What Healthcare.gov Teaches Us

When I saw the recent post about Healthcare.gov on the Tagoras blog, I expected an overly political article. I was pleasantly surprised to read a practical piece about the growing link between education service delivery and technology.

For many associations, successful continuing education depends on reliable online resources. Similarly, the Affordable Care Act’s success largely depends on Healthcare.gov. Because executives are invested in continuing education, they must also engage in related technology decisions. The days of handing projects to IT to manage in isolation are over. Leaders now must ask about user experience, long-term management, reliability, resources, and more.

Software or Mission Maker? The Tightening Connection Between Technology and Education

I’m not a Sunday morning talk show pundit or a basher of Obamacare, so I didn’t really expect to weigh in on the recent online insurance exchange Web site debacle.

Then I came across a recent by Michael Wolff in USA Today titled “How CEOs are clueless about technology.”

Wolff takes aim at the CEO in Chief in making the main point of his article, but the point is one that applies broadly: most leaders still view technology as something separate from the real value that their organization offers.

As an enhancement. As an upgrade. But surely not as the real heart of the matter.

In short: as “software.”

But that’s a mistake. As Wolff, borrowing a page from Marshall McLuhan puts it – the “product is the process” – and “process” is inherently dependent upon – indeed, increasingly indistinguishable from – technology.

To put it another way, you can’t really separate Obamacare from the experience of accessing the care that the legislation promises. And that access, in the world we now live in, is entirely dependent upon technology.

As you might guess, I see parallels in the world of continuing education and professional development. It is still all too common for association leaders to view learning management platforms and other types of learning technology as merely “software.”

As an enhancement. As an upgrade. But surely not as the real heart of the matter.

But that’s a mistake. With the direction that education has taken – over the past decade, and at a dramatically accelerated rate in just the past year or two – technology is now inherent to the process.

You can’t separate technology, in most instances, from how members and customers experience the education you provide and the learning you (hopefully) facilitate.

Given the fundamental role of education and learning in the mission of most associations, this means you cannot separate technology from how the organization is experienced and valued.

Final Thoughts

In my experience, too few executives, especially C-level leaders, participate in learning technology decisions. As Wolff suggests, it’s not that they lack interest in technology or its importance. Rather, they believe understanding the details is someone else’s responsibility within the organization.

I’m not suggesting CEOs should run RFPs or design online courses. However, deeper involvement is necessary to understand how technology and learning outcomes are connected. This understanding is no longer optional for organizations competing in the growing lifelong education market.

Leaders who fail to make this shift will find their products suffer as their engagement decreases.