Why Your 30-Minute Course Is Losing to a 60-Second Video

A learner opens their laptop on Monday morning. Before they've finished their first cup of coffee, they're facing dozens of unread emails, a handful of Teams notifications, back-to-back meetings, and a growing list of project deadlines. Somewhere in the middle of all that sits your carefully designed 30-minute eLearning course. Now ask yourself a simpleContinue reading "Why Your 30-Minute Course Is Losing to a 60-Second Video"

My Top 10 Learning Tools for 2026

It’s survey time again. Every year, Jane Hart asks people around the world to share the tools they use to learn. I always enjoy seeing the results. The tools change, but what interests me most is how people fit them together. Here is my list for 2026. These are not the newest or flashiest tools.Continue reading "My Top 10 Learning Tools for 2026"

Five Studies That Shaped My Thinking About Training

When training fails, our first instinct is often to add something. Another explanation. Another example. Another module. Maybe a quiz with three answers nobody could possibly get wrong. But what if content isn’t the problem? I recently reviewed 50 studies from psychology, behavioral science, and learning research. I chose them for their influence, historical value,Continue reading "Five Studies That Shaped My Thinking About Training"

The LinkedIn Feature Nobody Tells You About: How to Build a Feed of Only the People Worth Your Attention

You open LinkedIn, looking for one person's take on one topic. Twenty minutes later, you've read four unrelated hot takes, a humble-brag about a promotion, and an AI-generated poem about "leadership." The person you actually wanted to hear from? Buried three scrolls back, if you find them at all. That's not an accident. It's notContinue reading "The LinkedIn Feature Nobody Tells You About: How to Build a Feed of Only the People Worth Your Attention"

Stop Calling It Mandatory Training

An email lands in your inbox with the subject line Mandatory Annual Compliance Training—Complete by Friday. Before you open it, you already know the plot: a slow march through policy slides, a quiz designed to prove you were technically present, and perhaps a cheerful stock photo of coworkers pointing at a laptop. The course mayContinue reading "Stop Calling It Mandatory Training"

AI Literacy Isn’t a Tool Demo

A lot of AI training feels like a tour of a fancy new kitchen. Here’s the oven.Here’s the blender.Here’s the drawer full of tiny tools nobody understands.Good luck making dinner. That may help people find the buttons. It doesn't help them cook. And that is the problem with a lot of AI literacy training rightContinue reading "AI Literacy Isn’t a Tool Demo"

Attention Isn’t Given. It’s Spent.

Learners aren't losing the ability to pay attention. They're making rational decisions about where to spend it. That's not a capacity problem. It's a design problem. Attention Is a Resource. Not a Reflex. Herbert Simon saw it coming in 1971. A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention. His point was precise: information doesn't justContinue reading "Attention Isn’t Given. It’s Spent."

The Art & Science of eLearning

I recently presented at the iSpring 2026 online conference. The session was called The Art & Science of eLearning, and the core idea was pretty simple: Anyone can do eLearning. Not just anyone can do it well. Here's a quick rundown of what we covered. Anyone Can Build It. That's the Problem. The tools haveContinue reading "The Art & Science of eLearning"

Friday Finds — Tools Edition: AI slide tools are finally getting good

It's 'Tool Time' again! This month, I want to share some new AI slide tools. And if you haven't been following, some of these are getting pretty good. I'm not ready to break up with PowerPoint yet. But the blank-page problem? That time before anything exists? Some of these new tools have helped that becomeContinue reading "Friday Finds — Tools Edition: AI slide tools are finally getting good"

The Best Free Illustration Libraries for Designers (2026 Edition)

If your eLearning slides feel slightly off — and you can't quite put your finger on why — visuals are often the culprit. A stock photo on slide three. A cartoon character on slide seven. A flat icon set that clashes with both. You built the course in pieces, and it looks like it. TheContinue reading "The Best Free Illustration Libraries for Designers (2026 Edition)"