David Kelly’s Curated L&D Content for the Week of 3/23/20

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:

    • A look at the non-academic lessons students are learning, and how they translate to adults working from home
    • A list of platforms that you can explore to learn something new during the crisis
    • An examination of the phrase social distancing and what it means to learning
    • An important tip for those using Zoom to support their remote work
    • Tips on how to make virtual meetings more engaging that you may also want to pass along to your non-L&D peers
    • Advice on how to support your physical and mental health from an astronaut who spent a year in space

The Non-Academic Lessons I’m Planning on Teaching My Students This Week by Karl Kapp
As we all adust to self-isolation from home, it’s easy to focus just on how the day-to-day activities of work translate to the new normal we can expect for the next few weeks. This post by Karl Kapp looks at additional things we need to be focused on as part of this shift. While the post is seen through the lens of non-academic lessons that teachers share with students, I would argue that they are also non-work lessons needed for those suddenly forced to work from home.

Online Learning Platforms to Boost Your Skills: Codecademy, Udemy, and More by Chris Reed
This weekend I asked myself a simple question: What’s something I’ve always wanted to learn, but haven’t had time?  I wound up finding two courses I’m going to take in my downtime to make the most of this found time. This post highlights a number of platforms that you can use to explore learning something new or to enhance existing knowledge and skill. 

Why health officials say ‘physical distancing’ is a better term than ‘social distancing’ by Alexandra Mae Jones
I share this post by Alexandra Mae Jones for two reasons. First, it’s an important reminder as why we all need to change our everyday behaviors during the COVID-19 crisis. Second, it’s also a great reminder of the power of words, and how the quality of our thoughts, ideas, and behaviors is often influenced by the language we use. 

Beware of ‘ZoomBombing:’ screensharing filth to video calls by Josh Constine
Zoom has become an integral tool for both learning and work as more people work from home. It’s a powerful tool with a lot of options, some of which you may not even be aware of. This post by Josh Costine looks at a current default setting that opens the door to misuse and abuse by unruly participants. It’s a good setting to change in general, and a great reminder to check all the settings of your account to see what you may want to turn off or on from the default settings.

Virtual Meetings Don’t Have to Be a Bore by Andy Molinsky
I share this post by Andy Molinsky for two reasons. First, these are good tips for those that may be conducting virtual meetings for the first time. Second, for many experienced in L&D, the content here may be basic, but the source of it – Harvard Business Review – may make it more palatable to the non-L&D members of your organization that are using these tools for the first time.

I Spent a Year in Space, and I Have Tips on Isolation to Share by Scott Kelly
Self-isolation is something many of us have little experience with. While isolation is important to maintain our global health in the context of COVID-19, there are other things we need to pay attention to maintain our physical and mental health during this crisis. This post explores some of the things we need to do to minimize the impact isolation has on our well being from someone that definitely understands what it means to be socially isolated: Astronaut Scott Kelly.

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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