David Kelly’s Curated L&D Content for the Week of 2/25/19

This week’s curated content includes links exploring the following:

  • A look at three models that can transform the future of education and training
  • Why Microsoft’s new HoloLens headset may set the stage for AR’s tipping point in the enterprise
  • An important milestone for workflow learning
  • Tips on how to make practice and skill development a regular part of your work as an elearning professional
  • The power of Twitter Chats for learning
  • Typography lessons from an unexpected source: Saturday Night Live

The Future of Education: How A.I. and Immersive Tech Will Reshape Learning Forever by Lucas Rizzotto
This post goes into great detail to talk about how education is changing and explores a number of new models for education that are emerging, enabled by new technologies. The ideas in the post (personalized, mastery-based, and experiential learning) aren’t necessarily new in themselves, but the post does a very good job of explaining the unique value of each and how we can use today’s technologies to harness their potential. While the post is written with academic environments in mind, the concepts are easily transferable to organizational learning environments.  

Microsoft’s new $3,500 HoloLens 2 headset means business by Heather Kelly
Augmented reality is one of the hottest technologies circling around L&D, but its use cases are still somewhat limited. I’ve always seen those limitations largely due to the focus on smartphone-based AR. The true potential of AR lies in our ability to interact with what we are seeing projected on the real world, and for that, we need our hands to be free. Microsoft understands this, which is why this article about the new version of their HoloLens headset includes words like “workplace”, “corporate”, and “enterprise”. Of course, the most important part for L&D professionals is probably right in the first sentence: “The newest version of Microsoft’s augmented reality headset is designed to help workers of all types better do their jobs”.

Making Learning a Part of Everyday Work by Josh Bersin & Marc Zao-Sanders
This article does a good job of painting the picture of why making learning part of work is valuable. Despite what the article says, this concept isn’t new. The labels may have changed over time, but we’ve been talking about the benefits of learning in the workflow for decades. I don’t share this article for its content (though it’s worth a read). I share it less because of what was shared and more because of where it was shared: Harvard Business Review. This isn’t an article written for learning professionals; it’s an article written for the executives that make decisions about L&D departments. While the concept of learning as a part of work isn’t new for L&D, it likely is for the average Harvard Business Review reader. If executives are reading about the benefits of learning being a part of work, perhaps there’s an opportunity to further push our efforts in that direction.

How to Improve Your E-Learning Course Design Skills by Tom Kuhlmann
While L&D professionals are responsible for supporting the learning and development of others, we’re often so focused on our roles that we don’t do a great job of developing ourselves. This has always been one of the greatest ironies I find in our industry. If we want to improve our skills, we have to be intentional about creating space for learning and skill development. This post explores a great example of that, providing a framework that enables regular opportunities for practice and skill development, While the post specifically targets Articulate users (and is a must-read for those people), the tips shared can easily be applied to any software or tool you may use on a regular basis.

The Importance of Connection-and Twitter Chats! by Nicole Roberts
One of the most important moments in my career was when I started to intentionally use social media to connect with people from outside of my organization so I could learn new ideas. It was on social media that my personal development really took off, fueled by the connections I was making and the larger world that was opening up for me. Twitter Chats were a big part of that at the beginning, and continue to be a part of my learning to this day. This post shares similar thoughts on the value of Twitter Chats, as well as a few HR-focused chats to consider. If you’re in L&D and are interested in trying out a Twitter Chat, here are a few to consider. 

  • #GuildChat (Every Friday at 2pm EST / 11am PST)
  • #Lrnchat (Every Thursday at 8:30pm EST / 5:30pm PST)
  • #EdTechChat (Every Monday at 8pm EST / 5pm PST)

Typography lessons from an unexpected place: SNL cue cards by Mark Wilson
I love finding lessons about my work from outside our industry, and I love Saturday Night Live, so it’s not surprising that I love this post at the intersection of these two worlds. The post explores the role that cue cards play in the show, which is interesting in its own right. I share it here for the interesting points made about how the cards are written for usability, and how the cue cards are integrated into the workflow of the show.

Gain the Solutions Today’s Training Managers Need

Management of the learning function can take many forms; depending on the size of the organization and its needs, the role can involve both tactical efforts and input on guiding the organizational learning strategy. Modern organizations are dynamic, and to stay relevant and successful they must continually adjust their strategies. To support this need for business agility, L&D must be able to act on each shift and ensure employees have the knowledge and skills they need to support the business at every level.

The All-New Management Solutions Forum, taking place in Orlando on March 25, is set to provide you with the knowledge to succeed in a constantly changing business environment. Learn with and through your peers how to overcome the biggest challenges learning leaders face today, how best to align learning solutions with the business, how to build and lead a learning team, and how to show the value of L&D efforts.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *