The Medium Is Not The Message

Here’s a statement your friends in technology-based training don’t want to hear: Technology does not build effective employees. Based on the evidence, it’s a statement most corporate training departments don’t want to hear, either. Consider the trend: In 1997, 80 percent of all training was led by instructors. By the end of 2000, that number had shrunk to about 55 percent. Perhaps most tellingly, the e-training industry alone is projected to be an estimated $40 billion market in 2005, with a five-year growth rate of approximately 42 percent. Corporations more and more frequently use technology to provide just-in-time, just-what’s-needed training to their employees. But there’s a potential disconnect here: If Marshall McLuhan were still with us, he’d tell us to make sure technology remains the medium—and does not become the message.