“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.”
Seneca
The new year is off to a good start and I’m excited about some upcoming conference talks and some podcasts that will be appearing soon. Watch this space. Speaking of podcasts, I’ve been binging the Hubermanlab podcast which discusses science and science-based tools for everyday life. So much awesome stuff including a number related to learning.
Thanks for reading! Happy Friday!
What I’m Listening to: I’m feeling a little nostalgic this morning with this playlist of music from my college days at the dawn of the 90s.. a loooong time ago.
.
Last week’s most clicked item:
Online Learning Can Be Engaging and Effective
.

.
Tiny Lesson: Google Search Operators
This is a throwback to the very first newsletter I ever sent which was almost 15 years ago. These simple, yet powerful search operators are still valuable to know and can help you find what you’re looking for much more efficiently. You can find an even more complete list here. Did you already know all of these?
https://clearleft.com/posts/google-search-operators-and-syntax-for-ux-desk-research
.
The Eighty Five Percent Rule for Optimal Learning
When we fail to do something, our attention levels increase. That increase can be leveraged to heighten learning capacity on subsequent attempts. Scientific findings suggest that setting the level of challenge to one where you make errors ~15% of the time is ideal for learning. (Via @hubermanlab)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-12552-4
.
Why We Should Learn in Public
“When you publish ideas, you create your own “Serendipity Vehicle” — a magnet for ideas and people and opportunities from potentially every corner of the globe. If your ideas resonate with people, people will discover you and bring you unexpected opportunities. They’ll open doors you never knew existed.”
Learning in outloud like this connects you with like-minded people and attracts intelligent audiences along with unexpected opportunities.
https://medium.com/glasp/why-we-should-learn-in-public-aa3c5d3b9249
.
An E.A.S.Y Framework for Creating Strong Content
https://contentfolks.com/easy-content-framework/
.
Morph Book: A Collection of Examples
If you’ve done much work in PowerPoint you’re probably familiar with the power of the Morph transition. (If your not, you’ll definitely want to dig into this one!) Reprezent has assembled a variety of different Morph examples illustrating how you can leverage them in your slide decks. (NOTE: Click the menu in the top-right to get started)
https://morphbook.reprezent.ua/en/morph/
.

- Using failures, movement & balance to learn faster on the Huberman Labs podcast
- Should learning be entertainment? on the Mind Tools podcast
- A round up of interesting educational research from 2021 on the EdTech Takeout podcast

- Scan&Paste for Office 365: A Quick Way to Insert Images & Scanned documents from your phone
- Briefcake is a way to get updates from your favorite websites via a daily email – like RSS for email
- Uteach is an online platform you can use to start teaching online in no time
- blixel is an online marketplace for inclusive stock media by creators from diverse and marginalized communities
- Notion website template pack

- Learning & Development Conference – February 2nd
- Suncoast ATD – February 23, 2022
- TICE Online – March 22-24, 2022
- PACT – Professional Portfolios May 2022
If you’re enjoying this newsletter, I’d love it if you shared it with a friend. You can send them here to sign up.
Want more? Follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn.