Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.
Albert Einstein
Today is our 15th anniversary and I’m reflecting on how lucky I am. Among the many amazing qualities that my wife has, she is literally the only person I know who is more beautiful today than 15 years ago. Seriously, how is that even possible? I’m so grateful that I happened to meet her that summer night and that my good friend didn’t let her get away without sharing her phone number. Have a fantastic weekend!
Thanks for reading!
What I’m Listening to: Andrew Huang is a super creative musician who creates music using everything from Legos to shaving supplies in a process you’ve got to see to believe.
Last week’s most clicked item:
Why Do So Many People Want Us Back In The Office?
Why Community Belongs at the Center of Today’s Remote Work Strategies
Dion Hinchcliffe makes the case that most organizations “have largely been paving the proverbial cowpath” instead of thinking about new and better ways of working. In this post, he collects the most significant insights about digital collaboration and concludes that open collaboration in the forms of communities/ESN should be the default choice to “unsilo” our organizations and fully unleash the power of collaboration. (Be sure to check out the many resources he shares while you’re there.)
The Myths of the Digital Native and the Multitasker
This video looks at the scientific evidence from Paul Kirschner and Pedro De Bruyckere showing that there is no such thing as a digital native who is information-skilled simply because (s)he has never known a world that was not digital. It then proceeds to present evidence that one of the alleged abilities of students in this generation, the ability to multitask, does not exist and that designing education that assumes the presence of this ability hinders rather than helps learning.
https://www.gwern.net/docs/psychology/2017-kirschner.pdf
Lessons Learned Hosting a Virtual Conference
Rick Altman shares some insights from his experience shifting the Presentation Summit conference to a virtual format. Hop over and learn about his thinking about how it was structured and a behind the scenes peek at the technology he used to help make it a success. (It looks like one of things he used was Streamyard which is my app of the week this week.)
https://www.betterpresenting.com/editorial/lessons-learned/
People Don’t Pay for Content. They Pay for Organized Content
This article is resonating with me and while it isn’t necessarily talking about L&D, it does point to the benefits of curating vs creating content from scratch. You can find just about anything you need online but there is value in how in organizing and presenting it in a form that is efficient and easy to follow.
Why marketers are better at engagement than L&D
I had a lovely chat with the amazing Cath Ellis about some of the things L&D pros can and should steal from our marketing friends. Cath is having these conversations with learning pros over on her YouTube channel where you’ll find a wealth of insights from her and her guests.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2FaTykxt178yZma62-OKh1uF87EL5fEv
A few other things just because I can.
Podcasts
Here are three podcast episodes from this week that are worth a listen:
- David Kelly joins Stella Collins to talk about the future of learning on the Stellar Labs podcast.
- Will Thalheimer and Matt Richter are back with “The Smiley Sheet” episode where they also talk about their experience with the inaugural Learning Development Conference.
- I never miss a chance to hear what Harold Jarche has to say. In this Learning Uncut episode he and Krystal Irving discuss how learning professionals can emerge from disruption as relevant and effective.
Tools & Resources
For more tools & resources like these check out my weekly Tech Tuesday Toolbox posts.
- StreamYard | Browser-based live studio for professionals — Streamyard is an easy way to create professional live streams. This is a live streaming studio in your browser. Interview guests, share your screen, and much more. Stream directly to Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and other platforms.
- Audience Interaction Tool for PowerPoint™ | SlideLizard — Free Audience Interaction Software for more engagement & participation in Presentations, Events and Trainings
- Avataaars Generator — A free online avatar generator for anyone to make beautiful illustrated avatars easily!
- Splash + Zoom for Virtual Events — Branded virtual event templates. Automated setup and connected event data. Results on repeat. Create immersive virtual experiences that drive results with an event marketing platform that supports scalable virtual events.
- Wrrooom! Illustration Constructor — A great custom illustration creator for Sketch and Figma
Conferences & Learning Events
Here are a couple of helpful resources if you’re looking for a L&D-related conference or webinar.
- NEW: Recordings from Axonicom Live are available now.
I recommend Heather McGowan’s “Future of Work” session. - Check out the upcoming conference schedule
- L&D Webinars for this month by Limestone Learning
Where You Can Find Me
November 20 Central Indiana ATD Virtual Learning Summit
Online master class for the VOV Network in Belgium with Bianca Baumann starting in November.
November 10 – Nationwide’s “Modern Digital Learning” (Internal webcast)
Interested in the things that didn’t make the cut here? Follow me on Twitter or connect with me on LinkedIn
I love talking about learning, design, and technology. If you’re looking for a speaker, let’s talk! Speaking and Workshop Information Sheet.
Mike Taylor 