I was in San Francisco in 2003 at a conference that was held at the same time as The eLearning Guild’s "Annual Conference." I remember sitting in a cable car that was loaded with the Guild’s conference attendees and wondered how I could bail on my conference and attend the Guild’s conference instead. The eLearning Guild’s conference seemed to be much cooler - lots of instructional design and e-Learning types. The theme of the conference I was trapped in was blended learning. I sat in a room and watched PowerPoint presentation after PowerPoint presentation about how to combine self-paced e-learning and face-to-face training (as IF that’s blended). Fast forward a decade and next week I’ll be sitting in a cable car as an eLearning Guild employee. This past decade that has been nothing short of amazing. I don’t know what big thing I’ll learn in 2013 yet, but here are ten from ten years: Keep it simple. In 2012 I realized that "everything should be as simple as it can be, but not simpler." That’s an Einstein quote. I’m trying to work to that standard. Keep it real. In 2011 I became more business-focused. There’s a whole lot of awesomeness out there that seems somewhat separated from reality. Accept learning on your own terms. In 2010 I left my PhD program. At first this felt like a crushing defeat. In truth, it was empowering and made me realize that an education is not a degree or title. Understand the value of humility. In 2009 I became acutely aware of weaknesses. Painful and valuable. Pay it forward. In 2008 I shared a lot of my research publicly after a year of benefiting from others doing the same. Reflect openly. 2007 was the year I started this blog and the year I began to understand the spirit and value of inquiry in an open, online environment. If given a choice, take the chance. In 2006 I decided to work virtually from home for a very small company. This decision opened endless windows and doors. Value practice. In 2005 I realized "in theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not."  Another Einstein quote. Always work to perfect your craft. In 2004 I invested in my future by enrolling in a master’s program in instructional design. I learned from experts. Choose to be influenced by the right people. In 2003 I realized that if I’m going to travel 1000′s of miles to a conference, I better make it a good one. I’m looking forward to what lies ahead this year as I join The eLearning Guild.

My colleague, Bill Brandon, brought Brian Hall’s post 10 Technology Skills That Will No Longer Help You Get A Job to my attention when I was looking for feedback on what the most relevant and valuable professional development needs are of today’s training and learning technologies practitioners. Hall’s post ends with this: "To justify any salary, it’s not only about what you know - now - but what you can learn going forward. The key to a long career in Silicon Valley, or anywhere in the tech world, is showing that you can learn and adapt - and master - constant change." OK, I’m nodding. It’s easy to agree. But how do you show that you can learn and adapt (and master) constant change? Do you just keep crossing out and adding on like this to show you can adapt to to change? Adobe Flash Developer/Designer  HTML 5 Developer/Designer Mastering constant change is not illustrated this way. I’m reminded of a JFK quote: "And our liberty, too, is endangered if we pause for the passing moment, if we rest on our achievements, if we resist the pace of progress. For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future." So my two-part question to you…(1) what are the most relevant and valuable professional development needs for today’s training and learning technologies practitioners and then (2) how do YOU show a potential employer that you’re progressing?

If I had known that Magic Mike was on HBO at 11 PM, I would have made plans to be there. But I actually had stumbled upon it quite by accident. "Cool. Magic Mike is just starting." I actually said that. I was alone. The only thing more sad than saying that would be saying that while looking up from reading 50 Shades of Grey. Not that I was. I was, in fact, settling into my room at an airport hotel near SFO to catch an early flight the next day. I was at the end of a heavy travel schedule - 40 nights away from home in the past three months - and this movie was one I wouldn’t expect my husband would want to watch with me. First, I don’t subscribe to HBO (because I can’t stomach sending any more money to my cable company), second it’s not on Netflix yet and third… So again, COOL. This is like old time scheduled TV I thought. You know…quiet everyone…it’s starting. Scheduled TV viewing is dying. More people are accessing on-demand entertainment from a streaming service or web TV. Even LIVE TV sporting events (which are scheduled) are changing because more people are watching these events while using a second or third screen. These are the same challenges we face in L&D where we have traditionally scheduled courses, classes, programs, and event where you pretty much have someone’s attention. Some folks would suggest that you don’t need to schedule anything anymore and that you can train yourself to do anything - like learn new software or critical thinking - simply by firing up a browser and viewing a series of short videos (or maybe entering code and having it auto graded). Is that enough? If it is, I guess we don’t need any more instructors or trainers. EVER. Ha! Ha! Good one. At the eLearning Guild Academy, our goal is to help build mastery so an on-demand video library would only be part of any solution we offered.  Same for discussions and live ILT - part of the solution. I personally love video and use it for things quick things like fixing a zipper on my laptop bag. So, the first Guild Academy offering was a 30-day software training  course on Articulate Storyline held last month. We ran it as a pilot course. The training involved four live, interactive two-hour sessions (via Adobe Connect) led by a top-notch instructor who is also a Storyline SME and practitioner (the amazing Ron Price at Yukon Learning). It included a host/producer. I chose not to record the live sessions because we felt it was important for people to be able to experience live feedback while they are actually DOING something with the software. My experience is that people are too busy and many will opt for watching a recording later (or not). Temptation gone. We also used a cloud-based knowledge sharing platform (Bloomfire) that plays well on mobile devices and that also has social elements necessary for people to share, discuss, ask or answer a question, and access resources at any time from anywhere . Resources included recorded video tutorials the instructor posted after the live sessions along with assignments where you could focus on application. There were also many job aids and actual Storyline files containing examples which helped me a great deal in comparing my work. Imagine then my reaction to this email which came from an email about the course: I think your prices are way too high. I’ll wait for the training to come out on . Hey dude. You get what you pay for. Maybe a couple hours of video tutorials is good enough for you. I don’t think it’s going to get most people to the mastery level. And you know what? The pilot course ended weeks ago but the conversations continue in Bloomfire. I feel good about how this pilot turned out and am excited about the next. We are adding Cameo, a reinforcement technology tool to the mix for the next course. There are just a couple of spots left for the next Basic session. I’d love to hear your thoughts on how people master new software at your organization. Next up is a pilot for our Advanced Storyline offering.

What’s your earliest memory of school? Mine is the school bus. Of course this "memory" might not be a true memory but me internalizing my mother’s story of her four-year old girl who was so small she had to board the bus knees first. She told it many times - mostly for encouragement or as a reminder of an independence streak (apparently, I didn’t look back). True memory or just true-ish, that act of climbing the stairs vs. walking them has become symbolic. It’s volunteering for a promotion even though the boss was nasty piece of work, running a long race without training at all, being a foreign exchange student without being fluent in the language, giving a keynote address, moving somewhere blindly, and to a lesser extent traveling alone (although I can maneuver the plane’s stairway now, I can barely get that damn carry-on in the overhead). Climb and don’t look back and appreciate those lower steps is what I got out of a nice post titled  One Rung At A Time by Andrew Wittman. He’s writing about a nutritional plan which isn’t related to my work at all but his words really resonated with me based on what I’m doing now - developing The Guild Academy. I think many of us in learning and development are trying to climb as we try new things and adapt to the changing workplace. After the first two rungs, you are far enough off the ground to start thinking about not going any higher, and you aren’t high enough up the ladder to experience greatness in your life.  These lower level rungs are where most folks stop ascending, get jittery, and descend back to mediocrity. - Andrew Wittman Never settle for mediocrity. Look ahead and look up.

I had the pleasure of attending a speech by Hillary Clinton a few weeks ago. One phrase she used was "evidence-free zone" and I couldn’t help but think about it in the context of the L&D industry. Here’s what Clinton said: "Increasingly, we have emphasized scorched earth over common ground. Many of our public debates are happening in what I like to call an evidence-free zone, where ideology trumps data and common sense." - Hillary Clinton, Hamilton College I can’t count how many times I’ve cringed when someone stands in front of a group and says "…organization’s should.." or "organization’s need to.." while knowing that they work for exactly *one* organization. I’ve cringed at models that aren’t models at all or when models meant for one thing are lifted and used for something else entirely - bastardized. I’ve cringed when just *one* research study was relied on as absolute fact. Interestingly, when challenged with questions like "can you give some examples?" or "is there any research that supports what your saying?" the ideologue can turn combative and defensive and the questioner will be viewed the villain. Think Eric Cartman…Respect my Authoritah! Then watch them circle the wagons. This is why I liked Reuben Tozman’s opening comments at DevLearn last week in Las Vegas. He challenged people to not be passive observers at the conference but challenge each other and speakers and shape what happens next. How do you do this in your daily work? You should know something about the subject if you’re looking to engage in a meaningful dialogue. Having some basis for asking for evidence will more likely give you the results you’re looking for. For example, if you’re trying to create a more collaborative learning environment but know that openness is a problem in your organization, you might want to ask for specific examples of what other organizations are doing to create a more open environment. Or you might want to ask for links to any research or sources indicating why collaboration and openness is good/not good for organizations. Don’t be afraid to ask direct, non-confrontational questions: What methods do you use? Why did/didn’t that work? What would you do differently/the same? Where do you get the information you rely on to make decisions? Don’t  make your default deception. It’s hard to do today when art of verification is slipping. Trust and then verify. You don’t want to spend money are a big initiative just because someone stood up in front of a groups and said "organizations should do this…" You owe it to your organization to gather the evidence.  

A guest post on VB Business titled Coming 2014: a smarter, interconnected you identified four changes to keep an eye on next year. The last paragraph under the first  prediction says: …a new era of social experiences around activities that were previously done individually; those experiences will no longer be consumed in isolation, but in a living, breathing network. The writer doesn’t give any examples of the specific types of activities that will no longer be done individually but this prediction made me wonder about the loss of what I would call healthy isolation - the act of contemplating, reflecting, or just processing things alone. I’m not talking about the type of isolation discussed in Bowling Alone - how we are becoming disconnected from one another and how social structures have disintegrated. That I agree is problematic. I’m talking about the good type of alone. Sadly enough, I’m actually having a hard time thinking about what I do consume in isolation. Yes, I would consider checking in on FourSquare while on top of a mountain I just climbed alone.  Yes, I would consider taking a picture of leaves falling while walking in the woods alone and posting it on Instagram.  What do we lose when we do that? Is it insignificant compared to what we gain? I don’t think it is. My goals for 2014  now includes some healthy isolation.

Started by Jeremiah Owyang in 2010, today is Community Manager Appreciation Day - a day to say thanks! I’ve been a "part-time" community manager for the past six months supporting the Bloomfire communities that supplement Guild Academy live online courses. I was reflecting on the role of community manager and ran across this slide presentation from The Community Roundtable on ‘the dark side of community management.’ According to the eBook, a result of discussion among members, the biggest challenges community managers face: Lack of or limited resources Lack of executive support. Resistance to social technology in an organization. In support of this appreciation day here is a great slide deck from TheCR Network with strategies to avoid burnout associated with community management. The Dark Side of Community Management from The Community Roundtable

If you’re in the profession of learning & development you would no doubt select "TRUE" to the following statement if it was presented as a test question: We know that instruction, when spaced over time, produces substantial learning benefits (i.e., better retention) than instruction delivered at one-time. (follow that link to a great paper by Will Thalheimer - worth your time) That said, it seems there are still a fair amount of one-time events being developed. One course. One class. One workshop. One time. At the eLearning Guild Academy, I work with experienced, professional instructors so when they’re developing courses I find they naturally support their live sessions with activities and enriching resources spaced over the duration- ideally using a students actual work projects. Because most of our courses are virtual, I have had to search for technology that can support our top-notch instructors’ efforts. I’ve found that selecting the ‘right’ technology is less of a daunting task when you realize there really is no ONE right platform. The platform must suit the activities. Yet many still have a  desire to find the holy grail of learning platforms.  They seek rather than search. Seeking suggests you’ll find what you’re looking for. When you search you’re looking for something…not necessarily finding "it." We need to always be in search mode. Of course it’s not easy continuously searching for platforms and then supporting those platforms. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it though. For Guild Academy courses we use one of two of our virtual classroom platforms - either Adobe Connect 9 or Cisco WebEx Training Center (sometimes both for our train-the-trainer virtual classroom courses). We supplement with either Bloomfire or LearningStone. We use Cameo too for our Articulate Storyline courses to provide scenario-based reinforcement after training. This is powered by Cameo and supports our Articulate Storyline courses. It can be considered a tool for subscription learning. Our use of platforms is like a tapas bar for learning : )  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Elemaki Because we use multiple trainers located worldwide and have new groups of learners worldwide for each session, I need platforms that are easy to use. If I have to provide a lot of training on how to use a training platform, I’m out. I wanted instructors and students to be able to get in, get out, and not be frustrated. There’s a certain discomfort using any new platform but it shouldn’t be overly frustrating. "If something is hard to use, I just don’t use it as much." - Steve Krug’s wife in "Don’t Make Me Think" For the virtual classroom, our instructors use the platform that best supports their planned interactivities like chat (group and private), downloading and uploading files, sharing screens, collaborating on whiteboards, breaking up into separate ‘rooms’, application sharing, use of video, etc. (Note: We have a course that, among other things, helps you compare platforms.) Ditto for the supplemental platforms. Pick the best tool for the job. We started using Bloomfire for our first software training courses. They are based in Austin, Texas and have been around since 2010. I used the platform in an action learning project while at Bersin & Associates. While Bloomfire is not designed to support instructor-led training (it’s marketed as web-based knowledge management software) it can be adapted for it. There are some things I really like about Bloomfire: The ability to record from within the platform via a web cam without additional software. This has proven valuable for a student to receive feedback on something (like their facilitation skills) or to record a welcome video before a course starts. The above is an example of a welcome video recorded by Dr. Pooja Jaisingh who teaches our Adobe courses. The ability to upload any type of file of any size. This has proven valuable for uploading work created with a tool like Articulate Storyline or Adobe Captivate. The instructor is able to provide feedback on your actual work. For example, a .story file is shared below in one of our Articulate Storyline courses. Easy to use. Because we have different independent instructors for each course and a new group of mixed students for each session of a course, we need something that was relatively intuitive. I’ve found that instructors and students have been able to use the platform with limited support. Group announcements and ask/answer questions. We don’t use a traditional LMS where someone can login and see their courses and course access information. We’re able to use Bloomfire to send mass announcements and answer quick questions about the course logistics, content, and activities. Social features. Students can easily come together in this platform with properly designed activities requiring threaded discussions (and threaded within a thread). It’s easy to follow others, receive notifications, high-five good responses, upload assignments for feedback, and share LinkedIn profiles for continued conversations after the course concludes. Branding. Because Bloomfire is outside of the eLearning Guild’s website, it was important to be able to customize the appearance. I used the same banners and logos we use on our website. The navigation is much different but at least there’s some continuity between sites. Mobile support. I like Bloomfire’s mobile app. I can’t imagine using a platform today that doesn’t support on-the-go learning. I’ve answered quick questions and viewed videos and discussions from the comfort of my couch. Managing a community built around a course isn’t a one-time thing either - you must be available when help is needed and this mobile app makes it easier. They offer a free trial. Private or public. I like that I can use this for private courses and, if desired, for public use. As much as I like Bloomfire, it isn’t designed for supporting instructor-led training so it can get kind of messy for some programs. My search mode led me to LearningStone. LearningStone is actually designed for supporting instructor-led training so we started using it for many of our courses when Bloomfire wasn’t the best fit. There are many things I really like about LearningStone.  Clean interface, easy to use. As I mentioned above, we have different instructors for each course and a new group of mixed students for each session of a course. I’ve found that instructors and students have been able to use LearningStone with very limited support. Attentive to our needs. LearningStone is a brand spanking’ new platform, the brainchild of internet and learning entrepreneurs Michiel Klønhammer and Sjoerd Boersma who are based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. While we needed almost no real support, when we did these guys were on it. Like immediately. They even did some tweaking to fit our needs and made the product better. I like this in a technology partner. The ability to organize and structure content in a timeline. I think this is what really sets this platform apart. It’s logical and simple. The example below comes from Megan Torrance’s Agile Project Management course. Social timeline. This platform has a Facebook-like wall that allows for ongoing messaging. Lots of "I found this…". I really feel like I’m part of the group and can see people making great connections this way- both with peers and the instructor. Reuse of course timelines. Once an instructor has organized their course, they can easily reuse the same timeline…or tweak it. What a time saver. Public and private feature. I like that I can set up my home page for anyone to see and then allow people to access the course group to which they belong. I can actually have something of substance there and I’m sure some trainers or training groups could actually use it as a webpage. Support for spaced learning activities and materials to support live sessions. The example below comes from Dr. Catherine Lombardozzi’s Designing Environments for Learning course. Video and resource integration. We’ve been able to upload external content like YouTube videos and our own content including videos, images, documents, etc. Free version is available. Overall, this is a very affordable platform. Calendar. When you don’t use a central LMS you have to really on your calendar to keep track of course meeting times and assignment due dates. I like the ability to subscribe to a calendar. Language support. I think 10 or so which is important when serving and international audience. Support for surveys. I like that this is integrated saving me from using an independent survey tool. Admin side is easy to use. Sometimes we overlook clunky administration. No clunkiness here. You organize members by just dragging their picture around. Love. I’m really happy with the variety of tools we’ve been able to use. We’re not locked in and can be agile enough to make changes based on what the instructor needs. Keep searching my friends and know that you’ll never find the ONE learning technology to meet all your needs. Like tapas, you need more.

As every scuba diver knows, panic is your worst enemy: when it hits, your mind starts to thrash and you are likely to do something really stupid and self-destructive. - Daniel Dennett, Philosopher To a lesser extent, it’s like that feeling I get walking through a store full of crystal and china. I think suddenly I’ll start flailing my arms around and break everything. Aaahhhh what have I done! Story time. Over 15 years ago (!!!) I developed a fear of running out of air after losing the ability to breath during a supposedly simple, yet botched, routine medical procedure. This fear essentially put the kabbash on scuba diving for me, something I enjoyed doing. End of story time (it was a short story). So, naturally we planned yet another vacation to Grand Cayman, a popular scuba destination. Hmmm. I wrote about failed scuba training  three years ago yet here I was again.What to do? In preparation I tried to put on scuba gear again - in the safety of a 12-foot pool at the YMCA. But I couldn’t do it. I was irrational and freaked out just by the very act of putting a breathing regulator in my mouth and sticking my head under water. I felt like a failure. I could swim, why not scuba dive? What the hell? Well, I realized the only way I was going to get over this was to actually expose myself to real-life diving again. I had to build resilience. Luckily my husband was thinking this too and eased me into it. He’s a gem and apparently has little regard for his own underwater safety. Either that or he has tremendous confidence in his ability to save me from self-destructing in 20 feet of water near the shore. We went for dinner at a popular shore dive spot and saw people that looked just like me diving all smiles and thumbs up. The next night we went for drinks at the same spot and watched the sunset and people night diving. After we got home that night I mentioned that it might be fun to go to that spot early in the morning and I could try to dive while it was really quiet. We wouldn’t tell the kids…just go. It felt safe to fail. That’s me in the picture up above. Thumbs up. Smiling-ish. I was so nervous I forgot to take my shirt off. Luckily it was not dry clean only. Lacking resiliency can be a problem at work too. Especially when learning something new. Today, resilience seems to be a necessity for us to do our jobs well. It seems people question their methods and approaches continually. Things are changing too fast. Failure lurks around every corner. The ability to see failure as a form of feedback is one factor that makes someone resilient. I think we should make a point to expose ourselves - and others - to potential failure. It’s OK to fail. We’ll learn something in the process.

I know that online learning is not the same as reading a newspaper article or watching news online (or at least I hope not) but I have always been interested in the similarities of two of their associated professions  - instructional designer and journalist - especially how they are evolving; presenting meaningful content that elicits less passive and less controlled behaviors. When it comes right down to it, both instructional designers and journalists are responsible for putting content on screens - just with different objectives (or at least I hope so). Three similarities (or challenges if you like) caught my eye this week while consuming "news." They strike me as key to the evolution of L&D. 1.) Recognition of society’s dwindling attention span. The Daily Show’s "Less is More" content is video clips of "recent episodes tailored for the Internet’s attention span." One Episode in One Minute they call it. One minute. It’s all we have time for. I’ll be trying to do the same with video content that is around one-hour - whittle it down to meaningful segments that are less than 3 minutes in length. Maybe that’s too long. Supplemental content and enrichment activities will be needed (obviously) to accomplish the learning objectives. The Daily Show gives you the option of taking a deeper dive by watching a particular segment in its entirely or the whole show. One 22 minute show broken down several ways. What skills are needed? Likely a hybrid mix of instructional designer, content curator, project manager, and content developer. (Have I left some skills out?) 2.) Recognition of our society’s obsession with the now - this minute, this second. Something I write here will automatically post to Twitter and someone will favorite it or share it immediately. My narcissistic self says thanks. But it will only be good for a minute, maybe a few hours at the most. It will be picked up and mixed up with other news of the day in people’s daily papers and aggregators. Then it’s gone. Old news. But since it was shared, it’s good right? Right? What skills are needed? Some include understanding the technology that will get the content in front of people in as many ways as possible and good content curation skill - the ability to identify what’s relevant and good. What have I missed? 3.) Recognition of the growing passiveness associated with the quality of content. Here’s an entertaining, but NSFW (lot of bleeps and mentions of things like side boob), segment from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart that includes a bunch of journalism students and former editor Neetzan Zimmerman from that news aggregator/blog Gawker ("Today’s gossip is tomorrow’s news"). I’m not proud of the fact that I click on Gawker headlines on my Facebook feed. Increasingly when I do so I feel like I’m wasting my life, wasting my time. Defeated. Nothing accomplished. The headline made me do it (click)! Ruth Bader Ginsburg Endorses the Whole "Notorious R.B.G." Thing > I clicked on that. I think RBG is one cool lady. In the segment, Zimmerman says, "If a person is not sharing a news article then it is, at its core, it’s not news. Nowadays, it’s not important that the story’s real; the only thing that really matters is that people click on it." An education in journalism, he says is not worth anything unless you’re learning how to craft headlines for the viral web. Of course, that’s Gawker. There is quality reporting out there, you just have to find it. Of course someone has to create that quality content before the aggregators will then pick up - ultimately making more money than the creator. You can easily make an argument that this is stifling quality writing. That’s a different discussion. The Daily Show Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook Is content only as good as its shareability? Maybe for driving people to a website, yes. What about online learning? Platforms host content that can be ranked, rated, and shared. It doesn’t mean the highest quality content is being driven to the top. We need to recognize our challenges and develop the skills that will help recognize quality content because there’s just too much bad content out there. Thoughts?