How many phone numbers do you have committed to memory? Unless you’re likeour Rain Man-like project manager Scott Wilkening, your list is probably limited to your own phone numbers that you frequently share with others, cell phones of immediate family members, and those you remember from childhood.
Okay, first thing: Scott’s Rain Man-like qualities end with his incredible ability to remember phone numbers. So don’t expect him to accompany you to Vegas or to stop everything he’s doing to watch Wopner or today’s equivalent! Now, more important: assuming you’re more like me, you don’t need to store phone numbers in long-term memory because they’re all stored in your phone, instantly accessible. Why waste the brain space?
In fact, whether we’re conscious of it or not, many of us are embracing what’s sometimes referred to as just in time information — using tools and resources (such as phone apps, Wikipedia, etc.) to access critical information at the exact moment it is required. We know it’s there, we know how to get it, and we know we don’t have to retain it. And in the process we’re able to free up extra brain RAM.
Before expanding on the idea of expanded brain space, I think it’s important to make a distinction. My example of phone numbers is a case of just in time information. Phone apps and other digital resources have embraced and enabled our growing preferences for getting the information that we need just in time. But my interest goes farther than that — from information gathering to learning experiences.
Just in time learning goes deeper than finding a quick fact or accessing an address and driving directions to a positively-reviewed restaurant. It’s an exploratory process that is driven by interest in learning about something and then rewarded with a new level of understanding. It’s more than acquiring a simple fact. It’s information with context and application, acquired through an exploration more in-depth than is required for finding a phone number.
A recent culinary example comes to my mind when I think about just in time learning. Normally, I’m the sous-chef and dishwasher of the family. When I took the reins for dinner, I went to the farmers market and bought ostrich meat, bok choy, and some other ingredients that struck me as tasty and interesting. I needed to learn quickly how I could make a meal out of my selections! I went online and found recipes and reviews, and then watched some videos on YouTube that helped demonstrate some cooking techniques. It was amazing — a whole new world for me in the kitchen.
My experience relied on tracking down different and disjointed resources to learn how to put together a meal. More and more, though, I think the expectation will be for self-contained learning experiences in which everything is within a click — to flow easily and intuitively. Strong instructional design enables that type of learning exploration..
First, because people initiate the process for different reasons, there must be easy and intuitive accessibility that invites that exploration. Then because people gravitate toward different depths of (and paths to) understanding, the experience must be inviting and rewarding in ways that account for these variables. In the best scenarios, the instructional design actually draws people to a greater depth of understanding than they originally intend!
The immediacy of just in time information and learning has its clear advantages, including freed-up brain space. But with immediate access comes little processing time — time to reflect, time to synthesize, and time to project on ways to apply a new level of understanding. And while good instructional design may embed a stage for reflection and synthesis, it is rarely enough by itself — especially if we don’t know how to “do” reflection and synthesis adequately.
Then to get the most out of these opportunities, we also need to emphasize the development of these higher order thinking skills so that we may bring them to all our learning opportunities and use them appropriately when we need them. Without the development of these skills, we lose the ability to get the most from a learning opportunity. And because these opportunities are occurring “just in time” we may forever miss that chance to learn something valuable.
I hope that we all will embrace the potential of just in time learning — that we understand what’s required for just in time learning experiences and understand what’s required to help everyone develop and strengthen their processing skills. We’ve got all this extra brain space now, right? Let’s use it!
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