Out with the old and in with the new: DDI experts reveal what boardrooms will be buzzing about in 2016.

Zum 20. Mal wurde in dieser Woche das Unwort des Jahres von einer diesbezüglich ehrenamtlich tätigen Jury aus Sprachforschern und Journalisten gewählt. 2015 stand ganz im Zeichen der Flüchtlingskrise und deshalb ist auch das Unwort des Jahres eine Wortschöpfung aus diesem gesellschaftlich kontrovers diskutierten Thema. "Gutmesch" ist das Unwort des Jahres für 2015. Im sprachlichen Gebrauch sei "Gutmensch" entgegen des eigentlichen Wortsinns ironisch umgekehrt und als Schimpfwort für Menschen gebraucht worden, die sich speziell im Zusammenhang mit Flüchtlingen helfend und sozial engagieren. Der Sprecher möchte dem Angesprochenen damit meistens eine übertrieben helfende Einstellung und damit zusammenhängende Naivität unterstellen. Besonders in Foren und sozialen Netzwerken sei "Gutmensch" ein "Kampfbegriff gegen Andersdenkende" von politisch Rechten und Konservativen gewesen, um so ihre Argumente zu diffamieren - so die Begründung der Jury zu ihrer Wahl. Herkunft des Wortes Das Wort taucht zum ersten Mal 1989 im Feuilleton einer Tageszeitung auf und wird von Autoren wie Rainer Jogschies, Matthias Horx und Klaus Bitterman verwendet. Doch schon Anfang der 90er wird der Begriff politisch im Zusammenhang mit "politischer Korrektheit" verwendet. Das Unwort des Jahres seit 1991 Die Verleihung für das Unwort des Jahres ist rückblickend auch ein Spiegel für das vorherrschende Thema, mit dem sich die Gesellschaft zur gegebenen Zeit beschäftigt. Speziell beim Blick auf die ersten Unwörter 1991 und folgende bemerkt man, das sich die Nachrichtenlage von vor 20 Jahren und heute offensichtlich sehr ähneln. Als erstes Unwort des Jahres wurde "Ausländerfrei" gewählt und auf Platz 2 landete damals "Durchrasste Gesellschaft" - ein Begriff der Edmund Stoiber in einer Rede über die Lippen gekommen ist. 1993 wurde dann "Überfremdung" prämiert. In den Folgejahren wurde die überalternde Gesellschaft zum Thema und folgerichtig 1996 dann "Rentnerschwemme" auch zum Unwort des Jahres. Anfang des Jahrtausends machte dann der Irak-Krieg von sich reden und Wörter wie "Weiche Ziele" oder "Gotteskrieger" schafften es auf den ersten Platz. 2008 haben wir die EU-Finanzkrise und damit auch "Notleidende Banken" als wichtigstes Unwort. Mit der Wahl wollte man die sprachliche Gleichsetzung von Banken mit real leidenden Menschen kritisch thematisieren. Interessanter Weise schafft es dann schon 2009 die "Flüchtlingsbekämpfung" auf Platz 2 bei der Wahl zum Unwort des Jahres und das aktuelle Unwort "Gutmensch" schaffte es 2011 auch schon auf den 2. Platz. Doch Platz 1 ging noch an Wortschöpfungen aus der Griechenlandkrise, wodurch 2011 "Alternativlos" als Wortschöpfung der Bundeskanzlerin gewürdigt wurde.

Beresford and Stolovich (2012) defined human performance improvement (HPI) as three perspectives: vision, concept, and end. Vision is for individuals to succeed in areas that are valued by their organization’s stakeholders. Concept is to use the vision to accomplish the organization’s goals through successful interactions with not only the organization’s stakeholders, customers, regulatory agencies, and … Continue reading "My Human Performance Improvement Toolbox"

[Post by Greg Gammie, Implementations Manager at GeoMetrix Data Systems Inc.] Industry executives are invited to share their views on changing learning technologies with Elearning! Magazine. How are your organization’s talent and development needs impacting your platform requirements? Please share your views in the 2016 Learning & Talent System Study. In appreciation of your time, you can enter to win an iPad Air or up to $2,000 in conference passes. As a study participate, you will also receive an executive summary of the study. Thank you for investing 15 minutes of your time to collect this important information. To take the survey visit: Learning and Talent Management System Survey

According to The Collaboration Paradox: Why Working Together Often Yields Weaker Results, some of the reasons that workplace collaboration fails is due to: overconfidence in our collective thinking; peer pressure to conform; and reliance on others to do the work. The article goes on to show that collaboration works when: we work with people with different skills; we do what each person does best; and we all contribute our own work. This shows the underlying problem with collaboration. To be effective, collaborative work needs to be done by cooperative people. In cooperation for the network era, I explain that cooperation is freely sharing, without direction from above, and without expectation of direct reciprocity. The three identified problems with collaboration are due to the nature of collaborative work. Someone is in charge and the objective is usually not shared equally by all group members. Therefore some may be prone to slack off or not care. Others will be more interested in their status within the group, and how they are perceived by the leader. In the cases where collaboration works, it is more like cooperation. The example given of Lennon and McCartney is one of two equals, not in talent, but in their position in the group, and their ability to leave it. Successful collaboration requires cooperation as the basis. Getting work done then becomes an agreed-upon objective, and a temporary hierarchy is established, if necessary. The challenge for working in today’s networked economy is to connect cooperation with collaboration. For the past century, too much work in too many organizations was focused on collaboration to the exclusion of cooperation. It is time to reconnect these solitudes. Plans and structure are necessary to get work done, but open and free participation ensures creativity and a focus on long term value. When dealing with complex challenges, collaboration without cooperation yields efficiency without effectiveness, especially if creative solutions are needed. Image: Amy Burvall      

Scientists have known for a long time that when we learn, our brains and senses react, but how to apply this knowledge to the enhancement of learning is not as clear. The 6 articles below shed light on how biology and learning are connected. Environment and Learning 5 Ways to Optimize Your Learning Environment for Better Results by Marianne Stenger Environmental elements impact the effectiveness of studying. Stenger reviews research and makes suggestions for learning success by controlling these factors: location, lighting, body temperature, study environment, and clutter. Emotion and Learning The Neuroscience Behind Stress and Learning by Judy Willis Neuroimaging and EEG studies of the brain have shown that neural networks can actually prevent learning during times of stress. The amygdala is the part of the brain that reacts negatively to stress. Researchers found that when students are anxious, the amygdala becomes "over-activated" and "new sensory information cannot pass through it to access the memory and association circuits…" How the Brain Learns Successfully, Even Under Stress by Carol Gregoire If brain activity makes it more difficult to learn under stress, then what should we do? Researchers found that students can overcome stress by switching from conscious reasoning to unconscious reasoning. But the best way to overcome stress is through self-assessment, becoming aware of the stress, and employing strategies to lessen it. Why Curiosity Enhances Learning by Marianne Stenger Our own experience tells us that when we are curious, we are more eager to learn. It turns out, that there is scientific evidence to back this up. According to Stenger, The researchers found that when the participants’ curiosity had been sparked, there was not only increased activity in the hippocampus, which is the region of the brain involved in the creation of memories but also in the brain circuit that is related to reward and pleasure. This circuit is the same one that lights up when we get something we really like, such as candy or money, and it relies on dopamine, a "feel-good" chemical that relays messages between neurons and gives us a sort of high. Neural Networks and Learning Using Fewer Brain ‘Tools’ and Learning by Julie Cohen Cohen reviews the work of researchers who observed how different regions of the brain connect when humans are presented with learning new tasks. One of the findings was that using executive function, the part of the brain associated with organizing and other higher cognitive levels, can actually interfere with simple learning. If students "suspend" executive function when  learning simple tasks, they might do better. Neurons Reveal the Brain’s Learning Limit by Shilo Rea Researchers found that tasks are easier to learn if learners can use neural networks already in place from previous learning. This research supports the concept that learning is "constructed" or built on earlier learning and experience. When Acrobatiq courseware breaks down learning objectives into learning skills and processes so that students can build learning connections, it makes learning more complex concepts easier.

National Geographic has just released their new, free Puzzle Explorer app for iOS and Android devices.  The app is meant to be a fun way for students to use creativity and problem-solving skills in order to design their own unique mazes which they can share with friends.  Additionally, the Nat Geo team has also put together some great teacher resources to help bring the app to the classroom.  Find out more on our reviews page.

Hey Folks — the second edition of Design For How People Learn is now out! It came out right before the end of the year.  I’ll be updating the website this week. Design for How People Learn, 2nd Edition What’s different? The first edition content is still mostly there.  I expanded on a few points about motivation and skill development, but the main change is the addition of three new chapters: Design for Habits Social and Informal Learning Designing Evaluation Both the social/informal material and the evaluation material are things that probably should have been in the first edition and weren’t (fixed that!), and the habit chapter reflects a change in my own practice — I’ve been finding it useful to call out habit formation separately when doing analysis and design. Where can I get it? All the usual places, in all the formats: Amazon Barnes and Nobles Peachpit If I already have the first edition, do I need to get this one too? Not necessarily (don’t tell my publisher I said that), but if you’d like to get around buying a whole new copy, here are some other resources: The habit chapter is an expanded version of this article: https://www.td.org/Publications/Magazines/TD/TD-Archive/2015/07/Habitual-by-Design The social/informal chapter is an overview of that topic, but there are lots of smart people writing about social/informal learning who specialize in that area.  A few include: http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/762/nuts-and-bolts-social-media-for-learning http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/1417/nuts-and-bolts-how-and-why-to-show-your-work http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/1037/is-content-curation-in-your-skill-set-it-should-be I collected a few other favorite resources here: http://usablelearning.com/2015/08/30/social-games-community-development/ The last chapter is evaluation.  It’s an overview as well, but the biggest two points are: - User testing (see Steve Krug’s Don’t Make Me Think book) - Qualitative measure (see Brinkerhoff’s Success Case Method) I go over some of it in this presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/usablelearning/guerrilla-evaluation-for-learning But what if I want the shiny new version? I, of course, support that  Maybe you could pass on your first edition copy to somebody who could benefit, and get yourself a second edition? Just a suggestion. Sincere thanks to all the readers of the first edition!  If I’m reading the royalty statements right (no guarantee), it looks like we are right around 25K copies sold, which is fantastic and amazing and gratifying. Thank you.

New Year’s resolutions are for the weak.  I don’t do them.  Instead, I consider the goal for the year; the one thing I need to start, finish, continue, look into, etc., that can move me to the next level either personally, professionally, or spiritually.  I’ve done this before, finishing on my masters, looking into Google … Continue reading →

The Litmos team showed off Litmos and the future of learning to 1400 training professionals at ATD TechKnowledge in Las Vegas. I was able to catch a couple keynote sessions, work the Litmos expo booth, and present a session on a new collaboration tool called blab.im. I also started testing out Snapchat during ATDTK2016. And, as usual, engaged in some very interesting hallway conversations about the L&D industry. Overall it was a great event with a lot of learning. We were all happy to be there. The Keynotes David Rose is the CEO of Ditto Labs. You can follow him on twitter @davidrose. He also authored Enchanted Objects presenting his work and experience with the Internet of Things. There are plenty of blog posts that have covered the keynote in a play by play style. There is no need for me to give you the same reporting. He had a few interesting products to present that represent his overall concept of technology enhanced objects that are made to do just one simple thing. Like the umbrella that lights up when rain is near. Much of what he presented was not new. If you’re interested in seeing the internet of things that will be coming this year, then check out Intel’s presentation from CES2016. Or follow the twitter hashtag #CES2016 for an overload of IoT coverage that will truly inspire you. Kate Matsudaira keynoted the second day and covered how to be a successful employee. You can learn more about what she is doing on her now page. And her presentation is embedded below if you’d like to click through it. Your Career Success Formula from Kate Matsudaira Much of her model for success felt very basic to me on the surface. But after thinking about it quite a bit I realized that her model, while directed at all employees, was really the recipe for a successful training department. The keynote could very easily have been titled "A Better Training Department Strategy". Let me know what your thoughts were on it. The Expo I always enjoy being part of the Litmos booth at industry events. Its an easy place to meet old friends and make new ones. Our team had a lot of conversations with training professionals eager to finally enjoy an easy to use, powerful and flexible, learning management system (LMS). We presented on the expo stage to a standing room only crowd, and gave away an iWatch to one lucky attendee as well. Many industry professionals and companies are beginning to discover the power of Litmos and that it’s okay to enjoy your LMS…and actually enjoy using it. Social Collaboration Tools I presented on blab, but also used the event as a testing ground for my snapchat stories. I was invited to teach attendees about a relatively new free video streaming app blab.im. The session had 3 demos running at once. JD Dillon covered Slack and Rick Lozano covered Periscope while I blabbed with my group. You can view 2 of the group sessions that we recorded by going to my blab profile. ATDTK2016 was also my first opportunity to try out Snapchat as an social sharing app. I know many don't see the use of Snapchat. But that's why I believe it's becoming so popular. The negative feelings around Snapchat feel very similar to my earliest days on Twitter. Some of the most outspoken twitter users in our own community first thought twitter was a bad idea. I'm not saying Snapchat will follow the exact trajectory as Twitter, but it sure does feel like it might. The following video is what you get if you decide to download your own story. And yes, it's very informal but it's also authentic and very real. Do you Snapchat? For more resources on the event your can go to the event backchannel archive here. The post ATD TechKnowledge 2016 and the Future of Learning appeared first on Litmos.