David Kelly’s Curated Content for the Week of 04/17/17

I read through a number of articles and blog posts each day, and every Monday I curate a few of my favorites for members of the eLearning Guild Community, and for the learning and performance field as a whole. Each shared resource includes a brief introduction explaining why I find the link to be of value and recommend you read it.

Here’s the content for this week:

I’m Not Texting. I’m Taking Notes. by Jonah Stillman
We’ve all been in meetings where people are on their phone while someone else is talking. In the world of current social norms, this can be construed as rude based on the assumption that the person on their phone is on social media or responding to emails or texts instead of paying attention. The thing is, this assumption is increasingly incorrect. In addition to addressing the increased use of smartphones for taking notes, I also appreciate that this article addresses the bridge that must be formed to normalize this expanded use of phones within our culture. One caveat to me sharing this article: The article does lean a bit towards generational stereotypes that I personally tend to resist. The behaviors described can be applied to any generation, including “old people” like me.

Bill Gates Is Wrong: The Solution to AI Taking Jobs Is Training, Not Taxes by David Kenny
There’s a huge amount of discussion surrounding the emergence of artificial intelligence into our daily lives. Much of the discussion surrounds the impact it may have on jobs, as more human jobs are replaced by technology. This post explores this truth as one of opportunity instead of one of threat. AI has tremendous applications for learning and development, so everyone in our field should be tracking it’s emergence. However, my primary reason for sharing this post is because I think it taps into a greater training opportunity related to AI, one that explores preparing our citizens for new jobs as existing ones become outdated.

Components to Great eLearning Design via Designing Digitally
While there isn’t a single list that defines what makes a good learning game, exploring multiple quality lists can show the common themes and ideas that could form your personal guidelines. This list shares five specific components that should be included in the games you design for learning.

To Boost Higher-Order Thinking, Try Curation by Jennifer Gonzalez
Curation is a tool that is increasingly being explored for learning and development. This post continues that exploration but flips the assumed direction. The vast majority of curation discussions examine it from a top-down perspective, with an expert curator doing the work for the novices. This post flips that model, exploring the value that the process of curation can provide to novices as applied to higher-order thinking.

How to Shoot High-Quality Videos With a SmartPhone by Jonathan Halls
With the advancements in smartphone cameras, you don’t need high-end video equipment to create a high-quality video any more. This post explores a few key tips that can greatly enhance the next video you create on your smartphone .

A Complete List of Free Stock Image Sites for E-Learning by Tom Kuhlmann
Have you ever found the perfect image for your elearning program only to discover you can’t use it because it’s too expensive or you can’t figure out how to license it? It’s challenges like these that make free stock imagery so popular, and this post curates a number of great resources for finding royalty-free images for your next project. 

What are you reading?
If you recently read an article, blog post, or other resource from someone else that you think we should consider sharing in a future Curated Industry Content post, please feel free to send a link to the resource to David Kelly along with a few sentences describing why you think the resource is valuable.

Interested in taking a deep dive into the opportunities mobile, games, and video present for Learning and Development? Join us for FocusOn 2017 this June in San Diego!