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A person with a healthy self approaches life with a lens of agency and gratitude. Even in the face of difficulty, engagement and enthusiasm for life persist.
Paul Conti
Lately, I’ve been thinking about all the exciting new tools that are replacing the old ones. Tools like Canva, Descript, and ChatGPT have so much potential. What’s the latest tool that excites you? How do you plan to keep up with all these new options? I’d love to hear your thoughts and learn about the latest tool that excites you—please take a few seconds and share yours here.
Thanks for reading!
🎶 What I’m Listening To
Today I’m spinning Current Blue, a band that “blends indie, surf and R&B into a unique and distinguishable sound.”
A researcher found that the teams who displayed the best teamwork were the ones making the most mistakes. What on earth was going on? Turns out that the key to learning from failure is creating a culture of psychological safety where people feel comfortable admitting mistakes, as well as having proper data and analysis to determine what works and what doesn’t. Individuals also need to keep an open mind about their own errors, seek feedback, and commit to improvement. Organizations and individuals that embrace failure as an opportunity to learn will be more adaptable and perform better in the long run.
🎯 Take away:Mistakes, when approached with a positive mindset, can be valuable stepping stones on the path to success.
“The Science of Learning” from Deans for Impact is a compilation of evidence-based principles and strategies for effective learning benefits learners and educators. This is a useful summary of the existing research from cognitive science related to how people learn, connected to its practical implications for teaching and learning. This document is intended to a good resource anyone who is interested in our best scientific understanding of how learning takes place.
🎯 Take away:Teaching for durable and flexible learning requires using evidence-based cognitive science strategies like spacing, interleaving, and prompted metacognition.
I’ve long been a fan of John Stepper’s Working Out Loud mindset. This article from reworked explores the concept of “working out loud” as a means to rehumanize the workplace. It discusses how openly sharing one’s work progress and insights can foster collaboration, transparency, and a more connected work environment, ultimately benefiting both employees and organizations. The article provides practical insights into implementing this approach effectively.
🎯 Take away: Building a more human-centered workplace involves encouraging open communication and collaboration, ultimately leading to increased productivity and a stronger sense of connection among team members.
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🎧 Podcast
This is the conversation that caught my ear this week. Check out previous episodes in the Friday Finds podcast playlist.
How ChatGPT Can Supercharge Your L&D With Ross Stevenson
ChatGPT is a game-changer for (L&D), turbo charging their efficiency. Ross Stevenson dishes the inside scoop.
If you or your event needs a speaker or workshop that is highly interactive and super practical we should talk.
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Don’t Make a Podcast Just Because Students Love It
Do your students seem to be more into podcasts one day and then YouTube videos the next? It can be a real challenge to keep them engaged and learning when their preferences keep shifting. But hey, we’ve got something that can help!
Join us on Tuesday, October 31, at 11:00 AM EDT for a FREE webinar to help you stay on top of student trends, keep learners engaged (maybe not like TikTok, but close enough!), match course formats with your learning goals, and transform your teaching based on case studies and best practices from renowned educational institutions around the world.
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“Happiness consists more in small conveniences or pleasures that occur every day, than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom to a man in the course of his life.”
— Benjamin Franklin
You may know that I’m big on the idea of curation. It’s a major part of what I do, and maybe why you’re reading this newsletter. On Wednesday, I’m doing a “Learn Something New” event with Shannon Tipton from Learning Rebels that is all about curation. If you’re interested or want to start your own curation practice, I’d be thrilled to have you join us.
On another note, I’m San Antonio-bound for the CUNA Learning Live event next week. Any credit union readers planning to attend? Hit reply, I’d love to meet up in person.
Thanks for reading!
🎶 What I’m Listening To
I’m trying out these Binaural Beats today, that according to Andrew Huberman , help you focus better. See what you think and let me know?
3-Steps To Transform BORING Answers Into Captivating Stories
In this conversation with Chris Do, René Rodriguez shares a 3-step method for transforming ordinary answers into captivating stories. Drawing from accelerated learning techniques and neuroscience, he emphasizes the importance of setting a “baseline” for storytelling, structuring narratives using Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle of ethos, pathos, and logos, and employing a real-time feedback mechanism called “co-learning.” His approach also underscores the need for providing contextual “frames” to answers, as the brain naturally seeks past experiences to make sense of the present, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of communication and storytelling.
🎯 Take away:Transform mundane answers into compelling narratives by using accelerated learning techniques, Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle, and real-time feedback, all while providing contextual frames that align with how the brain naturally processes information.
Content curation is an unsung hero for L&D. It challenges the limitations of traditional methods like e-learning and webinars by offering a more personalized, agile, and cost-effective approach. Content curation not only caters to individual learning needs but also adapts swiftly to industry changes, all while keeping learners engaged and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
🎯 Take away: Content curation offers advantages like agility, and engagement while being cost-effective and encouraging lifelong learning.
The article recaps Patti Shank’s book that helps people write better lessons or guides. When you write to teach someone, it’s different than just writing a story or an email. Patti gives science-backed tips on how to make your writing easy to understand, remember, and use. These four strategies and 28 tactics are something that everyone can use to get better at explaining things.
🎯 Take away: Patti Shank helps you write so people can easily learn and remember what you’re saying.
Visit and subscribe to the Neovation Learning Hub to receive FREE resources that help you level up your eLearning! Topics include instructional design, custom content, learning analytics, AI and eLearning, and digital accessibility – start reading today!
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🎧 Podcast
This is the conversation that caught my ear this week. Check out previous episodes in the Friday Finds podcast playlist.
Focusing On Behavior Change in Instructional Design with Julie Dirksen
In this episode, Julie Dirksen explains how to apply a behavior change model to instructional design.
GPT4 Gets Massive Upgrade… You’ll Never Use Google Again
Marketing Against The Grain on Spotify. Dive into the breaking news behind OpenAI’s newest version of GPT-4.
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If you or your event needs a speaker or workshop that is highly interactive and super practical we should talk.
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“It has become ever more clear to me that if I had spent my life avoiding any and all potential risks, I would have missed doing most of the things that have comprised the best years of my life”
— Phoebe Snetsinger
Some people have wondered why I have music in my newsletter. The inspiration originally came from Tim Ferris’ newsletter, and I even considered removing it at one point. But, the analytics revealed that it’s consistently one of the most clicked-on items, so it’s here to stay. Apparently, a lot of you like 80s music by the way. Andrew Huberman recently shared some scientific rationale for our collective affinity for music. Beyond just lifting our spirits, instrumental music that aligns with our heart rate is proven to enhance focus and emotional well-being. So, in this week’s edition, I’ve curated a playlist of songs that are my go-to for “Good Days.”
Thanks for reading!
🎶 What I’m Listening To
This is my personal playlist of music that always helps me have “Good Days”. What songs are in the sound track of your best days?
This post look into the cognitive implications of Googling information versus attempting to recall it from memory. Drawing on research by Saskia Giebl and colleagues, it argues that pausing to think before resorting to Google enhances long-term memory and learning, especially for complex questions. This “pretesting effect” activates existing knowledge and piques curiosity, thereby enriching cognitive processing. However, the act of formulating a Google query also has its merits, as it can serve as a generative activity that aids in learning.
🎯 Take away:Thinking before Googling not only strengthens long-term memory but also enhances the learning process, particularly for challenging questions.
Cognota recently hosted their inaugural LearnOps Summit, a treasure trove of knowledge for those engaged in L&D Operations. The panel discussion on “Applying AI Across the L&D Ecosystem” featuring Eliot Masie, Myra Rolden, JD Dillon, Kim Morick, Christopher Lind, and Claudio Erba, was a highlight. They discussed the game-changing possibilities of AI in the L&D sphere, exploring facets such as content curation, tailored learning experiences, governance protocols, and the indispensable element of human interaction in a world leaning towards automation. (Free registration req’d)
🎯 Take away: AI in L&D is not just a technological shift but a cultural one, requiring a blend of machine efficiency and human nuance to truly revolutionize how we learn and develop.
Never past your prime! 13 peaks we reach at 40 or later – from sex to running to self-esteem
For those of us who are navigating midlife, this article from the Guardian dismantles the societal narrative that aging is synonymous with decline. The piece, backed by various studies and expert opinions, argues that many skills and attributes actually peak later in life. From chess mastery and ultramarathon performance in your 40s to emotional intelligence and conflict resolution in your 60s, the article presents a compelling case for the benefits of aging. It even suggests that happiness peaks at 82, challenging the notion that youth is the golden period of life.
🎯 Take away: Aging isn’t a downhill journey; it’s a series of peaks, many of which are reached well beyond your 40s, offering a richer, more fulfilling life experience.
Strengthen your eLearning toolkit with free resources that benefit your entire L&D team! Learn more about custom course creation, instructional design with AI, learning analytics, and digital accessibility – Visit and subscribe to the Neovation Learning Hub!
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🎧 Podcast
This is the conversation that caught my ear this week. Check out previous episodes in the Friday Finds podcast playlist.
Choiceology’s Guide to Nudges
Nudges are all around you. But nudges are often subtle, so you might not notice them until they’re pointed out. This episode is your guide to the many ways nudges have changed the world for the better.
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If you or your event needs a speaker or workshop that is highly interactive and super practical we should talk.
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Let’s face it, most training videos would never win an audience award. Along with endless PPT presentations, they make eLearning a boring formality that people have to suffer through. But does it have to be this way? NO. Make training videos truly exciting with pro tips and tricks from cinematography. It’s a lot easier than you might think. Attend this free webinar to learn how.
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Friday Finds is an independent publication that I produce in my free time. You can support my work by sharing it with the world, booking an advertising spot, or by buying me a coffee.
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“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.”
— Seneca
Happy National Coffee Day! Whether you’re here in the US, sipping on a complimentary cup from various coffee brewers, or elsewhere, where the brew might not be on the house, today is a celebration of all things coffee. While you may not get it free, take solace in the fact that your steaming mug is more than just a pick-me-up—it’s a health booster too. moderate coffee intake—about 2–5 cups a day—is linked to a lower likelihood of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, liver and endometrial cancers, Parkinson’s disease, and depression. So here’s to you, raising my mug in a caffeinated salute.
Thanks for reading!
🎶 What I’m Listening To
The Hails is yet another one that I’d never have found without Spotify. Joust right for a fall Friday morning, don’t you think?
This post is for Learning and Development (L&D) professionals, urging them to borrow strategies from marketing to engage the primal brain. Drawing on Daniel Kahneman’s Dual Processing Theory, I argue for a shift from mere knowledge acquisition to catalyzing behavioral change. Among other things, we should strive to engage the primal brain, or System 1, to drive real-world action. It’s not just about “learning and remembering”; it’s about understanding and acting, a paradigm shift that promises to upgrade the future of L&D.
🎯 Take away: To revolutionize your L&D results, speak to the primal brain—bridging the gap between knowledge and action.
In her keynote, Professor Maireád Pratschke dives into the transformative impact of AI on learning design and digital education. She emphasizes the need for a pedagogically sound approach amidst the rapid tech advancements, highlighting the shift from digital to synthetic media and the rise of AI tutors. Pratschke also discusses the ethical considerations and the importance of equitable access to AI resources. She calls for a rethinking of traditional assessment methods, urging educators to focus on learning as a process rather than a mere output. The talk serves as a comprehensive guide for navigating the educational landscape in the AI age, urging educators to be proactive rather than reactive to technological changes.
🎯 Take away: Professor Pratschke urges educators to proactively integrate ethical and pedagogically sound AI technologies into learning design, emphasizing a shift from viewing education as a static output to a dynamic, ongoing process.
Videos as Instructional Content: User Behaviors and UX Guidelines
In the realm of digital learning, Nielsen Norman Group’s study underscores the nuanced ways people interact with instructional videos. The research reveals a spectrum of user preferences, from those who favor text to those who opt for video, often influenced by the complexity of the topic and individual motivation levels. The study advocates for a balanced approach, offering both text and video options, while also emphasizing the importance of strategic video placement and structure to enhance user engagement and comprehension.
🎯 Take away:Instructional videos are not a one-size-fits-all solution; they must be thoughtfully integrated with text and strategically placed to cater to diverse learning preferences.
Join other Learning & Development pros and subscribe to Neovation’s Learning Hub for free! You’ll receive fresh insights about instructional design, learning analytics, online training concepts, and using AI for eLearning development delivered directly to your inbox.
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Unlock the future of learning at Learnapalooza, (Online & Seattle), Oct 6th! Dive into sessions with Jimbo & Brandon Clark, explore AI, DEIB & more. Exclusive 30% discount for subscribers of this newsletter: Use code “L8MT”. Register now & connect early via our app! 👉 Learnapalooza8.com“
🎧 Podcast
This is the conversation that caught my ear this week. Check out previous episodes in the Friday Finds podcast playlist.
Prompt and Process with Ethan Mollick
Optimize your ChatGPT interactions with insights from AI expert Ethan Mollick, as he discusses the future of AI and its impact on work and education.
If you or your event needs a speaker or workshop that is highly interactive and super practical we should talk.
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How to Create a Course Outline
To create an effective course that learners will enjoy, you first need to work out the roadmap. It should be a crystal clear route that the learner will follow to arrive at the training goal. The course outline is this roadmap.
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Learning is like rowing upstream: not to advance is to drop back.
Chinese proverb
This past weekend our kids had their first marching band competition. Can we pause for a moment to appreciate what goes into getting nearly 200 teenagers to do anything – let alone performing music while marching in complex formations and perfectly in sync!?!!? I’m continually amazed by how these band directors are able to pull it off. If that’s not a masterclass in teaching, I don’t know what is!! They make it look easy and I know it isn’t – both for them and the kids. Oh, and get this—they cleaned up, winning in every category they could! How awesome is that?
Thanks for reading!
🎶 What I’m Listening To
Another serendipitous music discover this week. Mills is a bit of a throwback of the best kind. Perfect vibe for work or just chilling.
The “secret sauce” behind the world’s most popular online course
Barbara Oakley’s course, “Learning How to Learn” is the world’s most popular online course. Oakley and her team at Coursera share seven key ingredients for creating an engaging and effective online course. These ingredients range from the strategic use of visuals and multimedia to the importance of community engagement. Oakley emphasizes the blend of academia, Silicon Valley innovation, and a dash of Hollywood-style presentation as the formula for a successful online course.
🎯 Take away: Creating a world-class online course is an art that blends academic rigor, technological innovation, and cinematic flair, all aimed at engaging a global community of learners.
Google’s Bard AI chatbot has evolved beyond mere web searches, now diving into your Gmail, Docs, and Drive to fetch and summarize information. This new integration, dubbed “extensions,” allows Bard to sift through your emails or documents to pinpoint specific data, which can then be transformed into charts or bullet summaries. While privacy concerns loom, Google assures that this data won’t be used to train Bard’s public model. The chatbot is also expanding its reach to Maps, YouTube, and Google Flights, making it a more integrated part of the Google ecosystem.
🎯 Take away: “It’s the first time a language model product is truly integrating with your personal data”.
OpenAI has unveiled a comprehensive guide tailored for educators aiming to integrate ChatGPT into their teaching methodologies. This guide encompasses a range of suggested prompts, a detailed overview of ChatGPT’s operational mechanics, its inherent limitations, the effectiveness of AI detectors, and the potential biases present. Educators from various backgrounds share their experiences, highlighting the versatility of ChatGPT in roles such as simulating challenging conversations, crafting curriculum-based quizzes and lesson plans, aiding non-English speakers, and fostering critical thinking in students.
🎯 Take away:OpenAI’s guide offers a roadmap to harnessing ChatGPT’s potential, enhancing learning experiences and promoting critical thinking in AI-driven environments.
Find free resources on the Neovation Learning Hub to help you expand your eLearning toolkit! Subscribe to the Neovation Learning Hub and receive our helpful, practical, and actionable resources directly to your inbox.
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Free online prompter. Paste your script and your text will start scrolling up the screen. Use the teleprompter while streaming on Zoom or to practice your speech.
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🎧 Podcast
This is the conversation that caught my ear this week. Check out previous episodes in the Friday Finds podcast playlist.
The role of Chat GPT in modern learning design with Megan Torrance
On the Learning While Working Podcast Megan Torrance shares what she is learning about using Chat GPT. We focus on using Chat GPT to enhance the learning experience itself, and just using AI to generate content. Get Megan’s one-page practitioner’s guide job aid too!
Are SMEs driving you crazy? Fix that with a personalized approach.
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Unlock the future of learning at Learnapalooza, (Online & Seattle), Oct 6th! Dive into sessions with Jimbo & Brandon Clark, explore AI, DEIB & more. Exclusive 30% discount for subscribers of this newsletter: Use code “L8MT”. Register now & connect early via our app! 👉 Learnapalooza8.com“
If you or your event needs a speaker or workshop that is highly interactive and super practical we should talk.
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People don’t teach because they’re experts. They’re seen as experts because they teach.
I had a fantastic time at Central Ohio ATD’s annual gathering this week. Plus, I got to hangout virtually with Shannon Tipton! Isn’t it awesome to spend time with your fellow learning peeps? Good news for those reading this newsletter – I’ve got some cool discounts available for mingling with other L&D enthusiasts. Shannon has provided a special offer for the upcoming workshop next month, where we’ll explore my new C.U.R.A.T.E.D. learning model and delve into curation for L&D. If you’re keen, use the promo code “Find15” to get 15% off until 9/29. …and keep reading to find more discount deals for Offbeat programs and the Learnapolooza event in Seattle and online next month.
Thanks for reading!
🎶 What I’m Listening To This week I discovered the sounds of Rook Monroe who is “crafting modern, genre-bending pop music” – and it’s pretty darn good!
Todd Rogers, a behavioral scientist and Harvard PhD holder, delves into the art of effective communication in his talk, emphasizing the power of brevity and strategic formatting. Through various studies and real-world applications, Rogers underscores the importance of concise messaging, especially in today’s information-saturated world. He showcases how simplifying communication, from emails to public health announcements, can drastically improve engagement and comprehension. Key takeaways include the revelation that shorter promotional emails yield higher response rates, and the strategic use of formatting can guide reader attention, enhancing the overall impact of a message.
🎯 Take away: Effective communication is not about the volume of words but the clarity and conciseness of the message.
The article by Matej Latin of uxdesign.cc provides 8 quick tips to improve your typography and make your designs look more polished. It suggests choosing font pairings carefully, using proper apostrophes and quotation marks, adjusting letter spacing for better readability, being consistent with your formatting, using special characters wisely, considering line height, experimenting with drop caps, and learning to kern (adjust space between letters). With just a little extra attention to these typographic details, you can make your text look clean, professional and visually appealing.
🎯 Take away: By focusing on small typographic details like thoughtful font pairings, line height, and kerning, you can elevate your designs from good to great.
10 Simple Strategies for Facilitating Breakthroughs in Your Live Sessions
In her latest newsletter, Gwyn Wansbrough shares insights on facilitating breakthroughs during live sessions. Drawing from personal experiences and referencing the book “Anatomy of a Breakthrough” by Adam Alter, she emphasizes the importance of creating the right conditions for breakthroughs to occur. Gwyn discusses the challenges of being stuck in various aspects of life and offers strategies to overcome them. Her own breakthrough came from a shift in perspective and environment in a math class, demonstrating the power of reframing problems and changing environments.
🎯 Take away:Creating the right conditions can facilitate breakthroughs, transforming challenges into opportunities for growth and learning.
Visit and subscribe to the Neovation Learning Hub for free eLearning resources – L&D superpowers that you can use to improve your eLearning initiatives and help you be more creative, productive, and valuable to your L&D team!
Boost your L&D skills with Offbeat Programs! Crafted by industry leaders, enjoy live sessions, hands-on tasks, reflection spaces, and social learning. Plus, get a yearly membership for continuous learning. (you know how important that is). Exclusive 5% discount for subscribers of this newsletter with code “OFFBEAT5”. Elevate your learning journey now!
🎧 Podcast
This is the conversation that caught my ear this week. Check out previous episodes in the Friday Finds podcast playlist.
Meeting at the Intersection of Research and Education
A conversation with Sarah Oberle about the intersection between research and education.
You’re familiar with PPT presentations. But what about PPT courses?
If you’re starting out in eLearning and can’t afford an authoring tool quite yet, use PowerPoint. This tool goes way beyond presentations, empowering you to create full-fledged courses, assessments, animations, and more.
Download the guide “How to Create a Training Course in PowerPoint” to learn how to use PPT in eLearning step by step.
Unlock the future of learning at Learnapalooza, (Online & Seattle), Oct 6th! Dive into sessions with Jimbo & Brandon Clark, explore AI, DEIB & more. Exclusive 30% discount for subscribers of this newsletter: Use code “L8MT”. Register now & connect early via our app! 👉 Learnapalooza8.com“
If you or your event needs a speaker or workshop that is highly interactive and super practical we should talk.
Like this post? Share it with someone you love. Don’t like it? Share it with someone you don’t!
Friday Finds is an independent publication that I produce in my free time. You can support my work by sharing it with the world, booking an advertising spot, or by buying me a coffee. N
Sign up here to get Friday Finds in your inbox every Friday
Learning how to learn is one of the best investments of your time.
Well, would you believe it – I went and missed the deadline for Jane Hart’s famous annual Top Tools for Learning survey! I don’t know how it slipped my mind, but one minute the deadline was weeks away and the next thing I knew, it had passed me by. Even though it was too late for the official survey, I still put together my list of favorite tools for 2023 and shared it on my blog. I’m hoping Jane will forgive my scatterbrained slip-up and let me sneak my picks in anyway. But just to be safe, I put a reminder on my calendar for next year’s survey deadline. No way I’m missing it twice!
Jane, if you’re reading this – I’m sorry I dropped the ball! I’ll be sure to get my 2024 picks in on time, no excuses. And thanks for putting together the Top Tools for Learning list each year – it’s such an invaluable resource.
Thanks for reading!
🎶 What I’m Listening To
Tears for Fears was quite popular a few weeks ago, so I’m back today with The Best of the 80’s (and they are the best!)
Ever thought about how we’re all essentially curators? Every time we design a course, we’re sifting through a sea of information, selecting the best bits, and presenting them in a way that’s palatable for our learners. That’s curation in its essence! Enter the C.U.R.A.T.E.D. model – a structured approach to elevate your content curation game. Here’s a quick breakdown:
📌 Clarify Objectives: Set clear goals. Know where you’re heading.
📌 Unearth Content: Dive deep, but pick only the pearls.
📌 Review & Refine: Polish those gems. Ensure relevance and accuracy.
📌 Arrange Systematically: Organize for easy digestion.
📌 Transform Presentation: It’s all about the delivery.
📌 Engage & Enrich: Make learning interactive and collaborative.
This model isn’t just a strategy—it’s a mindset. It’s about ensuring every piece of content we curate is purposeful and impactful.
🎯 Take away:The C.U.R.A.T.E.D. model offers a structured, holistic approach for L&D professionals to master content curation, ensuring every piece of content is purposeful, valuable, and aligned with learner needs.
Beyond Stock Photos: A Neuroscience Approach to Imagery
Dr. Carmen Simon shares lessons from recent study looked at how image choice impacts buyer behavior and engagement. Cliché stock photos can feel predictable and familiar but don’t necessarily boost attention to content. More effective images are functional, grounding in reality, emotionally provocative, and specifically linked to the text. These types of images can enhance understanding, lighten cognitive workload, and direct focus. Replacing clichés with carefully chosen visuals tailored to the message can significantly improve business content. This is not just for buyers – there are lots of application of this for learning contexts as well.
🎯 Take away: Go beyond cliché stock photos by using purposeful images that explain and enhance the text for your audience.
The article by Stephen Kelly explores how the AI chatbot ChatGPT can be used in education through the Socratic method of asking questions to stimulate critical thinking. The author provides examples of using ChatGPT to coach students through complex topics and self-reflection. While not a replacement for human teachers, ChatGPT shows potential as a supplementary tool to enhance personalized learning.
🎯 Take away: The Socratic method of conversational questioning can make ChatGPT a powerful AI teaching assistant.
Visit and subscribe to the Neovation Learning Hub for free eLearning resources – L&D superpowers that you can use to improve your eLearning initiatives and help you be more creative, productive, and valuable to your L&D team!
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🎧 Podcast
This is the conversation that caught my ear this week. Check out previous episodes in the Friday Finds podcast playlist.
Hot take: Most employees aren’t actually that interested in L&D
Most employees aren’t actually that interested in L&D. We discuss: the extent to which we think this ‘Hot Take’ is true the importance of development to employees vs ‘learning and development’ as a function what L&D teams can do to market and promote themselves. During the discussion, Phil referenced the Kirkpatrick Model of evaluation. Ross referenced the work of Shannon Tipton to help L&D teams develop a brand.
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Learning to Make Difficult Decisions Easily with Marina Arshavskiy
When creating a course, one of the most difficult challenges is to avoid overwhelming learners with information. There’s so much they need to know to understand the topic at hand, right? But if you don’t keep your course short, you’ll lose them.
So, how do you decide what should be in the course and what can be omitted?
Attend this webinar by Marina Arshavskiy to gain expert strategies and techniques that will help you prioritize essential content for your course with precision and ease.
If you or your event needs a speaker or workshop that is highly interactive and super practical we should talk.
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“Ignorance is curable. Refusing to learn is not.”
― E. Michale Helms
With school back in session, marching band activities for both kids in full swing, work , and the usual array of family and miscellaneous tasks that life brings, I’ve been busy. But I have started experimenting with a couple of cold plunges each week. (I’m still working on how to make the water colder while the weather is so hot.)I’m still curious to see if any of the potential health benefits start to appear but I’m enjoying it so far. Stay tuned!
Thanks for reading!
🎶 What I’m Listening To
Sure Sure is a band I discovered with the help of the playlists that Spotify makes for me. Great music to work along with don’t you think?
10 Ways an Instructional Designer Can Get in Trouble or Fired by Using ChatGPT or AI
In this video, Karl Kapp discusses the potential pitfalls instructional designers might face when over-relying on AI tools like ChatGPT. These risks range from violating company security policies by inputting proprietary information to receiving inaccurate or biased content. The AI’s potential to produce false citations, culturally insensitive content, and generic, non-creative solutions further complicates its use. Additionally, there’s a danger of degrading one’s professional skills over time by leaning too heavily on these types of tools.
🎯 Take away: While AI tools like ChatGPT can spark creativity, over-reliance on them can lead to professional pitfalls and a decline in one’s instructional design skills.
Organize Your Bookmarks with the PARA Method for Lightning Fast Web Browsing
Julia Saxena from Forte Labs discusses the transformative power of the PARA Method in organizing browser bookmarks for efficient web browsing. The PARA Method, an acronym for Projects, Areas, Resources, and Archives, offers a structured approach to categorizing and accessing information based on its actionability. By applying this method to browser bookmarks, users can streamline their digital workspace, ensuring that the most relevant links are easily accessible, while less pertinent ones are neatly archived.
🎯 Take away: The PARA Method provides a systematic approach to declutter and organize browser bookmarks, enhancing productivity and ease of access.
Novices, Experts and Everything In-between: Epistemology and Pedagogy
In this post, Adam Boxer looks at the distinctions between novices and experts in the realm of learning. He posits that while novices possess fragmented and disconnected knowledge in a domain, experts have a comprehensive, interconnected understanding. The journey from novice to expert involves the steady acquisition of knowledge, with novices focusing on mastering the content of a domain and experts working to expand it. In short, novices are not experts; their cognitive architectures are worlds apart. And their best learning strategy is very different.
🎯 Take away:Teaching methods should differ for novices and experts, with novices benefiting from explicit pedagogy and scaffolded learning, while experts engage in inquiry-based approaches
Visit and subscribe to the Neovation Learning Hub for free resources that cover all aspects of L&D, including eLearning development, instructional design, learning analytics, and other L&D superpowers in an approachable way!
Get smarter in 5 minutes with Morning Brew (it’s free)
There’s a reason over 4 million people start their day with Morning Brew – the daily email that delivers the latest news from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. Business news doesn’t have to be boring…make your mornings more enjoyable, for free.
Convert your work chaos into sensible order. Automatically. A single place for all your personal stuff, like emails, meetings, tasks, links, and any other work resources.
This user-friendly guide offers a simple checklist of the key questions you should ask potential learning partners, plus tips for what to listen for to evaluate fit. Vet for key traits such as strategic capabilities, innovation, operational excellence, and values alignment. Download for free »
🎧 Podcast
This is the conversation that caught my ear this week. Check out previous episodes in the Friday Finds podcast playlist.
Rethinking workplace learning in an AI-Driven World with Lars Hyland and Matt Linaker
Lars Hyland and Matt Linaker discuss rethinking workplace learning in an AI-Driven World & the importance of shifting from content-driven strategies to more context-based and collaborative learning environments.
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Everything Instructional Designers should know about LMS
Have a Better Chance of Landing an ID Job
How well do you know the tech side of training? For some employers, this can be a key factor when interviewing for a position as an instructional designer or an eLearning developer. Futureproof your interview by learning all the essentials, such as types of LMS, content formats, and limitations that affect content authoring.
If you or your event needs a speaker or workshop that is highly interactive and super practical we should talk.
Like this post? Share it with someone you love. Don’t like it? Share it with someone you don’t!
Friday Finds is an independent publication that I produce in my free time. You can support my work by sharing it with the world, booking an advertising spot, or by buying me a coffee.
Sign up here to get Friday Finds in your inbox every Friday
“To begin is easy, to persist is art”
― German Proverb
You might spot a little twist in this week’s newsletter format. With a jam-packed fall of teaching, speaking, and writing, I’m tweaking things to make my newsletter routine a tad smoother. My hope? To save some precious time on my end and deliver an even more curated experience for you. Imagine sifting through hundreds of sources and now getting only the best of the best! Dive in and share your thoughts. Do you love it, like it, or feel meh about it? Any suggestions for a sprinkle of extra magic? Hit ‘Reply’ and let me know! 😊
Thanks for reading!
🎶 What I’m Listening To
If you’re been around here long, you know I’m an 80’s kid. Nothing says 80’s to me more than Tears for Fears which I’m spinning today with a big smile on my face.
This post from the Learning Scientists blog by Dr. Nidhi Sachdeva delves into the concept of “microlearning.” Coined in 2002, microlearning refers to shorter learning sessions compared to traditional teaching. While the exact duration of a microlearning session remains debated, its defining characteristic is its brevity. However, the term has become somewhat ambiguous in literature. Dr. Sachdeva introduces a new term, “MicroLearning,” emphasizing lessons designed with evidence-based principles. These lessons should focus on limited content to avoid cognitive overload. She proposes six principles for creating MicroLearning content: valuable content, clear instructional purpose, appropriate length and structure, timing, format, and interactivity. The aim is to bridge the gap between the science of learning and the application of microlearning in formal educational settings.
🎯 Take away: “In sum, the length and structure of a microlesson should be informed by cognitive load theory and not by time frame.”
Ethan Mollick delves into the world of AI and creativity, revealing that AI isn’t just about logic—it’s a budding creative genius! Through various studies, it’s clear that AI can whip up innovative ideas that often outshine human efforts. Yet, our most imaginative minds still have the upper hand. When guiding AI, you don’t need fancy prompts; simple ones do the trick. And if you’re looking for a sprinkle of originality, set some constraints. At its core, AI’s brilliance lies in its knack for recombining existing ideas, acting as a bridge between seemingly unrelated concepts. Read this to learn more about AI’s practical prowess in idea generation.
🎯 Take away:There is now strong evidence that AI can help make us more innovative.
Creating Better Video For Learning: Processing Instructional Video
Patti Shank delves into the art of crafting effective instructional videos. She emphasizes that while many often overlook or skim through these videos, active mental engagement is crucial for genuine learning. By incorporating design elements like freeze-framing and zooming, and principles such as signaling, we can guide viewers’ attention. Shank champions embedding thought-provoking questions within videos to foster deeper engagement and comprehension. Leveraging interactive tools and crafting well-framed questions can amplify this effect. Ultimately, the essence lies in facilitating mental processing, using enhanced visuals, and adhering to Mayer’s principles to ensure viewers not only watch but truly grasp the content.
🎯 Take away: Patti Shank underscores the power of intentional design and interactive questions in instructional videos to transform passive viewing into active learning.
Visit and subscribe to the Neovation Learning Hub for free eLearning resources – L&D superpowers that you can use to improve your eLearning initiatives and help you be more creative, productive, and valuable to your L&D team!
Get smarter in 5 minutes with Morning Brew (it’s free) There’s a reason over 4 million people start their day with Morning Brew – the daily email that delivers the latest news from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. Business news doesn’t have to be boring…make your mornings more enjoyable, for free. Check it out!
Start every learning project off right with a Learning Environment Analysis (LEA), a powerful framework for uncovering learners’ problems, constraints, and needs to prescribe the right solution. This comprehensive guide introduces the LEA and the specific tools to use at each stage, from learner discovery to analyzing findings. Download the LEA Guide »
Scenario-based learning takes learners beyond a short-term memory check, instead challenging them to respond to real-life situations. But how do we make sure they’re effective? Christy Tucker talks about why scenario-based learning is effective and the characteristics of a great scenario
PowerPoint + iSpring: Get Started in eLearning Fast
4 Webinars to Get You Creating eLearning Like a Pro
Guided by seasoned instructional designers, you’ll discover every button you need to click to turn an ordinary presentation into an immersive online course with characters, animated objects, interactive modules, and narration.
If you or your event needs a speaker or workshop that is highly interactive and super practical we should talk.
Like this post? Share it with someone you love. Don’t like it? Share it with someone you don’t!
Friday Finds is an independent publication that I produce in my free time. You can support my work by sharing it with the world, booking an advertising spot, or by buying me a coffee. NN
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“I believe that if you’ll just stand up and go, life will open up for you.”
― Tina Turner
Ah, the sweet sound of reason trumping nonsense! Ohio voters have sent a clear message about Issue 1: “Your anti-democratic shenanigans won’t fly here!” It’s like swatting away a pesky mosquito buzzing with corruption. With Issue 1 soundly rejected, let’s hope these politicians searching for new levels of sneakiness will soon find themselves lost in a maze of their own making. May the winds of sanity and reason continue to blow.
Thanks for reading!
🎶 What I’m Listening To
Recently hung out at a place with live music featuring all the best music from the 70s and it’s been a nice vibe here all week.
Rethinking the final slide: Why neuroscience warns against the ‘Thank You’ ending
Neuroscientist Carmen Simon shares why the “thank you” slide commonly used in business presentations is not an effective way to enhance memory and engagement. Instead, creating a distinct slide with essential content, repeating it throughout the presentation, and using it at the end can improve recall. Additionally, prompting self-generated questions aids in long-term memory and decision-making. Moreover, ending a presentation with a compelling vision for the future taps into the brain’s cognitive ability to anticipate and imagine, leaving the audience inspired and motivated. The key takeaway is that
🎯 Take away: A well-designed, informative, and future-oriented slide is more impactful than a traditional “thank you” slide at the end of a presentation.
I made this short video introducing the spacing effect and showing how 7taps makes it easy to apply it to your learning projects. The spacing effect demonstrates that learning is more effective when repeated in spaced-out sessions. By repeating and spacing out information individuals learn, they can better recall that information in the future. The spacing effect occurs when information is repeatedly learned over a spaced-out long period, resulting in an individual being about to recall better and remember the information being learned. 7taps has a new feature called Learning Paths that solves the massive headache of managing who gets what and when.
🎯 Take away:With the introduction of the new 7taps learning paths feature, improving your learning outcomes using the spacing effect has never been easier!
Learning and Development in organizations: Reflecting on 20 years of research
Dive into two decades of rich insights with the “Annual L&D Benchmark Report 2023,” a treasure trove from Mind Tools. Charting the transformative journey of learning and development, this report captures the pulse of 11,000 organizations across 83 countries. From the meteoric rise of online learning, a whopping shift from 7% to 66% in mobile device usage for education, to the undeniable influence of social media on collaborative learning, it’s a testament to how we’ve evolved. And as we stand at the crossroads of digital transformation, remember: it’s not just about training anymore; it’s about performance.
🎯 Take away: The landscape of learning and development has dramatically evolved over two decades, with a clear shift from traditional training to performance-driven online learning.
I’m a huge fan of social learning and John Stepper’s Work Out Loud approach. In this post he shares 9 use cases and reminds us that the best learning experiences are social. And the best way to offer social learning experiences to employees is integrate them into programs they already participate in, to address challenges they already recognize.
🎯 Take away: The best learning experiences are social and integrating social learning into existing programs can effectively address specific challenges.
While with the Adobe Photoshop team, Bradee Evans emphasized designing for future product goals rather than just current users. He introduced the concept of “challenge people” – real individuals representing the product’s future direction. These are categorized into: Umbrella (addressing broad needs), Lynchpin (influential adopters), Specific (users with unique roles), and Future-leaning (envisioning the product’s future). The article stresses inclusivity and ethics in design, advocating for a broader community-focused approach.
🎯 Take away: Designing products should prioritize “challenge people” who represent future goals and diverse needs, ensuring alignment with long-term visions while emphasizing inclusivity and ethical considerations.
Visit and subscribe to the Neovation Learning Hub for free eLearning resources – L&D superpowers that you can use to improve your eLearning initiatives and help you be more creative, productive, and valuable to your L&D team!
Become a better designer in 5 minute lessons Join 50,000+ people learning design in short, practical lessons. Original, illustrated design tutorials to help you design better websites & apps. Check it out for free!
Prompt Engineering Daily Get the most simplified and tactical AI prompts, insights and tools to stay ahead of the curve. Read by over 85,000+ readers from Apple, Microsoft, Google, Meta and more! Check it out for free!
The Knowledge Newsletter The Knowledge 🧭, is a newsletter helping creators and professionals to think deeper and work smarter. Subscribe for free
🎧 Podcasts
These are the conversations that caught my ear this week. Check out previous episodes in the Friday Finds podcast playlist.
Introduction to Neurotransmitters
This episode is a review of neurotransmitters starting with some basics of neuron function and brain anatomy, but the meat of the episode is a discussion of neurotransmitters and how they work.
How To Curate Content That Works For You
Did you know that 90% of the world’s data was created in the last two years? Alex Lieberman (@businessbarista) shares his tips on how to cut through the noise and find content that interests you and helps your business.
Understanding the Science of Sleep
Sleep is the foundation we give ourselves to pursue our goals vigorously. Dr. Matthew Walker discusses why sleep is the foundational pillar for our overall health, why most people are terrible at prioritizing sleep and how to change that, the effects of poor sleep over time, how anxiety and stress affect our sleep, the importance of dreams and how we can influence them, and so much more.
Use these four practical, adaptable Learning Principles to build a clear and outcomes-oriented strategy for your next learning program. Access this on-demand webinar to learn how the principles apply to real-life learning problems and how they empower you to drive meaningful behavior change. Watch now »
Super designer | Create beautiful designs with a few clicks
Create beautiful designs with a few clicks. Simple design tools to generate unique patterns, backgrounds, 3D shapes, colors & images for social media, websites and more
How to integrate ChatGPT with Microsoft Outlook | Zapier
Learn how to connect Microsoft Outlook to ChatGPT to automatically respond to emails, retrieve tasks, and make sure company announcements don’t get lost.
How to Implement Online Training in The Healthcare Industry
A Step-By-Step Walkthrough With Real-Life Examples
Get everything you need to implement online training in your healthcare company, from a step-by-step guide to practical insights and tools that will help you maximize learning effectiveness.
If you or your event needs a speaker or workshop that is highly interactive and super practical we should talk.
Like this post? Share it with someone you love. Don’t like it? Share it with someone you don’t!
Friday Finds is an independent publication that I produce in my free time. You can support my work by sharing it with the world, booking an advertising spot, or by buying me a coffee. NN
Sign up here to get Friday Finds in your inbox every Friday
“Everything worthwhile is done with others.”
― Mariame Kaba
It’s been surprisingly peaceful around the house this week. Both kids have been at band camp from 1:00 to 9:99 every day. One of the delightful perks? I get full control of the dinner menu! Feel like fish? Absolutely! Craving for some fresh, delicious veggies? Even better. The absence of any culinary critiques or grumbling is the cherry on top. And if you’ve had the joy of raising a few of your own, I bet you can relate to these moments of tranquility. Don’t get the wrong idea, though. I’m still happy to see them when they come home!
As always, thanks for reading.
What I’m Listening To: The Wallows is another discovery that I’ve made courtesy of my “official music consultant” (my daughter)
Our brains use cognitive biases as a way to save energy and cognitive resources. The human brain constantly processes an overwhelming amount of information, and using cognitive biases helps us navigate this complexity more efficiently. Instead of analyzing every piece of information from scratch, our brains rely on these mental shortcuts to quickly assess situations, categorize information, and make decisions.
🎯 Take away: This article provides a comprehensive and organized list of cognitive biases, highlighting four key problems our brains have evolved to deal with which can help us improve our understanding of ourselves and our decision-making processes.
Emotional intelligence in the workplace: Why it matters and how to build it
In the age of automation, emotional intelligence (EQ) is increasingly critical, affecting key performance indicators like sales, customer satisfaction, and employee turnover. EQ skills differentiate top performers and contribute to personal and professional growth, as evidenced by productivity improvements and cost savings in companies like Motorola and the U.S. Air Force following EQ training. Organizations can nurture EQ through compassionate leadership, cross-departmental collaboration, and focused training on self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management, supplemented with continuous performance support.
🎯 Take away: In today’s automated world, fostering emotional intelligence in the workplace is a key differentiator for top performance, contributing significantly to personal development and organizational success.
Bob Mosher talks about the shift from a training-first to a performance-first approach significantly reduces training time, accelerates competency, and enables learners to better handle constant changes in skills and business processes. Key design changes suggested include beginning with analyzing the workflow and focusing training efforts on tasks that significantly impact performance, with a digital coach handling the rest.
🎯 Take away: Workflow learning, a performance-first approach that embeds learning within work tasks, can transform L&D by reducing training time, accelerating competency, and enabling continuous adaptation to change.
Crafted by Mark Britz of the Learning Guild, this checklist is a handy companion to thriving in today’s dynamic, hybrid work landscapes. Unveil the power of social learning to foster knowledge sharing, continuous growth, and strong team bonds even in distributed settings. Embrace change, conquer challenges, and unlock innovation to revolutionize your organization’s success!
🎯 Take away: Embracing social learning empowers organizations to thrive in rapidly changing work environments, unlocking innovation and connection among dispersed teams.
The Art of Sharing: Getting Your Slide Decks Online
Explore three options for sharing your presentations online: Microsoft PowerPoint Online, reliable but lacking engagement insights; SpeakerDeck, a nice-looking, minimalist and PDF-only option; and DeckLinks, a cutting-edge marvel with interactive features and detailed analytics. Choose your platform, and share your own slide deck gems if you’ve got ’em!
🎯 Take away: Explore three good options for sharing your presentation slides online.
Visit and subscribe to the Neovation Learning Hub for free eLearning resources – L&D superpowers that you can use to improve your eLearning initiatives and help you be more creative, productive, and valuable to your L&D team!
Become a better designer in 5 minute lessons Join 50,000+ people learning design in short, practical lessons. Original, illustrated design tutorials to help you design better websites & apps. Check it out for free!
Prompt Engineering Daily Get the most simplified and tactical AI prompts, insights and tools to stay ahead of the curve. Read by over 85,000+ readers from Apple, Microsoft, Google, Meta and more! Check it out for free!
The Knowledge Newsletter The Knowledge 🧭, is a newsletter helping creators and professionals to think deeper and work smarter. Subscribe for free
🎧 Podcasts
These are the conversations that caught my ear this week. Check out previous episodes in the Friday Finds podcast playlist.
This user-friendly guide offers a simple checklist of the key questions you should ask potential learning partners, plus tips for what to listen for to evaluate fit. Vet for key traits such as strategic capabilities, innovation, operational excellence, and values alignment. Download for free
Hand-drawn, vector, free illustrations. Ideal for websites, web applications, mobile applications, marketing materials, printouts, social media posts, templates, work presentations,
Discover What Employees Think About Your Current Training
How effective is your training? Do employees find it helpful and engaging? Get the answers easily: download this free survey template and send it to your learners. In it, you’ll find 10 questions handpicked by training professionals. You only need to add your organization’s name and the survey is good to go.
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