexity in learning needs. The emergence of the verticalization of industry (finance,
insurance, healthcare, HiTech and e-business, retail, and so on) added more depth
and variety to business. Globalization went on to add the extra dimension of intense
competition. By the time we reached the later part of the Third Industrial Revolution,
innovation supported by Internet started playing an important role in business
performance (eCommerce, eBiz, etc.).
Learning and the abilities needed to perform on the job in this new age started drifting
apart rapidly.
Todd Rose, in his famous 2013 TEDxSonoma County formally started banishing the
average. Rose emphasized that all learners are completely different, but we insist on
teaching them as if they were all average.
He argued passionately that the move to Ban the Average, a thought started by US Air
Force in 1952, should be applied to the learning world if we have to make the learners
successful.
There is no average student. But learning world continues to be blind to the absence
of an average learner. The ineffectiveness of learning methodologies became
glaring as the business world turned more and more complex but education and
teaching failed to keep pace. All students have different levels of curiosity, different
perceptions and interests, and different levels of more complex skills such as
reading, memorizing and using language. And it is worse if they have a disability:
learning or physical deafness.
In moments of benign and mirthful sarcasm (if such exists),
I often say that the learning fraternity wrote the story of the much
maligned reluctant horse: “you can take a horse to the water, but you
cannot make it drink”.
The innate assumptions about the students and the horses were similar.
Horses do not drink and students do not learn because they lack the
motivation. We cannot be more wrong or unfair than that.
The horse deserves better. And the learners absolutely deserve better.
Ann Heelan, the CEO of the Association of Higher Education, Access
and Disability (AHEAD), Ireland, put it very succinctly in her 2015 article
Why Do We Still Teach as if All Students are the Same: “When I started
teaching, I thought my task was to hammer my knowledge into the heads
of students. I realized in time this was not what the job was about. The
real purpose of teaching is learning, and if students are not learning then
teaching is not working.”
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

The Assessment Process

Assessments completed the job if average based teaching did not cause enough
damage by aligning with the learning methodology based on the average learner.
Knowledge-based multiple choice tests and rote-based examinations occupied a
‘‘ Horses do not drink
and students do not
learn because they lack
the motivation. We
large part of the assessment space. All learners were put through the same tests,
cannot be more wrong
which were largely to test their knowledge and memory retention. All learners
or unfair than that. The
were graded, grouped and ranked on their capability based on a very uniform mode
horse deserves better.

‘’’
of testing. Their performance in these assessments opened or closed doors of
And the learners abso-
opportunities. That created an added pressure on the students to comply with the
lutely deserve better.
process and not really learn.
There was an innate assumption in universities that what the education system
teaches is, in some form, what the industry needs. This assumption stopped being valid
progressively as work and skill became more complex. While we started seeing a lot of
effort to fix the assessment process, the implementation of new assessment methods
is still in the initial stages.

The Learning Curve: Filling the Gap Left by Inadequate

Training Methods
Hermann Ebbinghaus first described the learning curve in 1885 in the field of
the psychology of learning, to describe the effect of on-the-job experience over
time. The concept stays relevant to-date in its fundamental premise. On-the-job
experience exposes a person to various scenarios that can occur over time and helps
the maturation of their capability. This is the learning that cannot quite be taught
in the classroom.
As societies traversed through the three industrial revolutions, the capability needed to
perform the work got progressively more complex and demanding, but the education
and training systems did not keep pace. So, a person would enter his/her first job or a

‘‘
new role with much less readiness than is needed, and ends up learning what is needed
on the job. On-the-job learning is
turning into a fix for an
So, the learning curve phase ended up being their primary mode of learning to be job
inadequate pre-job
ready, instead of being a means to acquire deeper expertise and maturity in their
training. Finishing
capability. As the gap between the job readiness and job requirements kept widening,
schools and in-house
on-the-job experience became the primary path to job readiness. There was a significant
corporate training
lead-time a person spent on the job getting ready for it.
functions for fresh
On-the-job learning is turning into a fix for an inadequate pre-job training. Finishing graduates are ‘repair

‘’’
schools and in-house corporate training functions for fresh graduates are ‘repair centers’ for the absence
centers’ for the absence of job readiness. That is a strong point of view, but a reality of job readiness.
acknowledged by the business enterprise around the world.

93
93
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

The Emergence of the Employability Problem

Here is a paradox I often struggle with. When you train a chef, he/she can cook. When

‘‘ Learning started
becoming synonymous
with knowing when
the growing need was
you train a pilot, he/she can fly a plane and land it safely. When you train a surgeon, he/
she can perform a surgery. They all get better with time, but they can do what they are
trained for on day 1.
Why then are we talking so much about employability of a majority of the university
for doing, and knowing graduates? The conversation is so commonplace, we almost take it to be the the right
to do quickly once on and natural thing to happen.
the job, and not just

‘’’
A 2016 survey of employability of university graduates from around the world
knowing about what is
(Figure 5.3) tells a very damning story. The size of the problem only gets magnified when
relevant on the job.
we apply these employability percentages on the population of graduates in these
countries. Large economies with 15 per cent employability of about 5 million engineers
they produce each year is a really big problem for all concerned.
Learning started becoming synonymous with knowing when the growing need was
for doing and knowing to do quickly once on the job and not just knowing about what is

40

30
Percentage

20

I don’t know

Other country
10
Switzerland

Singapore
Germany

Australia
Canada

France
China

Brazil
Spain
India

Italy
UK
US

0
Graduates Employability by Country

Source:  Global University Employability Survey 2016 by Times Higher Education

Figure 5.3:  Graduates employability by country

94
94
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

relevant on the job. The exceptions are some trade specific vocational trainings. But
they are a small portion of the population.

Fourth Industrial Revolution (Digital) is Here and, at Scale

When Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the Geneva-based World
Economic Forum published a book in 2016 titled The Fourth Industrial Revolution, he gave
a name to the increasing body of conversation that we now call the Fourth Industrial
Revolution or Digital Business Transformation.
What defines this phase is the velocity of technology innovation (Figure 5.4) and
more importantly, the velocity of its adoption into real products and services in our
day to day lives.
The velocity with which Amazon, Flipkart, Uber, Ola, PayTM, Google Pay, NetFlix,
Swiggy, Urbanclap, Cleartrip, Zomato and MakeMyTrip have all become an integral part
of our lives is the living evidence of this velocity.
That sure sounds cool and exciting when seen through the eyes of a consumer, but what
we need to quickly appreciate is the tremendous churn it brings into various aspects of
industry in general and how it impacts the three key elements that impact the learning
journey of any individual:
Work, the worker and the workplace are changing enormously.

Technology Adoption Rates

Smartphones
Web
Market Realist

Mobile phone
PC
Television
Radio
Telephone
Electricity

0 10 20 30 40 50
Years taken until adopted by 25% of the U.S. population

Source: Global University Employability Survey 2016 by Times Higher Education c Emerging

Figure 5.4: Velocity of technology adoption

95
95
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

Digital and Its Impact on Learning and Skills

Understanding digital transformation intimately will, in-turn, help us understand the
changes learning itself is undergoing or needs to undergo to keep individuals future
ready and organizations future relevant in the Digital Economy.

Nature of Work is Changing

Exponential technologies such as AI-ML-DL, IoT, additive
manufacturing, Big Data and deep analytics, AR/VR, automation,
blockchain and so on are no more mere business enablers: they
are business.
The World Economic Forum in its 2018 report on The Future
of Jobs says that disruptive changes to business models will
have a profound impact on the employment landscape over
the coming years. Many of the major drivers of transformation
currently affecting global industries are expected to have a
significant impact on jobs, ranging from significant job creation
to job displacement, and from heightened labor productivity to
widening skills gaps.

 In many industries and countries, the most in-demand occupations or specialties did
not exist 10 or even 5 years ago, and this pace of change is set to accelerate.
 By one popular estimate, 65 per cent of children entering primary school today
will ultimately end up working in completely new job types that do not yet exist.
Cloud has transformed from the initial IaaS to PaaS to FaaS in a serverless computing
models like the Lambda from Amazon Web Service. Monolithic architectures based
on single technology stack (such as a Java or Net) have yielded way to microservices
architecture and API-based rapid integrations and mega digital corporations such as
Netflix, PayPal, eBay, Amazon, Twitter made these the only way they work.

Velocity in business now requires people to be full stack developers capable of front-end
user interface design, business logic layer in the middle and the data layer in the back-
end. Surely, not a place for a one trick pony.

Shelf Life of Skills

As if this were not sufficient, the shelf life of a skill has come down exponentially. Gone
are the days when one could learn mainframe coding or java programming and make a
full life career from that one skill. Estimates put the half-life of a professional skill at just
5 years or even less in many cases—in 5 years that valuable skill you gained in school or
in the workplace is half as valuable as it was when you acquired it. By 2020, more than

96
96
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

Carriage driver Taxi driver Uber driver

3800 yrs 120 yrs 7 yrs

one-third of the skills we need, regardless of industry, will have changed. New skills are
emerging all the time, getting consumed quite rapidly and are replacing old skills before
we realize.
New roles are emerging all the time to represent the emerging forms of work.
‘‘ Businesses now require
that people learn
rapidly and be job
ready in days again
Businesses now require that people learn rapidly and be job ready in days again and and again and again,
again and again, as the technologies they need to use keep changing constantly. as the technologies

‘’’
Shortening project cycle times do not really leave a lot of scope for the learning curve. they need to use keep
Job readiness and learning are now becoming synonymous and mostly simultaneous. changing constantly.

From Jobs to Superjobs

A vast majority of organizations expect to increase or significantly increase their
use of AI, cognitive technologies, robotic process automation and robotics over
the next three years. Automation Anywhere, UIPath, Blue Prism, IPSoft are now
an integral part of the technology strategy of Fortune 1000
corporations. As organizations adopt these technologies,
they are finding that virtually every job must change, and that
the jobs of the future are more digital, more multidisciplinary
and more data- and information-driven. The Future of Jobs
2018 report from World Economic Forum predicts that
machines and algorithms in the workplace are expected
to create 133 million new roles, but displace 75 million new
kinds of jobs by 2022.
Paradoxically, to be able to take full advantage of technology,
organizations must redesign jobs to focus on finding the human
dimension of work. This will create new roles that we now call
superjobs: jobs that combine parts of different traditional
jobs into integrated roles, and that leverage the significant
productivity and efficiency gains that can arise when people
work with technology.
That work itself is changing is an understatement.

97
97
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

Meteoric rise in Project

Complexity Y2K to Digital

C, C++, COBOL, Java

Transformation

Customer expects least

time spent in Training
8 months to 8 days
1995 2017
Rapid influx of new Technologies - 4
to 40+ tech in last 15 years
where graduates can be deployed
Figure 5.5:  Rapidly changing workplace needs and work expectations

‘‘ Learning ecosystem
The Worker is Changing
and learning design and The workforce ecosystem is changing very rapidly. The Deloitte 2018 Global Human
delivery mechanisms Capital Trends report appropriately draws attention to this tectonic shift in the
need to change traditional definition of worker, which largely meant a salaried employee. Globally,
substantially to cater to there are approximately 77 million formally identified freelancers in Europe, India and
the needs of ubiquity the United States (2018). In the United States, more than 40 per cent of workers are

‘’’
and flexibility these now employed in alternative work arrangements (Figure 5.6), such as contingent, part-
workers need. time or gig work. This percentage is steadily rising—increasing by 36 per cent in just the
past 5 years. Freelancer marketplace organizations such as Upwork (17 million clients),
Toptal, 99 designs, Freelancer (31 million users), Fiverr (7 million users)
are now mainstream.
The significant increase in these numbers arises from their belief that
freelancing gives them the flexibility and an opportunity to do what they
love doing, ability to work on emerging technologies and opportunities.
They love their ability to choose. Nearly half of the millennial workforce in
US, for example, are freelancers. While this setup gives them tremendous
opportunity, it also demands a heightened level of flexibility in how they
work, how they learn and how they respond to changes in the market.
To ensure they are in-step with emerging employer demands, more than
55 per cent of these freelancers say they have reskilled in the last 6 months,
versus just 30 per cent of other workers.
Learning ecosystem and learning design and delivery mechanisms
need to change substantially to cater to the needs of ubiquity and
flexibility these workers need.

98
98
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

Contractors 37% 46% 16%

Freelancers 33% 52% 15%

Gig workers 28% 56% 15%

Crowd workers 21% 62% 18%

Increase Stay the same Decrease

n = 11,070
Source: Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends Survey,2018, Deloitte insights | deloitte.com/insights
Figure 5.6:  Alternative Work Arrangements are on the rise

UNTETHERED
Today’s employees find themselves working from several locations and structuring their
work in nontraditional ways to accommodate their lifestyles Companies are finding it
difficult to reach these people consistently and even harder to develop them efficiently.

37% 30% 20%

of the global workforce is of full-time employees of workforce comprised of
expected to be “mobile” by the do most of their work somewhere temps, contractors, and
end of 2015 other than the employer’s location freelancers

ON-DEMAND
OVERWHELMED... Employees are accessing information―and learning―differently than they did just a

41
5 27
Number of times online every day few years ago Most are looking for answers outside of traditional training and
Early days today development channels For example:
of the Internet % of time workers spend on
things that offer little personal To learn what People are increasingly turning to

1%
Search engines
satisfaction and do not they need for their smartphones to find
online courses
help them get work done. their jobs, just-in-time answers to

DISTRACTED... Knowledge workers

employees
access: 70%+ 50-60%
unexpected problems

4 9
are constantly
Most learners distracted with
won’t watch millions of websites,
videos apps, and video clips.
longer
than
of a typical workweek
COLLABORATIVE
minutes
2 is all that employees
People
unlock their times Learners are also developing and accessing personal and professional networks to obtain
information about their industries and professions.
smartphones
have to focus on
3 ~80%
up to every hour
Learners are: at Google,
training and asking 55%
development ? other people

IMPATIENT... of knowledge workers of training courses

are delivered by an

5 10
actually complain that of workforce learning sharing what
they don’t have time to they know ecosystem of
Online, designers now have between happens via on-the-job
2 ,000 +

5
do their jobs interactions with peers,

and seconds Workers now get interrupted

teammates, and managers peer learners
to grab someone’s
attention before
they click away
as frequently as every
minutes ―
Ironically, often by work
EMPOWERED
Rapid change in business and organizations means everyone needs to constantly be
applications and learning. More and more people are looking for options on their own beacuse they
collaboration tools aren’t getting what they need from their employers.

2 1/2
to 5
38% 62%
Half-life (in years) of many of workers who say they of IT professionals who
professional skills have opportunities for learning report having paid for training
and growth at their workplace out of their own pockets

© Bersin by Deloitte
Figure 5.7:  The modern workplace learning

99
99
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

The Disrupted, Distracted Worker of the Digital Era

Smart devices are one of the best things that happened to our civilization. But mobile has
also brought with it a concomitant and highly disruptive behavioral impact: distraction
and span of attention. Josh Bersin beautifully captured the reality of a modern
workplace environment (Figure 5.7) where the employee is constantly disrupted and
overwhelmed by various digital interrupts and distractions on top of the call of the role
and work. Time available for learning at work is small and interrupted. This becomes an
additional dimension modern workplace learning needs to be cognizant of.

Work Place is Changing

Progressive organizations are substantially revamping how they are organized. They
are upgrading their organizational and cultural operating systems to ensure they can
handle the demands of a new digital ecosystem where their product, how it is produced
and the capabilities required to deliver their services, have changed dramatically.
Newer networked organization designs such as holacracy are challenging traditional
hierarchical organizations.
Collaboration, diversity and inclusion are becoming a mainstay. The mission-based
cross functional teaming models that mega enterprises such as GE or Microsoft are
experimenting with are a representation of where organization design is heading.
Organizations such as Globant structured into highly empowered pods looking
after various customers are proving extremely successful in delivering solutions,
services and experiences to their clients faster, cheaper and better. Design thinking,
user experience and interface (UX/UI) and human centric design
are becoming mainstay because the product of a modern digital
enterprise is centered around client experiences of a very high
order.
These changes in the workplace and organization modes bring in
an entirely different dimension of soft skills such as cross functional
collaboration, emotional resilience, critical thinking and problem
solving in their workforce. While some of them were called out in
the traditional organizations, the need for and urgency of these has
become very strident and learning systems need to cater to supporting
these with urgency hitherto not experienced.
The World Economic Forum’s (Figure 5.8) capture of the top 10 soft
skills is a telling point.
The cumulative impact of these massive changes in work, worker and
workplace are the backdrop against which we need to reimagine the
role learning needs to play to help the digital age worker cope and
flourish.

100
100
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

Today, 2018 Trending, 2022 Declining, 2022

Analytical thinking and innovation
Complex problem-solving
Critical thinking and analysis
Active learning and learning strategies
Creativity, originality and initiative
Attention to detail, trustworthiness
Emotional intelligence
Reasoning, problem-solving and ideation
Leadership and social influence
Coordination and time management
Analytical thinking and innovation
Active learning and learning strategies
Creativity, originality and initiative
Technology design and programming
Critical thinking and analysis
Complex problem-solving
Leadership and social influence
Emotional intelligence
Reasoning, problem-solving and ideation
Systems analysis and evaluation
Manual dexterity, endurance and precision
Memory, verbal, auditory and spatial abilities
Management of financial, material resources
Technology installation and maintenance
Reading, writing, math and active listening
Management of personnel
Quality control and safety awareness
Coordination and time management
Visual, auditory and speech abilities
Technology use, monitoring and control

Source:  Future of Jobs Survey 2018, World Economic Forum.

Figure 5.8:  Top 10 soft skills

Lifelong process of upskilling, reskilling and multiskilling are key to keep a person
perpetually fit for the current role and ready for the next aspirational role. Learning
ecosystems have to cater to this need taking into consideration the constraints (of
time, place and resources), abilities and disabilities that are an integral part of each
learner.

The Future of Learning: Learning Revolution 2.0

Incremental tweaking will only perpetuate the disappointment traditional learning
systems stand for. Individuals and industry require a fundamental rethinking on the
part of educational institutions (schools to universities), organizations and their
learning functions and the massively proliferating Edu-tech players. Nothing short of
a learning revolution can break the mould of the comfort with the current inadequate
approaches. The art, science and practice of learning have to change dramatically to rise
to the occasion and support learners and organization going through the throes of all
the changes we described thus far.
Learning Revolution 2.0 described hereon is some thoughts on what is needed to cope
with the call of the Industrial Revolution 4.0. This captures thoughts from practitioners
from the industry and published points of view.

Batch Size N = 1
The first old world learning institution that gets demolished is the average learner
mind-set. Each learner has fundamentally different learning abilities, learning needs,
preferred learning modes and retention capabilities. Learning systems for the future are
centered around hyper-personalization. I metaphorically call it Batch Size N = 1.
I love xAPI (experience APIs) used in the modern learning platforms for the richness
of information it provides us about learner habits and information across the various
means they learn through. This will help us hyper-personalize.

101
101
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

If digital created the challenge of distraction, digital

can also be a big part of the solution. Mass learning
customization relies heavily on AI/ML/realtime
analytics/AR/VR and context sensitive content
curation to deliver to each learner what he/she
needs and wants while at the same time catering
to a million individual learners. Iris, the AI/ML-based
recommendation engine in Pluralsight is one such
good example. All platform vendors aspiring for a
big piece of the pie are now investing heavily in this
direction. AI/ML-based ranking and recommendation
engines constantly use this data to learn the learner’s
preferences (learn by reading, listening, watching
or doing, and so on), span of attention and available
sizes of time slices (does he/she prefer 3–4 minute
videos, long videos, etc.) and customize learning
content to the needs of each person.

Anytime, Anywhere Learning

Learners learn anytime they want, anywhere they want and whichever way they want.
They use a variety of sources and tools to learn with. Learning systems need to provide
for this ubiquitous learning by delivering learning ubiquitously and through any device
anywhere. The annual top 100 learning tools study by Jane Heart published in her
Modern Workplace Learning is very telling. This is very different from a conventional
way people learn.

Learner Experience is the King

Gone are the days where content was considered the king. Learner experience has
taken over in a quiet and subtle coup. It is increasingly becoming critical that the learning
has to be in the hands of the learner and lifelong learning is based on the self-propelled
motivation of the learner. Being a learner opens the doors to endless opportunities and
reluctance to learn will push one down to the bottom quartile of opportunity.
It is heart-warming that there is an increasing realization and admittance of this fact on
the part of the learners as some of the career options are disappearing and they do not
feel ready for the emerging opportunities.
Gig and freelance community has been early to get onto the self-directed learning
journey. Having said that, the learning world (learning delivery platform and
content design community) needs to make this an easier process. Content needs to
be immersive, content delivery engaging, hands-on labs a positive reinforcement
and content nuggets at the right size to avoid fatigue.

102
102
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

The emergence of the LXPs (the learner experience platforms) for key
players such as EdCast, Degreed, Percipio, Pathgather has been a welcome
development.
LXP systems use various means to pipe the right content to the learner (Figure 5.9)
to enhance the learning experience and they learn the learner’s preferences and
get better all the time. These are still in the early stage and are slowly finding their
place in the learning platform strategies along with or without the LMS systems.

Manufacturer’s Warranty
Manufacturer’s warranty for a physical product is something we have all grown
used to. When we buy a refrigerator, for example, we have an accurate sense
of what it can do or cannot do. Learning design has to rise to the maturity level
based on an outcome assurance paradigm. It should be possible to predict what
a learner would be capable of doing or not doing at the end of a learning session.

103
103
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

Skills Based Usage Based Al Content Based

LXP uses a skills model that is
mapped to job roles, including
skills assessment by self and peers
LXP recommends content based on
who viewed most,who viewed last,
who like you viewed content
LXP crawls and understands
the content itself, creates
pedagogical maps, recommends
and assesses content and can
create assessments

Good for traditional enterprise Good for B2C and vendors with The future: Al-based content
training and education. large content libraries discovery for any type of
content including documentation
and books

EdCast, 360Learning, Valamis, Volley.com, Valamis, IBM,

Degreed, Pathgather, EdCast

©Josh Bersin
Linkedin, Fuse, Curatr, Filtered, Curatr, Filtered
Linkedin, Percipio, Cornerstone
Degreed

Business Rules: Compliance, Learning Paths, Pre-Requisites, Certificates, Badges, Assessment

Data: History, Tracking, Analytics, Utilization, Assessment, Compliance

Figure 5.9:  How LXPs recommend content

For example, can a software development training program predict the code writing
productivity, the error density, the efficiency and maintainability, the compliance level
(non-plagiarism etc.), and security strength of the code the trainee would be capable
of at the end of the training? The steadily shrinking cycle times in modern day’s business
need predictable work product with predictable quality to avoid serious customer
experience or security breach consequences.
So, manufacturer’s warranty is becoming a mandatory requirement of any learning
system. Warranty is a composite outcome of the entire lifecycle of learning—learning
outcomes, instructional design, content choices, content delivery mechanisms, real-
time mentoring, hands-on labs, closed loop feedback mechanisms, assessments
and positive reinforcements for retention, and so on. The purpose of calling this out
distinctly is to suggest that the warranty be at the core of the philosophy for all the
players in the chain.

Appropriate Blending Customizable for Each Learner

Learning and teaching will continue to lean on a blended delivery model (Figure 5.10).
 Some macro learning (delivered in a classroom or virtually along with a lot of
hands-on or case-based discussions with practitioners) is still, often, a good way
to get a learner started on a new subject (e. g., a photography fundamentals boot
camp).
 This is then augmented by a lot of micro learning where nuggets of information,
quizzes, hands-on to both reinforce what has been learnt or to add specific job skills.

104
104
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

 The next phase is the performance support or real-time learning while on the job
(I am not sure of the best way a query is to be written in a program language and I want
to quickly check and get going). Retention and reinforcement through tiny nuggets
and quizzes delivered randomly through mobile apps consolidates the learning.
The other aspect of blending is to see how much of macro, micro learning and real-time
performance support learning every learner needs. Macro learning content helps in the
early stage of acquiring a new skill but it turns less productive in the later stages. Micro

Personalized
Online Learning

line Learning
On

Teacher-led,

Sma
Individual
Individual

Blended Small Group

ll Group
Learning Instruction

Co
ll a b o r a ti v e

©JBersin by Deloitte
Collaborative
Where Does Macro and Micro Learning Apply?

Teach
Credential
Micro Great
Micro
Pace of Learning

Micro Micro Normal

Micro
Macro
Macro
Bad

New on the Job Seasoned Expert

Figure 5.10:  Blended Learning with macro and micro interventions

105
105
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

Tone
of voice
Brand Style

User
Distribution
needs

Editorial

Business Creation &

Goals & maintena-
goals Governance
Objectives nce

Reviews & Engagement

Feedback User objectives

© Kalpesh Rathore, www.ls-experience.com

Generated Content Social
Media
Blogs,
Content Strategy
Forums & Social
Crowd network
sourcing approach

Taxonomy
SEO
& classification
Tagging
Organic Feeds & model
3rd Party
Content
Paid Classification
SEM terms

Premium Partnerships
paid for & affiliated
content content

Figure 5.11:  Content strategies

learning and hands-on practice take over. Real-time nuggets of learning specific queries
are needed at an advanced stage of learning a new skill.

Content Production, Procurement and Curation Strategies

With the constant emergence and shut down of skills all the time, no single business
organization or educational center can, by themselves, cope with the need for learning
content, hands-on labs, assessments mini or keystone projects. So, building a platform
with a solid integration capability is the call for the day (Figure 5.11). Organizations
create some content that is very specific to their context (culture, values, leadership,
and so on), but they curate and source XAPI compliant content from several partners
and sources through a solid integration bus. The learner accesses it all through a single

106
106
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

seamless browser or mobile app and learns as per her preferences—anytime and
anywhere. There is such a plethora of content sources across domains.

Make Assessments Safe, Motivating and Predictors

of Job/Role Readiness
In my view and based on years of experience, the biggest impediment in the experience
of a learner has been the design of the assessments they go through. Assessments have
acquired the reputation for being judgemental and demotivating without serving the
purpose of holding a mirror to the learner.
The assessment frameworks of the future will have a few definitive characteristics.
1. Day 1 Job-Readiness: Can link the learning to the on-the-job
capabilities a learner needs to possess on day 1. Learning helps
the learner capable of hitting the road running. Learning curve
helps her mature her ability through experience.
2. Assess Capability and Confidence: Can cease to be the
threshold-based Go-No Go gauges, relying on knowledge-
based multiple choice tests or limited skill-based assessments.
They will be adaptive in nature to know where the learner
times out and needs help. They will sue the IRT (Item response
theory) philosophy to get an accurate view of the capability
and confidence the learner has acquired.
3. Continuous Assessments: Assessments are continuous through
the course of learning using skill-based, knowledge-based,
scenario-based and hands-on project-based methods to hand
off a learner from one stage of the learning process to the next
ensuring a constant rise in problem solving confidence.
4. Gamified: To challenge the learner without intimidating in a manner a video game
eggs the player to keep going to the next level and the next and the next.
5. Tightly Integrated with the Content and Recommendation Engines: To be able
to assess what different or additional forms of content should be directed to
the learner based on his/her responses to the various assessments. If one form
of content or hands-on does not help the learner learn, the assessment system
collaborates with the ranking engine to provide to the learner an alternative form
of content and so on.
6. Predictive: To predict the final skill levels the learner is likely to reach at the current
pace of learning. They can then alert the mentors to accelerate or slow down the
learner.
7. Micro Quizzes: Reinforcement is an important part of a learning cycle. Ebbinghaus,
in his forgetting curve hypothesis, established a long time ago how what we learn

107
107
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

is lost over time when there is no conscious attempt to retain it. It is very rarely that
all the learnings are used on the job all the time. Periodic ticklers and quizzes help
retentions. Assessment platforms can help gauge the retention and recommend
bursts of micro learnings (or even a macro learning session) if there is room to believe
that the retention is showing signs of fading.
8. Learner’s Intrinsic Wiring: And finally, psychometric, behavioral and aptitude
assessments are a critical part of any learning cycle. A pre-assessment will help
understand the learning abilities of the learner. This will help with customization
needed. Assessments such as DISC help a great deal in aligning the approach to the
innate wiring of a learner. Early identification of learning and attention issues, for
example, can go a long way in customizing learning in a manner that motivates the
learner. Listening and watching would be a way to address someone with reading
related disability. Heavily hands-on oriented approach would enormously help
someone inherently oriented to doing as a way to learn. Tremendous empathy can
be injected into the learning journey and experience using the right assessment
strategies well before a person starts learning.

Technology is the Backbone of Future

Learning Ecosystem
EduTech has been abuzz with an incredible amount of investment, innovation and
creativity. Never before have we achieved such a solid understanding of the working of
human mind and the way it handles learning.
 Using liberal doses of technology for multi-modal
content building;
 AI/ML for content selection, ranking and
recommendation to a learner;
 XAPI compliant learning and Big Data/ deep analytics
for visualization and interpretation of the volumes of
data we can collect from each learning session;
 AR/VR for simulation and bringing learning as close to
real life situations as we can;
 Mobility to make learning accessible anytime and
anywhere;
 Multi-media technologies such as efficient video
compression, voice recognition systems, interactive
AI agents, help BOTs, 3D rendering
All of these can all be used to make learning an
incredibly immersive experience aligned to each

108
108
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

individual’s learning ability and curiosity. Learning strategy can succeed today
if wise use of appropriate technologies is integrated tightly to create a seamless
learning journey.

Universal Design for Learning

One of the best things that happened in the Learning world in the recent past is the
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) (Figure 5.12). This was inspired by the universal
design movement in architecture and product development. Universal Design, first
formulated by Ronald Mace at North Carolina State University calls for the design of
products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible,
without the need for adaptation or specialized design. UDL applies this general idea to
learning that curriculum should, from the outset, be designed to accommodate all kinds
of learners. Educators have to be deliberate in the teaching and learning process in the
classroom.

Universal Design for Learning

Recognition Networks Strategic Netwoks Affective Networks

The “what” of learning The “how” of learning The “why” of learning
© National Center for Universal Design for Learning

How we gather facts and
categorize what we see, hear, and
read. Identifying letters, words, or
an autho’s style are recognition
tasks.
Planning and performing tasks.
How we organize and express our
ideas. Writing an essay or solving
a math problem are strategic
tasks.
How learners get engaged and
stay motivated. How they are
challenged, excited, or interested.
These are affective dimensions.

Present information and Differentiate the ways Stimulate interest and

content in different ways that students can express motivation for learning
what they know

Principle #1: Principle #2: Principle #3:

Provide Multiple Means of Provide Multiple Means of Provide Multiple Means of
Representation Action and Expression Engagement

Figure 5.12:  Universal Design for Learning

109
109
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

It calls for creating curriculum from the outset that provides:

 Optional means of representation to give learners various ways of acquiring
information and knowledge,
 Provide learners alternatives for demonstrating what they know,
 Appropriate and different ways to tap into learners’ interests, challenge them
appropriately, and motivate them to learn.
When UDL principles are baked into learning design, we can eliminate laggards, dropouts
and failures in learning. They are a reflection of our inability to recognize the difference
and not their inability to learn.
Metrics that Matter: Learning function needs to move definitively and rapidly from
input-based metrics (for example, how many hours of learning) to outcome (code
quality, ability to solve problems, and so on) and impact-based metrics (contribution
to top revenue, margin and productivity, contribution to retention and employee
engagement, and so on). What business looks for is the measurable co-relation between
learning and its contribution to individual and organizational performance. It is time to
shed vanity metrics that do not enable actions. Kirkpatric framework augmented with
productivity and business metrics is a great start.

Summing Up
The willingness and ability to learn lifelong and apply that learning to a new situation or
a new role or a new environment to perform to one’s potential has always been the way
to success personally and professionally. That tenet has not changed.
As technology, industry, business and society changed over time and got progressively
more complex and at the same time richer and richer with opportunities, learning, the
essential enabler, lagged behind.
We now have an incredible opportunity to break clean from the habits of the past, and
create the next revolution in the world of learning.
It is not easy, but then it is also not impossibly hard if we get down to first principles,
use the tremendous insights, technology and resources we have at our disposal
and make learning count: to every single person in the realm of Digital Business
Transformation.

110
110
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

REFERENCES

1. School of Paleoanthropology, University of Perugia https://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=N3wdw5a_EeE&t=2154s
2. Development of education during the vedic period: http://www.yourarticlelibrary.
com/education/development-of-education-during-vedic-period-in-india/44815
3. 4th Industrial Revolution Explained https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/16/fourth-
industrial-revolution-explained-davos-2019.html
4. C harting your own pathway to professional success in the 4th Industrial
Revolution: The power is in your hands - Ainsley Brown https://medium.com/
predict/charting-your-own-pathway-to-professional-success-in-the-4th-industrial-
revolution-ec5287a1b242
5. Why do we still teach as if all students are the same? Ann Heelan https://www.
irishtimes.com/news/education/why-do-we-still-teach-as-if-all-students-are-the-
same-1.2136884
6. Universal Design for learning: https://www.prodigygame.com/blog/
universal-design-for-learning/
7. Bring on the revolution in education: Dr Ken Robinson https://www.ted.com/talks/
sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution/transcript?language=en#t-277107
8. Symbolic Intelligence: Pamela McCorduck the author of  This Could Be Important: My
Life and Times with the Artificial Intelligentsia.
9. The Global University Employability Survey 2016 ; https://www.timeshighereducation.
com/features/global-university-employability-ranking-2016
10. The Myth of Average: Todd Rose at TEDxSonomaCounty https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=4eBmyttcfU4
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-the-wild-things-are/201307/
the-myth-the-average
11. Software development life cycles: making sense of the various methodologies
https://www.plutora.com/blog/software-development-life-cycle-making-sense-
of-the-different-methodologies
12. The war at work: Seth Mattison http://www.sethmattison.com/the-war-at-work/
13. Learning Experience Platform (LXP) Market Grows Up: Now Too Big To Ignore
https://joshbersin.com/2019/03/learning-experience-platform-lxp-market-grows-
up-now-too-big-to-ignore/
14. W hy we need both science and humanities for a Fourth Industrial
Revolution education https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/09/

111
111
 Learning 2.0 to Fuel Industry 4.0 • AN Rao

why-we-need-both-science-and-humanities-for-a-fourth-industrial-revolution-
education/
15. What Is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)? https://www.understood.
org/en/school-learning/for-educators/universal-design-for-learning/
understanding-universal-design-for-learning
16. Modern Workplace Learning 2019: Book by Jane Hart
17. Expertise Economy: Book by David Blake and Kelly Palmer
18. Freelance statistics for 2019 https://www.websiteplanet.com/blog/freelance-stats/
19. xAPI is revolutionizing our understanding of learner habits and preferences https://
www.elucidat.com/blog/elearning-xapi-examples/

112
112