A lot of my work focuses on instructor-led training – whether in person or virtual. Over the past year, I’ve returned to elearning design as well. Just like a lesson plan is the cornerstone for helping me to organize all of my instructor-led thoughts into a coherent, engaging learning experience, I’ve found the elearning storyboard template to help me in the same way as I design tightly-focused, engaging elearning.
Continue readingFinding Gratitude in 2020
2020 has been one for the books. Very few people have been entirely unaffected by the events in our world over recent months. Notwithstanding, there have been some lessons learned this year, and just like any training, it is important to debrief what we can take away from this year.
This week on the Train Like You Listen podcast, the entire Endurance Learning team calls in for a special Thanksgiving podcast. We all take some time to reflect on how this year has affected us, what we have learned, and find some gratitude in what we have.
Continue readingBlogs as a Learning Tool
A few weeks ago I released a podcast about using podcasts in learning programs. To keep with such a “meta” theme, today’s blog post focuses on using blogs as part of a learning program.
While I’ve come to love (and sometimes hate) that writing a post every week forces me to stay on top of new developments in learning and development just so that I have something to write about, blogs can be used for more than a platform for individuals to write articles.
Continue readingPreparing Teachers to Train with Lisa Spinelli
On the Train Like You Listen podcast last week, we heard from Shermaine Perry-Knights on her journey from teacher to trainer. On this week’s podcast we dig further into this topic by talking to the person who wrote the book on it.
Lisa Spinelli took some time with us this week to talk to us about what she learned while writing her book, Teachers To Trainers. We take some time to dig into why teachers tend to move into training, how to build your skillset if you are a teacher looking to move into training, and what challenges to expect for professionals thinking about this move.
You should also check out the Teaching to Training group Lisa moderates on LinkedIn.
Continue readingExpand Your VILT Repertoire with Webex
In the 2020 Covid-era VILT platform showdown, organizations are choosing different platforms for their training departments for various reasons (cost, security, and available features, to name a few). Often times, Webex wins out as the platform of choice.
We’ve heard from trainers that learning the Webex platform can be overwhelming. And it is no surprise; Webex is a beast of a tool. Logging into Webex can feel like visiting a great ice cream parlor; there are so many choices that you just don’t know where to begin! Thank your lucky stars; the Trainer’s Guide to Webex has arrived!
Using the Trainer’s Guide to Webex
Upon logging into Webex, one might feel like there are a lot of buttons but not many features. More than likely, the features that you are seeking are indeed available on Webex – they simply need to be enabled. This is where the Trainer’s Guide to Webex comes in handy as a quick reference guide to utilizing all of your favorite training features via the Webex platform.
Webex offers trainers an expanded library of training tools including the ability to track participant attention, schedule and send welcome messages, lock your meeting (for security reasons), allow participants to take notes within the platform, share documents or handouts with ease, and even hide participants (so that they cannot see one another; perfect for meeting with multiple clients at once).
After becoming familiar with the platform, a trainer will find that they have access to expansive capabilities that other platforms don’t offer (or they ask you to pay a premium for)!
Another notable Webex feature is the ability to create multiple-question polls to function as a quiz or assessment. With the click of a button, a trainer can save participants’ answers for viewing after the session is over.
If you’ve been looking for some of these features, perhaps it’s time to download the Trainer’s Guide to Webex and take Webex for a trial run. If you have been utilizing Webex already, maybe it’s time to expand your training repertoire by adding a few of the functions described in the Guide to your next training session.
Download the Trainer’s Guide to Webex
Trainer’s Guides to Other Platforms
If Webex isn’t the platform for you, we hope you can benefit from one of these other platform training guides.
A Trainer’s Guide to Zoom
A Trainer’s Guide to GoToTraining
A Trainer’s Guide to Microsoft Teams
Develop Engaging Training Session for Webex
We built these Training Guides to help Soapbox users. With Soapbox, trainers can design sessions specifically for the features on Webex.
The Journey from Teaching to Training
Many of us found ourselves as trainers after a career that started in a different space. I started my career in technology, and gradually became a content expert. Eventually, I found my way to training, passionate about eLearning primarily based on my technology background. In fact, everyone at Endurance Learning came from a background that was not strictly training at one point in their career. It is endlessly fascinating to me to hear stories of how people become learning and development professionals. I have maybe met two people who started as and have always been in training.
On this week’s podcast, we talk to Shermaine Perry-Knights, author and Chief Learning Officer at Innovation Consultants of DeKalb, about her learning and development journey. Like many L&D professionals, Shermaine started as a K-12 teacher. She gives us some insight on why she made this move, and how she takes the lessons she learned teaching 7th grade Social Studies and applies it to her adult learners.
Continue readingAn L&D Professional’s Birthday Wish
Today is my birthday, and my wish for this year is that I get lots of presents. Since you’re just reading this now and not even Amazon’s same-day service will help you at this point, maybe you can give me a different kind of gift. For my birthday in this weird year of 2020, I’d love to get the gift of comments on today’s post. Specifically, I’d love the gift of knowing one thing – personally or professionally – that you’re thankful for this year.
I’ll start. Actually, since it’s my 45th birthday, I’ll share 45 things that I’m thankful for.
“But Brian, this is a column about L&D, instructional design and professional development… what does this have to do with any of that?”
I’m glad I asked. I’m a firm believer that work/life balance and mindful reflection are two essential elements to any professional development. Plus it’s my birthday, so you should do what I ask you to do.
Here are 45 things I’m thankful for…
Continue readingPodcasts in Training
As learning and development professionals, we are always looking for new ways to deliver content to our learners. One approach to this challenge is to consider how you like to have content delivered.
Podcasts are a great way to have content delivered. Many of us listen to daily news podcasts, enjoy stories or sports entertainment via podcasts, and even learn more about our own industry or other new and interesting things from our favorite podcasting service.
This week, Betty Dannewitz from If You Ask Betty joins us on our very own Train Like You Listen podcast to talk about how you can incorporate podcasts into your next training program.
Continue readingAre Online Conferences Worthwhile?
Last week I attended the Adobe MAX conference. I have wanted to attend this conference for years, but it is fairly expensive as conferences go. I am not a true graphic designer, so I have never been able to justify the cost. This year, Adobe offered this conference, free of charge, to anyone, anywhere in the world! The caveat obviously being that it was delivered 100% online. While I had some reservations about this format, I am elated to say that I got a lot out of this conference. Let’s take a look at what Adobe did right to make this online conference successful.
Continue readingThe Monsters We Don’t See
It is Halloween week! While this year’s Halloween will look different than previous years, one of the ways we can always connect is with stories. Sure, the medium may differ depending on the times, and we may not be gathered around a room, but podcasts and blogs are a great way to share spooky stories to keep us up after we binge on candy and prepare to watch scary movies in the comfort of our own homes. This year’s story is about monsters you may not be able to see on your own.
We face these monsters every day as training professionals. They cannot be tackled the same ways the stories of our past have taught us to tame mysterious beasts. They lurk right in front of us; on our computer screen, on our social media accounts, in our books. Staying home cannot protect us from these monsters! This week on the Train Like You Listen podcast, Mad Scientist Clark Quinn, Ph. D, Executive Director at Quinnovation, joins us to spot and fight the monsters that plague so many in our industry.