David Kelly’s Curated L&D Content for the Week of 06/26/17

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

• incorrect assumptions that are often made about microlearning
• A video that combines humor with learning, and a challenge to explore how effective it is at accomplishing its goal
• A new type of training designed to bridge the gap between college and the workforce
• the rigor and resolve required to truly embraced creativity
• how technology is shaping the future of professional development
• little-known features that can take your use of PowerPoint to new heights.

Here’s the content for this week:

Microlearning: Overcoming 4 Assumptions by Ellen Burns-Johnson
“Microlearning” is one of the hottest buzzwords in our industry. To be honest, I hate buzzwords. I define a buzzword as “a term whose usage has spread faster than it’s understanding”, and microlearning as a term is definitely at that point. The hype of buzzwords often makes us see them as the elusive silver bullet, something that can solve all our problems. This post looks at some of the assumptions that are often made in microlearning conversations, and why those assumptions are often incorrect..

Safety Old School Style via Air New Zealand
There’s often a debate about the use of humor in training videos. Some say it can help by creating “edutainment”, where others feel the attempts at humor can distract from the messaging. This video from Air New Zealand is a good example of a video that attempts to straddle this line. It’s not only a training video, but it’s one that operates in the dreaded “we all know this already” compliance training space. I suggest watching it and asking yourself if the humor helps or hinders the intent of the video. I’d love to hear what you think, so feel free to comment, tweet me at LnDDave or message me on LinkedIn with your thoughts.

The ‘last mile’ in education and training by Ryan Craig
There are many gaps that exist between the education people receive in college and the skills that are needed by new employees. Some of this is addressed by new hire training, but there is a growing number of roles that have skill prerequisites that aren’t addressed in degree programs. This post explores a new trend that is addressing this growing knowledge and skills gap.

The realms of possibility by Steve Wheeler
Creativity is a big part of the learning professional’s work – at least the work that is well done. Most of us know this, but do we really understand what it means to be creative? Creativity isn’t just about our ideas; that’s the easy part. The harder part of creativity, which this post explores, is about the work needed to bring those ideas and their possibilities to life.

What Will Professional Development Look Like in 100 Years? by Carol Bleyle
Technology continues to change the ways we live, work, and learn. It’s inevitable that these changes will impact the space that work and learning intersect – the world of professional development. This post explores ideas about how the technological changes in our world – some near-term and others farther off – will impact how people learn and develop skills needed for the future of work.

6 Underutilized PowerPoint Features by Taylor Ehlert
While technology puts shiny new tools at our fingertips every day, there are certain tried and true tools that are almost ubiquitous to all of us in corporate learning environments. One such tool is PowerPoint. At the surface level, it’s a tool for creating presentation decks, but the deeper you explore the tool, the more uses you discover for it. This post explores 6 little-known features of PowerPoint that can improve what you can do with the software.