Robert Ubell

October 2017 - TD Magazine

How to overcome common challenges of introducing massive open online courses to your learning portfolio.

Making the Most of MOOCs

May 2017 - TD Magazine

Going Online: Perspectives on Digital LearningBooks1By Robert UbellRoutledge, 106 pp., $34.95Ubell considers questions about the quality of online learning settled: "Research tells us that digital instruction is as good as—and often better than—face-to-face learning," he writes. However, the author has yet to come to terms with the fact that "while nearly every other Internet activity is pursued breathlessly with hardly any argument, virtual education remains a question mark." In other words, he remains skeptical of others' doubts about online learning.When readers open this volume, they will find a collection of 10 essays divided into two sections: virtual classes and migrating online. The first section, which contains six essays, focuses on the capabilities and limitations of digital learning. The second, with four essays, emphasizes the process for bringing learning content online.Each essay evaluates online learning from a different perspective, covering everything from its history to the reasons people resist it. The length of the essays makes them accessible—most are short enough to consume in just a few minutes of close reading—but their content also is substantial enough to inspire profound thought. That makes the book convenient for busy professionals who might not have time to comb through an entire volume at once.Consider the third essay, "Action Learning, Interaction, Diversity and Evolution in Online Learning," as an example of the book's accessibility. Although it's only 15 pages in length, which places it among the book's longer sections, the piece stands alone as a valuable text. It introduces readers to the importance of social interaction in digital education, lays out a framework for stimulating that interaction, and offers a detailed explanation of how the framework's three components function in concert with one another. The components—which are interactive adaptive models, advanced discussion boards, and live virtual learning sessions—all come with suggestions for technology that can support them.While other sections of the book may follow slightly different structures, many of them will be valuable reads for learning professionals. In particular, readers might enjoy the second essay, which discusses the importance of online learning for virtual teams; the fourth essay, which examines the capabilities of online learning relative to the constraints of classroom learning; and the ninth essay, which presents differences between digital learning in the academic and professional worlds.This well-structured, well-researched collection gets to the root of the world's skepticism about digital education, and snippets of humor make it a more entertaining volume than readers might initially expect. Collectively, the essays argue that, despite our misgivings, online education is the best tool for advancing, creating, and distributing knowledge in the modern world. Ask More: The Power of Questions to Open Doors, Uncover Solutions, and Spark ChangeBooks2Frank SesnoAmacom, 272 pp., $14.04In Ask More, Sesno's experience as one of the world's premier interviewers is clearly evident. The Emmy Award-winning news anchor, White House correspondent, and talk-show host for CNN draws on his past to explain and explore 11 types of questions, from ones that can help you understand others to those that define common values, and from conversation-starters to confrontation winners. To Sesno, each type of question is a tool, and his well-told stories illustrate just how and when to use every inquisitorial technique at your disposal. Whether that's to effect change in the world, your office, or your personal life is up to you. The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your GreatnessBooks3Lolly DaskalPortfolio, 240 pp., $13.68Apte and Sheth believe that sustainability is the next major competency that businesses will need to remain competitive. This book provides a step-by step road map to achieve long-term prosperity, showing how best-in-class companies work with multiple stakeholders to embrace a triple-bottom-line mindset—taking social, environmental, and financial concerns into account. Each chapter focuses on one of the nine key stakeholder groups, providing guidance on how to make sustainability an integral part of a company's culture and its overall strategy. You've Got 8 Seconds: Communication Secrets for a Distracted WorldBooks4Paul HellmanAmacom, 208 pp., $17.95Hellman speaks the truth when he says everyone in your organization will do one of three things today: talk, listen, or pretend to listen. They're all busy, and most often they're inclined to do either the first or last of those—but life doesn't have to be that way. Written to be read fast by the busy manager or executive, Hellman's book shows readers how to capture an audience's attention, then keep it. Enhanced by actionable techniques and smile-cracking commentary, it's a great field guide for talent development professionals who want to improve their presentations. What's on Travis Bradberry's Bookshelf?The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni. When it comes to business books, I don't read many of them. Don't get me wrong, I scan and speed-read almost all of them because I want to know what they're about and what's trending. But I don't read them for pleasure. Lencioni is an exception. What strikes me about Pat and this book is he's incredibly smart and pragmatic. He teaches you critical concepts in a compelling manner, but doesn't waste your time by padding pages to please his publisher.The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I love Steinbeck's ability to take your mind places and leave you fully engrossed in the story. His plot lines aren't too crazy, which shows you how little story you need when an author is that incredibly descriptive.Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry. I understand that it's taboo to list your own book in a list of books that you love. But writers, you see, write to be read. When you write a book that's well read, it feels incredible and makes you fall in love with it. I've written seven books and I don't even think that Emotional Intelligence 2.0 is my best work. It has, however, sold more than 1 million copies, and that's an accomplishment that I will cherish forever.

Taking the Doubters Offline

October 2011 - TD Magazine

Managing virtual classrooms requires a different approach to your learners, but by integrating some simple yet innovative tools, it's easy to get started.

Robert Ubell

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