The T+D Blog Has Moved!
The new T+D Blog is now officially launched.
I have the option of importing all this existing content into the new blog, but it will cause this blog to be unreadable.
Until people update their bookmarks and Webpage links, though, I want to leave this one up. So for now, the two versions will co-exist.
I've replicated my past few posts from this blog onto the new one to get it off and running.
Enjoy, and please feel free to let me know what you think.
Monday, May 02, 2005
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Best you might've missed
I'm posting this week's best early because I'm taking tomorrow off to enjoy some rest and relaxation before our crazy conference season starts. Have a great weekend, everybody!
Traditional training/business
Book report: Resilience at Work: How to Succeed No Matter What Life Throws at You. A study showed that workers who showed resilience and succeeded in the face of change demonstrated "three basic attitudes...: commitment, control, and challenge."
Leading Ideas: Grow the People Around You. The Fast Company blog reports on Jack Welch's new book on leadership and some key points on how leaders can develop the people under them.
E-learning
"PBS drops its middleman role in college telecourses." The end of an era.
Emergent learning
"A Model Patient." A fascinating article from the New Yorker describes how doctors are being trained on sophisticated simulated patients.
A Learning Blogosphere: Parts I and II. How a professor and students used blogging at the University of Michigan.
Educational podcasts. Have you gotten into this new digital trend? Here's a list of podcasts for and about learning. (Thanks, e-learning Centre.)
Definition of emergent workers. The senior VP and chief human resources officer at Spherion defines them at the Future of Work Congress.
Mind research
"Unleashing Creativity." "Moments of brilliance arise from complex cognitive processes. Piece by piece, researchers are uncovering the secrets of creative thinking." (Thanks, Fast Company blog.)
Technology
Keynote on the Semantic Web by Tim Berners-Lee. The inventor of the World Wide Web opened MIT's Emerging Technologies Conference last fall.
I'm posting this week's best early because I'm taking tomorrow off to enjoy some rest and relaxation before our crazy conference season starts. Have a great weekend, everybody!
Traditional training/business
Book report: Resilience at Work: How to Succeed No Matter What Life Throws at You. A study showed that workers who showed resilience and succeeded in the face of change demonstrated "three basic attitudes...: commitment, control, and challenge."
Leading Ideas: Grow the People Around You. The Fast Company blog reports on Jack Welch's new book on leadership and some key points on how leaders can develop the people under them.
E-learning
"PBS drops its middleman role in college telecourses." The end of an era.
Emergent learning
"A Model Patient." A fascinating article from the New Yorker describes how doctors are being trained on sophisticated simulated patients.
A Learning Blogosphere: Parts I and II. How a professor and students used blogging at the University of Michigan.
Educational podcasts. Have you gotten into this new digital trend? Here's a list of podcasts for and about learning. (Thanks, e-learning Centre.)
Definition of emergent workers. The senior VP and chief human resources officer at Spherion defines them at the Future of Work Congress.
Mind research
"Unleashing Creativity." "Moments of brilliance arise from complex cognitive processes. Piece by piece, researchers are uncovering the secrets of creative thinking." (Thanks, Fast Company blog.)
Technology
Keynote on the Semantic Web by Tim Berners-Lee. The inventor of the World Wide Web opened MIT's Emerging Technologies Conference last fall.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Redesign soon to be launched!
I can't wait to show it off. I've been working on the redesign of this blog and the new version is so much better!
I'm waiting for some technical help with the logo, but once that's done, I'll be able to unveil it.
In the meantime, here's a sneak preview of what the new Typepad (paid software) has allowed me to easily add:
--much prettier design without having to get deep into the html (my coding skills are very minimal)
--an about link--standard with Typepad, lets you get to know the blog's mission and a little bit about me
--my picture, for a personal touch
--an archive by topic category--as I post and the list gets full, it will allow this blog to be used as a knowledge base!
--list of recent posts--lets you see their topics at a glance rather than having to scroll
--a list (blogroll) of bloggers and Websites I read regularly and gather linking fodder from.
--better support for Firefox users.
Stay tuned for the new link!
I can't wait to show it off. I've been working on the redesign of this blog and the new version is so much better!
I'm waiting for some technical help with the logo, but once that's done, I'll be able to unveil it.
In the meantime, here's a sneak preview of what the new Typepad (paid software) has allowed me to easily add:
--much prettier design without having to get deep into the html (my coding skills are very minimal)
--an about link--standard with Typepad, lets you get to know the blog's mission and a little bit about me
--my picture, for a personal touch
--an archive by topic category--as I post and the list gets full, it will allow this blog to be used as a knowledge base!
--list of recent posts--lets you see their topics at a glance rather than having to scroll
--a list (blogroll) of bloggers and Websites I read regularly and gather linking fodder from.
--better support for Firefox users.
Stay tuned for the new link!
Infomania affects IQ more than marijuana
Shocking news from a study by Hewlett Packard: Excessive use of technology such as email and text messages can cause a fall in IQ greater than that caused by smoking marijuana.
The study of more than 1000 adults was commisioned by HP and conducted at the University of London's Institute of Psychiatry.
The research showed that the average reduction of 10 IQ points as participants' work was interrupted by emails and text messages is more than double the four-point loss caused by smoking marijuana.
A third of all adults will respond to an email immediately or within 10 minutes, the study showed. But women are more effective at multitasking: Their drop in IQ was only five points, compared to 15 for men.
Read more here and here.
Shocking news from a study by Hewlett Packard: Excessive use of technology such as email and text messages can cause a fall in IQ greater than that caused by smoking marijuana.
The study of more than 1000 adults was commisioned by HP and conducted at the University of London's Institute of Psychiatry.
The research showed that the average reduction of 10 IQ points as participants' work was interrupted by emails and text messages is more than double the four-point loss caused by smoking marijuana.
A third of all adults will respond to an email immediately or within 10 minutes, the study showed. But women are more effective at multitasking: Their drop in IQ was only five points, compared to 15 for men.
Read more here and here.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Trends article on mobile learning
My most recent Trends article for Learning Circuits, "Mobile Reality (A Tale of Two Experts)," has been posted to the Website. The article includes Q+A with two leading experts in the field--Chris Koschembahr, IBM's Worldwide Mobile Learning Executive, and Clark Quinn, executive director of the consultancy OtterSurf Labs and co-founder of the Meta-Learning Lab.
Koschembahr says that mobile learning is easier than you think, and you can get started immediately. Quinn asserts that m-learning's gold rush hasn't happened yet.
My most recent Trends article for Learning Circuits, "Mobile Reality (A Tale of Two Experts)," has been posted to the Website. The article includes Q+A with two leading experts in the field--Chris Koschembahr, IBM's Worldwide Mobile Learning Executive, and Clark Quinn, executive director of the consultancy OtterSurf Labs and co-founder of the Meta-Learning Lab.
Koschembahr says that mobile learning is easier than you think, and you can get started immediately. Quinn asserts that m-learning's gold rush hasn't happened yet.
Friday, April 22, 2005
Best you might've missed
Today it seems spring went into hiding. It's cold and rainy here in DC, but I hope you all have a good weekend anyway. Here are the best articles from this week.
Emergent learning
What is Workflow Learning? A good basic outline (along with entertaining graphics) from Jay Cross, co-founder of the Workflow Institute.
"War Games." "In offices created by an ex-Star Trek designer and using techniques and technology from movies and gaming, some of Hollywood's top creative talents are helping the US military to train for war in the 21st century."
E-learning
"The Distancing Question in Online Education." Glenn Russell examines "the affective domain—in particular, the ability of students to empathize, connect, and interact with their distant peers and instructor, and the ability of instructors to adequately respond to the emotional states and needs of students from afar."
The Interface is the Content. Clark Aldrich writes, "One of the big 'ahas' of the next generation of elearning designers is that the interface is a significant piece of the content, not just a conduit to the content."
Traditional training/learning
EducationForAdults.com Uses Blogging Technology to Inform Busy Adults About Educational Opportunities. "An online directory of nontraditional education programs for busy adults has created a blog...to form a community where adults contemplating going back to school can interact with people in similar situations..."
Wiki on Becoming a Better Thinker. A host of resources. Also look for my June Intelligence column, which will cover three software programs that say they can boost brain power.
Business
Leading Ideas: Embrace the Lunatic Inside You. Ideas on tapping into your crazy (but ultimately good) ideas, from the Fast Company blog.
Recovering the Lost Art of Note-Taking. Tips on taking notes at work from the Working Smart blog.
Information
"'Infomania' Worse Than Marijuana." Can it be true? A new study says excessive use of technology reduces workers' intelligence more than marijuana use. (Thanks, e-Learning Centre.)
"The Infinite Library." A fascinating and in-depth article on how Google's plan to digitize millions of books will affect libraries. Also see an item on this program in April's Intelligence column in T+D.
Today it seems spring went into hiding. It's cold and rainy here in DC, but I hope you all have a good weekend anyway. Here are the best articles from this week.
Emergent learning
What is Workflow Learning? A good basic outline (along with entertaining graphics) from Jay Cross, co-founder of the Workflow Institute.
"War Games." "In offices created by an ex-Star Trek designer and using techniques and technology from movies and gaming, some of Hollywood's top creative talents are helping the US military to train for war in the 21st century."
E-learning
"The Distancing Question in Online Education." Glenn Russell examines "the affective domain—in particular, the ability of students to empathize, connect, and interact with their distant peers and instructor, and the ability of instructors to adequately respond to the emotional states and needs of students from afar."
The Interface is the Content. Clark Aldrich writes, "One of the big 'ahas' of the next generation of elearning designers is that the interface is a significant piece of the content, not just a conduit to the content."
Traditional training/learning
EducationForAdults.com Uses Blogging Technology to Inform Busy Adults About Educational Opportunities. "An online directory of nontraditional education programs for busy adults has created a blog...to form a community where adults contemplating going back to school can interact with people in similar situations..."
Wiki on Becoming a Better Thinker. A host of resources. Also look for my June Intelligence column, which will cover three software programs that say they can boost brain power.
Business
Leading Ideas: Embrace the Lunatic Inside You. Ideas on tapping into your crazy (but ultimately good) ideas, from the Fast Company blog.
Recovering the Lost Art of Note-Taking. Tips on taking notes at work from the Working Smart blog.
Information
"'Infomania' Worse Than Marijuana." Can it be true? A new study says excessive use of technology reduces workers' intelligence more than marijuana use. (Thanks, e-Learning Centre.)
"The Infinite Library." A fascinating and in-depth article on how Google's plan to digitize millions of books will affect libraries. Also see an item on this program in April's Intelligence column in T+D.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
More free Webinars
Interwise is offering a wide variety of free Webinars in the next few months, including sessions on such topics as
--Merging Live Conferencing with Collaborative Group Workspaces
--Succession Planning: Beating the Panic
--Getting Started with E-Learning
--Running Learning Like a Business
--Formalizing Informal Learning
--and more.
Check out their full schedule here.
TrainingOutsourcing.com is presenting a free online session on How to Increase Business Value Through Customer Education on May 26th at 2 pm EDT.
Their email on the Webinar says it is "designed for corporate executives considering innovative customer and channel partner learning strategies that can provide positive impact on business performance by
--increasing customer satisfaction and retention
--building customer loyalty
--reducing costs for product training
--gaining market share and top-line revenue
--improving shareholder value
--generating additional revenue from channel partners and resellers
--enhancing quality of customer learning initiatives
--mitigating risk and product liability
--implementing best practices in customer and product education."
Interwise is offering a wide variety of free Webinars in the next few months, including sessions on such topics as
--Merging Live Conferencing with Collaborative Group Workspaces
--Succession Planning: Beating the Panic
--Getting Started with E-Learning
--Running Learning Like a Business
--Formalizing Informal Learning
--and more.
Check out their full schedule here.
TrainingOutsourcing.com is presenting a free online session on How to Increase Business Value Through Customer Education on May 26th at 2 pm EDT.
Their email on the Webinar says it is "designed for corporate executives considering innovative customer and channel partner learning strategies that can provide positive impact on business performance by
--increasing customer satisfaction and retention
--building customer loyalty
--reducing costs for product training
--gaining market share and top-line revenue
--improving shareholder value
--generating additional revenue from channel partners and resellers
--enhancing quality of customer learning initiatives
--mitigating risk and product liability
--implementing best practices in customer and product education."
Friday, April 15, 2005
Best you might've missed
Here are the best articles and resources I came across this week.
Business
"Leadership Decision Making." A paper by a University of Baltimore professor (yay, Baltimore! I'm a native daughter) gets deep into this issue. (Thanks, Lifehacker.)
Best site for travelers. The Business 2.0 blog links to SeatGuru, a great resource for business travelers that can give you detailed info about seats on many commercial aircrafts before you book your ticket.
Free small business websites. Yahoo is offering a free website for companies who list themselves on Yahoo Local.
Learning theory
"Can Blended Learning Be Redeemed?" A scholarly paper from the United Kingdom examines this question.
New Paradigms for Learning. "Can training departments, with all of their post-industrial-revolution baggage, rise to the challenge and effect the kind of post-knowledge-revolution changes that are both necessary and inevitable?"
National Education Summit on High Schools. A speech by Bill Gates: "Training the workforce of tomorrow with the high schools of today is like trying to teach kids about today’s computers on a 50-year-old mainframe. It’s the wrong tool for the times."
Traditional training/development
ATLAS (Assessing the Learning Strategies of Adults). A short test that lets you determine what type of learner you are. (Thanks, eLearning Centre.)
"Great Managers Understand Their People." "Average managers treat all their employees the same. Great managers discover each individual's unique talents and bring these to the surface so everyone wins. An excerpt from Harvard Business Review."
What are topics about which a Learning Professional should be uniquely proficient? A thought-provoking post on the redesigned Learning Circuits blog. Add your comments.
Emergent learning
"A 'Sim' That's Dead Serious." The Army is using interactive video to train officers for Iraq. From the Washington Post.
Here are the best articles and resources I came across this week.
Business
"Leadership Decision Making." A paper by a University of Baltimore professor (yay, Baltimore! I'm a native daughter) gets deep into this issue. (Thanks, Lifehacker.)
Best site for travelers. The Business 2.0 blog links to SeatGuru, a great resource for business travelers that can give you detailed info about seats on many commercial aircrafts before you book your ticket.
Free small business websites. Yahoo is offering a free website for companies who list themselves on Yahoo Local.
Learning theory
"Can Blended Learning Be Redeemed?" A scholarly paper from the United Kingdom examines this question.
New Paradigms for Learning. "Can training departments, with all of their post-industrial-revolution baggage, rise to the challenge and effect the kind of post-knowledge-revolution changes that are both necessary and inevitable?"
National Education Summit on High Schools. A speech by Bill Gates: "Training the workforce of tomorrow with the high schools of today is like trying to teach kids about today’s computers on a 50-year-old mainframe. It’s the wrong tool for the times."
Traditional training/development
ATLAS (Assessing the Learning Strategies of Adults). A short test that lets you determine what type of learner you are. (Thanks, eLearning Centre.)
"Great Managers Understand Their People." "Average managers treat all their employees the same. Great managers discover each individual's unique talents and bring these to the surface so everyone wins. An excerpt from Harvard Business Review."
What are topics about which a Learning Professional should be uniquely proficient? A thought-provoking post on the redesigned Learning Circuits blog. Add your comments.
Emergent learning
"A 'Sim' That's Dead Serious." The Army is using interactive video to train officers for Iraq. From the Washington Post.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Google poised to take over the world (Google Learning to follow?)
(Commentary alert!)
I'm going to go on record right now to say that Google is going to be the next Microsoft or IBM. It seems like every week they come out with a new product that makes our lives easier in a way that no one has done before, or that no one has done nearly as well.
A good way to be one of the first to know about their new offerings is to read the Google Blog.
Google Labs is where you can access all the new projects they're working on.
Today I was blown away by Google SMS. Using text messaging on your cell phone, you can access driving directions, business listings, answers to short fact-based questions, movie showtimes, stock quotes, and more.
I tested it out, asking for directions from my home to my work, and within a few minutes I got directions in two text messages that were dead on.
For someone who often drives around lost in DC without a map, this could be invaluable. I printed out the wallet-sized tip sheet to keep handy so I can remember how to send in queries.
You can do a lot more with Google on your mobile phone with Google Mobile. I had tried out some of these features before but my phone didn't support them.
But if you have Web browsing on your phone, you can search the Web, images, and more with Google using it.
Many people already use Google tools for personal knowledge management (see this blog entry I wrote). Can a Google Learning application be far behind?
(Commentary alert!)
I'm going to go on record right now to say that Google is going to be the next Microsoft or IBM. It seems like every week they come out with a new product that makes our lives easier in a way that no one has done before, or that no one has done nearly as well.
A good way to be one of the first to know about their new offerings is to read the Google Blog.
Google Labs is where you can access all the new projects they're working on.
Today I was blown away by Google SMS. Using text messaging on your cell phone, you can access driving directions, business listings, answers to short fact-based questions, movie showtimes, stock quotes, and more.
I tested it out, asking for directions from my home to my work, and within a few minutes I got directions in two text messages that were dead on.
For someone who often drives around lost in DC without a map, this could be invaluable. I printed out the wallet-sized tip sheet to keep handy so I can remember how to send in queries.
You can do a lot more with Google on your mobile phone with Google Mobile. I had tried out some of these features before but my phone didn't support them.
But if you have Web browsing on your phone, you can search the Web, images, and more with Google using it.
Many people already use Google tools for personal knowledge management (see this blog entry I wrote). Can a Google Learning application be far behind?
Free Webinar and free intriguing seminar
Wilson Learning is offering a free Webinar by Harvard’s Dr. William L. Ury, "world-renowned negotiations expert." Principled Negotiation: Reaching Agreements While Strengthening Professional Relationships will be held from 11 am to 12 noon CST on April 29, 2005.
Dr. Ury is the founder of Harvard's Program on Negotiation and the co-author of Getting To Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In and Getting
Past No: Negotiating With Difficult People and Getting To Peace.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For those of my readers located in or near the Washington, DC area, there is a very interesting-sounding talk taking place on April 22 from noon to 2 pm in the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Herb Rubenstein, an attorney, member of the World Future Society and its US National Capital Region chapter, a founding director and member of the Association of Professional Futurists, and a founding member and advisory board member of the Society for Leadership Change, will be giving a free talk on The Future of Leadership.
Although the talk is free, registration is recommended due to limited seating. To sign up, visit the National Capital Region World Future Society Website.
Here's more info from the press release on the talk:
"Herb Rubenstein distinguishes between 'leaders' and 'leaders of leaders.' Leaders are people who see existing problems and develop solutions for those problems with the support of the group they lead. 'Leaders of leaders' employ foresight and organizational tools to envision and avoid entire classes of problems from arising. They guide leaders when problems arise within the organization.
The future would be brighter if society encouraged more 'leaders of leaders' to emerge. Herb believes that most Western societies only encourage the emergence of leaders, not leaders of leaders. In his talk, Herb will explore how we can encourage the emergence of more leaders of leaders in the future through improved technology, more ethical decision making frameworks, and other tools.
Wilson Learning is offering a free Webinar by Harvard’s Dr. William L. Ury, "world-renowned negotiations expert." Principled Negotiation: Reaching Agreements While Strengthening Professional Relationships will be held from 11 am to 12 noon CST on April 29, 2005.
Dr. Ury is the founder of Harvard's Program on Negotiation and the co-author of Getting To Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In and Getting
Past No: Negotiating With Difficult People and Getting To Peace.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For those of my readers located in or near the Washington, DC area, there is a very interesting-sounding talk taking place on April 22 from noon to 2 pm in the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Herb Rubenstein, an attorney, member of the World Future Society and its US National Capital Region chapter, a founding director and member of the Association of Professional Futurists, and a founding member and advisory board member of the Society for Leadership Change, will be giving a free talk on The Future of Leadership.
Although the talk is free, registration is recommended due to limited seating. To sign up, visit the National Capital Region World Future Society Website.
Here's more info from the press release on the talk:
"Herb Rubenstein distinguishes between 'leaders' and 'leaders of leaders.' Leaders are people who see existing problems and develop solutions for those problems with the support of the group they lead. 'Leaders of leaders' employ foresight and organizational tools to envision and avoid entire classes of problems from arising. They guide leaders when problems arise within the organization.
The future would be brighter if society encouraged more 'leaders of leaders' to emerge. Herb believes that most Western societies only encourage the emergence of leaders, not leaders of leaders. In his talk, Herb will explore how we can encourage the emergence of more leaders of leaders in the future through improved technology, more ethical decision making frameworks, and other tools.
Friday, April 08, 2005
Best you might've missed
Happy Friday, all. Here are the most interesting articles and resources to hit my eyes this week.
E-mergent learning
"Games for Learning." This article focuses on children's use of video games, but since they are your future learners and workers, it's worth reading.
E-learning/e-content
Standards for online content authors. A good practical tip-sheet from a company in New Zealand.
"Online Learning: Social Interaction and the Creation of a Sense of Community." "This paper centres on the sense of isolation that online study may engender among learners, a factor...that may make the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful online learning environment for many students."
Traditional training/business
10 steps to develop learner support - a guideline through the key issues. The eLearning Centre links to a useful PDF.
Searchforclasses. Another training-finding Website. I've written about a few of these over the past couple of months.
"The New Steps to Career Advancement." "A recent study comparing Fortune 100 executives in 1980 with their counterparts in 2001 reveals changes in the path young executives take along the way to the C suite."
In Our Humble Opinion: What Will a World of $5 Gas Be Like? This musing by Future of Work gurus Charlie Grantham and Jim Ware posits that remote work is really going to take off with gas prices soaring.
"How to Start a Startup." An irreverent essay based on a talk given at the Harvard Computer Society.
"Got a Good Strategy? Now Try to Implement It." A Q+A with the author of Making Strategy Work: Leading Effective Execution and Change.
Theory
Learning vs. Training. Thoughts on the re-designed Learning Circuits blog.
Happy Friday, all. Here are the most interesting articles and resources to hit my eyes this week.
E-mergent learning
"Games for Learning." This article focuses on children's use of video games, but since they are your future learners and workers, it's worth reading.
E-learning/e-content
Standards for online content authors. A good practical tip-sheet from a company in New Zealand.
"Online Learning: Social Interaction and the Creation of a Sense of Community." "This paper centres on the sense of isolation that online study may engender among learners, a factor...that may make the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful online learning environment for many students."
Traditional training/business
10 steps to develop learner support - a guideline through the key issues. The eLearning Centre links to a useful PDF.
Searchforclasses. Another training-finding Website. I've written about a few of these over the past couple of months.
"The New Steps to Career Advancement." "A recent study comparing Fortune 100 executives in 1980 with their counterparts in 2001 reveals changes in the path young executives take along the way to the C suite."
In Our Humble Opinion: What Will a World of $5 Gas Be Like? This musing by Future of Work gurus Charlie Grantham and Jim Ware posits that remote work is really going to take off with gas prices soaring.
"How to Start a Startup." An irreverent essay based on a talk given at the Harvard Computer Society.
"Got a Good Strategy? Now Try to Implement It." A Q+A with the author of Making Strategy Work: Leading Effective Execution and Change.
Theory
Learning vs. Training. Thoughts on the re-designed Learning Circuits blog.
Training for Dummies
Not that I'm saying you're a dummy or anything, but if you're interested in a good basic book on training, Training for Dummies was just released by Wiley Press and ASTD (co-published). It's part of the familiar Dummies series.
The description on the ASTD store reads:
Learn how to design and deliver effective training courses with Training for Dummies. Filled with hands-on advice, you'll use modern instructional techniques and dynamic delivery to reach and teach trainees. With real-world examples, author Elaine Biech shows you how to follow a training cycle from start to finish; and along the way you'll discover how to
--conduct needs and assessments
--custom design training courses
--adapt for different learning styles
--enhance participation and learning
--prepare for the new certification process
Not that I'm saying you're a dummy or anything, but if you're interested in a good basic book on training, Training for Dummies was just released by Wiley Press and ASTD (co-published). It's part of the familiar Dummies series.
The description on the ASTD store reads:
Learn how to design and deliver effective training courses with Training for Dummies. Filled with hands-on advice, you'll use modern instructional techniques and dynamic delivery to reach and teach trainees. With real-world examples, author Elaine Biech shows you how to follow a training cycle from start to finish; and along the way you'll discover how to
--conduct needs and assessments
--custom design training courses
--adapt for different learning styles
--enhance participation and learning
--prepare for the new certification process
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
T+D April issue online
The April issue of T+D magazine includes
--"Relevance2," an article on the future of the profession by ASTD CEO Tony Bingham
--"Steelcase: Demonstrating the Connection Between Learning and Strategic Busines Results," by George Wolfe
--"Five Experts Speak Out," What's ahead? What skills should you have? Five industry sages show you the way
--"A Monstrous Welcome," by Dan Sussman, on orientation at Monster.com.
In addition,
--my Intelligence column covers the coming talent gap
--the new Re:Search column looks at keeping employees happy
--Development discusses coaches for training professionals
--Books reviews Radical Collaboration: Five Essential Skills to Overcome Defensiveness and Build Successful Relationships
and more.
The April issue of T+D magazine includes
--"Relevance2," an article on the future of the profession by ASTD CEO Tony Bingham
--"Steelcase: Demonstrating the Connection Between Learning and Strategic Busines Results," by George Wolfe
--"Five Experts Speak Out," What's ahead? What skills should you have? Five industry sages show you the way
--"A Monstrous Welcome," by Dan Sussman, on orientation at Monster.com.
In addition,
--my Intelligence column covers the coming talent gap
--the new Re:Search column looks at keeping employees happy
--Development discusses coaches for training professionals
--Books reviews Radical Collaboration: Five Essential Skills to Overcome Defensiveness and Build Successful Relationships
and more.
"Good people are worth keeping"
I don't usually post about products and services for sale, but this brought a smile to my face and thought you all might enjoy it as well.
T-shirts, mugs, a teddy bear, clock, buttons, bags, and more with the "good people" slogan.
I think this is sponsored by trendspotters The Herman Group--the link was in their latest newsletter.
With CafePress, anyone can cheaply sell all kinds of items with their own slogan, logo, etc. on it. Check out the site for your own use.
I don't usually post about products and services for sale, but this brought a smile to my face and thought you all might enjoy it as well.
T-shirts, mugs, a teddy bear, clock, buttons, bags, and more with the "good people" slogan.
I think this is sponsored by trendspotters The Herman Group--the link was in their latest newsletter.
With CafePress, anyone can cheaply sell all kinds of items with their own slogan, logo, etc. on it. Check out the site for your own use.
What Keeps You Up at Night?
The Masie Center is offering a new free e-book containing 672 issues and challenges reported by workplace learning and training professionals.
Chapter heads designated categories of worries, such as Learning Management Systems, Company Culture/Structure, Time and Resources, Technical Requirements, and so forth.
Very interesting reading, and you can't beat the price.
The Masie Center is offering a new free e-book containing 672 issues and challenges reported by workplace learning and training professionals.
Chapter heads designated categories of worries, such as Learning Management Systems, Company Culture/Structure, Time and Resources, Technical Requirements, and so forth.
Very interesting reading, and you can't beat the price.
Friday, April 01, 2005
Best you might've missed
Happy Friday, all. Still catching up on my reading (and work) from being out part of last week, but here's what I've found so far for your reading pleasure.
Emergent learning/communications
"Extreme Learning: Decision Games." Jay Cross's latest column for CLO magazine discusses "thin-slicing" or rapid cognition.
Virtual Meetings Through 'Telepresence.'"Pierre Boulanger, professor of computing science at U of A, has just received $1.7 million to develop new and inexpensive 'telepresence' tools."
Traditional training/business
"How to Battle the Coming Brain Drain." An article from Fortune magazine discusses how to keep older workers' knowledge from leaving the organization with them.
"Employee-Driven Design Moves into the Workplace." A novel idea: Let employees design the spaces where they spend the majority of their time. (Thanks, Future of Work Weblog.)
"Lessons of Successful Entrepreneurs." Tips from the Harvard Business School Entrepreneurship Conference.
Theory
Will That Be Coordination, Cooperation, or Collaboration? Another thought-provoking post from blogger Dave Pollard.
Cool tools
Free conferencing calling. A great deal from Freeconference.com: Conference calls with up to 25 participants at no charge.
Design Your Own Anti-Procrastination Plan. "Below are several lists of specific, concrete things you can do to confront and change your own tendencies to procrastinate. Choose several suggestions from among the four lists and put them into practice."
Answers.com. This is a site worth exploring more. SmartMobs pointed out that Answers.com just launched a mobile service. I'm curious about the site in general.
Happy Friday, all. Still catching up on my reading (and work) from being out part of last week, but here's what I've found so far for your reading pleasure.
Emergent learning/communications
"Extreme Learning: Decision Games." Jay Cross's latest column for CLO magazine discusses "thin-slicing" or rapid cognition.
Virtual Meetings Through 'Telepresence.'"Pierre Boulanger, professor of computing science at U of A, has just received $1.7 million to develop new and inexpensive 'telepresence' tools."
Traditional training/business
"How to Battle the Coming Brain Drain." An article from Fortune magazine discusses how to keep older workers' knowledge from leaving the organization with them.
"Employee-Driven Design Moves into the Workplace." A novel idea: Let employees design the spaces where they spend the majority of their time. (Thanks, Future of Work Weblog.)
"Lessons of Successful Entrepreneurs." Tips from the Harvard Business School Entrepreneurship Conference.
Theory
Will That Be Coordination, Cooperation, or Collaboration? Another thought-provoking post from blogger Dave Pollard.
Cool tools
Free conferencing calling. A great deal from Freeconference.com: Conference calls with up to 25 participants at no charge.
Design Your Own Anti-Procrastination Plan. "Below are several lists of specific, concrete things you can do to confront and change your own tendencies to procrastinate. Choose several suggestions from among the four lists and put them into practice."
Answers.com. This is a site worth exploring more. SmartMobs pointed out that Answers.com just launched a mobile service. I'm curious about the site in general.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Free teleseminars
I received the following press release:
In an effort to help plan the coming months, we offer this handy reference for the 2nd Quarter 2005 One Person Training Department FREE teleseminars.
You might want to print this out and tack it up in your office.
You’ll definitely want to pencil these dates in to your calendar NOW.
= = = = = = = = = =
All calls occur on Tuesdays from 1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern.
Just call in!
The call-in number for ALL teleseminars listed below is:
1-805-620-4000 and the passcode is: 58543
= = = = = = = = = =
The 2005 schedule (2nd quarter) of speakers includes
Date Guest Expert & Topic
4/26/2005 Bill Walton
Strategies for Teaching Adults: The Making of a Maestro in the Classroom
5/24/2005 Lenn Millbower
Razzle Dazzle Design: Developing Training for 21st Century Learners
6/28/2005 Carolyn Balling
Managing the One Person Training Department
I received the following press release:
In an effort to help plan the coming months, we offer this handy reference for the 2nd Quarter 2005 One Person Training Department FREE teleseminars.
You might want to print this out and tack it up in your office.
You’ll definitely want to pencil these dates in to your calendar NOW.
= = = = = = = = = =
All calls occur on Tuesdays from 1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern.
Just call in!
The call-in number for ALL teleseminars listed below is:
1-805-620-4000 and the passcode is: 58543
= = = = = = = = = =
The 2005 schedule (2nd quarter) of speakers includes
Date Guest Expert & Topic
4/26/2005 Bill Walton
Strategies for Teaching Adults: The Making of a Maestro in the Classroom
5/24/2005 Lenn Millbower
Razzle Dazzle Design: Developing Training for 21st Century Learners
6/28/2005 Carolyn Balling
Managing the One Person Training Department
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Customer service training that worked
(Commentary alert!)
Those of you who read my Intelligence column in T+D might have guessed that customer service is a bit of a pet peeve for me.
I've written on the topic quite a few times--most recently the column "Unbelievable Service" in August 2004 and a two-part series "Just One Thing" and "Strategic Service" in October and November 2003.
I'm always on the lookout for good customer service, and I had an experience over the weekend that I'd like to share with everyone.
I had gone to a restaurant in my neighborhood for a nice brunch with a couple of friends. After ordering, we sat there for about a half an hour without any food. I noticed, but didn't think much of it, as the restaurant was quite crowded and I remembered waiting a while last time I was there for brunch. I figured it was just the price we had to pay for eating at this popular restaurant at a popular time.
However, all of a sudden a man appeared at our table. "I'm the manager," he said, "and I want to apologize for your food taking so long. Frankly, we dropped the ball. I want to you to know that your food will be out shortly, and the meal is on us."
The waitress came over about 10 minutes later with the food and explained that there was some mixup in the kitchen and the cooks thought they had made it when they hadn't.
I was impressed. Although the principles of take responsibility, apologize, fix the problem, and go above and beyond aren't hard ones to understand or master, it seems rare that an organization follows them these days. But the manager's words were magic. Any irritation I had at being left waiting melted away in the face of his speech.
I might've thought that we had just encountered a particular good manager, except that my friend said, "That's great. The only other time that happened to me was in this other restaurant" that's in a neighboring town.
I said, "As a matter of fact, they're owned by the same people." So it became apparent that this type of service for mess-ups was a company-wide policy that managers were trained to enact.
A round of applause. It did my customer-service-hunting heart good.
(Commentary alert!)
Those of you who read my Intelligence column in T+D might have guessed that customer service is a bit of a pet peeve for me.
I've written on the topic quite a few times--most recently the column "Unbelievable Service" in August 2004 and a two-part series "Just One Thing" and "Strategic Service" in October and November 2003.
I'm always on the lookout for good customer service, and I had an experience over the weekend that I'd like to share with everyone.
I had gone to a restaurant in my neighborhood for a nice brunch with a couple of friends. After ordering, we sat there for about a half an hour without any food. I noticed, but didn't think much of it, as the restaurant was quite crowded and I remembered waiting a while last time I was there for brunch. I figured it was just the price we had to pay for eating at this popular restaurant at a popular time.
However, all of a sudden a man appeared at our table. "I'm the manager," he said, "and I want to apologize for your food taking so long. Frankly, we dropped the ball. I want to you to know that your food will be out shortly, and the meal is on us."
The waitress came over about 10 minutes later with the food and explained that there was some mixup in the kitchen and the cooks thought they had made it when they hadn't.
I was impressed. Although the principles of take responsibility, apologize, fix the problem, and go above and beyond aren't hard ones to understand or master, it seems rare that an organization follows them these days. But the manager's words were magic. Any irritation I had at being left waiting melted away in the face of his speech.
I might've thought that we had just encountered a particular good manager, except that my friend said, "That's great. The only other time that happened to me was in this other restaurant" that's in a neighboring town.
I said, "As a matter of fact, they're owned by the same people." So it became apparent that this type of service for mess-ups was a company-wide policy that managers were trained to enact.
A round of applause. It did my customer-service-hunting heart good.
Free webinar on outsourcing
TrainingOutsourcing.com presents a Webinar on Identifying and Driving Value Through Key Learning Indicators and Outsourcing next Wednesday, March 30th from 1 to 2 pm EST.
"This interactive e-Intelligence Webinar will look at how new models for assessing and measuring the value of learning in the enterprise are emerging. This executive webinar probes the challenges corporate learning executives face when trying to show the impact of learning and presents concepts that help determine if outsourcing training is right for their organization.
Chris Moore, President of Zeroed-In Technologies, introduces key learning indicators, a component of performance-based measurement for learning, as a means of measuring and predicting value. Dan Cantwell, Vice President of Performance Solutions at RWD Technologies, follows with an assessment model that gathers and assesses key measurement areas to determine the effectiveness of your learning organization and your candidacy for improving value through outsourcing."
TrainingOutsourcing.com presents a Webinar on Identifying and Driving Value Through Key Learning Indicators and Outsourcing next Wednesday, March 30th from 1 to 2 pm EST.
"This interactive e-Intelligence Webinar will look at how new models for assessing and measuring the value of learning in the enterprise are emerging. This executive webinar probes the challenges corporate learning executives face when trying to show the impact of learning and presents concepts that help determine if outsourcing training is right for their organization.
Chris Moore, President of Zeroed-In Technologies, introduces key learning indicators, a component of performance-based measurement for learning, as a means of measuring and predicting value. Dan Cantwell, Vice President of Performance Solutions at RWD Technologies, follows with an assessment model that gathers and assesses key measurement areas to determine the effectiveness of your learning organization and your candidacy for improving value through outsourcing."
Monday, March 21, 2005
New T+D managing editor
Congratulations to Sabrina Hicks, former senior associate editor of T+D, who was just promoted to managing editor!
Sabrina's eagle-eye and attention to detail keeps us all on track.
If you have any comments about the magazine (especially the redesign), feel free to contact her at shicks@astd.org.
Congratulations to Sabrina Hicks, former senior associate editor of T+D, who was just promoted to managing editor!
Sabrina's eagle-eye and attention to detail keeps us all on track.
If you have any comments about the magazine (especially the redesign), feel free to contact her at shicks@astd.org.
Friday, March 18, 2005
Write a chapter in book on learning objects?
I received a press release the other day inviting me (and others) to submit an abstract for a book chapter. The book will be Principles and Practices of the Effective Use of Learning Objects.
I won't be submitting, but here's the info if you're interested:
You are invited to submit a 500-word abstract (the initial proposal) to write a chapter (theory & practice) on one of the following topics:
1. Learning Object Architecture
2. Learning Object Standards
3. Syntax and Semantics of Learning Object Metadata *
4. Learning Object Repositories *
5. Learning Content Management System (LCMS) *
6. Historical & Philosophical Foundations of Learning Objects
7. E-Learning & Learning Objects
8. Instructional Theories and Principles
9. Instructional Design of Learning Objects *
10. Learning Objects’ User Interface *
11. Granularity & Reusability of Learning Objects *
12. Multimedia & Learning Object
13. Learning Object Overview
14. Creating Learning Objects
15. The Future of Learning Objects *
16. Open Source & Learning Objects
(* Needed most)
The mission of the book is to inform clients of the above topics emphasizing their implications to learning.
Your abstract must contain an explanation about the topic you have chosen from the list above. It should summarize what it is that you are proposing to write. Please be concise (a maximum of 500 words), clear, and persuasive. Once the abstracts are accepted the authors will have 90 days to complete their chapter.
The deadline for submitting the abstracts is March 30, 2005. Once your abstract is accepted you will be receiving the author’s guideline and will be given thorough instruction for writing your chapter.
Look forward to hearing from you. Please reply to ijkloeditor@ijklo.org.
Best wishes.
Alex Koohang
Editor-in-Chief, IJKLO
Keith Harman
Editor, IJKLO
Alex Koohang
Editor-in-Chief
Interdisciplinary Journal of Knowledge and Learning Objects
www.ijklo.org
I received a press release the other day inviting me (and others) to submit an abstract for a book chapter. The book will be Principles and Practices of the Effective Use of Learning Objects.
I won't be submitting, but here's the info if you're interested:
You are invited to submit a 500-word abstract (the initial proposal) to write a chapter (theory & practice) on one of the following topics:
1. Learning Object Architecture
2. Learning Object Standards
3. Syntax and Semantics of Learning Object Metadata *
4. Learning Object Repositories *
5. Learning Content Management System (LCMS) *
6. Historical & Philosophical Foundations of Learning Objects
7. E-Learning & Learning Objects
8. Instructional Theories and Principles
9. Instructional Design of Learning Objects *
10. Learning Objects’ User Interface *
11. Granularity & Reusability of Learning Objects *
12. Multimedia & Learning Object
13. Learning Object Overview
14. Creating Learning Objects
15. The Future of Learning Objects *
16. Open Source & Learning Objects
(* Needed most)
The mission of the book is to inform clients of the above topics emphasizing their implications to learning.
Your abstract must contain an explanation about the topic you have chosen from the list above. It should summarize what it is that you are proposing to write. Please be concise (a maximum of 500 words), clear, and persuasive. Once the abstracts are accepted the authors will have 90 days to complete their chapter.
The deadline for submitting the abstracts is March 30, 2005. Once your abstract is accepted you will be receiving the author’s guideline and will be given thorough instruction for writing your chapter.
Look forward to hearing from you. Please reply to ijkloeditor@ijklo.org.
Best wishes.
Alex Koohang
Editor-in-Chief, IJKLO
Keith Harman
Editor, IJKLO
Alex Koohang
Editor-in-Chief
Interdisciplinary Journal of Knowledge and Learning Objects
www.ijklo.org
Best you might've missed
Happy weekend, all. Here are the best articles and resources I came across this week. (A shorter list--I'm busy and a bit behind on reading.)
Learning theory
What is Learning? A good breakdown of the differences between data, information, knowledge, and learning.
Emergent learning/collaboration
Simulations and the Future of Learning. If you've meaning to try out this podcasting phenomenon, here's a good 'cast to download and listen to, from Clark Aldrich.
Microsoft, Groove Networks to Combine Forces to Create Anytime, Anywhere Collaboration. A not-unbiased press release from Microsoft, but it includes an interview with Groove founder Ray Ozzie. Read unbiased opinions here and here and here.
"Blogging Clicks with Colleges." Discusses how blogs and wikis are being used in higher education.
E-learning
More Real Dirt on eLearning (replay). Jay Cross links to the archived version of his recent presentation.
Business/organizational behavior
CEO Skill and Excessive Pay: A Breakdown in Corporate Governance? "What do Disney, AT&T, Exxon, and Verizon have in common?...a new academic study argues that all these firms were headed by CEOs who were paid too much."
Can Pessimists Ever Be Great Leaders? A good question and an answer, from the Fast Company blog.
Reinforcing Values: A Public Dressing Down. "Often the hardest part of a turnaround is improving bad interpersonal behavior in the organization. A Harvard Business Review excerpt by professors David Garvin and Michael Roberto."
Differentiating Your Workforce Strategy. "Even the best managers often forget to craft a workforce strategy along with their overall company strategy, but the two really need to be linked. An excerpt from the new book, The Workforce Scorecard."
Tools
Find Similar Items with Google Sets. Lifehacker points out a pretty cool tool.
Happy weekend, all. Here are the best articles and resources I came across this week. (A shorter list--I'm busy and a bit behind on reading.)
Learning theory
What is Learning? A good breakdown of the differences between data, information, knowledge, and learning.
Emergent learning/collaboration
Simulations and the Future of Learning. If you've meaning to try out this podcasting phenomenon, here's a good 'cast to download and listen to, from Clark Aldrich.
Microsoft, Groove Networks to Combine Forces to Create Anytime, Anywhere Collaboration. A not-unbiased press release from Microsoft, but it includes an interview with Groove founder Ray Ozzie. Read unbiased opinions here and here and here.
"Blogging Clicks with Colleges." Discusses how blogs and wikis are being used in higher education.
E-learning
More Real Dirt on eLearning (replay). Jay Cross links to the archived version of his recent presentation.
Business/organizational behavior
CEO Skill and Excessive Pay: A Breakdown in Corporate Governance? "What do Disney, AT&T, Exxon, and Verizon have in common?...a new academic study argues that all these firms were headed by CEOs who were paid too much."
Can Pessimists Ever Be Great Leaders? A good question and an answer, from the Fast Company blog.
Reinforcing Values: A Public Dressing Down. "Often the hardest part of a turnaround is improving bad interpersonal behavior in the organization. A Harvard Business Review excerpt by professors David Garvin and Michael Roberto."
Differentiating Your Workforce Strategy. "Even the best managers often forget to craft a workforce strategy along with their overall company strategy, but the two really need to be linked. An excerpt from the new book, The Workforce Scorecard."
Tools
Find Similar Items with Google Sets. Lifehacker points out a pretty cool tool.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Free tips on selecting an authoring tool
Brandon-hall.com is offering a free PDF excerpt from the company's "Authoring Tool KnowledgeBase: A Buyer's Guide to the Best E-Learning Content Development Applications."
Register here to download "Tips on Choosing an Authoring Tool."
Brandon-hall.com is offering a free PDF excerpt from the company's "Authoring Tool KnowledgeBase: A Buyer's Guide to the Best E-Learning Content Development Applications."
Register here to download "Tips on Choosing an Authoring Tool."
More free Webinars
From Interwise and CLO magazine:
Managing Human Capital for Strategic Advantages
March 16 , 2005
at 2 pm Eastern / 11 am Pacific
Presented by: Carolyn Koenig, SVP of Human Resources, MasterCard International and Curt Lockton, VP Marketing & Business Development, Success Factors
"This Chief Learning Officer e-seminar, powered by Interwise, will offer a lively, interactive discussion that will show you how organizations invest in learning technology because of the value of the data the technology provides and the dramatic impact it has on driving strategic decisions. Panelists will discuss their views on the business impact and outcomes of learning technology implementation within organizations."
Leveraging Executive Development to Drive Corporate Strategy
March 31, 2005
at 11 am Eastern / 8 am Pacific
Presented by: Albert Vicere, President, Vicere Associates Inc.
"In this presentation, Al Vicere, a well-known expert, author, and professor in the field of individual and organizational development, discusses how to blend executive development with strategy formulation and execution, using both innovative frameworks as well as examples from working with dozens of executives from Fortune 500 organizations. Al will also reflect on his recent book, Many Facets of Leadership, which was written with Marshall Goldsmith among others."
The CLO Position: Critical Issues and Changing Roles
April 13 , 2005
at 2 pm Eastern / 11 am Pacific
Presented by: Jim L'Allier, Chief Learning Officer and Vice President, research and development, NETg, a Thomson Learning Company and Susan Resner, Vice President, ITG Competency Group
"In addition to reviewing results of a CLO survey on the future of learning, this highly interactive e-seminar will help learning professionals benchmark their own skills, qualifications and career objectives against their corporate peers. Working interactively with audience members, panelists will define specific competencies and a job description for the successful CLO."
From Interwise and CLO magazine:
Managing Human Capital for Strategic Advantages
March 16 , 2005
at 2 pm Eastern / 11 am Pacific
Presented by: Carolyn Koenig, SVP of Human Resources, MasterCard International and Curt Lockton, VP Marketing & Business Development, Success Factors
"This Chief Learning Officer e-seminar, powered by Interwise, will offer a lively, interactive discussion that will show you how organizations invest in learning technology because of the value of the data the technology provides and the dramatic impact it has on driving strategic decisions. Panelists will discuss their views on the business impact and outcomes of learning technology implementation within organizations."
Leveraging Executive Development to Drive Corporate Strategy
March 31, 2005
at 11 am Eastern / 8 am Pacific
Presented by: Albert Vicere, President, Vicere Associates Inc.
"In this presentation, Al Vicere, a well-known expert, author, and professor in the field of individual and organizational development, discusses how to blend executive development with strategy formulation and execution, using both innovative frameworks as well as examples from working with dozens of executives from Fortune 500 organizations. Al will also reflect on his recent book, Many Facets of Leadership, which was written with Marshall Goldsmith among others."
The CLO Position: Critical Issues and Changing Roles
April 13 , 2005
at 2 pm Eastern / 11 am Pacific
Presented by: Jim L'Allier, Chief Learning Officer and Vice President, research and development, NETg, a Thomson Learning Company and Susan Resner, Vice President, ITG Competency Group
"In addition to reviewing results of a CLO survey on the future of learning, this highly interactive e-seminar will help learning professionals benchmark their own skills, qualifications and career objectives against their corporate peers. Working interactively with audience members, panelists will define specific competencies and a job description for the successful CLO."
Training among 20 fastest-growing jobs
In the March 21st edition of Fortune, an article entitled "Hot Careers for the Next 10 Years" names training and development as one of the 20 fastest-growing professional jobs.
Growth is estimated at 22.3 percent, from Bureau of Labor Statistics projections.
This is good news for t+d practitioners. Ready to jump-start your career? Check out the ASTD Career Center and Job Bank (free for job seekers), with these added features.
In the March 21st edition of Fortune, an article entitled "Hot Careers for the Next 10 Years" names training and development as one of the 20 fastest-growing professional jobs.
Growth is estimated at 22.3 percent, from Bureau of Labor Statistics projections.
This is good news for t+d practitioners. Ready to jump-start your career? Check out the ASTD Career Center and Job Bank (free for job seekers), with these added features.
Friday, March 11, 2005
Best you might've missed
A slightly shorter list this week, but maybe that's best. Trying to find the best balance between too many and too few!
Emergent learning
Bioteaming: A Manifesto For Networked Business Teams. "Virtual, networked business teams gradually emerge as the wave of the future."
Educating The Net Generation. An e-book from Educause.
E-learning
Taking E-Learning on the Road. How to globalize your e-learning offerings.
Current Trends in E-Learning Research Report. Analysis and commentary from the eLearning Guild.
Mark Rosenberg is Postive About the Future. Ryann Ellis, editor of ASTD's e-learning Webzine, interviews the management consultant, educator, and leading learning expert.
Traditional training/learning
Training 2005. All the handouts from the recent conference are now free online.
"Skills Availability and Finding Qualified, Appropriate Talent." A good primer for what's coming down the pike. The lead item in my April Intelligence column covers this issue--coming soon.
"'Old School,' 'New School:' Changing Workforce Retention Rules." "As different as are children from adults and schools from the workplace, so are the rules regulating workforce retention in the 21st versus the 20th century."
Questions for Success. "Powerful questions have the ability to shake people out of stale ways of thinking and critically reflect on faulty assumptions. Wise leaders know this."
Business
20 Ways to Say No. Have too much on your plate? Here are ways to politely avoid taking on more tasks. (Thanks, Lifehacker.)
Mixing Friendship with Business is a Mixed Blessing. Examines what can happen when your customers are also your friends.
Top Corporate Hate Websites. A good lesson for any company: Bad customer service can lead to a Website all about how horrible your company is.
Blogging is good for your career. Despite what the news may tell you.
A slightly shorter list this week, but maybe that's best. Trying to find the best balance between too many and too few!
Emergent learning
Bioteaming: A Manifesto For Networked Business Teams. "Virtual, networked business teams gradually emerge as the wave of the future."
Educating The Net Generation. An e-book from Educause.
E-learning
Taking E-Learning on the Road. How to globalize your e-learning offerings.
Current Trends in E-Learning Research Report. Analysis and commentary from the eLearning Guild.
Mark Rosenberg is Postive About the Future. Ryann Ellis, editor of ASTD's e-learning Webzine, interviews the management consultant, educator, and leading learning expert.
Traditional training/learning
Training 2005. All the handouts from the recent conference are now free online.
"Skills Availability and Finding Qualified, Appropriate Talent." A good primer for what's coming down the pike. The lead item in my April Intelligence column covers this issue--coming soon.
"'Old School,' 'New School:' Changing Workforce Retention Rules." "As different as are children from adults and schools from the workplace, so are the rules regulating workforce retention in the 21st versus the 20th century."
Questions for Success. "Powerful questions have the ability to shake people out of stale ways of thinking and critically reflect on faulty assumptions. Wise leaders know this."
Business
20 Ways to Say No. Have too much on your plate? Here are ways to politely avoid taking on more tasks. (Thanks, Lifehacker.)
Mixing Friendship with Business is a Mixed Blessing. Examines what can happen when your customers are also your friends.
Top Corporate Hate Websites. A good lesson for any company: Bad customer service can lead to a Website all about how horrible your company is.
Blogging is good for your career. Despite what the news may tell you.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Bersin & Associates LMS study
Bersin & Associates, a research and advisory firm focused on enterprise learning, recently released a study on customer satisfaction with learning management systems.
"LMS Customer Satisfaction 2005: An Industry Analysis of the Customer Experience" is the result of input from 660 system administrators, training managers, and executives on 24 satisfaction criteria across 15 LMS offerings.
A few findings from the press release:
--Externally hosted LMS customers are significantly more satisfied than those who run LMSs internally. Outsourced LMS systems reduce cost, complexity, and resource requirements and are much more likely to be completed on schedule and within predicted budgets.
--The LMS market is in a high state of churn. Approximately 15% of organizations are planning on switching LMS vendors or replacing their systems.
--The LMS market is growing fast and still very fragmented. Although the LMS market encompasses more than 70 vendors, the largest has only 15% market share. Forty-five percent of respondents installed their systems within the last two years.
--Older customers are less satisfied then new customers. The study shows that customers with systems more than four years old are most likely to plan on switching vendors. This finding is likely related to the fact that many older implementations are running on old technology platforms or are using outdated software versions (80% of all LMSs in use are at least one version behind and 60% are two major versions behind).
--Overall satisfaction is highly correlated with a vendor's implementation and support services - and far less correlated with satisfaction with product features. Of those respondents who are highly satisfied with their LMSs, 83% are highly satisfied with their vendors' implementation services and 82% are highly satisfied with their vendors' support services.
--Of all products areas evaluated, reporting and analysis received the lowest average satisfaction rating (5.97 out of 10). Reporting is a notoriously difficult area for LMS vendors because of the wide range of data and varied needs of report users. Other areas of customer dissatisfaction are customization, system upgrades, and HR/ERP integration.
The study also rates vendors. For more info, see the press release.
Bersin & Associates, a research and advisory firm focused on enterprise learning, recently released a study on customer satisfaction with learning management systems.
"LMS Customer Satisfaction 2005: An Industry Analysis of the Customer Experience" is the result of input from 660 system administrators, training managers, and executives on 24 satisfaction criteria across 15 LMS offerings.
A few findings from the press release:
--Externally hosted LMS customers are significantly more satisfied than those who run LMSs internally. Outsourced LMS systems reduce cost, complexity, and resource requirements and are much more likely to be completed on schedule and within predicted budgets.
--The LMS market is in a high state of churn. Approximately 15% of organizations are planning on switching LMS vendors or replacing their systems.
--The LMS market is growing fast and still very fragmented. Although the LMS market encompasses more than 70 vendors, the largest has only 15% market share. Forty-five percent of respondents installed their systems within the last two years.
--Older customers are less satisfied then new customers. The study shows that customers with systems more than four years old are most likely to plan on switching vendors. This finding is likely related to the fact that many older implementations are running on old technology platforms or are using outdated software versions (80% of all LMSs in use are at least one version behind and 60% are two major versions behind).
--Overall satisfaction is highly correlated with a vendor's implementation and support services - and far less correlated with satisfaction with product features. Of those respondents who are highly satisfied with their LMSs, 83% are highly satisfied with their vendors' implementation services and 82% are highly satisfied with their vendors' support services.
--Of all products areas evaluated, reporting and analysis received the lowest average satisfaction rating (5.97 out of 10). Reporting is a notoriously difficult area for LMS vendors because of the wide range of data and varied needs of report users. Other areas of customer dissatisfaction are customization, system upgrades, and HR/ERP integration.
The study also rates vendors. For more info, see the press release.
Webinars galore!
These are all free to the best of my knowledge.
--Demonstration of Horizon Wimba's New PowerLink for WebCT Vista
Aaron Bond & Matt Wasowski, Horizon Wimba
Thursday, March 10, 2005 at 3 pm EST
--The Real Dirt on E-Learning
Jay Cross, Internet Time Group
Friday, March 11th at 2 pm to 3 pm EST
--Building Community Among Educators
Vance Stevens, Petroleum Institutue (Abu Dhabi)
Tuesday, March 15, 2005 at 12 pm EST
--Referral Marketing: Get Your Customers and Colleagues to Grow Your Business
Presentation Excellence
Wednesday, March 16th at 1 pm to 2 pm EST
--Benefits of Using Voice in Online Courses
*Presented IN FRENCH
Professor Bernard Curzi, EDHEC
Pier Giovanni Fontana, Horizon Wimba
Friday, March 18, 2005 at 10 am EST
--Experience Macromedia Breeze
Macromedia and Binatech System Solutions
Wednesday March 23rd, March 30th, April 6th, April 13th, April 27th at
2 pm EST
--Adding Oral Assessments into Questionmark Perception
Donovan Lytle, Horizon Wimba
Tuesday, March 29, 2005 at 2 pm EST
--Demonstration of Horizon Wimba's Blackboard Building Blocks
Thursday, March 31, 2005 at 3 pm EST
These are all free to the best of my knowledge.
--Demonstration of Horizon Wimba's New PowerLink for WebCT Vista
Aaron Bond & Matt Wasowski, Horizon Wimba
Thursday, March 10, 2005 at 3 pm EST
--The Real Dirt on E-Learning
Jay Cross, Internet Time Group
Friday, March 11th at 2 pm to 3 pm EST
--Building Community Among Educators
Vance Stevens, Petroleum Institutue (Abu Dhabi)
Tuesday, March 15, 2005 at 12 pm EST
--Referral Marketing: Get Your Customers and Colleagues to Grow Your Business
Presentation Excellence
Wednesday, March 16th at 1 pm to 2 pm EST
--Benefits of Using Voice in Online Courses
*Presented IN FRENCH
Professor Bernard Curzi, EDHEC
Pier Giovanni Fontana, Horizon Wimba
Friday, March 18, 2005 at 10 am EST
--Experience Macromedia Breeze
Macromedia and Binatech System Solutions
Wednesday March 23rd, March 30th, April 6th, April 13th, April 27th at
2 pm EST
--Adding Oral Assessments into Questionmark Perception
Donovan Lytle, Horizon Wimba
Tuesday, March 29, 2005 at 2 pm EST
--Demonstration of Horizon Wimba's Blackboard Building Blocks
Thursday, March 31, 2005 at 3 pm EST
Friday, March 04, 2005
Best you might've missed
Happy Friday, everyone. Here are the articles and resources I found most interesting this week.
Learning theory
Connectivism. A new site from George Siemens on the learning theory he recently developed. Includes a blog, wiki, and discussion forums. Also see his recent presentation.
E-mergent learning/community
"Planning for Neomillennial Learning Styles." A fascinating article on how new technologies are influencing the way young people learn and gather information, and how education should adapt.
"Blogs & Wikis: Technologies for Enterprise Applications?" Examines in-depth the possibilities of using these tools in corporations and compares them with standard content management systems. (Thanks, e-Learning Centre.)
Are Social Networking Sites Useful? Recruiters are starting to use them to fill positions. One blogger poses the question and offers some thoughts from various people.
E-learning/community
Elearningeuropa. This packed-with-info site from the European Commission calls itself "a portal about the use of information and communication technologies to improve learning." (Thanks, eLearnopedia.)
"From e-Learning to e-Knowledge." This chapter from Knowledge Management Tools and Techniques focuses on "the growing importance of e-learning as knowledge scaffolding; the emerging significance of knowledge management practice in informing strategic directions for the development of e-learning systems; and, a conceptual framework that brings together these first two ideas..."
"Elements of Effective e-Learning Design." A scholarly article from the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning that examines six components: activity, scenario, feedback, delivery, context, and influence.
Interview with Frank Russell, CEO and President of GeoLearning. Much of this could be viewed as a PR pitch, but if you're interested in learning more about the company's products, you may find this helpful.
"Meet Me in Cyberspace." "To evaluate how the benefits and disadvantages of virtual meetings stack up in real business situations, Computerworld took a look at how three companies are using virtual meeting software."
Traditional learning/business
The 18 Commandments of Knowledge-Conscious Managers. "I like the idea that Knowledge Management is really about Knowledge Conscious Management," says this blogger, a director of knowledge management.
"Confessing Error: Can a Leader Admit Confusion and Still Lead?" The Wharton Leadership Digest summarizes an article and describes a five-step process for "taking advantage of 'Oh, no!' moments to 'embrace confusion,' open up better lines of communication," and more. (Thanks, Fast Company blog.)
Job Satisfaction Declines in the US, According to New Conference Board Survey. U.S. workers are less happy with their jobs than they were 10 years ago.
Top 10 Business Movies. A list from the Inc. Weblog.
Strategies for Creating a Catchy Business Name. Starting up a consulting business or new training company? Check out these tips from the Wall Street Journal.
Misc.
How to Read and Digest a Book. A helpful blog post on getting the most out of your reading experience.
"Experiment Shows You Really Should 'Sleep on It.'" Sleep really can help you solve tricky problems, this study showed.
Happy Friday, everyone. Here are the articles and resources I found most interesting this week.
Learning theory
Connectivism. A new site from George Siemens on the learning theory he recently developed. Includes a blog, wiki, and discussion forums. Also see his recent presentation.
E-mergent learning/community
"Planning for Neomillennial Learning Styles." A fascinating article on how new technologies are influencing the way young people learn and gather information, and how education should adapt.
"Blogs & Wikis: Technologies for Enterprise Applications?" Examines in-depth the possibilities of using these tools in corporations and compares them with standard content management systems. (Thanks, e-Learning Centre.)
Are Social Networking Sites Useful? Recruiters are starting to use them to fill positions. One blogger poses the question and offers some thoughts from various people.
E-learning/community
Elearningeuropa. This packed-with-info site from the European Commission calls itself "a portal about the use of information and communication technologies to improve learning." (Thanks, eLearnopedia.)
"From e-Learning to e-Knowledge." This chapter from Knowledge Management Tools and Techniques focuses on "the growing importance of e-learning as knowledge scaffolding; the emerging significance of knowledge management practice in informing strategic directions for the development of e-learning systems; and, a conceptual framework that brings together these first two ideas..."
"Elements of Effective e-Learning Design." A scholarly article from the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning that examines six components: activity, scenario, feedback, delivery, context, and influence.
Interview with Frank Russell, CEO and President of GeoLearning. Much of this could be viewed as a PR pitch, but if you're interested in learning more about the company's products, you may find this helpful.
"Meet Me in Cyberspace." "To evaluate how the benefits and disadvantages of virtual meetings stack up in real business situations, Computerworld took a look at how three companies are using virtual meeting software."
Traditional learning/business
The 18 Commandments of Knowledge-Conscious Managers. "I like the idea that Knowledge Management is really about Knowledge Conscious Management," says this blogger, a director of knowledge management.
"Confessing Error: Can a Leader Admit Confusion and Still Lead?" The Wharton Leadership Digest summarizes an article and describes a five-step process for "taking advantage of 'Oh, no!' moments to 'embrace confusion,' open up better lines of communication," and more. (Thanks, Fast Company blog.)
Job Satisfaction Declines in the US, According to New Conference Board Survey. U.S. workers are less happy with their jobs than they were 10 years ago.
Top 10 Business Movies. A list from the Inc. Weblog.
Strategies for Creating a Catchy Business Name. Starting up a consulting business or new training company? Check out these tips from the Wall Street Journal.
Misc.
How to Read and Digest a Book. A helpful blog post on getting the most out of your reading experience.
"Experiment Shows You Really Should 'Sleep on It.'" Sleep really can help you solve tricky problems, this study showed.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
March (redesigned) T+D online!
Go to the T+D homepage to access articles from our March issue. (After March, go here.)
You'll notice there's less white space, photos rather than illustrations (more real people), a now six-page Intelligence column, a now monthly New Guard column (used to be an annual feature), a new Re:Search column that gives you practical stats you can take to the bosses, and more.
There will be a few more small tweaks in upcoming months. Feel free to email feedback to me at ekaplan at astd.org.
This month's features:
--"The Unnatural Leader," by Peter Cairo, David Dotlich, and Stephen Rhinesmith (free feature)
--"BP Refines Leadership," by Julie Brown, Ryan Eagar, and Paul Lawrence
--"Teach Your Buyers Well," by Kevin Oakes
--"Improving Work Life," by Dan Sussman
--ASTD BEST Award Profile: "Yielding the Best Teachers, Leaders," by T+D senior associate editor Sabrina Hicks
Also:
--The Intelligence column (free) starts off with Mother Leads Best, a look at whether motherhood is the ultimate leadership training program, and packs in double the content as previous months
--The new Re:Search column (free) asks and answers, "What do you spend on training? What should you be spending on training?"
--The Books column (free) reviews Malcolm Gladwell's Blink
--Development discusses MBAs for trainers
--and much more!
Go to the T+D homepage to access articles from our March issue. (After March, go here.)
You'll notice there's less white space, photos rather than illustrations (more real people), a now six-page Intelligence column, a now monthly New Guard column (used to be an annual feature), a new Re:Search column that gives you practical stats you can take to the bosses, and more.
There will be a few more small tweaks in upcoming months. Feel free to email feedback to me at ekaplan at astd.org.
This month's features:
--"The Unnatural Leader," by Peter Cairo, David Dotlich, and Stephen Rhinesmith (free feature)
--"BP Refines Leadership," by Julie Brown, Ryan Eagar, and Paul Lawrence
--"Teach Your Buyers Well," by Kevin Oakes
--"Improving Work Life," by Dan Sussman
--ASTD BEST Award Profile: "Yielding the Best Teachers, Leaders," by T+D senior associate editor Sabrina Hicks
Also:
--The Intelligence column (free) starts off with Mother Leads Best, a look at whether motherhood is the ultimate leadership training program, and packs in double the content as previous months
--The new Re:Search column (free) asks and answers, "What do you spend on training? What should you be spending on training?"
--The Books column (free) reviews Malcolm Gladwell's Blink
--Development discusses MBAs for trainers
--and much more!
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Win free participation in Virtual Teams and Collaboration conference
Online collaboration expert Robin Good writes, "For three days, March 29-31, participants will come together for online presentations from experts in the field - all focused on how geographically distributed organizations can work together in a virtual work environment to successfully achieve their business goals and objectives."
The conference normally would set you back $199, but he is giving away five free passes to those people who post the best five requirements for a virtual team's success.
Go here to read about the conference and put your ideas into the hat. Good luck!
Online collaboration expert Robin Good writes, "For three days, March 29-31, participants will come together for online presentations from experts in the field - all focused on how geographically distributed organizations can work together in a virtual work environment to successfully achieve their business goals and objectives."
The conference normally would set you back $199, but he is giving away five free passes to those people who post the best five requirements for a virtual team's success.
Go here to read about the conference and put your ideas into the hat. Good luck!
Monday, February 28, 2005
Workflow Learning Symposium, online
You might think workflow learning is just another buzzword and the Next Big Hype, but it's my and others' opinion that it's where learning is going. Jay Cross, co-founder of the Workflow Institute, pointed out on the institute's blog recently that the proceedings and support materials for the October 2004 Workflow Learning Symposium are available online.
The materials include presentations from and interviews of such notable names as Gloria Gery, Tony O'Driscoll, Harvey Singh, Clark Quinn, and of course Jay Cross. A discussion space is also provided.
You might think workflow learning is just another buzzword and the Next Big Hype, but it's my and others' opinion that it's where learning is going. Jay Cross, co-founder of the Workflow Institute, pointed out on the institute's blog recently that the proceedings and support materials for the October 2004 Workflow Learning Symposium are available online.
The materials include presentations from and interviews of such notable names as Gloria Gery, Tony O'Driscoll, Harvey Singh, Clark Quinn, and of course Jay Cross. A discussion space is also provided.
Friday, February 25, 2005
Webinar on connectivism
George Siemens of elearnspace will be presenting at a free Webinar based on his popular article on connectivism.
The Webinar will be March 2nd. See details here. He'll also be announcing the launch of a new Website and blog on connectivism.
George Siemens of elearnspace will be presenting at a free Webinar based on his popular article on connectivism.
The Webinar will be March 2nd. See details here. He'll also be announcing the launch of a new Website and blog on connectivism.
Best you might've missed
Here is this week's roundup of articles.
Emergent collaboration/community
The Online Collaboration Potential For The Networked Small Business Company. "Here is the open thought of a collaborative business developer [and] a reader of Kolabora."
"How are new capabilities within communications technologies going to change the shape and scope of human communities?" The president of the World Future Society provides some thoughts to answer this question.
E-learning
"Can Interest in Distance Training be Sustained in Corporate Organizations?" "... the ability to sustain distance training is deeply rooted in the success during the early stages of implementing distance training and the integration of the work and learning environments."
"Honesty in Online Education." "This article attempts to critically analyze the arguments on both sides of the online cheating debate while presenting techniques for circumventing and alleviating issues related with online education."
Traditional training/learning/human capital
"Seven Key Indicators Measure Value of Learning." A CLO magazine article about Zeroed-In Technologies. Request a more-detailed paper on this from the company here.
Five Takes on Creative Leadership. A special section based on presentations from the Wharton West Leadership Conference. (Also see our March Leadership issue of T+D next week.)
"Case Study: Investing in People who Invest in People." Based on ASTD research showing that companies that invest in training perform better on the stock market, Laurie Bassi launched an investment company. (See this 2002 T+D article as well.)
"Climbing the Pay Scale." Business 2.0 takes a look at labor shortages happening now and their effect on salaries. Expect even more of this in the future; I report on the issue in my upcoming April Intelligence column.
Create your own mission statement. An interactive exercise from Franklin Covey. (Thanks, Lifehacker.)
Five Mini-Quizzes to Test Your Customer Service Email Writing Skills. Each quiz is based on a chapter from Clear, Correct, Concise Email: A Writing Workbook for Customer Service Agents.
General business
Is Business Management a Profession? A long but worthwhile read from Harvard Business School's Working Knowledge publication.
A Day in the Life of Tom Peters. A collection of photos. Not all that informative, but kind of fun to check out.
"Ego Makes Entrepreneurs?" BusinessWeek's Q+A with researcher Brian Wu on his award-winning paper "Entrepreneurial Risk and Market Entry."
Why Do We Overcommit? Study Suggests We Think We’ll Have More Time In The Future Than We Have Today. Interesting research from the American Psychological Association. (Thanks, Lifehacker.)
"Build a Great Brand for Your Business." An article from the Small Business Times. (Thanks, Small Business Blog.)
Technology
How to Receive and Listen to Podcasts. Podcasts are one of the new big things. This informative article from Amy Gahran gives you the basics. (Also see this article on videoblogging vs. podcasting.)
The Top 100 Gadgets of All Time. From Mobile PC magazine, an interesting and fun article that might also make you nostalgic.
Forget Spam. Have You Been Spimmed? Instant messaging, which is being used more and more as a business tool, has its own breed of spam.
Here is this week's roundup of articles.
Emergent collaboration/community
The Online Collaboration Potential For The Networked Small Business Company. "Here is the open thought of a collaborative business developer [and] a reader of Kolabora."
"How are new capabilities within communications technologies going to change the shape and scope of human communities?" The president of the World Future Society provides some thoughts to answer this question.
E-learning
"Can Interest in Distance Training be Sustained in Corporate Organizations?" "... the ability to sustain distance training is deeply rooted in the success during the early stages of implementing distance training and the integration of the work and learning environments."
"Honesty in Online Education." "This article attempts to critically analyze the arguments on both sides of the online cheating debate while presenting techniques for circumventing and alleviating issues related with online education."
Traditional training/learning/human capital
"Seven Key Indicators Measure Value of Learning." A CLO magazine article about Zeroed-In Technologies. Request a more-detailed paper on this from the company here.
Five Takes on Creative Leadership. A special section based on presentations from the Wharton West Leadership Conference. (Also see our March Leadership issue of T+D next week.)
"Case Study: Investing in People who Invest in People." Based on ASTD research showing that companies that invest in training perform better on the stock market, Laurie Bassi launched an investment company. (See this 2002 T+D article as well.)
"Climbing the Pay Scale." Business 2.0 takes a look at labor shortages happening now and their effect on salaries. Expect even more of this in the future; I report on the issue in my upcoming April Intelligence column.
Create your own mission statement. An interactive exercise from Franklin Covey. (Thanks, Lifehacker.)
Five Mini-Quizzes to Test Your Customer Service Email Writing Skills. Each quiz is based on a chapter from Clear, Correct, Concise Email: A Writing Workbook for Customer Service Agents.
General business
Is Business Management a Profession? A long but worthwhile read from Harvard Business School's Working Knowledge publication.
A Day in the Life of Tom Peters. A collection of photos. Not all that informative, but kind of fun to check out.
"Ego Makes Entrepreneurs?" BusinessWeek's Q+A with researcher Brian Wu on his award-winning paper "Entrepreneurial Risk and Market Entry."
Why Do We Overcommit? Study Suggests We Think We’ll Have More Time In The Future Than We Have Today. Interesting research from the American Psychological Association. (Thanks, Lifehacker.)
"Build a Great Brand for Your Business." An article from the Small Business Times. (Thanks, Small Business Blog.)
Technology
How to Receive and Listen to Podcasts. Podcasts are one of the new big things. This informative article from Amy Gahran gives you the basics. (Also see this article on videoblogging vs. podcasting.)
The Top 100 Gadgets of All Time. From Mobile PC magazine, an interesting and fun article that might also make you nostalgic.
Forget Spam. Have You Been Spimmed? Instant messaging, which is being used more and more as a business tool, has its own breed of spam.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Press release on T+D magazine redesign
This press release on our redesign went out today. The expansion of my Intelligence column was highlighted--nice.
We hope you like the changes. I'll post the link to the March issue when we have it up.
ASTD’s T+D Magazine to Unveil a New Look, Content Enhancements
Publication Re-design will debut March 2005
(Alexandria, VA) February 24, 2005 – Readers of Training + Development (T+D) magazine, published by the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD), will see a more practical and personality-driven magazine as it launches a new design and some content changes in the March issue. For almost six decades, T+D magazine has covered the art and science of developing people and the systems in which they work to produce results.
Rex Davenport, editor of T+D magazine, anticipates positive reactions to the enhancements in the March issue. “Real-life, actionable items are the name of the game with this re-design,” he said. “Readers will notice that the articles are more applicable to the profession, with less focus on theory. We will incorporate business authors as a complement to the industry writers.”
Some of the new additions and modifications include:
- One page dedicated to research from ASTD and other organizations
- An expanded Intelligence section will open the magazine with news and developing trends
- Shorter, more succinct articles
- An increased focus on “hot-button” topics, or burning issues, in the profession
Readers will also begin to see themselves in the magazine, as the content will profile individuals who make up the workplace learning and performance industry. “New Guard,” a special section that recognizes professionals who separate themselves from their peers through innovative and unique practices, was formerly part of one issue each year. Now, every issue will end with a “New Guard” profile.
In 2004, T+D magazine was named by ICA (Independent Consultants Association) on its list of "Ten Essential Magazines for Consultants.” The American Society of Business Publication Editors awarded special recognition to the column “The Web” in 2002.
For more information on ASTD’s flagship publication, T+D magazine, visit www.astd.org/t+d.
This press release on our redesign went out today. The expansion of my Intelligence column was highlighted--nice.
We hope you like the changes. I'll post the link to the March issue when we have it up.
ASTD’s T+D Magazine to Unveil a New Look, Content Enhancements
Publication Re-design will debut March 2005
(Alexandria, VA) February 24, 2005 – Readers of Training + Development (T+D) magazine, published by the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD), will see a more practical and personality-driven magazine as it launches a new design and some content changes in the March issue. For almost six decades, T+D magazine has covered the art and science of developing people and the systems in which they work to produce results.
Rex Davenport, editor of T+D magazine, anticipates positive reactions to the enhancements in the March issue. “Real-life, actionable items are the name of the game with this re-design,” he said. “Readers will notice that the articles are more applicable to the profession, with less focus on theory. We will incorporate business authors as a complement to the industry writers.”
Some of the new additions and modifications include:
- One page dedicated to research from ASTD and other organizations
- An expanded Intelligence section will open the magazine with news and developing trends
- Shorter, more succinct articles
- An increased focus on “hot-button” topics, or burning issues, in the profession
Readers will also begin to see themselves in the magazine, as the content will profile individuals who make up the workplace learning and performance industry. “New Guard,” a special section that recognizes professionals who separate themselves from their peers through innovative and unique practices, was formerly part of one issue each year. Now, every issue will end with a “New Guard” profile.
In 2004, T+D magazine was named by ICA (Independent Consultants Association) on its list of "Ten Essential Magazines for Consultants.” The American Society of Business Publication Editors awarded special recognition to the column “The Web” in 2002.
For more information on ASTD’s flagship publication, T+D magazine, visit www.astd.org/t+d.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Free Webinar: Campus Recruiting in the Public Sector
This Webinar, co-sponsored by the Human Capital Institute and Monster.com, will take place Wednesday, March 23rd from 1 to 2:30 pm EST.
The HCI Website reads:
"Faced with a rapidly aging workforce and a potential wave of retirements, the public sector is turning once again to colleges and universities in search of new recruits. But you may already have noticed that the competition for recruiting students and recent grads has intensified in recent months. Career fairs are bursting with more employer booths, Recruiters are returning to campuses, and students are finding that they have more choices when seeking a new career. Join campus recruitment experts Graham Donald and Roger Campbell as we discuss pressing topics like building a presence on campus with constrained resources, attracting the right candidates and connecting with today's students."
This Webinar, co-sponsored by the Human Capital Institute and Monster.com, will take place Wednesday, March 23rd from 1 to 2:30 pm EST.
The HCI Website reads:
"Faced with a rapidly aging workforce and a potential wave of retirements, the public sector is turning once again to colleges and universities in search of new recruits. But you may already have noticed that the competition for recruiting students and recent grads has intensified in recent months. Career fairs are bursting with more employer booths, Recruiters are returning to campuses, and students are finding that they have more choices when seeking a new career. Join campus recruitment experts Graham Donald and Roger Campbell as we discuss pressing topics like building a presence on campus with constrained resources, attracting the right candidates and connecting with today's students."
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Blogging applicance for corporate communications
A company called WhatCounts has just announced the first "blogging in a box" applicance for companies that want to incorporate blogs into their communications strategies.
BlogUnit is "tuned to network security requirements and can be up-and-running in 15 minutes." It can be used to "author, manage, measure, deliver, and syndicate" blogs.
According to E-Media Tidbits, which pointed me to this news item, the appliance helps resolve one concern companies often have with blogs: employees posting unreviewed content. An approval and permission system is built in.
The president and CEO of WhatCounts says, “Blogging is a growing reality for corporations worldwide as they look for ways to improve communications with their key audiences...But there are a myriad of issues, such as accountability, accuracy and security that corporations have to address as they get into this new territory.”
At a quick glance, it seems as if this could be a good solution for companies that want to get into blogging but are nervous about the security and permissions issues. And blogging can be a KM solution, as explained in this T+D blog post and the additional posts listed at the end.
A company called WhatCounts has just announced the first "blogging in a box" applicance for companies that want to incorporate blogs into their communications strategies.
BlogUnit is "tuned to network security requirements and can be up-and-running in 15 minutes." It can be used to "author, manage, measure, deliver, and syndicate" blogs.
According to E-Media Tidbits, which pointed me to this news item, the appliance helps resolve one concern companies often have with blogs: employees posting unreviewed content. An approval and permission system is built in.
The president and CEO of WhatCounts says, “Blogging is a growing reality for corporations worldwide as they look for ways to improve communications with their key audiences...But there are a myriad of issues, such as accountability, accuracy and security that corporations have to address as they get into this new territory.”
At a quick glance, it seems as if this could be a good solution for companies that want to get into blogging but are nervous about the security and permissions issues. And blogging can be a KM solution, as explained in this T+D blog post and the additional posts listed at the end.
Friday, February 18, 2005
Best you might've missed
Happy weekend, all. Here are this week's picks.
Traditional business/training
Organizing for Performance: How BP Did It. BP pulled off some amazing feats. Read this article now, and then in March read T+D's training-focused take on the company, "BP Refines Leadership."
India: The next knowledge superpower. Don't say you're surprised. "Big changes are making the country a centre of innovation," this article says.
The Importance of Face Time. The Telework Times links to a thought-provoking article and adds a videoconferencing spin on it.
How to Establish Credibility. The key is to listen--not talk!
E-learning
"Relative Effectiveness of Computer-based and Human Feedback for Enhancing Student Learning." "...instructors cannot rely on computer-based feedback alone to correct errors in student understanding..."
Access for All: How Distance Education Addresses Learning Needs. E-learning and accessibility . (Thanks, elearnopedia.) Also see "Accessibility: What You Should Know," from Learning Circuits.
"Creating Flexible E-Learning Through the Use of Learning Objects." A case study and lessons learned from the University System of Georgia.
The Huge Opportunity in Online, Video-based Instruction Guides. Kevin Kruse of e-Learning Guru says, "If I was a product manager for anything...I'd make online instructional videos my #1 priority for 2005."
"Diploma mills provide phony credentials." ...the federal government has paid more than $7.5 million in tuition reimbursements, making the United States 'the largest supplier of diploma mills in our country.'" I wrote about avoiding diploma mills here.
Emergent learning
YahooGroups, Groove Or Socialtext Wiki: My Personal Impressions. Robin Good compares and contrasts the tools as he works collaboratively with people across long distances.
Workflow Learning Gets Real. An important article by Jay Cross and Tony O'Driscoll from Training magazine.
Emergent Learning: Social Networks and Learning Networks. The most recent paper from the always-at-the-forefront Stephen Downes.
Technology
Cultural divide in IM: presence vs. communication. An interesting reflection by Ph.D. student Danah Boyd.
Writing for Websites. A good basic primer from Crawford Killian, author of the classic manual Writing for the Web.
Happy weekend, all. Here are this week's picks.
Traditional business/training
Organizing for Performance: How BP Did It. BP pulled off some amazing feats. Read this article now, and then in March read T+D's training-focused take on the company, "BP Refines Leadership."
India: The next knowledge superpower. Don't say you're surprised. "Big changes are making the country a centre of innovation," this article says.
The Importance of Face Time. The Telework Times links to a thought-provoking article and adds a videoconferencing spin on it.
How to Establish Credibility. The key is to listen--not talk!
E-learning
"Relative Effectiveness of Computer-based and Human Feedback for Enhancing Student Learning." "...instructors cannot rely on computer-based feedback alone to correct errors in student understanding..."
Access for All: How Distance Education Addresses Learning Needs. E-learning and accessibility . (Thanks, elearnopedia.) Also see "Accessibility: What You Should Know," from Learning Circuits.
"Creating Flexible E-Learning Through the Use of Learning Objects." A case study and lessons learned from the University System of Georgia.
The Huge Opportunity in Online, Video-based Instruction Guides. Kevin Kruse of e-Learning Guru says, "If I was a product manager for anything...I'd make online instructional videos my #1 priority for 2005."
"Diploma mills provide phony credentials." ...the federal government has paid more than $7.5 million in tuition reimbursements, making the United States 'the largest supplier of diploma mills in our country.'" I wrote about avoiding diploma mills here.
Emergent learning
YahooGroups, Groove Or Socialtext Wiki: My Personal Impressions. Robin Good compares and contrasts the tools as he works collaboratively with people across long distances.
Workflow Learning Gets Real. An important article by Jay Cross and Tony O'Driscoll from Training magazine.
Emergent Learning: Social Networks and Learning Networks. The most recent paper from the always-at-the-forefront Stephen Downes.
Technology
Cultural divide in IM: presence vs. communication. An interesting reflection by Ph.D. student Danah Boyd.
Writing for Websites. A good basic primer from Crawford Killian, author of the classic manual Writing for the Web.
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Mobile learning
I'm beginning research for an upcoming Learning Circuits article on mobile learning, with the focus being the hype versus the reality.
If your organization is currently doing mobile learning (via cell phone, PDA, etc.) or is investigating it for possible launch in the future, please email me at ekaplan at astd.org. I'd love to ask you a few questions.
Thanks!
I'm beginning research for an upcoming Learning Circuits article on mobile learning, with the focus being the hype versus the reality.
If your organization is currently doing mobile learning (via cell phone, PDA, etc.) or is investigating it for possible launch in the future, please email me at ekaplan at astd.org. I'd love to ask you a few questions.
Thanks!
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
TrainUp.com
I received a press release on this portal that enables users to search for classroom and online training offered by various providers. (In November I wrote about a similar service, Findaseminar.com.)
In any case (here comes the commentary you all asked for), I think this kind of thing is a good idea, but in both cases I found the offerings pretty slim compared to the number of providers and courses I know are out there.
It's kind of a catch-22: You need providers to add their courses to have a good service, but people won't add their listings if the service isn't good in the first place.
What I like about TrainUp's idea is that it attempts to offer course reviews provided by learners (the Website says "coming summer 2004," but none seem to be available yet) as well as a way for individuals to track the training they've signed up for.
Does anyone know of a service that does this kind of thing well? Or is a centralized database of training offered across the U.S., in a wide range of subject areas, and from a large number of providers just a Holy Grail that's too difficult to pull off?
I received a press release on this portal that enables users to search for classroom and online training offered by various providers. (In November I wrote about a similar service, Findaseminar.com.)
In any case (here comes the commentary you all asked for), I think this kind of thing is a good idea, but in both cases I found the offerings pretty slim compared to the number of providers and courses I know are out there.
It's kind of a catch-22: You need providers to add their courses to have a good service, but people won't add their listings if the service isn't good in the first place.
What I like about TrainUp's idea is that it attempts to offer course reviews provided by learners (the Website says "coming summer 2004," but none seem to be available yet) as well as a way for individuals to track the training they've signed up for.
Does anyone know of a service that does this kind of thing well? Or is a centralized database of training offered across the U.S., in a wide range of subject areas, and from a large number of providers just a Holy Grail that's too difficult to pull off?
Monday, February 14, 2005
More original commentary
So the winner on the survey of what readers want to see more of on this blog is original commentary. Thanks for letting me know that you'd like to see more of my thoughts. Original commentary is the type of information that takes the most time to develop, so I had reduced the amount I was offering as I've been juggling other things. It's good to know my thoughts are missed, though, so I will try to include more of this as my schedule permits!
Thanks again to all who answered the survey.
So the winner on the survey of what readers want to see more of on this blog is original commentary. Thanks for letting me know that you'd like to see more of my thoughts. Original commentary is the type of information that takes the most time to develop, so I had reduced the amount I was offering as I've been juggling other things. It's good to know my thoughts are missed, though, so I will try to include more of this as my schedule permits!
Thanks again to all who answered the survey.
Valentine's Day tidbit: executive romances at work
Happy Valentine's Day, all!
Here are some stats that may surprise you: More than two-thirds of executives say they've had a secret crush on a co-worker. Close to half have been involved in an office romance. An excerpt from a press release I received is below.
"The survey of 734 executives in the $100k+ job market found that a combination of long hours, close quarters and the slow hum of the photocopy machine may be the perfect recipe for romance. When asked: Have you ever harbored a secret crush on a co-worker; a full 68 percent of the executives surveyed said, 'yes.' Only 32 percent said, 'no.'
As for those workers who’ve taken the crush one step further, 42 percent of those responding to a related survey of 1,044 executives said that they have been involved in a full-fledged office romance.
How many of these PowerPoint and Excel spreadsheet-fueled romances involved infidelity? When asked in a third survey of 1,349 executives: Have you ever had an extramarital affair with a co-worker; 17 percent of respondents said, 'yes.' Thinking better of the repercussions of this type of romance, the 83 percent majority said they had not been adulterous with a co-worker.
'At its best, a healthy work environment is an intense, inspiring, challenging and gratifying place,' explained TheLadders.com founder and president, Marc Cenedella. 'While this combination can sometimes create a hothouse for emotional ties to the people we spend so much time with, office romances are not generally good for your career track. Executives who are serious about their careers need to think about business first; courting Alice in accounting isn’t the best way to maintain that killer instinct.'
TheLadders.com’s look at Office Valentines is based on a series of three independent surveys of registered $100k+ executives conducted on TheLadders.com Web site between January 11, 2005 and February 3, 2005."
Happy Valentine's Day, all!
Here are some stats that may surprise you: More than two-thirds of executives say they've had a secret crush on a co-worker. Close to half have been involved in an office romance. An excerpt from a press release I received is below.
"The survey of 734 executives in the $100k+ job market found that a combination of long hours, close quarters and the slow hum of the photocopy machine may be the perfect recipe for romance. When asked: Have you ever harbored a secret crush on a co-worker; a full 68 percent of the executives surveyed said, 'yes.' Only 32 percent said, 'no.'
As for those workers who’ve taken the crush one step further, 42 percent of those responding to a related survey of 1,044 executives said that they have been involved in a full-fledged office romance.
How many of these PowerPoint and Excel spreadsheet-fueled romances involved infidelity? When asked in a third survey of 1,349 executives: Have you ever had an extramarital affair with a co-worker; 17 percent of respondents said, 'yes.' Thinking better of the repercussions of this type of romance, the 83 percent majority said they had not been adulterous with a co-worker.
'At its best, a healthy work environment is an intense, inspiring, challenging and gratifying place,' explained TheLadders.com founder and president, Marc Cenedella. 'While this combination can sometimes create a hothouse for emotional ties to the people we spend so much time with, office romances are not generally good for your career track. Executives who are serious about their careers need to think about business first; courting Alice in accounting isn’t the best way to maintain that killer instinct.'
TheLadders.com’s look at Office Valentines is based on a series of three independent surveys of registered $100k+ executives conducted on TheLadders.com Web site between January 11, 2005 and February 3, 2005."
Friday, February 11, 2005
Best you might've missed
Here is this week's collection of articles. I tried to cast the net a little wider, since the survey indicated that you all want more of these. I may have gone somewhat overboard. :)
E-learning/meetings
"Database Fights Diploma Mills." The U.S. Department of Education has created a searchable database of accredited institutions.
"Improving Retention in Distance Learning Classes." Focused on higher education, but offers some transferable information.
"A Content Analytic Comparison of Learning Processes in Online and Face-to-Face Case Study Discussions." "The findings provide evidence that [asynchronous learning networks] generate high levels of cognitive activity, at least equal to, and in some cases superior to, the cognitive processes in the FTF classroom.
"Assessments through the Learning Process." A free whitepaper from Questionmark available for download.
Emergent learning/community
When Will Business Embrace Blogs? Dave Pollard talks about their use for KM and the value proposition.
Vloging. You know all about blogging; now get ready for the next wave. (Thanks, Business 2.0 blog.)
Videoconferencing And Avatars To Complement Lack Of Non-Verbal Clues In Online Meetings. A good look at what's up-and-coming.
The Connecticon: Learning for the connected generation. A short book review from the e-Learning Centre. Back in my We Learning part I article, I called this the Age of Connection--this book looks like it might expand on that idea.
Cooperation, Sharing And Social Networking As Emergent Economic And Production Forces. A short review and summary of a long PDF.
PacMan Must Die: Cooperative Physical/Virtual Gaming. Implications for game-based learning? Also see my "Augmented Reality Check" article, which discusses some PDA games like this.
Traditional training/business
"HP After Carly: What Went Wrong?" Not to jump on the media bandwagon, but this is a good article from Wharton examining the leadership and strategy side of the hot topic.
"20 Frequently Asked Questions About ROI." A CLO magazine article from ROI guru Jack Phillips.
How to Manage Smart People. A manifesto from Change This. (Thanks, Fast Company blog.)
"Top 10 Practices in Knowledge Management." "The first three practices detail how companies create forums for exchanging ideas, the next two focus on aligning knowledge management with strategies and the final five focus on best practice identification."
American Management Association Offers Business Lessons Learned from The Apprentice. Each week offers a new lesson. January 20th focused on training. (Thanks, Fast Company blog.)
"Don't Put Your Company in a Purple Haze: Let your retiring Baby Boomers go, but not their knowledge". From CIO magazine, this short article has an IT slant on it but still contains some useful info.
Misc.
"Gray Matter and Sexes: A Gray Area Scientifically." Are men's and women's brains fundamentally different? The New York Times examines the issue.
New resource for business travelers. Google announces its new Google Maps service.
Here is this week's collection of articles. I tried to cast the net a little wider, since the survey indicated that you all want more of these. I may have gone somewhat overboard. :)
E-learning/meetings
"Database Fights Diploma Mills." The U.S. Department of Education has created a searchable database of accredited institutions.
"Improving Retention in Distance Learning Classes." Focused on higher education, but offers some transferable information.
"A Content Analytic Comparison of Learning Processes in Online and Face-to-Face Case Study Discussions." "The findings provide evidence that [asynchronous learning networks] generate high levels of cognitive activity, at least equal to, and in some cases superior to, the cognitive processes in the FTF classroom.
"Assessments through the Learning Process." A free whitepaper from Questionmark available for download.
Emergent learning/community
When Will Business Embrace Blogs? Dave Pollard talks about their use for KM and the value proposition.
Vloging. You know all about blogging; now get ready for the next wave. (Thanks, Business 2.0 blog.)
Videoconferencing And Avatars To Complement Lack Of Non-Verbal Clues In Online Meetings. A good look at what's up-and-coming.
The Connecticon: Learning for the connected generation. A short book review from the e-Learning Centre. Back in my We Learning part I article, I called this the Age of Connection--this book looks like it might expand on that idea.
Cooperation, Sharing And Social Networking As Emergent Economic And Production Forces. A short review and summary of a long PDF.
PacMan Must Die: Cooperative Physical/Virtual Gaming. Implications for game-based learning? Also see my "Augmented Reality Check" article, which discusses some PDA games like this.
Traditional training/business
"HP After Carly: What Went Wrong?" Not to jump on the media bandwagon, but this is a good article from Wharton examining the leadership and strategy side of the hot topic.
"20 Frequently Asked Questions About ROI." A CLO magazine article from ROI guru Jack Phillips.
How to Manage Smart People. A manifesto from Change This. (Thanks, Fast Company blog.)
"Top 10 Practices in Knowledge Management." "The first three practices detail how companies create forums for exchanging ideas, the next two focus on aligning knowledge management with strategies and the final five focus on best practice identification."
American Management Association Offers Business Lessons Learned from The Apprentice. Each week offers a new lesson. January 20th focused on training. (Thanks, Fast Company blog.)
"Don't Put Your Company in a Purple Haze: Let your retiring Baby Boomers go, but not their knowledge". From CIO magazine, this short article has an IT slant on it but still contains some useful info.
Misc.
"Gray Matter and Sexes: A Gray Area Scientifically." Are men's and women's brains fundamentally different? The New York Times examines the issue.
New resource for business travelers. Google announces its new Google Maps service.
Bad bossology revisited
In April of last year I wrote about the Bad Bossology site, which provides a wealth of resources on how to handle or minimize the impact of bad bosses.
Now the site has launched an anonymous "email this link" feature, which enables people to "safely email resources to their bosses and senior management to address difficult boss behaviors and promote useful discussion."
The press release I received said that about 40 percent of employees have had to deal with a bad boss--and that surveys have shown that a major reason employees leave companies is their immediate supervisor. (Also known as the "people leave people, not companies" theory.) Studies I've seen uphold this idea; in fact I was just writing about it for my April Intelligence column.
The site may sound like a joke, but the helpful resources it provides are no laughing matter!
In April of last year I wrote about the Bad Bossology site, which provides a wealth of resources on how to handle or minimize the impact of bad bosses.
Now the site has launched an anonymous "email this link" feature, which enables people to "safely email resources to their bosses and senior management to address difficult boss behaviors and promote useful discussion."
The press release I received said that about 40 percent of employees have had to deal with a bad boss--and that surveys have shown that a major reason employees leave companies is their immediate supervisor. (Also known as the "people leave people, not companies" theory.) Studies I've seen uphold this idea; in fact I was just writing about it for my April Intelligence column.
The site may sound like a joke, but the helpful resources it provides are no laughing matter!
A couple more free Webinars (you asked for it!)
These are from Interwise.
Self-Service Learning: The Key to Sustaining Competitive Advantage. Tuesday, February 15 at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. ET
Workforce Performance Solutions: Engaging Employees to Increase Productivity. Wednesday, March 2 at 2 p.m. ET/11:00am PT
These are from Interwise.
Self-Service Learning: The Key to Sustaining Competitive Advantage. Tuesday, February 15 at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. ET
Workforce Performance Solutions: Engaging Employees to Increase Productivity. Wednesday, March 2 at 2 p.m. ET/11:00am PT
Thursday, February 10, 2005
More Webinars
The survey is showing that readers want more information on Webinars, so here are some coming up that might be of interest:
Human Capital Institute Webcasts. There is no charge for these, but HCI says that their Webcasts will be free "for a limited time."
Introducing the Concept of "Portable Employment": The Rise of the Independent Workforce. Wednesday, February 16 at 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Sustaining Inclusiveness: Slipping Past the Curse of Diversity Programs. Wednesday, February 23 at 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (ET)
No More Trumped Up ROIs - The Business Case for Diversity. Wednesday, March 2 at 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Skills and Psychometric Assessment in Hiring: Risk vs. Reward. Wednesday, March 9 at 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Continuous Change: Kaizen and Kaikaku. Wednesday, March 30 at 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Horizon Wimba Desktop Lecture Series. These are all free as well.
Building Community Among Educators
Vance Stevens, Petroleum Institutue (Abu Dhabi)
Tuesday, February 22, 2005 at 12pm EST
Leadership & Learning: A Collective Inquiry
Monica Manning & Anne Sturdivant, NovaLearning
Thursday, March 3, 2005 at 3pm EST
Demonstration of Horizon Wimba's New PowerLink for WebCT Vista
Aaron Bond & Matt Wasowski, Horizon Wimba
Thursday, March 10, 2005 at 3pm EST
The survey is showing that readers want more information on Webinars, so here are some coming up that might be of interest:
Human Capital Institute Webcasts. There is no charge for these, but HCI says that their Webcasts will be free "for a limited time."
Introducing the Concept of "Portable Employment": The Rise of the Independent Workforce. Wednesday, February 16 at 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Sustaining Inclusiveness: Slipping Past the Curse of Diversity Programs. Wednesday, February 23 at 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (ET)
No More Trumped Up ROIs - The Business Case for Diversity. Wednesday, March 2 at 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Skills and Psychometric Assessment in Hiring: Risk vs. Reward. Wednesday, March 9 at 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Continuous Change: Kaizen and Kaikaku. Wednesday, March 30 at 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Horizon Wimba Desktop Lecture Series. These are all free as well.
Building Community Among Educators
Vance Stevens, Petroleum Institutue (Abu Dhabi)
Tuesday, February 22, 2005 at 12pm EST
Leadership & Learning: A Collective Inquiry
Monica Manning & Anne Sturdivant, NovaLearning
Thursday, March 3, 2005 at 3pm EST
Demonstration of Horizon Wimba's New PowerLink for WebCT Vista
Aaron Bond & Matt Wasowski, Horizon Wimba
Thursday, March 10, 2005 at 3pm EST
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
New salary and career-planning resources
ASTD has recently partnered with Salary.com to provide new salary and career planning resources free to registered users through our online Career Center. (Click on Salary Calculator to access all the tools.)
This enhancement to our Career Center includes the following licensed content:
Salary WizardTM: Provides pay data (national average, adjusted by zip code) for jobs searchable by category and location.
Executive Compensation Wizard: Discloses compensation of executives of publicly-traded companies (drawn from SEC proxy filings)
Cost-of-Living Wizard: Helps users compare the cost-of-living across multiple locations.
College Tuition Planner: Helps users choose a savings-rate appropriate to the cost of a child’s future college education.
Job Assessor: Helps users determine which of two job opportunities is better for them.
Millionaire Maker: Helps users determine the age at which their specified savings rate will yield total savings of $1 million.
Salary Timer: Helps users compare their salary to salaries earned by celebrities, on a dollars-per-second basis.
Salary Articles: Delivers timely information and advice on compensation-related topics. (coming soon)
ASTD has recently partnered with Salary.com to provide new salary and career planning resources free to registered users through our online Career Center. (Click on Salary Calculator to access all the tools.)
This enhancement to our Career Center includes the following licensed content:
Salary WizardTM: Provides pay data (national average, adjusted by zip code) for jobs searchable by category and location.
Executive Compensation Wizard: Discloses compensation of executives of publicly-traded companies (drawn from SEC proxy filings)
Cost-of-Living Wizard: Helps users compare the cost-of-living across multiple locations.
College Tuition Planner: Helps users choose a savings-rate appropriate to the cost of a child’s future college education.
Job Assessor: Helps users determine which of two job opportunities is better for them.
Millionaire Maker: Helps users determine the age at which their specified savings rate will yield total savings of $1 million.
Salary Timer: Helps users compare their salary to salaries earned by celebrities, on a dollars-per-second basis.
Salary Articles: Delivers timely information and advice on compensation-related topics. (coming soon)
Monday, February 07, 2005
Webinar tomorrow
Sorry for the late notice--Pilat and AberdeenGroup are hosting a free online Webinar tomorrow to discuss the findings from AberdeenGroup’s report "Employee Performance Management: The Aligned, Performance Driven Workforce."
Start time is 1 pm eastern/10 am pacific.
To register for this free event, visit www.pilat-nai.com/events.asp, e-mail info@pilat-nai.com, or call (800)338-9701.
To download a complimentary copy of the report, visit http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410100&cid=1410
Sorry for the late notice--Pilat and AberdeenGroup are hosting a free online Webinar tomorrow to discuss the findings from AberdeenGroup’s report "Employee Performance Management: The Aligned, Performance Driven Workforce."
Start time is 1 pm eastern/10 am pacific.
To register for this free event, visit www.pilat-nai.com/events.asp, e-mail info@pilat-nai.com, or call (800)338-9701.
To download a complimentary copy of the report, visit http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410100&cid=1410
T+D February issue online; changes afoot
The survey is showing that some of you want more links to T+D articles. So I'll make sure to post here each month when the new month's articles are up on the T+D site. I can't link directly from here to the articles because some are members-only/available for purchase and the rest require registration, but I can tell you what's available, and then you can click to the T+D site.
Also, look for a new T+D Website design coming in the next couple of months. It will jive with the new look for T+D that will launch in March. (The Website may not be ready at the beginning of March because of time needed by our pulled-in-a-million-directions Web team to do the work.)
What about this blog, you ask? It could surely use some design touches. Plans are in the works to relaunch this blog with a better design and better integrated technology (ie, comments, RSS feed, etc.). Stay tuned for that as well in upcoming months.
February T+D
Features:
"Does Knowledge Management Still Matter?"
By T+D editor Rex Davenport
Discredited or not, gathering useful knowledge and managing its distribution and use is a vital organizational need--despite what it's called or who actually controls the process.
"The Results Chain"
By Geary A. Rummler and Kimberly Morrill
Using the results chain, you can increase the effect you have on your organization's performance--and on the value received by its customers.
"The Inside Pitch"
By Theresa Seagraves (author of the ASTD book Quick! Show Me Your Value)
Communicate the value of training tersely and in the language of your CEO.
"Small Businesses Bask in Training's Spotlight"
By Paul Harris
When it comes to training, small businesses often ride in the rear of the bus, overlooked by many training suppliers playing the numbers game. But that picture is changing.
"Growing Strong Leaders," an ASTD BEST Award winner profile
By Josephine Rossi
Equity Residential has an emphasis on solid personal development that cultivates capable leaders and self-awareness.
Departments:
--My Intelligence column, "The Changing Workforce," talks about the fascinating study "Generation and Gender in the Workplace."
--Guru Allison Rossett writes a Fundamentals column on "Moving Online"
--The new New Guard column profiles Holly Huntley, director and CLO of global learning and development management for Computer Sciences Corp.
--and more!
The survey is showing that some of you want more links to T+D articles. So I'll make sure to post here each month when the new month's articles are up on the T+D site. I can't link directly from here to the articles because some are members-only/available for purchase and the rest require registration, but I can tell you what's available, and then you can click to the T+D site.
Also, look for a new T+D Website design coming in the next couple of months. It will jive with the new look for T+D that will launch in March. (The Website may not be ready at the beginning of March because of time needed by our pulled-in-a-million-directions Web team to do the work.)
What about this blog, you ask? It could surely use some design touches. Plans are in the works to relaunch this blog with a better design and better integrated technology (ie, comments, RSS feed, etc.). Stay tuned for that as well in upcoming months.
February T+D
Features:
"Does Knowledge Management Still Matter?"
By T+D editor Rex Davenport
Discredited or not, gathering useful knowledge and managing its distribution and use is a vital organizational need--despite what it's called or who actually controls the process.
"The Results Chain"
By Geary A. Rummler and Kimberly Morrill
Using the results chain, you can increase the effect you have on your organization's performance--and on the value received by its customers.
"The Inside Pitch"
By Theresa Seagraves (author of the ASTD book Quick! Show Me Your Value)
Communicate the value of training tersely and in the language of your CEO.
"Small Businesses Bask in Training's Spotlight"
By Paul Harris
When it comes to training, small businesses often ride in the rear of the bus, overlooked by many training suppliers playing the numbers game. But that picture is changing.
"Growing Strong Leaders," an ASTD BEST Award winner profile
By Josephine Rossi
Equity Residential has an emphasis on solid personal development that cultivates capable leaders and self-awareness.
Departments:
--My Intelligence column, "The Changing Workforce," talks about the fascinating study "Generation and Gender in the Workplace."
--Guru Allison Rossett writes a Fundamentals column on "Moving Online"
--The new New Guard column profiles Holly Huntley, director and CLO of global learning and development management for Computer Sciences Corp.
--and more!
Friday, February 04, 2005
More on the survey, and Best this week
Responses to the blog survey are still coming in--thanks to those who have participated so far--and it's not too late for those who are just seeing it. So far it looks like a slight majority want more links to outside articles, but that's not to say that I won't try to incorporate all of your feedback as much as I can. I'll write a bit more on survey results after people have had more time to answer.
For now, here's the Best You Might've Missed for this week.
E-learning/community
Handling Porcupines, Trolls, and Other Online Vermin. An excellent multi-part series from the always-informative Contentious Weblog.
Do People Really Pay Attention During Online Meetings? Robin Good offers some statistics that may surprise you.
Encouraging Community in an Online Course. Get on the podcasting bandwagon--download this online audio post from the E-Learning Queen.
Improving Retention in Distance Learning Classes. An article from the International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, via the e-Learning Centre.
Virtual Teamwork Best Practices: Focus on People. A good set of tips from Kalabora.
PlayAttention. An online game that helps increase focus and concentration for adults and children.
Traditional training/business
The February issue of the Future of Work Agenda. The Future of Work Community and their monthly newsletter are always great places to get good futuring info.
Speaking the Unspeakable. The Fast Company bloggers add their thoughts to an article on talking about taboo subjects at work.
Protecting the Workgroup. Another good post from the Fast Company blog on how good leaders use "intelligent disobedience" to help their group.
How Bosses Reveal Their Attitudes Towards Employees. An informative article from the European Business Forum.
A Twelve Step Program For Identifying and Eliminating Organizational Change. A humorous look.
Responses to the blog survey are still coming in--thanks to those who have participated so far--and it's not too late for those who are just seeing it. So far it looks like a slight majority want more links to outside articles, but that's not to say that I won't try to incorporate all of your feedback as much as I can. I'll write a bit more on survey results after people have had more time to answer.
For now, here's the Best You Might've Missed for this week.
E-learning/community
Handling Porcupines, Trolls, and Other Online Vermin. An excellent multi-part series from the always-informative Contentious Weblog.
Do People Really Pay Attention During Online Meetings? Robin Good offers some statistics that may surprise you.
Encouraging Community in an Online Course. Get on the podcasting bandwagon--download this online audio post from the E-Learning Queen.
Improving Retention in Distance Learning Classes. An article from the International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, via the e-Learning Centre.
Virtual Teamwork Best Practices: Focus on People. A good set of tips from Kalabora.
PlayAttention. An online game that helps increase focus and concentration for adults and children.
Traditional training/business
The February issue of the Future of Work Agenda. The Future of Work Community and their monthly newsletter are always great places to get good futuring info.
Speaking the Unspeakable. The Fast Company bloggers add their thoughts to an article on talking about taboo subjects at work.
Protecting the Workgroup. Another good post from the Fast Company blog on how good leaders use "intelligent disobedience" to help their group.
How Bosses Reveal Their Attitudes Towards Employees. An informative article from the European Business Forum.
A Twelve Step Program For Identifying and Eliminating Organizational Change. A humorous look.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Take my ViewletPoll on the T+D blog
I'm testing out ViewletPoll for the Learning Circuits Try It section. I figured instead of making a silly test poll, I'd make something useful.
So here's the poll on what you'd like to see more of on this blog.
It's just one quick question--please take a minute to give me your thoughts. I'll take them into account when adding future content here.
(Unfortunately, the software doesn't allow write-in votes, but feel free to leave a comment here or send me an email at ekaplan at astd.org if you have an answer that's not listed.)
I'm testing out ViewletPoll for the Learning Circuits Try It section. I figured instead of making a silly test poll, I'd make something useful.
So here's the poll on what you'd like to see more of on this blog.
It's just one quick question--please take a minute to give me your thoughts. I'll take them into account when adding future content here.
(Unfortunately, the software doesn't allow write-in votes, but feel free to leave a comment here or send me an email at ekaplan at astd.org if you have an answer that's not listed.)
Monday, January 31, 2005
Learning Circuits interviews Elliot Masie
Ryann Ellis, editor of ASTD's e-learning Webzine Learning Circuits, interviewed industry analyst and futurist Elliot Masie at the TechLearn conference. He had some interesting things to say about why the term e-learning is too narrow, how workplace learning professionals need to transform their language, and what the next big thing is. Here's an excerpt:
"Let’s be direct. E-learning is often an overstated term. The bottom line is that learning and performance is what people pay for. Even at our e-Learning CONSORTIUM, 70 percent of our conversations are not about e-learning; they’re about change management, OD, the process of graphic development, etc.
So, the marketplace, if you will, is a marketplace for assistance in making learning decisions. What’s really interesting is being able to answer the question, "What’s the learning decision that organizations have to make?" It may be a technology decision, it may be a methodology decision, it may be a strategy decision. Therefore, companies that define themselves in the e-learning marketplace are way too narrow."
Ryann Ellis, editor of ASTD's e-learning Webzine Learning Circuits, interviewed industry analyst and futurist Elliot Masie at the TechLearn conference. He had some interesting things to say about why the term e-learning is too narrow, how workplace learning professionals need to transform their language, and what the next big thing is. Here's an excerpt:
"Let’s be direct. E-learning is often an overstated term. The bottom line is that learning and performance is what people pay for. Even at our e-Learning CONSORTIUM, 70 percent of our conversations are not about e-learning; they’re about change management, OD, the process of graphic development, etc.
So, the marketplace, if you will, is a marketplace for assistance in making learning decisions. What’s really interesting is being able to answer the question, "What’s the learning decision that organizations have to make?" It may be a technology decision, it may be a methodology decision, it may be a strategy decision. Therefore, companies that define themselves in the e-learning marketplace are way too narrow."
Friday, January 28, 2005
Super-Duper Best
As promised, here's a super-duper double edition of the Best You Might've Missed this week.
(For those who care--T+D magazine is switching to AP style starting in March; I'm switching now to get myself ready. So magazine titles are no longer in italics, and that's on purpose.)
New Learning Theories
"Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age." As the editor's note reads, George Siemen advocates a theory of learning that "combines relevant elements of many learning theories, social structures, and technology to create a powerful theoretical construct for learning in the digital age."
Critical Life Skills: Learning to Learn. Dave Pollard ponders, "What if we were to invent an intelligent system, one which recognized that we learn in unique and individual ways. What would it look like?"
Emergent Learning
Games that make leaders: top researchers on the rise of play in business and education. Three professors at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are studying games in learning and working with the Academic Advanced Distributed Learning Co-Laboratory.
Educational Potential Of Video Games: Futurelab Finds Out. A couple more links on games and learning from Robin Good.
Video Game Training. A post on this hot topic from the MIT Technology Review Weblog.
Academics give lessons on blogs. BBC News reports on blogs being used in higher education.
Traditional Learning/Training/Business
"The CEO's Path to the Top: How Times Have Changed." An article from the Wharton Business School--requires free registration.
Older Workers: Untapped Assets for Creating Value. Touches on the training implications.
Fat Cat Pay. The Business 2.0 blog points out the growing discrepancy between the pay of average workers and large-company CEOs.
The Smart List. From Business 2.0 magazine, a list of which companies are doing what right.
Intelligence in men and women is a gray and white matter. A study from the University of California, Irvine finds that men and women manifest their intelligence in different brain areas.
E-Learning
"New Social Interaction Tools for Online Instruction." A recent paper by Patti Shank, who has done some writing for Learning Circuits in the past.
Events Break Out Of The Physical Space-Time Prison. Time-Extended Conversations Are Coming: X-Events. Some of this you probably already know, but some of the tools are new.
"Bounded Community: Designing and Facilitating Learning Communities in Formal Courses." A paper from the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning.
eLearning & Content Management: One Can Help the Other. "One of the major challenges of eLearning is figuring out how to organize large amounts of content (usually in the form of learning objects), how to keep it updated, and how to deliver it in multiple ways."
"A Diamond in the Rough: Divining the Future of E-Content." From the most recent edition of the Educause Review.
"Kaplan University Holds First Commencement Ceremony for Online Graduates." Behold the future. (The University has no relation to this writer!)
As promised, here's a super-duper double edition of the Best You Might've Missed this week.
(For those who care--T+D magazine is switching to AP style starting in March; I'm switching now to get myself ready. So magazine titles are no longer in italics, and that's on purpose.)
New Learning Theories
"Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age." As the editor's note reads, George Siemen advocates a theory of learning that "combines relevant elements of many learning theories, social structures, and technology to create a powerful theoretical construct for learning in the digital age."
Critical Life Skills: Learning to Learn. Dave Pollard ponders, "What if we were to invent an intelligent system, one which recognized that we learn in unique and individual ways. What would it look like?"
Emergent Learning
Games that make leaders: top researchers on the rise of play in business and education. Three professors at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are studying games in learning and working with the Academic Advanced Distributed Learning Co-Laboratory.
Educational Potential Of Video Games: Futurelab Finds Out. A couple more links on games and learning from Robin Good.
Video Game Training. A post on this hot topic from the MIT Technology Review Weblog.
Academics give lessons on blogs. BBC News reports on blogs being used in higher education.
Traditional Learning/Training/Business
"The CEO's Path to the Top: How Times Have Changed." An article from the Wharton Business School--requires free registration.
Older Workers: Untapped Assets for Creating Value. Touches on the training implications.
Fat Cat Pay. The Business 2.0 blog points out the growing discrepancy between the pay of average workers and large-company CEOs.
The Smart List. From Business 2.0 magazine, a list of which companies are doing what right.
Intelligence in men and women is a gray and white matter. A study from the University of California, Irvine finds that men and women manifest their intelligence in different brain areas.
E-Learning
"New Social Interaction Tools for Online Instruction." A recent paper by Patti Shank, who has done some writing for Learning Circuits in the past.
Events Break Out Of The Physical Space-Time Prison. Time-Extended Conversations Are Coming: X-Events. Some of this you probably already know, but some of the tools are new.
"Bounded Community: Designing and Facilitating Learning Communities in Formal Courses." A paper from the International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning.
eLearning & Content Management: One Can Help the Other. "One of the major challenges of eLearning is figuring out how to organize large amounts of content (usually in the form of learning objects), how to keep it updated, and how to deliver it in multiple ways."
"A Diamond in the Rough: Divining the Future of E-Content." From the most recent edition of the Educause Review.
"Kaplan University Holds First Commencement Ceremony for Online Graduates." Behold the future. (The University has no relation to this writer!)
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