Being good at school is not the same as learning something.
When this publishes, I hope I’m on an airplane making my way towards home. I spent a wonderful few days in Belgium at LearningTechDay. What an amazing event Mathias Vermuelen runs. If you even have the faintest thoughts of going…just do it! After all, what can be better than learning, beer and waffles? (Except maybe a big ol’ hug when you get back home!) I hope you have a great weekend and here are a few things to get you started from the world of learning, design, and technology.
Thanks for reading! If you find anything good, forward it to a friend or spread the word with a tweet.
Your Professional Decline Is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think
There is some evidence that suggests the happiness of most adults declines through their 30s and 40s, then bottoms out in their early 50s. As someone just past this threshold, I’m super interested in how to make the most of it. Dig in for some fascinating insights and why I’m looking for that happiness bounce back as soon as possible.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/07/work-peak-professional-decline/590650/
The Learning/Doing Gap
Somewhere along the way, our society separated learning from doing. Seth Godin (@ThisIsSethsBlog) reminds us that the best way to learn something is to do it (and vice versa)
https://seths.blog/2019/06/the-learning-doing-gap/
Social Media for Better Leadership and Learning
Tanmay Vora (@tnvora) reminds us that leadership in a connected world is a complex thing. And that leaders risk operating in an isolated box of a tight hierarchy is a quick road to irrelevance. If you think social platforms are a waste of time, I’d like to invite you to look with a fresh new perspective. As Tanmay says, social engagement can be a great way to stay in touch with current thinking, participate in conversations around topics of interest and become a part of an empowering network.
http://qaspire.com/2019/06/20/social-media-for-better-leadership-and-learning/
There’s (still) no such thing as formal learning.
Nick Shackleton-Jones (@shackletonjones)says “..we should structure resources and experiences in a way which accelerates competence and supports confidence… Just leaving people to ‘figure it out’ is inefficient and can lead to mistakes and damage confidence.” which I don’t think anyone can argue. He continues to say “…at no point does this become an argument for courses.” Pop over and get the rest of Nick’s take.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/theres-still-thing-formal-learning-nick-shackleton-jones/
13 eLearning Scenario Tips that 60 Experts Agree On
As Seth Godin reminded us above, the best e-learning content often involves getting people to DO something. Scenarios are a great approach to get beyond the click Next info dumps that noboby likes. This collection of tips assemble by Bryan Jones (@elearningart) will help you learn to include scenarios in your elearning projects.
https://elearningart.com/blog/scenario-tips/
Learning, Design & Technology Miscellany
A few other things just because I can.
Design Resources
- Stubborn Character Generator – Make the most out of the opportunity to design your own characters using this generator absolutely free
Apps & Tools
- Merge Mail – Send mass emails using Gmail and Google Sheets
Books, Podcasts, Courses:
- The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50
- How People Learn: Designing Education and Training that Works to Improve Performance
What I’m listening to:
- I’m writing this week’s edition in an apartment in Brussels before I return home tomorrow. I am missing family like crazy. These 80s Hits takes me back home.
Conference Roundup
Check out the upcoming conference action and please let me know if you see one I missed any.
You can find me at these UPCOMING EVENTS:
- July 12: State of Ohio Training Association Annual Event Keynote, Columbus, OH
- October 22-25: DevLearn Pre-Conference Workshop & Conucrrent Session
Interested in the things that didn’t make the cut here? Follow me on Twitter or even better, subscribe to my newsletter.
I’m always looking for great people and organizations who want to help people learn and work better. If you’re one of them, let’s talk! Speaking and Workshop Information Sheet.
Mike Taylor 