How a proper learning repertoire helps organizations drive L&D outcomes
Dr. Allen Partridge is the director of Adobe’s Digital Learning Evangelion, and was praised for his dynamic public speaking and insightful writing on immersive learning, gamification and AI-enhanced education. His PhD in interdisciplinary studies uniquely integrates art, music, theater, philosophy and computer science, reflecting the rare intersection of creativity, technology flow and deep critical thinking. Today, he talks with us about how countless products can help L&D professionals create the perfect learning experience and deliver the business outcomes they want.
What challenges exist in the learning value chain? Do learning designers create content, L&D administrators curate and manage learning, and learners access it?
The real challenge is not about technology, it is fragmentation. Learning designers work with silos and reinvent the wheels. L&D administrators are buried in manual tasks across tools that don’t talk to each other. And learners? They navigate the maze just to find the right content. If the authoring tool doesn’t sync with the LMS, if the LMS doesn’t connect to the virtual classroom, the entire experience will collapse, wasting time and annoy everyone. What you really need is a connected digital learning ecosystem that works by creating, curating and delivering content all together seamlessly, not through a messy workaround. The visuals below show how an integrated technology stack can fix some of these common problems.
How can an integrated learning solution be created, curated, and provided learning assistance to help organizations solve the challenges highlighted above?
The integrated setup removes speed bumps that slow learning. Designers don’t need to juggle a variety of tools to create and publish courses. Publish directly to LMS from the authoring tool with just one click. Administrators no longer need to chase reports from multiple systems. Instead, get automated workflows and real-time progress tracking all in one place. And learners? The system knows exactly who you are and what you need, so you get a smooth and personalized experience, whether you’re doing a self-paced module or taking part in a live virtual session.
Check out Analogic, one of our customers at Adobe. They trained airport technicians using Adobe Captivate and Adobe Learning Manager. With the Learning Manager, we have built a centralized, always-on-always hub that technicians can take advantage of, even after completing face-to-face level 1 training. Captivate makes it easy to create video-based content and push it directly to your LMS. Additionally, the integration of creative cloud allows teams to produce rich, immersive materials, publish them to LMS, and drive engagement.
result?
14% reduction in service ticket completion time 58% jumping skills after training 70% learner participation
When your tools work together, creative energy flows and learning begins.
How does Adobe Learning Solutions equip L&D professionals with the tools they need to deliver business outcomes and execute their learning strategies end-to-end?
Most L&D teams are like top tier chefs. Very skilled, but stuck in the kitchen in a building with an oven, the stove is in another building, and the materials are scattered throughout town. They will spend more time bouncing between tools than cooking meaningful learning experiences. Adobe’s integrated solution changes it. It’s like giving them a cutting edge kitchen where everything works together. Content created with Captivate flows directly into Learning Manager, and Adobe Connect handles virtual training without a hitch. Need great visuals? Photoshop, Illustrator, and Firefly are right there and ready. Suddenly, the L&D team can return to what they love. Design impactful learning that changes behavior and drives real outcomes. When tools are synchronized rather than fighting each other, that’s when magic happens.
As an end-to-end platform, Adobe helps organizations realize their learning strategies and create better experiences for learners, designers, instructors and administrators. With one-click publishing from Captivate to Learning Manager and the ability to manage both face-to-face and virtual sessions on the platform, Adobe’s closely connected tools help today’s L&D teams meet the expectations of modern learners without the technical complexity.
Do you think learning in different formats – online, classrooms and virtual classrooms, all play a role in driving learning outcomes?
Everyone learns differently. Some people need practical practice, others like to explore content at their own pace, others want live interactions with peers and instructors. The trick blends them all together, like a symphony instrument, rather than choosing one method over another. That’s where integrated solutions come in. It acts as your conductor and brings together self-paced modules, instructor-led training, and virtual classrooms into one smooth, connected experience. result? Learners do not feel like they are jumping between random sessions. They are on a continuous journey that makes sense. Here are some real examples.
The major QSR chain (rename) uses blend learning to train franchise staff on a new winter menu. This training combines practical practice for plating and serving with online training on cross-selling skills, allowing employees to confidently provide a complete customer experience.
Healthcare customers (named changed) have been transformed into peer learning, increasing awareness and adoption of healthcare informatics solutions. By interacting with experts and learning with each other, the content was more relevant and resonated better.
In another case, a large Scandinavian manufacturer with 44,000 employees across 130 countries used personalized learning paths to guide learners using blended virtual classrooms and online formats. These paths combined LinkedIn learning content with live sessions and gaming assignments. result? It makes sense because when they need it, they meet people where they are.
What are the most notable client success stories or stories that Adobe’s integrated digital learning solutions helped create impact?
Below are two great examples of how powerful integrated learning can be at scale. One of the world’s largest Fortune 500 Tech Consulting Company has replaced 16 individual learning platforms with Adobe Learning Manager. result? The single system supports 350,000 internal employees, over 910,000 external partners and 3.8 million CSR users. It’s a serious integration and it works.
On another scale, in another corner of the world, South African financial services firms have deployed their blending programmes to over 1,000 learners using Adobe Learning Manager and Adobe Connect. They used learning managers for self-paced content, and Adobe Connect was used for live, instructor-led sessions. Everything is integrated, so we automate key workflows and elicited analytics on both platforms. Payoff? 80% trainer availability and smoother collaboration between multiple instructors that provide training sessions.
How do you think new technologies such as AI can help improve learning effectiveness at every stage?
We are just beginning to take advantage of AI’s potential in learning, and early results have already changed the game. For example, Adobe shows the difference between AI-powered searches in Learning Manager. Instead of learners walking through the ocean of unrelated outcomes, our AI-driven semantic search can get intent. They even fill video transcripts, PDFs, and even recordings to even take exactly what you need. And it’s on the side of content curation.
In terms of creation, AI is set to level the arena. Imagine the L&D teams energizing a massive, personalized learning path. Adobe Firefly helps you convert text prompts to custom visuals, while AI assistants support authors to build interactive content faster. There are no weeks of development of a single course.
And what about delivery? That’s where the actual conversion begins. AI will find learning gaps before impacting performance, recommend just-in-time resources, and adjust the difficulty of fly content based on the learner’s way. We are on the brink of a truly adaptive and personalized learning experience, and its future is arriving faster than most people would expect.
In fact, we have launched our first genai-equipped assistant for learning managers. No more digging into the long help documentation. Enter your question and get the answer instantly (screenshot below!). It’s really easy. Check out this short video and watch your admin AI assistants take action and learn if it’s already making life easier.
I’ll summarize
Dr. Allen Partridge is grateful for sharing his insights on blend learning and the way that integrated solutions provide transformative L&D experiences in a variety of formats. If you’d like to learn more about Adobe’s Learning Repertoire, check out our ultimate list of features.
