David Kelly’s Curated L&D Content for the Week of 4/29/19

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

• • how the emergence of A.I. is changing learning for the knowledge worker
  • a look at how different behaviors can lead to different types of creative breakthroughs
  • thoughts on how to overcome some of the biggest challenges in L&D
  • how to use PowerPoint to create elearning graphics
  • a look at some of the drivers of elearning value, and the importance of revisiting them
  • an interview exploring the effectiveness of VR-based training

Using AI to Make Knowledge Workers More Effective by Paul R. Daugherty
Artificial intelligence is changing the nature of work, and that is shifting roles and responsibilities for people in every industry. This article examines how A.I. will augment the activities of knowledge workers, exploring how they will offload takes better done by technology so they can focus more on human-centered value. There are lots of lessons for L&D professionals to pull from this post.

Creativity is not Just for the Young by Neuroscience News
Creativity is at the heart of so many things, including the work that we do as learning professionals. While I don’t love the title of this article, I share it here for the underlying research to the activities connected to creativity, including how different types of activities can lead to different types of creative breakthroughs.

Beyond learning by Josh Haims, Amy A. Titus, Carly Ackerman, and Emily Lappin
The world of work is changing, and the work of learning and development professionals is evolving accordingly. But what are those changes, and what are the implications for our field? This post explores some of the major challenges faced by L&D, and presents options for how we can address them.

PowerPoint Tip: Here’s a Simple Way to Build E-Learning Graphics by Tom Kuhlmann
PowerPoint is a tool that takes a lot of criticism; can you think of another tool that has a universally accepted phrase like “Death by PowerPoint”? Too often we blame a tool when the real problem is actually how we are using it. I actually love PowerPoint. Posts like this showcase why, as they look beyond what the PowerPoint “does” and explores what it can do. This post looks at what I’d argue is one of the most valuable use cases of PowerPoint for elearning professionals: creating graphics.

What Benefits Can eLearning Offer the Retail Industry?
As elearning professionals, we are sometimes so embedded into the process of creating elearning that we can forget why we do it, and what makes elearning an effective solution. I find it helpful to occasionally step back from the day-to-day to look at what I’m doing with my time. Has the environment changed? Are the drivers that push my work the same? Often the answer is yes, and I go back to my work with renewed purpose. Sometimes though, stepping back helps me see something new that helps my work evolve and advance. I share this post as an example of a reminder to step back and revisit why we do what we do, and to consider if any of the drivers have changed.

VR Training Ideal for Dangerous or Impossible Experiences by Julie Dirksen and Pam Hogle
VR Training is rapidly emerging as a viable tool for orgainzations. A common challenge that orgainzations exploring VR face is understanding what type of scenarios match well to VR experiences. This article highlights an interview with the founding director of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab. The interview explores when VR works well as a solution, and how effective it can be for behavior change and skill development.

Exploring AR or VR for Training? Join us in June!

Recent surveys collected by the eLearning Guild show that over 80% of orgainzations are exploring the use of AR and/or VR for training and education. A rapidly growing number of organizations are already actively using or piloting the technologies.

Combine these sentiments with AR/VR industry surveys that show investments targeting enterprise training and education as one of the primary targets of AR/VR providers and it appears that AR/VR training is well-positioned for a breakthrough moment.

This year’s Realities360 Conference and Expo supports this unique moment by bringing together the industry providers that are building training and education platforms, tools, and solutions so that curious professionals can explore how these technologies work, and orgainzations already putting them into use can get the guidance and support needed to build their AR/VR strategies and programs.

If your organization is actively exploring, or implementing AR or VR training and education, you need to be at Realities360 this June. Registration is now open, and many of the sessions you can expect are already online.