David Kelly’s Curated L&D Content for the Week of 4/6/20

David Kelly, Executive Director, The eLearning Guild

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, this week’s resources continue to have the dual focus of providing resources that can help us navigate this troubling time, while also giving us new ways to expand the view we have on the work we do as L&D professionals. Here’s a summary of this week’s content:

    • Why the COVID-19 crisis could actually improve workplace accessibility
    • How one professor has pivoted his classroom to virtual reality
    • Tips on how to avoid burnout when working from home
    • A great example of how pictures can be used for learning instructions
    • A great curated list of resources to support distance and virtual education and training
    • How email can be used to support digital learning

The coronavirus crisis proves reasonable workplace accessibility has been possible all along by Caroline Casey
The COVID-19 crisis has forced many individuals and organizations to operate outside their comfort zone. It’s my hope that a silver lining of this crisis will be lasting change built upon organizations being forced to explore areas they have resisted in the past. This post by Caroline Casey looks at one such area that could use such a focus: workplace accessibility.

UNC students are learning in professor’s new virtual reality classroom during pandemic by Kate Murphy
One of the positive things that I have seen during this crisis is the number of people that are exploring new and innovative ways to continue their work. This post by Kate Murphy examines one such example as a professor pivots his classroom to a virtual reality environment. It’s examples like this that will hopefully enable us to come out of the current crisis with some new proven practices that we can apply to education and training.

3 Tips to Avoid WFH Burnout by Laura M. Giurge and Vanessa K. Bohns
Working from home is a very different paradigm for those who haven’t done it for an expended period. If you only focus on maintaining your work, you are more at risk for burnout than you may realize. This post by Laura M. Giurge and Vanessa K. Bohns examines why that is the case and provides tips on how to minimize the risk of burnout.

How to Fold a No-Sew Bandana Face Mask by Mike Senese
I share this post by Mike Senese for two reasons. I share it first because it provides instructions on how to create a face mask, which is currently needed based on the CDC’s recommendations.  I also share this post because it’s a great example of how instructions can easily be created via imagery, with nothing more than a smartphone.

Distance Learning: A Gently Curated Collection of Resources for Teachers by Jennifer Gonzalez
The COVID-19 crisis has placed a spotlight on all types of online learning, especially virtual classrooms. This post by Jennifer Gonzalez curates a host of resources that can help you support distance learning. I really like the four parts she has separated this guide into, including typical barriers, how-to, tips from other teachers, and troubleshooting. While written with academia in mind, this guide is of use for anyone looking for guidance to support distance and virtual learning.

Email: The Overlooked Digital (and Virtual) Learning Platform by Sarah Mercier
During the current crisis, L&D departments around the world are needing to find ways to train and support workforces while workers are at home. While much attention has understandably focused on learning and virtual conference technologies, there are additional ways to support your organization. This post by Sarah Mercier looks at a resource for supporting learning you may not have considered: email.

Stay Home, Stay Connected

Even in this unprecedented time of crisis, our learning is important. The eLearning Guild is fully committed to continuing to be a source of community, connection, and learning during the challenging weeks ahead.

We will be increasing the frequency of our online conferences and events, many of which will be available free to our members (Membership is also free).

Our guiding principle at the Guild is “Together We Are Better”. It shapes every decision we make and has arguably never been more important than the moment we are in right now.

We’re all going to be home a lot more than usual over the next few weeks, and our team is focused on creating new resources to solve the problems we’re going to need to deal with in the short-term, while we look forward to continuing to support the professional development needs our profession will need in the long-term.

If you have any thoughts on how we can better serve the community during this difficult time, please feel free to send me an email with your thoughts.

Be well, be healthy, and wash your hands.

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