The Weekly Learning RoundUp - Edition 4
Welcome to the fourth edition of The Weekly Learning Roundup. We're here after a long break. As a learning enthusiast, I'm curating a selection of the most interesting and thought-provoking discussions that have been taking place in the learning community over the past week or two on LinkedIn.
Whether you're a seasoned learning professional, a curious learner, or just someone interested in the latest trends and ideas in education, this newsletter will provide you with valuable insights, practical tips, and engaging discussions on a wide range of topics.
So, join me as we explore the ideas and conversations that are shaping the future of learning.?#TheWeeklyLearningRoundup .
From the latest developments in online learning and instructional design to the challenges and opportunities facing the modern workplace, including AI, this edition covers it all.
Interesting Learning Conversations
Karl Kapp asks us to prioritize learning outcomes over flashy design in eLearning to ensure learners don't become overwhelmed and actually learn from the content.
In this two-part article, Mirjam Neelen & Paul A. Kirschner discuss the concept of desirable difficulties and how the conditions of learning that create challenges and slow the rate of apparent learning, tend to optimize long-term retention and transfer.
We want to make learning engaging and fun for our learners. But, does the "fun" aid the learning experience or detract from it? Bianca Woods shares an article about how "seductive details can capture students’ interest, but also distract them from the important topics of the lesson."
As L&D professionals, our goal should be to develop skills and not to create content. And that's what Egle Vinauskaite urges us to do: we should be building foundational knowledge, providing opportunities to practice skills, receiving quality feedback, calibrating challenges, and providing support for continued skill development.
4 Shifts for Better Learning - Srishti Sehgal offers 4 shifts that can help improve the way we learn: from adapting to structure to building structure, starting with the why instead of the what/how, being a unique learner instead of fitting into a mold, and focusing on applying knowledge rather than just acquiring it. Bonus: Habit Loops.
Is that possible? Here's Chris Hodgson with a working demo of a ChatGPT AI-powered chatbot system built inside Articulate Storyline 360, which allows for communicating with AI through eLearning activities and opens up creative opportunities for eLearning developers to trigger events and generate feedback during learning experiences.
Anamaria Dorgo has successful experience building communities of practice, and she shares some of the foundational principles that can guide the creation of these communities in your organization.
Yes, please. Here are some insights from Clark Quinn ( Upside Learning Solutions - A Division of Mitr ) to promote better learning retention and transfer.
In this newsletter, Dr Kuva Jacobs discusses 11 common psychological themes that arose in a recent discussion on gamification, along with examples of games that relate to each theme and questions for us to explore. The psychological themes include competitiveness and anxiety, curiosity, novelty and complexity, frustration, sense of achievement, imaginativeness, aesthetics, luck vs. skill, fun, humor, and purposefulness. Another excellent read featuring great contributions from the community and Kuva's wonderful insights.
Process-based discussions are always interesting because there's no one way to do it right. In this post, Dr Philippa Hardman provides a whistle-stop tour of her process. The post also contains links to additional resources.
Shirleen (Lin) Wong provides a short and succinct tutorial on the font shapes that are best avoided when using long paragraphs in eLearning. No. Don't use comic sans.
Brain Food
According to Ant Pugh , trying to become "the complete instructional designer" is impossible, as it is a fallacy to believe that one person can master all the skills needed in this field. Instead, it is important to be aware of one's limitations and communicate them effectively with clients and colleagues to work together and fill gaps.
Guy W Wallace talks about the importance of creating performance-based instruction tailored to a company's specific needs and stakeholder requirements, rather than generic content on topics.
Ajay Jacob raises some important questions in this post. While microlearning has its benefits, such as being cost-effective and ideal for performance support, it may not be appropriate for new or complex skill-building and can easily lead to meaningless information dumps. Additionally, with the rise of AI, microlearning may face disruptions in the future (or already).
Looking for a microlearning decision tree ? Heather Barry introduces this aid that covers "the most common scenarios to aid in quickly deciding if microlearning can or should be built into a training program."
Rick Jacobs ' post is directed towards those who use insensitive or dismissive language towards individuals on the Autism spectrum. The message emphasizes the importance of accepting individuals with Autism for who they are and not judging them based on societal norms.
Jess Almlie says that without a strategic approach to L&D, the risk of creating disjointed content and limiting long-term impact increases. Unless we want to be forever stuck being "order takers".
#18 Don't get cocky.
The success of your projects can be due to sheer luck, says Matt Ash , among other Learning Design Tips (20 gems in all).
Mike Taylor asks if there are any strategies, tactics, or ideas that you think would translate well to our field. It's an interesting conversation with multiple folks weighing in.
Here's a nice idea and example from Joseph Diaz on those pearls that come your way.
In this video from The eLearning Designer's Academy , Tim Slade makes a persuasive argument about why instructional design alone doesn't make a good eLearning experience. It also requires good graphic design, visual design, and user interface design. And one could argue that these three elements serve as the means to implementing Mayer's multimedia principles.
AI - Opportunity or Challenge?
Microsoft 365 Copilot is here and it's bound to shake up office suite productivity. How does it work though? Mike Tholfsen shares.
领英推荐
GPT4 was released this week
Several companies have been working behind the scenes prepping for launch day to show off their integrations. And, among these were two directly related to learning: Duolingo and Khan Academy. David Kelly posted an article about the evolution of Duolingo's AI system - Birdbrain , which culminated (or has it just begun) in the recent adoption of GPT4 to create a personal virtual tutor/conversation buddy within the app. Luke Hobson, EdD shared a video about Khan Academy's integration of GPT4 to create an always-available virtual personal tutor.
With the rise of AI solutions in e-learning production, the demand for high-quality courses has never been greater. In this post, John Hinchliffe predicts that the skill of "finessing" will become essential for refining and perfecting course content to make it as effective and impactful as possible.
Why not ask AI for an answer? And that's what Donald Clark did. In summary, the bot says that as AI technologies advance, there will be new roles and opportunities in the learning and development industry, such as AI-based learning designers, AI chatbot trainers, AI education policy advisors, and more. These emerging roles will require professionals to develop new skills and collaborate with AI systems.
Interesting and thought-provoking post from Aleksandr Tiulkanov about the considerations of using GPT4 in your day-to-day work. Especially in jobs that require significant oversight and detailed analysis gained from interacting with other humans.
Wonderful post from Dr Markus Bernhardt asking us to examine our own biases and do better before we gather our pitchforks to hunt down AI. The solution is not to criticize the mirror but to change the real world, including the training data. We can make society more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. This is an opportunity to realize how much work there is to do and to get to work on improving the real world.
I like Sam Rogers ' take on the whole "GPT4 will decrease the quality of content." He, on the other hand, argues that GPT4 will not bring down the ceiling; it will instead raise the floor, bringing poor and mediocre writing to at least an average standard. By decreasing errors and inconsistencies, we can focus on where we want to go and keep refining toward what's truly worth doing on a grander scale.
Resources
If you're pivoting to instructional design, and looking for an ID certification/course, I invite you to check out?this website?which contains useful info on various certifications. Additionally, you'll find job search websites, L&D books/podcasts, and other helpful resources.?
Jeff Batt 's tutorial demonstrates an easy way for eLearning developers to upload and host their courses using GitHub and Vercel without complex coding.
Want to know more about trauma-informed learning design? Shani Wende surfaced a special edition from The Journal of Applied Instructional Design focused on trauma-informed approaches in learning design , offering valuable resources on the topic.
Should you or should you not? Here's James Manning 's take on the subject and how to avoid "shiny object syndrome". When evaluating new software applications, it's important to have a set of criteria that the software must meet before trying it out and another set of standards before fully implementing it into one's workflow to avoid the Shiny Object Syndrome.
This is a slightly lengthy, yet interesting read from Eugene Bloom on role-plays or short sims. If you've read Clark Aldrich's books, you might enjoy this article as a recap of the key points. The article contains "tons of insights, groundbreaking ideas on what kind of training should be a new norm, and illustrative examples of Short Sims, scenes from them, and their structure."
Thanks to Nidhi Sachdeva, PhD for sharing this wonderful session by Amanda Nguy?n ?? during iDTX2023. Amanda also has some great graphic design tips on her youtube channel; check out the one on using graphics in Rise.
There is no silver bullet! Heidi Kirby, PhD expresses frustration with the narrative that there is one solution to learning and performance problems, and emphasizes that there are many interventions available beyond formal learning. Also in the post, a variety of interventions from Chapter 9 of Fundamentals of Performance Improvement.
Book Recommendations
Dr. Rachel Arpin shares her thoughts on the book, especially the section on daydreaming and how the discussion on shared experiences on public transportation sounds very relatable and intriguing. It's fascinating to consider the private thoughts and realities that each person carries with them, even in public spaces. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the book and your personal connection to the ideas presented.
That instructional designers are multi-disciplinary is not a secret. Robyn A. Defelice, talks about a new book for instructional designers who want to enhance their practice by drawing upon insights of other fields.
I'm currently reading Trustworthy AI by Beena Ammanath and I'd highly recommend the first two chapters for L&D folks who're currently working/experimenting with AI tools. This book comes with recommendations from several folks, including Loren Sanders, MBA, ACC,PHR,SCP,CPM, CPTM in this post .
I've been reading books on Perlego's library, which has a vast collection of L&D books. If you're curious, you can get a free trial for 7 days. And if you decide to sign up, you can get 3 months free on a paid membership using my referral link:?https://lnkd.in/e8-HeRbK . However, I'd recommend the annual subscription, which works out cheaper with the discount code ERASMUS (15% off).
Thank You
[May return to add more once I get through the other rabbit holes.]
Thank you for reading this edition of The Weekly Learning Roundup. If you found this week's edition useful, share it with a colleague who might find it useful as well.
Until next time, take care, stay safe, and happy learning.
Experienced Learning Designer | Technical Writer | 18 Years Driving Impactful Learning Solutions Worldwide | Tech-Enthusiast
1 年This is absolutely awesome and so helpful for everyone else. Thanks for compiling these resources!
Sales Enablement @ Vivint | Instructional Designer | Project Management | Design Thinking | ?? Book Club Host @ The L&D Collective | ??? Upcoming Podcast "Talk Learning with me"
1 年Wow! What a collection of valuable resources!! Thank you so much for featuring my post, really means a lot ???? Karthick Richard
Learn better. Develop stronger. Adapt faster.
1 年Glad you're back to it, Karthick! I like to read these -- even when I'm not in them ;)
Learning nerd, designer & researcher ??
1 年An amazing list of resources! Grateful to be featured here :)
Learning and Development | Storytelling
1 年In other news in the Learning Roundup, Karthick over here has written a mini book over the course of a Saturday afternoon ??. This is some solid work here; will take me a week or so just to digest it properly. And appreciate the shout-out as always!