Sponsored by iSpring

“Doom is inevitable. Gloom is optional. Gloom has no positive effects on ameliorating doom. Doom happens. Gloom is a choice.”

— Seth Godin

It has been an incredible week in the weather department for us around here. I’m trying to be outside as much as possible while the window is open before the summer heat and humidity get here. I hope this finds you well and able to be outside enjoying your surroundings no matter what the weather is doing.

As always, thanks for reading.

What I’m Listening To: This playlist has been the perfect soundtrack for soaking up the sun and getting my vitamin D fix this week.

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Last Week’s Most Clicked:

16 UI Design Rule That Make a Big Difference

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📰 News & Notes

The Ultimate Guide to Curation for L&D

Najmah Salam & Nandini Bhudia from Filtered have just published this sweet guide so L&D professionals have a place to start and build a content curation strategy that will truly make an impact for their learners. It’s all in there starting with why to curate in the first place all the way through to creating and distributing your pathways.

Take away: Whether you’re a curation newbie or grizzled veteran, there is something in here for everyone that can up your curation game.

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Improving Training Videos Using Neuroscience with Patti Shank

Just because you have the skills to shoot and edit a video doesn’t mean it’s instructionally sound. This is why some videos are easier to learn from than others. And why that learning sticks. Watching video is a passive experience and therefore you might think there isn’t much more to it than just making it more entertaining. Yea, you’d be wrong.

Take away: Dr. Patti Shank shares some of the mental processing models you can use to your advantage to improve learning when producing videos.

Guide To Creating Successful Community Strategies

Feverbee’s Community Strategy Guide offers valuable insights on building and managing online communities. It emphasizes understanding community goals, engaging the target audience, and fostering inclusivity. Key points include defining objectives, researching the audience, establishing guidelines, managing conflicts, and measuring success.

Take away: If you’re considering starting up a community or already working with one this is a comprehensive resource for developing successful communities.

Effective educational videos

This study from Vanderbilt University finds that effective educational videos are strategic, engaging, and cognitively optimized. They should be goal-oriented, concise, and stimulating. Incorporating storytelling and pacing can enhance learner engagement. Interactive elements and practice opportunities help to consolidate learning. Videos should also be created with consideration for diverse learning needs. Lastly, it’s crucial to assess the effectiveness of the video, taking into account both the learners’ understanding and their experience.

Take away: Effective educational videos should be goal-oriented, engaging, inclusive, interactive, and their effectiveness should be regularly assessed.

7taps AI Content Transformer

I wanted to share some key takeaways from a recent talk via 7taps which is a quick and easy way to do that but it was even quicker and easier than I thought it would be. They have a new AI transformation feature that will build your micro-course from existing content. You can toss in a file like a PowerPoint deck or a PDF or give it a URL—from YouTube or Google Docs, etc. —and watch as it whips up a microlearning course in less time than it takes you to make a cup of coffee. Add your personal touches, tweak or add your interactions, and voilà! No more of the awful copy-paste monotony or even worse – recreating stuff from scratch. Watch just how fast and easy it is here and check out the final results here.

Take away: Give 7taps new AI transformation feature a try and see how good it does converting your existing content into a micro-course format.

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Your First Draft, Fast

Looking for some words of inspiration to kickstart your creative process? Magic Write in Canva Docs is your very own AI text generator to help you get out a first draft, fast. Simply start with a prompt and watch as copy, blog outlines, lists, bio captions, content ideas, brainstorms, and more appear in seconds.

Try Magic Write by Canva

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 delive/rs 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!

Get smarter with Refind

Every day we pick 5 articles that make you smarter, tailored to your interests. Refind is loved by 200,000+ curious minds.

Subscribe for free

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🎧 Podcasts

These are the podcasts that caught my ear this week.

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Artificial Intelligence. AI. ChatGPT. “But what is it, and how do I use it?” Join us as we demystify how ChatGPT works and give you practical ways to leverage ChatGPT and AI to help perform your L&D tasks – that you can use today!
Register now to claim your spot.

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🧰 Tech, Tools & Tips

If tools are your jam, check out my new WorkSmarter newsletter

Walling is a visual, fast tool to organize and share ideas on collaborative walls.

10 surprising features you didn’t know existed in Microsoft Edge

Omnivore is the free, open source, read-it-later app for serious readers.

A full-screen countdown timer for workshops, presentations and meetings that helps everything stay on time.

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The 10 Most Frequent Mistakes in Writing a Course Script

Attention all course developers, methodologists, and lecturers!

Struggling with online course engagement and adaptation? Join this upcoming webinar: “The 10 Most Frequent Mistakes in an Online Course Script.” Learn how to avoid common script-writing mistakes and get tips from our expert panel. Register now for your certificate of attendance and presentation gift. Don’t miss out on enhancing your online course development skills!

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🧳 Where’s Mike?

Learning & Marketing Conference
June 7-8
Online

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.

Sponsored by iSpring

“Be an encourager. The world has plenty of critics already.”

— Dave Willis

Last week for National Password Day, I got to do a live webcast from our new studio. I thought it might be nice but had no idea that it would probably make most of our local television stations jealous. Now I’m going to be searching for every excuse possible to get back in there and do some more. I’m very lucky to have access to such nice facilities and the amazing people who make it all happen.

As always, thanks for reading.

What I’m Listening To: I’ve have liked Landon Conrath’s music for awhile now but never knew who he was – I do now and he’s definitely a favorite.

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Last Week’s Most Clicked:

Reducing Information Overload in Your Organization

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📰 News & Notes

Cultivating and Connecting Capabilities

John Hagel explores the importance of developing unique capabilities and forming strategic partnerships in a rapidly changing business world. Hagel suggests focusing on a few core capabilities and continuously improving them. He emphasizes the value of connecting capabilities across organizations through collaboration and digital platforms. By cultivating and connecting capabilities, organizations can stay ahead, create sustainable advantage, and drive innovation.

🥡 Take away: In today’s rapidly changing business environment, organizations need to focus on developing unique core capabilities, constantly improving them, and forming strategic partnerships to connect capabilities across organizations.

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16 Useful UI Design Rules That Make a Big Impact

While this insightful article is about designing user interfaces, the principles also apply to many other contexts including eLearning and other types of content. Browse his collection of before and after design tips to find a few “stealable” ways you can improve your own design skills.

Take away: With a handful of simple but powerful design guidelines, anyone can glean valuable design tips they can apply to their own work from these examples.

Where do great ideas come from?

There there is evidence that ideas are growing scarcer by the year. A Stanford University study titled “Are Ideas Getting Harder to Find?” detailed how “research effort is rising substantially while research productivity is declining sharply.” The study documents similar slumps in other industries like agriculture and healthcare. This article, looks at seven research studies that reveal the people, incentives, and environments that create innovation.

🥡 Take away: People seeking great ideas should embrace failure, adopt a beginner’s mindset, leverage structural holes, motivate innovation through intrinsic motivations, understand the burden of knowledge, and focus on effectively implementing ideas into actionable situations.

What Can xAPI Do For You?

Check out this insightful podcast with Sarah Mercier on the power of xAPI in #eLearning! She brilliantly explains how xAPI can track and analyze learner data, driving personalized and effective learning experiences.

Take away: Listen in to learn what xAPI is, exactly—and what are all the moving parts involved to make it work along with the biggest barriers to avoid when implementing xAPI.

Ten Great Books on How to Learn Better

Newsletter regular Scott Young has share a list of his 10 favorite approachable and actionable books on learning with a few ‘bonus’ books thrown in for learning specific subjects.

🥡 Take away: The article presents a diverse range of books that cater to different aspects of learning, with the aim of providing readers with practical insights and tools to become better learners.

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Your First Draft, Fast

Looking for some words of inspiration to kickstart your creative process? Magic Write in Canva Docs is your very own AI text generator to help you get out a first draft, fast. Simply start with a prompt and watch as copy, blog outlines, lists, bio captions, content ideas, brainstorms, and more appear in seconds.

Try Magic Write by Canva

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 delive/rs 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!

Get smarter with Refind

Every day we pick 5 articles that make you smarter, tailored to your interests. Refind is loved by 200,000+ curious minds.

Subscribe for free

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🎧 Podcasts

These are the podcasts that caught my ear this week.

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Are you looking for a webinar about ChatGPT geared toward Learning & Development professionals? You’ve found it! Join us as we explore over 50 practical AI prompts to help your L&D workflow become more efficient and powerful!
Register now to claim your spot.

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🧰 Tech, Tools & Tips

If tools are your jam, check out my new WorkSmarter newsletter

Zave

Save your most commonly used websites for personal reference or share them with the world.

https://zave.co/

Steno

Your favorite podcasts, fully transcribed.

https://steno.ai/

Good Tape

Good Tape is an automatic transcription service that makes it easy to turn audio recordings into text, regardless of language or sound quality.

https://www.mygoodtape.com

Rangeen

The tool to create and curate color palettes for your next project

https://www.rangeen.studio

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How to Assess Students Online – A Free Guide

Student assessment has changed in the new millennium. Although there’s still something to be said for old-fashioned paper and pencil methods, new technologies are evolving daily.

Download this resource to discover 9 ways to assess student learning using technology and get a step-by-step guide to creating online quizzes.

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🧳 Where’s Mike?

Festival Sektor 3.0
May 16
Poland & Online

Learning & Marketing Conference
June 7-8
Online

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.

Sponsored by iSpring

“When you learn, teach. When you get, give.”

— Maya Angelou

Did you know that yesterday was World Password Day? May the 4th be with you! I wanted to take a moment to remind you that most of us have been taught to create passwords that are tough for us to remember, but easy for hackers to crack. But don’t worry, I’ve got three easy ways you can improve your password security and make managing them a breeze.

First up, try using passphrases instead of those frustrating gibberish passwords you’re probably using now. Next, use a password manager – it’s a no-brainer and helps you avoid reusing the same password (which is a big no-no!). Finally, enable MFA (multi-factor authentication) whenever possible. These three simple steps will make a world of difference in keeping your accounts safe and secure.

These three simple steps will make your password life much easier and much more secure. Now, go forth and password like a boss!

As always, thanks for reading.

What I’m Listening To: I’m not exactly how to refer to Public Library Commute – other than this is great music that I’ve been loving all week!

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Last Week’s Most Clicked:

Red Thread Research Learning Tech Trends

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📰 News & Notes

AI: Education’s Untapped Revolution

In her TEDX Santa Barbara talk, Dr. Philippa Hardman discusses the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to revolutionize education. She argues that AI can enhance the educational experience for both teachers and students, from personalizing learning to automating administrative tasks. She also highlights the need for teachers and educators to be trained and equipped with the necessary skills to effectively utilize AI in education.

Take away: AI has the potential to transform education by enabling personalized learning experiences and improving administrative efficiency. To fully realize this potential, educators and teachers need to be properly trained and supported in the use of AI technology

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MARGE: A Whole Brain Approach for Students and Teachers

Check out this free eBook on Arthur Shimamura’s MARGE Model which stands for Motivation, Attention, Retention, Generalization, and Evaluation. It explores brain structures and experiments, providing easy-to-understand models of common cognitive science concepts. It’s fascinating to learn about the role of the prefrontal cortex and how our brains form memories differently. MARGE is a valuable tool to optimize learning potential.

🥡 Take away: This ebook is packed with innovative ideas and strategies that will help you take your teaching to the next level. You can grab a 1 page summary here.

Prompt Engineering: A Guide for Marketers and Content Creators

The article is a guide for content creators on using prompt engineering to improve their AI-generated content. It explains how to craft effective prompts that achieve specific goals such as increasing engagement and generating leads. It also offers tips on understanding the target audience, using relevant data, and iterating on prompts. Additionally, it also highlights potential challenges and suggests ways to mitigate them.

🥡 Take away: This article helps marketers and content creators leverage AI-generated content by showing how to use prompt engineering effectively.

Reducing Information Overload in Your Organization

Information overload is the inevitable result of the modern organization’s always-on, more-is-better approach to communication. Unfortunately, it is also a driver of employees’ disengagement and poor decision making. While we are all, as employees and leaders, affected by this reality, the onus is on the company communicators themselves to craft a low-burden culture. It will require energy, expertise and coordination to architect and reinforce more human-centric communication practices.

🥡 Take away: Check out these practical strategies to streamline communication, prioritize information, and improve productivity by reducing information overload in your organization.

A Short History of Artificial Intelligence

This fascinating article traces the evolution of AI, starting from the early days of computer science to the present day. It highlights how the development of AI has been driven by the quest to create machines that can perform tasks that normally require human intelligence. The article also touches on how the concept of AI has evolved over time, from the initial perception of AI as an abstract, otherworldly concept to a more grounded understanding of AI as a tool to improve human life.

🥡 Take away: AI has made significant progress, but there’s still much we don’t know about its potential. Despite this, it has had a profound impact on our lives and will continue to shape our future.

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Your First Draft, Fast

Looking for some words of inspiration to kickstart your creative process? Magic Write in Canva Docs is your very own AI text generator to help you get out a first draft, fast. Simply start with a prompt and watch as copy, blog outlines, lists, bio captions, content ideas, brainstorms, and more appear in seconds.

Try Magic Write by Canva

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 delive/rs 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!

Get smarter with Refind

Every day we pick 5 articles that make you smarter, tailored to your interests. Refind is loved by 200,000+ curious minds.

Subscribe for free

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🎧 Podcasts

These are the podcasts that caught my ear this week.

---

Artificial Intelligence. AI. ChatGPT. “But what is it, and how do I use it?” Join us as we demystify how ChatGPT works and give you practical ways to leverage ChatGPT and AI to help perform your L&D tasks – that you can use today! 
Register now to claim your spot.

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🧰 Tech, Tools & Tips

If tools are your jam, check out my new WorkSmarter newsletter

Freebies by People

A selection of free-for-commercial-use resources for designers and developers, conveniently collected and categorized in one place.

https://freebies.bypeople.com/

UI Goodies

UI Goodies is a curated directory of design resources and tools to help discover the best UI kits, icons, templates, and more.

https://uigoodies.com/

Ordently

Ordently is a productivity todo list app that helps you plan & organize your tasks, goals and do your tasks through a daily planner.

https://www.ordently.com/

guidde

Guidde lets you capture instant step-by-step videos and documents for anyone to create.

https://www.guidde.com/

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The Top HR and L&D Challenges eLearning Can Solve

4 HR Challenges and How to Handle Them with eLearning

The fields of HR and L&D are constantly evolving, with new challenges, such as high employee turnover and employee resistance to training, emerging every day. Download this guide to learn how you can leverage eLearning technologies to overcome these and the other most common challenges and drive business success.

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🧳 Where’s Mike?

Learning & Marketing Conference
June 7-8
Online

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.

Sponsored by iSpring

“The important thing is not your process. The important thing is your process for improving your process.”

— Henrik Kniberg

Our trip to Seattle was awesome! Both campuses we visited were beautiful, and we had a lovely waterfront dinner with one of my high school classmates. We also hit the Boeing Museum of Flight where I had the privilege of chatting with a WWII bomber pilot who made a whopping 35 bombing runs in a B17. Can you imagine?! All in all, it was an unforgettable experience. Although, I must admit, I’m secretly hoping my son chooses a college closer to home.

As always, thanks for reading.

What I’m Listening To: young friend popped up in another playlist recently and that is just the right music to work along with today

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Last Week’s Most Clicked:

100+ ChatGPT prompts for creators: Speed up your workflow with AI

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📰 News & Notes

Learning Tech Trends

If you’re looking for a comprehensive overview of the latest learning tech trends, look no further than Dani Johnson and the redthread research team. They’re experts in the field and have their finger on the pulse of all the latest action. Lucky for use, they’ve got a webinar recording that’s sure to provide you with valuable insights.

🥡 Take away: The learning tech market is enabling skills and mobility for learning, connecting people, finding a signal through the noise, freedom to develop, and doing more with less.

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How to Quickly Create a Learning Resource Website Using SpreadSimple

You may know that I’m a big fan of #nocode tools and their potential for learning and development (L&D). In this post, Connie Malamed takes you on a step-by-step journey of creating an interactive learning resource website with SpreadSimple. Trust me, it’s an absolute breeze! All you need to do is gather your information in a Google Sheet, make a few design choices, and then let SpreadSimple do the rest of the work building a beautiful, interactive website in the blink of an eye. This is an amazing tool that you don’t want to miss out on, so be sure to add it to your digital toolkit.

🥡 Take away: No-code tools like SpreadSimple can be a game-changer for creating interactive learning resources quickly & easily.

Small acts of kindness matter more than you think

One reason small acts of kindness matter is because they can help bridge the “liking gap” – the phenomenon where we assume that others don’t like us as much as they actually do. By showing someone a small act of kindness, we can help them feel valued and appreciated, and potentially even strengthen our relationships with them.

Another reason small acts of kindness matter is because they can have a ripple effect. When we’re kind to someone, they’re more likely to be kind to others, and the positive impact can continue to spread.

But perhaps the most important reason small acts of kindness matter is because they’re a reminder that we all have the power to make a difference, no matter how small. Whether it’s smiling at a stranger, holding the door for someone, or simply saying thank you, each small act of kindness has the potential to brighten someone’s day and make the world a little bit better.

🥡 Take away: Text a friend, write a thank-you note, compliment a stranger — people appreciate these gestures.

What Instructional Designers Should Know About AI

Dr. Luke Hobson chats with William Cronje about the relevance of AI in the learning space and the skills that instructional designers (IDs) should have to effectively use AI in their work. They agree that AI is here to stay and will change everything, so IDs need to be adaptable and explore the limitations of AI while being creative. Prompt engineering is a crucial skill for creating high-quality content quickly, but IDs should not neglect the traditional instructional design process.

🥡 Take away: AI is an important and transformative tool and instructional designers need to have the right skills to effectively use it including: being adaptable, creative, a good communicator, and having prompt engineering skills.

Research Review: Evidence-based L&D Practices for 2023

Get ready to discover the latest trends in Learning and Development (L&D) for 2023. The Learning Guild has put together a research report where Jane Bozarth dives into 14 research articles covering a wide range of topics relevant to today’s L&D landscape.

🥡 Take away: Jane Bozarth has highlighted evidence-based practices that we should keep our eyes on to stay current with the latest L&D research.

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Your First Draft, Fast

Looking for some words of inspiration to kickstart your creative process? Magic Write in Canva Docs is your very own AI text generator to help you get out a first draft, fast. Simply start with a prompt and watch as copy, blog outlines, lists, bio captions, content ideas, brainstorms, and more appear in seconds.

Try Magic Write by Canva

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 delive/rs 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!

Get smarter with Refind

Every day we pick 5 articles that make you smarter, tailored to your interests. Refind is loved by 200,000+ curious minds.

Subscribe for free

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🎧 Podcasts

These are the podcasts that caught my ear this week.

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The Neovation Learning Hub can become your source of eLearning articles without the sales pitch! Explore topics like creating custom content, training platform uses, eLearning libraries, learning analytics, and AI for instructional design – never miss an update – subscribe for free today!

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🧰 Tech, Tools & Tips

If tools are your jam, check out my new WorkSmarter newsletter

Course.ai

Transform any subject into a stunning online course with this AI-powered authoring tool makes course creation effortless.

https://courseai.co/

ChatABC

ChatABC is better ChatGPT with features like teams collaboration, prompt library, never-down service and so much more

https://chatabc.ai/

Poised

AI-powered speaking coach. Speak with confidence and clarity and improve your communication skills in real-time.

https://www.poised.com/

Peerlist

Tired of sending resumes? Peerlist is a professional network where you can showcase your work, and get hired by the best companies.

https://peerlist.io/

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How to create a course in Moodle

An Illustrated step-by-step guide for educators

Do you consider creating a course in Moodle to be a daunting task? That’s not the case if you’re equipped with this step-by-step guide provided by iSpring. It’s brimming with insights and pro tips on how to create an interactive course with a knowledge check twice as fast. And here it is, ready to download. Feel free to grab it and take course creation in Moodle to the next level!

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🧳 Where’s Mike?

Microlearning Conference
April 27
Online

Learning & Marketing Conference
June 7-8
Online

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.

Sponsored by iSpring

“The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice.”

Brian Herbert

My son and I are in Seattle this weekend to check out some colleges. To be honest, he’s head over heels for this city, but I secretly hope he stays a bit closer to home. Even so, I can’t wait to spend some quality time with him, exploring some cool places – like the Boeing flight museum (so cool!) and, of course, sampling some good food along the way. I hope you’ve got something fun lined up for the weekend too!

As always, thanks for reading.

What I’m Listening To: This week I discovered the Peach Tree Rascals and I’m enjoying them again today.

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Last Week’s Most Clicked:

The Learning Content Maturity Model

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📰 News & Notes

Ten of My Favorite Papers on the Science of Learning and Thinking

Newsletter regular Scott H. Young has compiled a list of his favorite papers on the science of learning. From topics like effective studying techniques to the psychology of motivation, these papers offer valuable insights into how we can optimize our learning process. Whether you’re a student or a lifelong learner, these papers will help you better understand the science behind learning and how you can use it to your advantage. So grab a cup of coffee and dive into these fascinating reads. Your brain will thank you for it!

🥡 Take away: These papers provide valuable insights into how we can optimize our learning process and improve our ability to learn.

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The cult of bare minimum learning

In today’s fast-paced world, where everything is available at our fingertips, we have developed a cult of bare minimum learning. We are accustomed to finding quick answers on Google or asking Alexa for help, rather than taking the time to understand the underlying concepts. We have become obsessed with efficiency and productivity, leading us to prioritize speed over depth of knowledge. This mindset has created a culture where we celebrate knowing the bare minimum to get by, rather than striving for excellence and mastery.

However, this approach to learning is detrimental in the long run. It limits our potential and prevents us from fully understanding the world around us. By only learning the bare minimum, we miss out on the intricacies and nuances that make a topic truly fascinating. It also impedes our ability to think critically and creatively, as we rely on surface-level knowledge rather than digging deeper. To truly succeed in today’s world, we must break free from the cult of bare minimum learning and embrace a growth mindset that values continuous learning and personal growth.

🥡 Take away: the “cult of bare minimum learning” is a dangerous mindset that encourages people to focus only on efficiency and speed, at the expense of quality learning.

Becoming an Expert Generalist

The article by Nick DeWilde explains how being an expert generalist can give you a unique advantage in today’s fast-changing and complex world. It describes the characteristics of an expert generalist, such as having a broad range of interests, being curious and open-minded, and having the ability to make connections between different fields.

He also shares practical tips on how to become an expert generalist, including reading broadly, experimenting with new skills, and building a diverse network of people. A great read for anyone who wants to expand their knowledge and skills beyond their current field or industry.

🥡 Take away: This article provides valuable insights and actionable strategies for those who want to become more versatile and adaptable in their personal and professional lives.

Our big problem is not misinformation; it’s knowingness

In a thought-provoking article, “Our big problem is not misinformation – it’s knowingness,” Jonathan Malesic challenges the prevailing belief that misinformation is the root of many of our societal issues. They argue that our culture’s tendency towards “knowingness” – the belief that we already know the truth and have no need for further inquiry or education – is a more significant problem. By embracing a humble mindset that acknowledges the limits of our knowledge, we can foster more meaningful and productive conversations and make progress towards a better future. (If you’re a Ted Lasso fan like me, this probably reminds you of this scene.)

🥡 Take away: The problem of the ‘knowingness’ problem requires a willingness to recognize and acknowledge our own limitations and biases, as well as a willingness to engage in honest, open-minded dialogue with others who hold different beliefs..

100+ ChatGPT prompts for creators: Speed up your workflow with AI

This collection of prompts from the Descript team can help supercharge your creative workflow with the power of AI. Diving into this treasure trove of handpicked prompts, you’ll discover how ChatGPT can transform your projects and save precious time, no matter the task.

From brainstorming ideas, drafting content, and editing text, to polishing your final product, ChatGPT has you covered. Leverage these to generate innovative concepts, optimize your writing process, and refine your message like never before.

🥡 Take away: Experiments have shown that ChatGPT boosts productivity by a whopping 35% and these prompts can help you tap into that

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Transform Your Training with Hollywood’s Best!
eLearningArt’s free Hollywood Training program offers a unique approach to learning by immersing you in the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. With expert guidance and state-of-the-art resources, you’ll feel like a Hollywood insider in no time. Don’t settle for ordinary training – join us for an unforgettable experience that will elevate your skills and set you apart from the crowd.
Enroll now for free to start your journey to the top! 👉

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!

Tech news is confusing – so we changed that.
Join over 450K people reading Tech Brew – the 3-times-a-week free newsletter covering all updates from the intersection of technology and business. We provide free tech knowledge that’ll help you make more informed decisions.
Subscribe For Free

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🎧 Podcasts

These are the podcasts that caught my ear this week.

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The Neovation Learning Hub can become your source of eLearning articles without the sales pitch! Explore topics like creating custom content, training platform uses, eLearning libraries, learning analytics, and AI for instructional design – never miss an update – subscribe for free today!

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🧰 Tech, Tools & Tips

If tools are your jam, check out my new WorkSmarter newsletter

Nano.Site

Build a profile page in minutes. Share your world with nano.site

https://nano.site

ReadyMag

Readymag is a web-based design tool that helps create websites, presentations, portfolios, and all kinds of digital publications without coding.

https://readymag.com

play.ht AI Voice Generator

AI Voice Generator with 600+ AI voices. Generate realistic Text to Speech voice over online with AI. Convert text to audio and download as MP3 & WAV files.

https://play.ht/

PromptPerfect

Optimize prompts for GPT-4, ChatGPT, Claude, MidJourney, DALL-E, StableDiffusion, Kandinsky, Lexica. Automatic prompt engineering done right!

https://promptperfect.jina.ai/

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Two days of lectures and workshops given by top industry experts

iSpring Days 2023 is a free online eLearning conference where top industry experts will gather to share best practices and proven solutions that elevate digital learning experiences and result in improved KPIs.

Speakers: Cara North, Holly Owens, Tom McDowall, Patricia Rieger, Clark Aldrich, and others.

Dates: April 27-28

What you’ll learn:

• Boost training metrics & improve your bottom line
• Build effective and engaging scenarios
• Design impactful eLearning programs
• Avoid common course design mistakes
• Choose training goals that align with business objectives
• Increase employee retention
• Overcome hurdles along the road to eLearning success

See you at the conference!

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🧳 Where’s Mike?

Microlearning Conference
April 27
Online

Learning & Marketing Conference
June 7-8
Online

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.

Sponsored by iSpring

“Be content with what you have. Rejoice in the way things are. When you realize nothing is lacking, the whole world belongs to you.”

— Lao Tzu

I’ve been doing some reading lately on one of the most unlikely topics. I’ve been diving into the world of breathing. And I know what you’re thinking: “A whole book about breathing? What, are they just talking about inhaling and exhaling for 300 pages?!” But let me tell you, your breath can impact your stress levels and even the shape of your face! Crazy, right? Anyway, if you’re curious and want to check out the books I just devoured, here they are: “Breath”, by James Nestor and “The Oxygen Advantage” by Patrick McKeown. Trust me, your mind, body and face will thank you.

As always, thanks for reading.

What I’m Listening To: When I was in high school, I spent about a week one summer painting our house when Howard Jones had a popular album out and I’ve liked his stuff ever since. So that’s what I’m working along to today.

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Last Week’s Most Clicked:

The Better Deck Deck

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📰 News & Notes

The Learning Content Strategy Model

The Learning Content Strategy Maturity Model is a framework designed to help organizations assess their current state of learning content strategy and identify areas for improvement. It consists of five levels that represent a progression from an ad-hoc approach to a fully integrated approach to learning content strategy. At the first level, organizations have an ad-hoc approach to learning content, while at the final level, organizations have a fully integrated approach to learning content strategy.

By using this model, organizations can evaluate their learning content strategy and create a roadmap for continuous improvement. They can identify areas where they need to improve their strategy, such as aligning content creation with organizational goals, measuring the impact of their learning content on business outcomes, or adopting a data-driven approach to content creation.

🥡 Take away: Using this approach, organizations can create learning content that drives business outcomes and improves learner skills.

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PowerPoint Accessibility Freebies

In this video, Stephy Hogan shares some great accessibility tools and resources for PowerPoint and reminds us about the importance of making PowerPoint presentations accessible to all. By following accessible slide design principles such as using preset layouts, readable fonts, descriptive links, and alternative text, everyone in the audience can acquire the same information and enjoy the same experience. If you like this one, check out the rest of the series on Presentation Accessibility.

Take away: Grab the free guide on Fundamental PowerPoint Accessibility and make sure your presentations are accessible to everyone.

How to use Google Bard as a research tool

Meet Google Bard – the AI-powered chatbot that can tackle a wide range of text-based tasks, from writing poetry to summarizing complex ideas and translating languages. With Bard, you can say goodbye to the hassle of sifting through multiple pages and links to find what you need. Simply ask Bard a question, and it’ll provide you with a concise, human-like response. Plus, you can ask follow-up questions to get more details. While it’s not perfect yet, Bard’s potential to revolutionize the way we search for information is undeniable. Check out this Google’s answer to ChatGPT and take a peek at the future of search today!

🥡 Take away: Unlike ChatGPT, Bard can access Google Search to provide up-to-date information.

How to use AI to unstick yourself

Ethan Mollick has become a must-read for me when it comes to using AI. In this article, the he delves into the potential of AI for breaking through mental blocks and sparking creativity. By using AI-powered tools like GPT-3, he explains, one can generate fresh ideas, explore new perspectives, and even enhance their writing skills. He goes on to provide a quick guide on how to use GPT-3 and offers some practical examples, such as generating blog post ideas or brainstorming.

🥡 Take away: This article highlights the value of AI as a tool for anyone seeking to overcome creative roadblocks and find inspiration.

The Operating Manual for Your Nervous System

Have you ever felt overwhelmed or stressed out and wondered how to take control of your nervous system? Well, wonder no more, because this article has got you covered. This article explains the basics of the autonomic nervous system and how it controls our responses to stress and relaxation. It also provides some simple, practical tips for regulating your nervous system, such as deep breathing exercises and progressive muscle relaxation.

🥡 Take away: By learning how to control your nervous system, you can improve your overall well-being and better manage stress and anxiety.

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What do skills, AI, learning analytics and other 2023 L&D topics mean for you as a training provider?

Do you want to stay ahead of the curve in the L&D world and prepare yourself for the future? Then don’t miss this upcoming webinar on April 25th, from 12:00 – 13:00 CEST!

Donald H. Taylor and Ger Driesen will clarify the results of the 2023 Global Sentiment Survey (GSS). How will topics like reskilling/upskilling, Artificial Intelligence and learning analytics, shape the L&D world in the coming year and how does this inform your strategy as a training provider? If you can’t make it live, they’ll send you the recording.

Join the webinar 👉

Get smarter in 5 minutes with Morning Brew (it’s free)
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Check it out!

Tech news is confusing – so we changed that.
Join over 450K people reading Tech Brew – the 3-times-a-week free newsletter covering all updates from the intersection of technology and business. We provide free tech knowledge that’ll help you make more informed decisions.
Subscribe For Free

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🎧 Podcasts

These are the podcasts that caught my ear this week.

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🧰 Tech, Tools & Tips

If tools are your jam, check out my new WorkSmarter newsletter

Gemoo

With Gemoo, you can record and share video and image messages that are organized, informative, and engaging

https://gemoo.com/

Freepik Videos

Browse the Freepik collection and find the perfect video for your next project.

https://freepik.com

Icônes

⚡️ Icon Explorer with Instant searching, powered by Iconify.

https://icones.js.org/

Microsoft Loop – Think, plan and create together

If you have a work or school account, you can now kick the tires on Microsoft’s latest collaborative document/content creation tool.

https://loop.microsoft.com/

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Make blockbuster courses in PowerPoint

A pre-recorded webinar series

What makes blockbusters so exciting? Action. Special effects. Plot twists. Learn how to pack your learning content with the same elements to keep your learners engaged!

PowerPoint vs iSpring Suite is a series of pre-recorded webinar sessions on how to harness the power of these tools to design the most advanced eLearning content. Learn how to enhance your online courses with animations, mini-games, flashcards and more! 

You’ll be able to confidently:

• Synchronize audio and PPT slides
• Set up triggers and animations in your course
• Create mini-games for online courses
• Create flashcards

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🧳 Where’s Mike?

Microlearning Conference
April 27
Online

Learning & Marketing Conference
June 7-8
Online

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.

Sponsored by iSpring

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.

— Maria Robinson

As someone who’s been working in the L&D profession for several years, I can honestly say that I feel incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this amazing community. I truly believe that there’s no other field quite like L&D, where people are so welcoming and helpful to one another. Whether it’s sharing ideas, offering support, or just lending an ear, there’s always someone out there who’s willing to help. And the best part? The opportunity to connect with L&D pros from all over the world! From attending conferences in New Zealand to making new friends from China, Turkey, Brazil, and beyond, it’s been super cool to meet and talk with such wonderful learning professionals. So here’s to being a part of the L&D community – I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of it!

What are you most grateful for?

As always, thanks for reading.

What I’m Listening To: It is spring break around here and Groove Armada Radio is just the right mix of funkiness and fun.

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Last Week’s Most Clicked:

The Better Deck Deck

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📰 News & Notes

If learning matters, make it a campaign

The article by Ross Garner argues that learning and development should be treated as a marketing campaign, with clear objectives, target audiences, messaging and tactics. By adopting a campaign mindset, L&D professionals can create a more engaging and impactful learning experience that resonates with learners and drives behavior change. He also offers practical tips and examples to help L&D teams apply campaign principles to their programs, including using data and analytics to measure success, leveraging social media and influencers to amplify the message, and creating personalized content that speaks to the specific needs and interests of different learner segments. More great stuff to #StealFromMarketing

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The Magic of Knowing When to Use Concrete vs. Abstract Language

Using concrete language (words that describe tangible things) can make messages more memorable and easier to comprehend, while abstract language (words that describe concepts) can be effective for conveying complex ideas. Knowing when to use each type of language is a valuable communication skill that can improve how effectively you connect with your audience. By using concrete language to clarify instructions and abstract language to convey emotions and values, you can make a lasting impact.

Why Less is More in Learning Design

In this post, Connie Malamed discusses the importance of cognitive load in learning. When learners are presented with too much information at once, their working memory becomes overloaded, and they are unable to effectively process the information, which can lead to poor learning outcomes. She recommends several strategies for reducing cognitive load to create learning experiences that are more effective and enjoyable for learners.

The Multi-Store Memory Model

The multi-store model of memory is a theory of memory that proposes that information is processed in three stages: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Sensory memory is a brief store that holds information from our senses. Short-term memory is a limited-capacity store that holds information for a few seconds. Long-term memory is an unlimited-capacity store that holds information for an indefinite period of time.

The multi-store model of memory has helped us understand how information is processed and stored in the brain. This has led to new teaching methods and learning strategies such as spaced repetition, mnemonic devices, retrieval practice, and elaboration. These strategies can help us learn more effectively.

You Are You, We Live Here, This Is Real Life

In his article, Freddie deBoer argues that people should be more accepting of differences and focus on commonalities to build a sense of community. He suggests that in the current political climate, people are too quick to dismiss others who don’t share their beliefs or experiences, and this leads to division and conflict. Instead, deBoer suggests that people should embrace diversity while recognizing the shared experiences and challenges that unite us as human beings. By doing so, we can create a more harmonious and inclusive society. Does this resonate with you?

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Learn from one of the most respected voices in the learning industry, Donald Taylor!

In this upcoming webinar on April 25th, 12PM – 1PM CEST, powered by aNewSpring, Donald H. Taylor will dive deep into the 2023 Global Sentiment Survey (GSS) results. It clues you in on which topics will shape the L&D world in the coming year and what this might mean for you.

Trend catcher, Ger Driesen, will also provide a unique perspective on how the survey results could impact the training provider industry. With this exclusive insight, you’ll be ahead of the curve and ready to adapt to the latest trends. Join the discussion!

Attend the webinar

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!

Tech news is confusing – so we changed that.
Join over 450K people reading Tech Brew – the 3-times-a-week free newsletter covering all updates from the intersection of technology and business. We provide free tech knowledge that’ll help you make more informed decisions.
Subscribe For Free

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🎧 Podcasts

These are the podcasts that caught my ear this week.

---

🧰 Tech, Tools & Tips

If tools are your jam, check out my new WorkSmarter newsletter

How Password Managers Work and Why You Need to Use One

One password to rule them all.

https://medium.com/the-useful-tech/how-password-managers-work-and-why-you-need-to-use-one-3205954f2e4e

Kapwing

The collaborative video editor for modern teams.

https://www.kapwing.com/

STORYD

Data presentations leaders love, in seconds.

https://www.storyd.ai/

Loaf

Animated SVG icons you’ll love to use.

https://getloaf.io/

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iSpring Days

Two days of lectures and workshops given by top industry experts

iSpring Days 2023 is a free online eLearning conference where top industry experts will gather to share best practices and proven solutions that elevate digital learning experiences and result in improved KPIs.

Speakers: Cara North, Holly Owens, Tom McDowall, Patricia Rieger, Clark Aldrich, and others.

Dates: April 27-28

What you’ll learn:

● Boost training metrics & improve your bottom line

● Build effective and engaging scenarios

● Design impactful eLearning programs

● Avoid common course design mistakes

● Choose training goals that align with business objectives

● Increase employee retention

● Overcome hurdles along the road to eLearning success

See you at the conference!

---

🧳 Where’s Mike?

Microlearning Conference
April 27
Online

Learning & Marketing Conference
June 7-8
Online

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.

Sponsored by iSpring

To make mistakes is human; to stumble is commonplace; to be able to laugh at yourself is maturity.

— Denis Waitly

We’re right in the middle of our always unpredictable spring weather around here. Sometimes it seems like we get all four seasons in a single day. I’m grateful for the increasingly longer days and the trend towards warmer temperatures (even though it snowed at one of her games this week). I’ve bet my daughter that she’ll have to play at least one of her softball games in the snow. Clearly, nobody lives in Ohio for the weather!

As always, thanks for reading.

What I’m Listening To: Spring is on my mind this week so today I’m spinning this “Spring Pop” playlist.

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Last Week’s Most Clicked:

Should we list the learning objectives?

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📰 News & Notes

Using AI to make teaching easier & more impactful

Have you been considering how artificial intelligence (AI) can make teaching and training better? Ethan Mollick has a new article out that explains exactly how AI can help teachers, trainers, and students alike. He dives into how AI can be used to grade papers, create personalized learning plans, and even detect when a student is struggling before they fall behind. It’s amazing how this technology can help us do things faster and more efficiently.

But this doesn’t mean robots will be taking over anytime soon. He makes it clear that AI is meant to support educators, not replace them. You should subscribe to his newsletter while you’re over there.

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Is there such a thing as “Too Much Interactivity”​ in eLearning?

In this post, Karl Kapp discusses the potential negative impact of excessive interactivity in eLearning. While interactivity can be beneficial in engaging learners and improving retention, too much interactivity can be overwhelming and counterproductive. Karl suggests that instructional designers should carefully consider the appropriate level of interactivity for each learning objective and ensure that it supports the learning experience rather than detracts from it.

Use the Better Deck Deck to Banish Bullet Points

Everyone knows to avoid the dreaded bullet point lists, right!? Often, that is much easier said than done, which is why you should know about Nolan Haim’s Better Deck Deck. It is a deck of cards offering 52 tried and true design alternatives to those boring bullet points. Plus, it has over 150 professionally designed examples of these techniques in action to help spark your creativity and take your presentations to the next level. So say goodbye to dull slides and hello to engaging, impactful presentations!

If you’d like to see even more examples, the crew over at TLC Creative have been posting a series of before and after examples based on cards from this deck.

RSS isn’t Dead: It’s the Antidote to Social Media Algorithms

If you’ve been around here for awhile, you probably know that I’m a fan or RSS. (RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, is a technology that allows you to subscribe to content from your favorite sites and get all the updates in one central location.) In this article, Jonathan Wylie reminds us that although some people may think RSS is a thing of the past, it’s actually a valuable antidote to the often-biased and cluttered algorithms of social media platforms. By curating your own RSS feed, you can cut out the noise and get straight to the content that matters most to you. So don’t overlook RSS – it’s a tried and true technology that’s still relevant, and useful in today’s world.

Great titles help your content succeed

If you’ve been around here long, you already know that I talk a lot about what L&D should “steal” from marketing. Marketers understand the significance of making a strong first impression when it comes to delivering effective content. The title of your content is the first thing your audience sees and can greatly influence whether they engage with your material or not. In this 7taps course, I share a little bit about the psychology behind how titles affect our perception of content and provide practical tips for creating attention-grabbing titles that will make your content stand out. So, let’s dive in!

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See why over 200,000 people love Refind!
Every day Refind picks 5 articles that make you smarter, tailored to your interests. Get smarter every day! 
Subscribe for free to get 5 links / day

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!

Tech news is confusing – so we changed that.
Join over 450K people reading Tech Brew – the 3-times-a-week free newsletter covering all updates from the intersection of technology and business. We provide free tech knowledge that’ll help you make more informed decisions.
Subscribe For Free

---

🎧 Podcasts

These are the podcasts that caught my ear this week.

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🧰 Tech, Tools & Tips

If tools are your jam, check out my new WorkSmarter newsletter

Rhetoric

Record powerful, personable, and persuasive presentations

https://www.rhetoric.app/

PEECH

Peech, a personalized and automatic video editing and management platform, allows you to automatically create, transcribe, collaborate, optimize, and publish content – all in one place.

https://peech-ai.com/

ScreenRun

Create beautiful videos for your screenshots in a few seconds

https://screenrun.app/

Cool Symbols and Fancy Text to Copy Paste 😍 ♡¸.•*

Everyone needs some fancy text and symbols from time to time, right!? Grab yours here.

https://fancysymbol.com/

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iSpring Suite

Supercharge your courses with awe-inspiring content

Imagine you’re a learner. Would you rather view an old PPT or enjoy a dynamic scenario? What about printed test questions as compared to online quizzes with drag-and-drop and hotspot questions? iSpring Suite empowers you to create any advanced content type, from scenarios and interactions to educational videos and tests with automatic feedback.
Read his article filled with tons of insights, groundbreaking ideas, and samples, and learn how to create effective role-plays yourself.

Here are the top 3 functionalities you’ll find in iSpring Suite:

• The industry’s best scenario builder
• Smart features for courses of outstanding quality 
• Templates for every content type – no coding required… ever!

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🧳 Where’s Mike?

Learning & Marketing Conference
June 7-8
Online

Unleashing AI for L&D Pros
April 4
Online

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.

Sponsored by iSpring

“A sure way for me to blunt my aliveness, my day-to-day experience of my vitality, is to live in victimhood, blame the weather, blame the traffic. What I notice is, if I stop blaming and I choose to move the locus of control back over here, and I choose to have agency, to be responsible for my experience, not the external world, but to be responsible for my experience, there’s a surge of energy that comes back in the body.”

— Jim Dethmer

I made it back from Auckland with some new Kiwi friends and another destination for my travel list. (Everyone said I have to come back and visit the south island.) To manage the 17 hour time difference, I tried out an app called Time Shifter and it worked well beyond my most optimistic expectations. The app tells you when to get sunlight, caffeine, when to nap, etc. to help you avoid jet lag…and it worked tremendously well for me. It was super easy and the first trip is free – I don’t get anything from recommending it, it just works!

As always, thanks for reading.

What I’m Listening To: Today I’m checking out the “unpolished pop” of SEB who I’ve noticed from a number of other playlists that I’ve share here. See what you think?

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1E4BEsCybMPW7Z?si=e7b7b4f3f0c74692

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Last Week’s Most Clicked:

Uplevel your prompt craft in ChatGPT with the CREATE framework

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📰 News & Notes

Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business and Life

You probably know that I’m a fan of looking for things L&D can ‘steal’ from marketing. This is a great book by a renowned marketer that I really liked. 

“Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life” by Rory Sutherland is a book that argues that unconventional ideas and solutions can be more effective than traditional ones in certain situations. Sutherland suggests that the key to unlocking these unconventional ideas is to approach problems with an open mind, and to be willing to question assumptions and consider alternative perspectives. 

He also emphasizes the importance of understanding human behavior and psychology when designing solutions. Ultimately, he us to embrace creativity and experimentation in our work, and to not be afraid to try new approaches and ideas.

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Should we list the learning objectives?

Christy Tucker explores the pros and cons of including learning objectives in e-learning courses. On one hand, clearly stating the learning objectives at the beginning of a course can help learners understand what they will be able to accomplish by the end of the course. On the other hand, some argue that listing learning objectives can be dry and unengaging for learners.

Ultimately, she concludes that including learning objectives can be a helpful tool for learners, but it’s important to present them in a way that’s engaging and motivating. She suggests using a variety of methods, such as storytelling, to make the objectives more interesting and relevant to learners. What is your stance on including the learning objectives in your learning content?

Should instructional designers use ChatGPT?

This Digital Learning Institute article takes a look at using ChatGPT for learning design. Basically, ChatGPT can be used to create personalized learning experiences for students. It can generate quizzes that are tailored to each student’s unique needs or provide feedback on writing assignments in real-time.

Of course, there are some limitations and ethical considerations to using AI in education. We need to make sure that we’re not just replacing teachers with machines and that we’re still providing human interaction and support.

But overall, the article suggests that ChatGPT has the potential to revolutionize learning design and improve student outcomes. So, it’s definitely worth exploring how we can use this technology in learning and education in a responsible and effective way.

We need to learn how to connect

Harold Jarche’s post about the fact that increasing connections should be a primary business focus of HR and L&D departments is not new, but still as relevant as ever. 

Connections increase as people cooperate in networks (not focused on any direct benefits for helping others). Diverse networks can emerge from cooperation that is supported by transparency and openness in getting work done. Basically, better external connections also make a worker more valuable internally. Fostering this perspective will be a huge change from the way many organizations work today.

Are learner personas a useful design tool?

In his blog post, Neil Mosley poses the question, “Are learner personas a useful design tool?” He explores the pros and cons of using learner personas in instructional design. While some argue that learner personas are a valuable tool for creating more personalized and engaging learning experiences, others question their usefulness and suggest that they can be too limiting or even counterproductive. He offers some insightful commentary along the way, so give it a read and let me know what you think about it. 

See what others are saying and add your voice to this LinkedIn discussion on learning personas.

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See why over 200,000 people love Refind!
Every day Refind picks 5 articles that make you smarter, tailored to your interests. Get smarter every day! 
Subscribe for free to get 5 links / day

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!

Tech news is confusing – so we changed that.
Join over 450K people reading Tech Brew – the 3-times-a-week free newsletter covering all updates from the intersection of technology and business. We provide free tech knowledge that’ll help you make more informed decisions.
Subscribe For Free

---

🎧 Podcasts

These are the podcasts that caught my ear this week.

---

A Deep Dive into ChatGPT and Marketing AI

🧰 Tech, Tools & Tips

If tools are your jam, check out my new WorkSmarter newsletter

ResearchRabbit

The most powerful discovery app ever built for researchers 🔥

http://www.researchrabbit.ai

There’s An AI For That

Comprehensive database of 2,668 AIs available for over 603 tasks. Use our smart AI search to find the best AI tools for any use case

https://theresanaiforthat.com

YouTube Transcript – read YouTube videos

Better, easier to use transcripts for YouTube videos

https://youtubetranscript.com

Design Sidekick – find colors, fonts, styles, and more

Design Sidekick is a free Chrome extension that finds colors, fonts, and styles used on any web page.

https://designsidekick.io

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Role-Play Training: The New Foundation for the Training Industry

An in-depth article on role-play training, by Clark Aldrich

Everyone’s excited about ChatGPT at the moment, just like they were excited about the metaverse a year ago. But where’s the metaverse now? Clark Aldrich, the world’s most experienced designer of educational simulations, suggests that we should focus on role-plays aka scenarios instead because this type of content has been proven to work and will enhance your training like nothing else.

Read his article filled with tons of insights, groundbreaking ideas, and samples, and learn how to create effective role-plays yourself.

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🧳 Where’s Mike?

Learning & Marketing Conference June 7-8 Online

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.