To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose unto heaven. ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1 When people talk about great achievements in self-directed learning, they often cite examples from extreme sports enthusiasts or intense hobbyists. These voracious learners read up on the subject in any way they can. They take lessons from [...]
Annie Murphy Paul’s new book, The Extended Mind: The power of thinking outside the brain, is an enlightening exploration of how we use extra-neural resources to “focus more intently, comprehend more deeply, and create more imaginatively.” Drawing from theories and research around embodied cognition, situated cognition, and distributed cognition, Paul explains and illustrates the ways [...]
This is a working out loud story about building a game for use in a workshop. It’s a long one, so grab a beverage and a snack before you dive in. I would not have guessed the turns this project took, so I hope sharing it will help others in their game development adventures – [...]
The future belongs to those who learn. Never has that been more true. It's cliche to say the world is changing fast, but just look around. The coronavirus pandemic has forced rapid change in our work, in our day-to-day activities, and even in the way we organize and run our lives. And - asked to [...]
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” That classic Dickensian opening line perfectly summarizes the state of L&D in 2020. The pandemic has generated immediate learning needs and many L&D professionals have responded admirably using tools and techniques that seem custom-made for rapid response in a social-distanced environment. We’ve helped [...]
In times of change, learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. ~ Eric Hoffer These are certainly times of change. The world before no longer exists, and the world to come is being enacted into existence every minute of the day. We [...]
Among the many topics coming up in professional conversations these days is a desire to strengthen the learning culture in our organizations. We want to create an environment in which people freely and deeply learn, an environment that creates knowledge and skill as well as passing it on, and an environment that supports the organization’s [...]
Do you ever stop to think just how much you need to know to be an effective learning professional? Like every other complex field (think: medicine, the law), it’s daunting to stay on top of a constantly shifting and expanding body of knowledge. What can hard-working practitioners do to continuously deepen their knowledge base – [...]
“This is how I would have you write your life: in action. It is not enough to intend or consider, you must choose to act, often and ongoingly.” ~ Twyla Tharp After the hectic rush of year-end, it’s time to take a deep breath and refocus. Opening the page on a fresh calendar seems an [...]
Employee Learning Week is next week, December 2-6, 2019. Wait! What?! Employee Learning Week is an annual celebration advocated by the Association of Talent Development (more here). I know, I know, it’s kinda like a greeting card holiday, tucked into early December and easy to miss. But wouldn’t it be lovely to use the event [...]