Curated Industry Content for the Week of 11/2/15

Every Monday we curate a number of articles and blog posts that have relevance to members of the eLearning Guild Community, and to the learning and performance field as a whole. Each piece of content that we share includes a brief introduction from the member of the Guild Community sharing why they think the content is important.

Here’s the content for this week:

What Most People Don’t Understand about Creative Work by Jane Porter
Creativity is often something associated with talent. People look at creative people and say “She’s so creative, as if it’s a natural gift that just comes easy to some people. The truth is, creativity is challenging. In this interview with Elizabeth Gilbert the author explores the two sides of creativity, and the work associated with balancing the two. As Gilbert says in the interview, “You have to get through the boredom to get to the exciting part.” -David Kelly

IoT: A Fog Cloud Computing Model by Ahmed Banafa
“Today’s sensors are generating 2 exabytes of data. It’s too much data to send to the cloud. There’s not enough bandwidth, and it costs too much money.” This will become an increasingly applicable concern for learning and performance support as our reliance on the cloud grows. Something to consider in your planning! -Bill Brandon

‘YouTube Red’ is Google’s master plan to take on rival media subscriptions by Tom Cheredar
Youtube has long been referenced and renowned for learning purposes, from short DIY videos as performance support or longer videos of industry leaders sharing ideas.  Now to compete with rivals like Netflix Youtube is rolling out a subscription service. How will this impact it’s use and uses going forward? – Mark Britz

Why Organizations Don’t Learn by Francesca Gino & Bradley Staats
We often talk about the need to build a “learning culture” in our organizations. This article does a nice job of breaking down what that means, and how organizations can take steps to truly embrace learning within their daily work. -David Kelly

Top 10 Emerging Technologies That Could Transform Our Future by EAston
These are the top ten technologies (as of late 2015) that are changing our lives. All ten will, sooner or later, change human performance and business processes including learning. -Bill Brandon

You Should Work Out Loud in the 21st Century by Ayelet Baron
Working Out Loud is not a new concept and examples are abound. This post offers much in terms of the how and why but looks at the changing nature of work and organizations in the 21st century and reminds us that although the openness and transparency afforded by Web2.0 powers working out loud it is ultimately a human need and decision for as the author notes, “If we lead with technology, we will fail. If we see technology as a place to go, we will fail miserably.”  -Mark Britz

Stop saying technology is causing social isolation by Héctor Carral
“All of this technology is making us anti-social”. Most of us have heard some version of this statement being made; maybe some of you reading this feel this way yourself. This article takes a different route, exploring the flip side to the technology conversation – how it is making us more social. It explores an idea I strongly believe in – that technology isn’t making us more or less social; it’s redefining what it means to be social. (Warning – there is some strong language used in this post) -David Kelly

Edtech’s Next Big Disruption Is The College Degree by Aaron Skonnard
Aaron Skonnard in TechCrunch: “For centuries, the college degree has been the global gold standard for assessing an individual entering the workforce. But after cornering the credentials market for nearly a millennium, the degree’s days alone at the top are most definitely numbered. By 2020, the traditional degree will have made room on its pedestal for a new array of modern credentials that are currently gaining mainstream traction as viable measures of learning, ability and accomplishment. Technology is changing the job market, and it’s only natural that we find new ways of determining who’s the right fit for those jobs.” -Bill Brandon

A Simple Card Game Designed To Rewrite Gender And Racial Stereotypes by Mark Wilson
I love this post. The game discussed here is very powerful, and one that has a meaningful message underneath the game mechanics. But that’s not the primary reason I share it. I share it as an excellent example of games applied to learning and behavioral change. It also positions games in a very interesting light as a medium, one that – unlike video or reading, does not come to lige without participation. -David Kelly

The Problem with Best Practices by Shane Snow
“Best Practices” is a concept that is much valued in organizations. After all, best practices represent practices that are prven to work, tested and verified by large numbers of practitioners. They’re like following the path worn in a field by thousands that have walked before you. But there’s a flip side to best practices; a side that can actually be hurtful if you ignore it. This article explores the risks associated with the concept of best practices, and shares ideas that can help you as you consider best practices in your own context. -David Kelly

What are you reading?

If you have an article, blog post, or other resource 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.