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To make mistakes is human; to stumble is commonplace; to be able to laugh at yourself is maturity.

— Denis Waitly

We’re right in the middle of our always unpredictable spring weather around here. Sometimes it seems like we get all four seasons in a single day. I’m grateful for the increasingly longer days and the trend towards warmer temperatures (even though it snowed at one of her games this week). I’ve bet my daughter that she’ll have to play at least one of her softball games in the snow. Clearly, nobody lives in Ohio for the weather!

As always, thanks for reading.

What I’m Listening To: Spring is on my mind this week so today I’m spinning this “Spring Pop” playlist.

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Last Week’s Most Clicked:

Should we list the learning objectives?

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📰 News & Notes

Using AI to make teaching easier & more impactful

Have you been considering how artificial intelligence (AI) can make teaching and training better? Ethan Mollick has a new article out that explains exactly how AI can help teachers, trainers, and students alike. He dives into how AI can be used to grade papers, create personalized learning plans, and even detect when a student is struggling before they fall behind. It’s amazing how this technology can help us do things faster and more efficiently.

But this doesn’t mean robots will be taking over anytime soon. He makes it clear that AI is meant to support educators, not replace them. You should subscribe to his newsletter while you’re over there.

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Is there such a thing as “Too Much Interactivity”​ in eLearning?

In this post, Karl Kapp discusses the potential negative impact of excessive interactivity in eLearning. While interactivity can be beneficial in engaging learners and improving retention, too much interactivity can be overwhelming and counterproductive. Karl suggests that instructional designers should carefully consider the appropriate level of interactivity for each learning objective and ensure that it supports the learning experience rather than detracts from it.

Use the Better Deck Deck to Banish Bullet Points

Everyone knows to avoid the dreaded bullet point lists, right!? Often, that is much easier said than done, which is why you should know about Nolan Haim’s Better Deck Deck. It is a deck of cards offering 52 tried and true design alternatives to those boring bullet points. Plus, it has over 150 professionally designed examples of these techniques in action to help spark your creativity and take your presentations to the next level. So say goodbye to dull slides and hello to engaging, impactful presentations!

If you’d like to see even more examples, the crew over at TLC Creative have been posting a series of before and after examples based on cards from this deck.

RSS isn’t Dead: It’s the Antidote to Social Media Algorithms

If you’ve been around here for awhile, you probably know that I’m a fan or RSS. (RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, is a technology that allows you to subscribe to content from your favorite sites and get all the updates in one central location.) In this article, Jonathan Wylie reminds us that although some people may think RSS is a thing of the past, it’s actually a valuable antidote to the often-biased and cluttered algorithms of social media platforms. By curating your own RSS feed, you can cut out the noise and get straight to the content that matters most to you. So don’t overlook RSS – it’s a tried and true technology that’s still relevant, and useful in today’s world.

Great titles help your content succeed

If you’ve been around here long, you already know that I talk a lot about what L&D should “steal” from marketing. Marketers understand the significance of making a strong first impression when it comes to delivering effective content. The title of your content is the first thing your audience sees and can greatly influence whether they engage with your material or not. In this 7taps course, I share a little bit about the psychology behind how titles affect our perception of content and provide practical tips for creating attention-grabbing titles that will make your content stand out. So, let’s dive in!

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🎧 Podcasts

These are the podcasts that caught my ear this week.

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🧰 Tech, Tools & Tips

If tools are your jam, check out my new WorkSmarter newsletter

Rhetoric

Record powerful, personable, and persuasive presentations

https://www.rhetoric.app/

PEECH

Peech, a personalized and automatic video editing and management platform, allows you to automatically create, transcribe, collaborate, optimize, and publish content – all in one place.

https://peech-ai.com/

ScreenRun

Create beautiful videos for your screenshots in a few seconds

https://screenrun.app/

Cool Symbols and Fancy Text to Copy Paste 😍 ♡¸.•*

Everyone needs some fancy text and symbols from time to time, right!? Grab yours here.

https://fancysymbol.com/

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iSpring Suite

Supercharge your courses with awe-inspiring content

Imagine you’re a learner. Would you rather view an old PPT or enjoy a dynamic scenario? What about printed test questions as compared to online quizzes with drag-and-drop and hotspot questions? iSpring Suite empowers you to create any advanced content type, from scenarios and interactions to educational videos and tests with automatic feedback.
Read his article filled with tons of insights, groundbreaking ideas, and samples, and learn how to create effective role-plays yourself.

Here are the top 3 functionalities you’ll find in iSpring Suite:

• The industry’s best scenario builder
• Smart features for courses of outstanding quality 
• Templates for every content type – no coding required… ever!

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🧳 Where’s Mike?

Learning & Marketing Conference
June 7-8
Online

Unleashing AI for L&D Pros
April 4
Online

Friday Finds is an independent publication that I produce in my free-time. You can support my work by sharing it with the world, booking an advertising spot, or by buying me a coffee.