“Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space. Invite one to stay.”
Maya Angelou
Today I’m feeling a bit lighter and optimistic for the new direction that is starting here. Words matter and among others, these are a welcome contrast from what we’ve heard for far too long: “we shall write an American story of hope, not fear. Of unity, not division. Of light, not darkness. An American story of decency and dignity. Of love and of healing.”
Thanks for reading!
What I’m Listening to: Something lighter to match my mood today – soft pop hits.
Last week’s most clicked item:
How can you find time to design?
Principles for Remote Instruction

Tom Shearington shares some key takeaways for teaching online. You can find more educational professional development opportunities like this on the Uncommon Schools website.
3 Questions Answered by an L&D Giant: Patti Shank
Yet another in this fantastic series. Check out all of them in this p
L&D Job Series: Instructional Redesign

My friends and Columbus neighbors, Joe Suarez and Cara North are in the middle of a 4 part series on L&D jobs. You can find the first two episodes Advice for Job Seekers and Confessions of an ID Hiring Manager up now and be sure to subscribe over there so you don’t miss the next two.
https://instructionalredesign.com/
Why You Need to Try an Audio-First Workflow for Your Videos

See what Matt Pierce has to say about the advantages of an audio first workflow for creating videos. By recording the audio first, you have more flexibility and opportunities to control the pace of your video.
https://www.techsmith.com/blog/audio-first-workflow-video/
Talking Professional Development with Michelle Ockers

I enjoyed speaking with Michelle Ockers recently on the #LearningUncut Podcast as part of her new year mini-series on modern professional development approaches. We talked about how I find, curate and share high-quality resources about learning, technology and design in my weekly newsletter. I also share why and how I started the newsletter, my use of technology, and more. We discuss how this is my process for what Harold Jarche calls Personal Knowledge Mastery (PKM). This is what works for me. Your own practice may be different.
Even if you start with something small, there is tremendous value in having a practice that works for you to stay abreast of change. Even 10-15 minutes of reading three times a week will add up to something worthwhile for you.
A few other things just because I can.
Podcasts
Here are three podcast episodes from this week that are worth a listen:
- Beyond Learning with Harold Jarche on the Learning Hack podcast
- Women Talking About Learning: The Marketing One with Manja Horner and Natalie Ann Holborow
- The Future of Live Eventswith Brandon Edmonson on the Speaker Lab podcast
Tools, Tips & Resources
I recently passed 100 issues of my daily L&D Tech Toolbox newsletter. You can find those and subscribe here.
- Quick tip for emojiis anywhere, anytime: On Windows just hit WIN + . (period) and on Mac press control+command+space » BOOM! Emojiis on demand.
- Do you know about tab groups in Google Chrome? I didn’t and this is super helpful if you often have tons of browser tabs open at the same time.
- 26 Places To Find Beautiful Free Illustrations
- Spaceli — Turn Google Docs into a knowledge base
- Talium is a doc editor meets web builder. Create beautiful event pages, etc in the time it takes to send an email.
Where You Can Find Me
- CUNA IdeasFest – Learning Technology Trends & How to Start Using Them – January 26
- Learning Technologies Digital Experience 2021 – February 22
- Nashville ATD – Using Technology for Training – September 16
Interested in the things that didn’t make the cut here? Follow me on Twitter or connect with me on LinkedIn
If you’re looking for a helping hand or someone to speak at your event, let’s talk!
Speaking and Workshop Information Sheet.