Every month, Microassist’s Learning Dispatch newsletter features commentary by our own Senior Learning Architect Kevin Gumienny. Each edition also features learning and development articles and blogs curated across the web. We have gathered his This Month in Learning (TMIL) June, July and August articles to add to your “must read” list.
TMIL August
Is it finally the time when augmented reality will enter the world of training? According to the New York Times, Microsoft and Kenworth are exploring the possibilities. (If you’re looking for inspiration for using virtual reality instead, check out Joshua Barone’s article on virtual reality and opera.)
At the Harvard Business Review, Edward Chang and a host of co-authors add their voices to the discussion about whether diversity training actually works (their verdict: in the way it’s supposed to, no; but it does have some unexpected benefits).
Jaclyn LeDuc at 3Play Media points to a study that indicates students find both captions and interactive transcripts helpful when learning.
If you plan to make your training accessible (and you really should), and you don’t use a screen reader, testing with screen reading software can seem particularly daunting. Jessica Jordan’s introduction to screen reader testing for sighted developers can be pretty helpful.
Personalized learning is all the rage in K-12 education. But what is it, how does it work, and is it effective? At the New Yorker, E. Tammy Kim has some answers (but mostly more questions).
Have you designed—or are you thinking about designing—an email-based course? Check out Really Good Emails for inspiration.
Have you been asked to make sure that your training conforms to a readability formula like Flesch-Kincard or the SMOG index? Caroline Jarrett and Janice “Ginny” Redish at UX Matters argue that you shouldn’t, and also give advice on what you should do instead.
As I was reading Craig Mod’s marvelous meditation on fast software, I couldn’t help but think about the programming aspects of elearning. Are we making it as speedy as possible?
For learning professionals working from home, Ronda Kaysen at the New York Times has advice about creating a home office.
Ah, data. I love it. Hands-down one of the best ways to figure out what really works when it comes to training. Data is unbiased. It is outside of opinion. It is fact. Or is it? Gerry McGovern has some thoughts… and some cautions.
TMIL July
Paul A. Kirschner and Mirjam Neelan have been arguing for the importance of direct instruction (as opposed to learning from experience) for some time now. They’ve now expanded support of the thesis with an intense discussion of the importance of prior knowledge in gaining new knowledge.
At Fast Company, Monica Lueder gives a nice, short overview of how to create an effective presentation. Useful for all kinds of visual design including, well, elearning.
Last year, Starbucks closed its doors for anti-bias training; this year, Sephoa closed its doors for an inclusion workshop. Amber Cabral notes three things that these kinds of events need to do to be successful. Does this help the training you’re designing?
Some jobs are just boring. Do you fix the worker through training or redesign the job? At Harvard Business Review, Sharon K. Parker, Daniela Andrei, and Anja Van den Broeck argue that you should do the latter, but too often people do the former.
Do you test whether users who have vision-related disabilities can take your training? You should. This might help: Vedran Arnautovic shares four things his team learned from usability testing sessions with blind users.
Online education hold the promise of university courses available throughout the world. At the New York Times, Karin Fischer takes a look at how that promise is fairing in Africa.
Can virtual reality be used to promote empathy? At Fast Company, Alex Pastenack explores the insight that training delivered through virtual reality might give to both police officers and the community.
Do you design data as part of the training you develop? You might want to take a look at Google’s six rules for great data design.
What about sound? Also from Google, their new Material Sound guidelines discuss the effective use of sound and silence.
To wrap up, how about some inspiration? The Getty Research Institute’s online exhibit, “Bauhaus: Building the New Artist,” explores the 100-year anniversary of the founding of the art and design school. The three interactive experiences are a nice bonus.
TMIL June
David Bryant Copeland makes an argument in favor of Brutalist web design. Should we consider Brutalist elearning?
On its blog, Softchalk offers inspiration through its lesson challenge. The samples showcase a more straightforward approach to elearning than is often seen.
Stanford News introduces QuizBot, a chatbot that teaches.
Perri Klass at the New York Times points out that, when it comes to health, motivational interviewing seems much more effective than finger-wagging. Is there insight to be gained regarding training techniques?
Cathy Moore argues that the real job of an instructional designer is to save the clients from themselves.
At the Work-Learning Research blog, Annette Wisniewski shows us the real-life effects of using a better smile sheet.
What can you learn from an app? Eric Ravenscraft at the New York Times argues that apps are better for teaching some things than others.
Harvard Business Review, Allison Williams, Acacia Parks, and Ashley Whillans argue that online training can be an effective way of helping people to develop resilience.
In University Affairs, Navneet Alang explores the promise and perils of learning analytics.
What’s more important for effective training, good content or ease of use? Or, perhaps a better question might be, where does the best balance lie? Fred Wilson at his blog AVC shares thoughts on Netflix and Disney that might give some insight.
Elearning is, in large part, about visual design; so are maps. When it comes to making elearning accessible to those with disabilities, can elearning learn anything from efforts to make maps accessible?
Contact our Learning Developers
Need to discuss developing e-learning? Creating curriculum for classroom training? Auditing and remediating e-learning for accessibility? Our learning developers would be glad to help.