Introduction
My post this week is a roundup of great stuff I’ve encountered on the Web lately related to learning and development. Read on for information about last month’s Women of Learning and Development Conference, a recent study about how users view slides, and supporting autistic learners. In addition, I’m sharing a couple of websites where small businesses can register as suppliers with other companies.
Women of L&D Conference Recordings
In case you missed TLDC’s Women of L&D Conference last month (or you just want to revisit the wisdom shared), the recordings are now available!
Just look at this amazing lineup of speakers and session titles:
- Christine Thomas – Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: 5 Tips for Breaking up with a Customer
- Christy Tucker – Invest In Yourself
- Clea Mahoney – Inside Out: Moving from Internal L&D to Customer Education
- Connie Malamed – Design Thinking for Learning Design
- Cyndi Nagel – Using AI in the Workplace: Practical Tips You Can Use Today
- Erika Moree – Transition Guide from Learning Leader to Entrepreneur
- Kimberly Goh – Maximizing Your Time: Productivity Hacks for Work (and Life)
- Kim Scott – Unlocking Opportunities: The Power of Purposeful Networking
- Kortney Ross – How L&D Can Help Support Parents (especially moms!) in the Workplace
- Laine Istvan – How Women Rise with Answer Intelligence
- Leah Chang – YES! You CAN succeed as a self-employed L&D Consultant!
- Dr. Mechelle Roberthon – L&D Colored Glasses: Seeing Business Goals through the Lens of L&D
- Megan Torrance –Leading with Generosity: A Conversation with Megan Torrance about Technology, Community, & What’s Ahead
- Melissa Cokely – Women, Leadership, and Training: Past, Present, and Future
- Dr. Pilar Huffman – Nurturing the Nurturers: Elevating Learning Through Leading
- Rebecca Prejean – Food for Thought: Navigating Motherhood Cooking and Instructional Design
Wow, right?! If, like me, you’ve been meaning to catch up on the sessions you missed, this is your wake up call!
Cognitive Load, Student Attention, and PowerPoint Presentations
Do you ever wonder how much of your slides learners are actually reading?
A recent eye-tracking study revealed what learners focus on when viewing PowerPoint slides, and Inner Drive shared the results on their blog.
Heat map graphics included in the post show which parts of the slide users looked at. They provide useful insights about how we can better design slides—whether for presentations or eLearning—and where we should be placing the most important content for learners. In addition, the post shares five tips for managing cognitive load.
Supporting Autistic Learners
Social media has been ablaze with posts related to Autism Acceptance Month—some more helpful than others. See this article by Chris Bonnello (from four years ago) for an explanation of how some of these posts can be harmful.
While many of the posts I’ve been seeing share problematic content like puzzle piece imagery, Dr. Megan Anna Neff with Neurodivergent Insights has been a bright spot amidst the clutter.
Dr. Neff has been writing a series called Autism Special Edition, which focuses on autistic populations that are often overlooked and go underdiagnosed. These articles are helpful for better understanding our learners, so we can better create inclusive and effective learning experiences.
Here are the articles in the series that have been published so far:
- The Invisible End of the Spectrum—Girls and Women
- Understanding the Intersection of Autism and Trans Experiences
- BIPoC and Autism
In addition, she has a useful post about being autism-affirming in the classroom. I will overlook the reference to “learning styles.” I don’t think she means it in the same sense that we generally see it.
Places to Register as a Supplier
To round off this roundup, here are a couple of websites where small businesses can register as suppliers to work with other companies. I discovered these while when I attended a small business conference recently.
