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| February 2010 »
Few industry events are scheduled during the holiday season of late December and early January. But at this point, things are again kicking into high gear, so I thought it would be a good time to link back to my earlier posting from October 2008, titled "15 Tips for Making the Most of Learning Industry Conferences." For more good tips, see also the recent ASTD blog posting "How to Make the Most Out of the Expo."
I'd also like to draw attention to three major L&D industry events that Element K will be participating in during coming weeks.
Learning Technologies 2010
The Learning Technologies conference will be held at Olympia 2, London, from January 27-28, 2010. Now in its 11th year, it is billed as "Europe's leading showcase of technology supported workplace learning." It will have some 130 exhibitors, 60 free educational sessions, and some 3,000 visitors. It has a content-packed accompanying magazine -- definitely worth a look.
Element K will be in the exposition hall at booth 17, and we'd love for you to stop by! We'll have several demo sessions, with topics such as:
- How to Reduce Your Learning Management Costs With a Hosted LM
- vLabs: How to Deliver Real Experience within a Virtual Environment
- Beyond the Hocus Pocus: A Practical Approach To Building Blended Learning and a Learning Culture
For descriptions of these sessions, and to sign up for any of them, please visit our sign-up form page.
In addition, Andrew Tempest, Element K's Director of Learning Products Management, will be giving a presentation at Learning Technologies on the topic of "Challenges and Opportunities in Developing New Training Programs."
Be sure to visit our new website to meet our team and get valuable resources including whitepapers and case studies.
ASTD TechKnowledge 2010
This year's ASTD TechKnowledge Conference and Expo is being held in Las Vegas from January 27-29. This year's event once again features an outstanding lineup of speakers, as well as other features such as creation stations, tech intensives, and learning labs.
I will be attending this event, and will be speaking on Wednesday, January 27 from 1:30 - 2:45 p.m. on the topic of "Overcoming Obstacles and Objections to Using Web 2.0 in Organizations." In this session, I will be covering numerous "obstacles and objections" to the use of social learning tools in organizations, and provide valuable insights and tips on how to overcome these so you can move forward with the latest tools and approaches in your blended learning programs. In addition, I will be leading one of the Closing Session group discussions on the topic of Social Learning.
Training 2010
The annual event from Training magazine, this year's Training 2010 Conference and Expo, is being held in San Diego from February 1-3. Like the two events already mentioned, Training 2010 promises an outstanding learning experience due to its exceptional lineup of speakers and topics.
I will be also attending this event, and again will be presenting on the topic "Overcoming Obstacles and Objections to Using Web 2.0 in Organizations." (on Monday, Feb. 1 from 8-9 a.m.) In addition, I'll be presenting a brief Twitter Overview for L&D professionals later that day between 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. in the technology demo area.
Hopefully you are able to attend one or more of these outstanding industry events!
— Thomas Stone (Tom_Stone@elementk.com, and on Twitter @ThomasStone)
It's time for another edition of the Learning and Development Roundup! (See also previous editions at the archive page.)
Videos from recent L&D Industry Conferences
Did you miss some or all of the major conferences in the Learning and Development industry in the month of November? Well, the good news is that a few of these have made some video content available for free:
- Elliott Masie's Learning 2009 - Provided are videos of many of the "keynote" sessions. Great stuff!
- The eLearning Guild's DevLearn - Provided are a summary video of the event, plus a recording of the webinar delivered on Dec. 18th that highlights five of the 30 demos from DevLearn's "DemoFest."
- LearnTrends - Provided are nearly 20 videos from this online "virtual conference."
Looking Back on 2009
The December "big question" from ASTD's Learning Circuits blog was "What Did You Learn About Learning in 2009?" This has by now generated over a dozen response postings, including items from top industry bloggers such as Tony Karrer, Karl Kapp, Michael Hanley, and others.
And over at Tony Karrer's eLearning Learning site, his list "Hot Topics for 2009" and the many links to articles from throughout the year make for an interesting read. The top eight areas are:
- Twitter
- Social Media, Social Networks, Social Learning, and Informal Learning
- Google Wave
- SharePoint
- Video
- Mobile, Mobile Learning, and iPhone
- Changes in Design and Instructional Design and our Roles
- Webinars and Virtual Classrooms
Tony also provides a review of his predictions for 2009, and grades himself A-F on how he did for each.
Looking Ahead to 2010
Bersin & Associates has released their annual report, "Corporate Learning and Talent Management Predictions for 2010" (free, registration required). This includes 12 predictions, which Mr. Bersin summarizes at their blog here.
Bersin also posted in December on "Discussions with our Research Members: Five Topics to Watch for 2010" in which he described five big issues that they see emerging in 2010.
Jeanne Meister has also provided us with a top five, with her posting at New Learning Playbook titled "Five Words To Describe Corporate Learning in 2010." The five words are not a surprise (Social, Mobile, Collaborative, Engaging, Fun), but read her post for her insightful explanations for why she chooses each.
And finally, Jay Cross shares some words of wisdom for 2010, nearly two dozen classic quotes that he describes as follows: "The following ideas help me get out of the daily rut to renew my commitment to make the world a better place. Perhaps they’ll move you, too." A quick but very motivational read!
A New Journal
Late in 2009, a new and valuable resource joined the ranks of the many journals, magazines, and blogs available to L&D professionals. This new resource is a refereed journal named Impact: Journal of Applied Research in Workplace E-Learning, and it comes to you from ElNet, the E-learning Network of Australasia. All of the contents from the 200+ page inaugural issue are available for free download online, so take a look!
When Will 3D Virtual Worlds Really Take Off?
Koreen Olbrish shares some very sensible comments about 3D Virtual Worlds and when they will finally go mainstream for learning and other uses. Read her posting "Virtual Worlds 2.0…a few humble predictions."
The Latest Insights on Social Learning
Every day, more industry experts and bloggers speak and write about the importance of "social learning" and "enterprise 2.0" -- I've done so many times here at Element K Blog as well. Here are some of the recent highlights you don't want to miss:
- "Web 2.0 and Change Present Challenges to Many Learning Executives," by Rex Davenport. An interview with Jay Cross.
- "Come Together, Right Now" - Jay Cross' latest column in the December issue of Chief Learning Officer magazine.
- "Enterprise 2.0: A Parallel Meritocracy," by Venkatesh G. Rao and Janet Clarey in the Oct./Nov. issue of Elearning! magazine.
- "Using Social Media to Counter Budget Shortfalls," by David Coleman in the Oct./Nov. issue of Elearning! magazine.
- "Leverage Online Discussions," by Kendra Lee, on pg. 18 of the Oct./Nov. issue of Training magazine, where she provides six helpful tips.
- "Boomers 2.0," by Margery Weinstein, pgs. 48-50 of the Oct./Nov. issue of Training magazine.
- "Social Media and Networking Journey," a series of blog posts at Kevin Jones' Engaged Learning blog, where he covers a range of social learning tools.
Updates from Element K
As usual, I'll end this roundup posting with links to our newsletter service that we launched earlier this year. Each newsletter includes several articles of relevance to the Learning and Development field, as well as updates about Element K events and our latest product releases. You can see the latest newsletters here: November, December, and January.
— Thomas Stone (Tom_Stone@elementk.com, and on Twitter @ThomasStone)
This isn't a posting on "workplace learning today" as a topic, but rather a way of introducing any readers not familiar with the great group blog that goes by that name from Brandon Hall Research. The Workplace Learning Today blog is must reading for those in the Learning and Development industry, and should be one of the few blogs you read even if you think you only have time to read a small number of industry blogs -- it should be in your top five for sure.
I say that with certainty because of the type of blog it is and the value that the researchers at Brandon Hall bring to their readers. Rather than provide in-depth analysis or lengthy opinions on matters of concern to learning leaders, WLT focuses on "quick hits," on keeping you updated on all the news and happenings that matter to you as a learning professional. Very few significant happenings escape their collective eyes, so by subscribing to WLT, you can rest assured that you won't miss much.
Personally, I check their blog each day, by means of my personal iGoogle homepage. I have added a widget on this page that displays the WLT RSS feed that provides me linkes to their latest entries. I can generally tell from their entry titles if I'm interested enough to read their brief write-ups, and then from there if I'm interested enough to click through to whatever resource or article they are linking to.
Others might just include WLT as one of the many blogs they read via their favorite RSS reader, such as Google Reader. I recommend that you place WLT at the top of your feed list though, because they update it often and you are best off checking it several times a week.
Technobabble recently announced its Top Analyst Blogs for 2009. And congrats to Workplace Learning Today as it was rated third out of a field of 400 analyst blogs! Since starting the blog in August 2008, Brandon Hall analysts Janet Clarey, Gary Woodill, Tom Werner, and Richard Nantel have published more than 1,800 stories related to workplace learning and talent management. Keep up the great work!
— Thomas Stone (Tom_Stone@elementk.com, and on Twitter @ThomasStone)
As 2010 gets going, many in the L&D industry continue to face the job-search struggle. Many more will encounter a similar need this year or in years ahead, so I thought it might be helpful to provide a blog posting with some resources to aid your search. I'm not talking about the obvious "big and broad" sites for job hunting, places like Monster, CareerBuilder, and others, or the social networking sites, like LinkedIn, that can be so crucial during a job search. Rather, I want to share some sites and other resources that focus on just our Learning and Development field.
First off, many of the key organizations in our industry provide help for those searching for work or looking to further develop their careers. A few of these (with an emphasis on North America) include:
See also page 84 of the July T+D Magazine, "Know Your Value in the Marketplace," by Judy Estrin.
Another good resource is the salary data provided on page 24 of the October/November issue of Training magazine.
And my friend Mike Lally provides sage advice in his presentation on Using Social Media in Your Job Search.
And lastly, an interesting and perhaps, at times, humorous resource for you is this wiki of obsolete skills.
So those are just a few links that I hope will be helpful for those in the job hunt in the L&D industry. What key resources did I miss? Which organization sites and job banks are the best for Europe, Asia, and other areas of the world? What sites have you found helpful in your own job search or career development? Please provide good links in the comments to this post!
— Thomas Stone (Tom_Stone@elementk.com, and on Twitter @ThomasStone)
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