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Scott Ready

With over 14 percent of federal government employees reporting disabilities (and many more not self-reporting), there’s no doubt that ensuring accessibility for employees is the right thing to do. By creating an inclusive learning environment, you can provide equal opportunity for employee success, improve employee satisfaction, and increase employee productivity. And, with the 2018 updates to Section 508, the moral imperative around accessibility is accompanied by a renewed legal urgency.

In this webcast, Scott Ready, Blackboard’s accessibility expert, discusses the current landscape and ways to improve accessibility in government training and development programs.

Attendees of this webcast will learn:

· the value of creating a quality, inclusive program for all employees regardless of disability
· the risk associated with not complying with regulations
· the importance of a strategic plan for developing and maintaining an accessible online program.

Accessible, Inclusive Professional Development: A Moral and Legal Imperative

In my 17 years in training and workforce development, I’ve witnessed a significant transformation that parallels the technological convergence we’ve seen in mobile phones. Mobile phones began as single-use devices for voice communication, evolved to include text messaging, QWERTY keyboards, touch screens, and now host apps for nearly every conceivable need. Technologists predicted this convergence years before it became a reality, fundamentally changing user habits, creating new expectations, and facilitating our always-on, always-connected, ever-changing world.Today, the majority of the workforce was born into this digital world, yet our training methodologies have not kept pace with evolving user expectations. The pressure on learning and skill development functions is no longer annual or fixed; it’s dynamic. Products, goods, and services we train on are moving targets, and with the mobility of the modern workforce, so are our learners. Like their phones, employees expect an always-on, always-connected experience. They no longer want to navigate multiple platforms for training, communication, conferences, performance tracking, and rewards.This convergence in expectations necessitates a shift in mindset. We are no longer just trainers; we must adopt the mindset of marketers, connecting our strategies from training to communication to rewards and recognition into one cohesive, connected learning journey.The Era of Dynamic LearningThe traditional model of static, periodic training sessions is becoming obsolete. Organizations must move toward a dynamic learning model, where continuous skill development and talent nurturing are integral parts of the employee experience. This shift is driven by several factors:Accelerated Product Life Cycles: As product life cycles shorten, training must keep pace with rapid changes in technology, customer preferences, and market demands. Employees need immediate access to the latest information and skills to remain competitive and effective.Remote and Global Workforce: The rise of remote work and global teams demands flexible and accessible training solutions. Employees must be able to learn anytime, anywhere, on any device, ensuring that learning fits into their daily routines.Hyper Personalized Learning: Just as users personalize their smartphone apps to fit their lifestyles, employees now expect personalized learning paths that cater to their skills, roles, and career aspirations. Adaptive AI learning technologies and data-driven insights enable the creation of tailored experiences that meet individual needs.Integrating Training, Communication, and RecognitionTo meet these new expectations, training programs must be integrated with communication and recognition strategies, creating a unified learning ecosystem. Here’s how organizations can achieve this:Unified Platforms: Implement integrated platforms that provide a one-stop shop for learning, communication, and performance management. These platforms should offer a user-friendly interface, accessible via mobile devices, ensuring that employees can easily access all resources.Continuous Feedback Loops: Foster a culture of continuous feedback, where employees receive real-time insights into their performance and development. This approach encourages ongoing improvement and helps employees feel valued and recognized for their contributions.Cross-Functional Collaboration: Encourage collaboration between training, HR, marketing, product, and IT teams to develop cohesive strategies that align with business goals. This cross-functional approach ensures that all aspects of the employee experience are interconnected and reinforce each other.The Marketer MindsetAdopting a marketer mindset means viewing training as a holistic journey rather than a series of isolated events. It requires understanding the employee experience from end to end and crafting narratives and connected strategies that resonate with learners. Here are key elements of this approach:Storytelling: Use storytelling techniques to create engaging learning experiences that captivate employees’ attention and foster emotional connections. Compelling narratives make training content more memorable and relatable.Gamification and Rewards: Incorporate gamification elements and rewards to motivate and engage employees. Leaderboards, badges, and point systems can drive healthy competition and encourage active participation.Data-Driven Insights: Leverage unified data analytics to gain insights into learning behaviors and preferences. These insights enable organizations to continuously refine and optimize their training programs to better meet employees’ needs.Campaign-Based Learning: Develop modularity in your learning content architecture to create ongoing continuous learning campaigns. These campaigns can adapt based on market dynamics and conversion data, ensuring that learning remains relevant and effective.Embracing the FutureThe convergence of talent and skill development is not just a trend; it’s a necessity in today’s fast-paced, digital world. By adopting a holistic, integrated approach to training, communication, and recognition, organizations can create a connected learning journey that meets the expectations of the modern workforce. This shift requires a marketer mindset, where learning is personalized, dynamic, and seamlessly integrated into the employee experience, ensuring that organizations remain agile, competitive, and ready for the future.

Beyond Training: Creating a Connected Learning Journey

What is Demo Day?
This free, half-day event offers you the opportunity to see live demos from five leading AI-augmented learning tech solutions. Each 30-minute demo allows you to see the solution in action, ask questions, and request additional information. Selecting new technologies for your organization is a tough decision and a big investment. Let ATD Demo Day help you learn about the benefits of a variety of options at once.
Who is it for?
Anyone who is currently searching for innovative solutions using AI, interested in transforming their L&D workflow with generative AI, or scaling and automating enterprise training programs.
Demo Day Agenda: (All times below are Eastern Standard Time)
11:55-12:00 pm  ATD Introduction & Welcome
12:00-12:30 pm  Make Sales Enablement Seamless with Autonomous Sales Coaching (Dextego)
12:45-1:15 pm   Exploring AI Workforce Transformation with Pluralsight Skills (Pluralsight)
1:30-2:00 pm     Embrace the AI Paradigm Shift: Empower Your Team Today (ELB Learning)
2:15-2:45 pm     AI Enabled Skills Management: Make Personalized Skills Development a Reality (CYPHER Learning)
3:00-3:30 pm     Use Generative AI to Achieve Your Strategic Goals (Strategy.ai)

Session Descriptions:
 
12:00-12:30 p.m.
Make Sales Enablement Seamless with Autonomous Sales Coaching
In today's sales world, relationship-selling skills drive revenue. Struggling to develop these skills due to time constraints and scalability issues? Discover how Dextego's Autonomous Sales Coach ensures compliance without friction by delivering personalized coaching in the flow of work. Join us to future-proof your coaching approach and gain a competitive edge in today's dynamic market.
Join this session to:

Discover how AI-driven coaching can revolutionize sales methodology adoption and compliance, ensuring seamless integration into existing sales processes without friction or resistance.
Learn practical strategies for leveraging real-time, personalized coaching to empower sales reps, foster continuous skill development, and drive measurable improvements in sales performance.
Gain insights from real-world success stories using AI-enabled sales enablement.

Speaker: Ioanna Mantzouridou Onasi, Co-founder & CEO, Dextego
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12:45-1:15 p.m.
Exploring AI Workforce Transformation with Pluralsight Skills
Whether you want faster innovation, better customer experiences, or cost-cutting automation, those solutions require teams skilled and savvy in AI. Pluralsight offers the tools to equip your people-or yourself-with the skills you need to make the most of AI tools and tech. Join us to learn why leaders, learners, and organizations choose Pluralsight for mastering the artificial intelligence solutions of tomorrow.
Join this session to:

Explore how Pluralsight skill assessments can be used to benchmark organizational tech skills and identify knowledge gaps and strengths.
Learn how Pluralsight’s vast library empowers organizations to produce key business outcomes through its curated learning paths, hands-on labs, and sandboxes to enable technologists to develop stronger proficiencies through step-by-step instruction, practice exercises, and projects.
Discover how to track skill development progress through insightful data, ensuring the necessary skills are in place to deliver on key initiatives.

 
Speaker: Merwin Moss, Principal Solutions Consultant, Pluralsight
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1:30-2:00 p.m.
Embrace the AI Paradigm Shift: Empower Your Team Today
Discover how ELB Learning’s AI tools and services help employees connect new technology to their day-to-day work. ELB Learning’s approach to AI training goes beyond prompt engineering—it's about empowering your team to embrace change and solve real-world problems. In this session, you’ll learn how ELB Learning’s approach to AI ensures your employees are not just AI-ready but actually applying new tools to drive business results.
Join this session to:

Discover why our AI tools and services offer impactful learning for all levels: from foundational to advanced.
Identify how we tailor content depth to suit your team's needs, ensuring everyone can leverage AI for enhanced productivity and efficiency.
Explore use cases that lead to growth and innovation.

Speaker: Scott Provence, Senior Learning Strategist at ELB Learning
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2:15-2:45 p.m.
AI Enabled Skills Management: Make Personalized Skills Development a Reality
In today's evolving business landscape, staying ahead requires a workforce that is continuously learning and adapting, but traditional methods of skills management and development are no longer sufficient. That’s where AI-enabled skills management comes in. This transformative approach leverages AI to revolutionize how organizations assess, develop, and optimize their talent.
In this session, we’ll explore the cutting-edge technologies and strategies that are making personalized skills development an attainable goal for businesses of all sizes. Attendees will gain insights into how AI can enhance every aspect of skills management, including identifying skill gaps and recommending tailored training programs. Plus, you’ll get to see AI in action as we build entire courses of your choosing – on-demand – in mere minutes using CYPHER Learning’s new AI-powered Copilot technology.
Join this session to:

Understand AI’s role in skills management.
Find out how to implement personalized skills development.
Distinguish how CYPHER AI 360 can streamline and enhance attendees' skills management initiatives.

Speaker: Jennifer Geisler, Chief Marketing Officer, CYPHER Learning
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3:00-3:30 p.m.
Use Generative AI to Achieve Your Strategic Goals
Strategy.ai is an industry-leading artificial intelligence platform that empowers talent management teams with private, secure, and powerful AI tools to deliver personalized training to employees within their daily workflow. Discover how to leverage AI to dramatically enhance the value delivered by your team.
Join this session to:

Discover how and why AI can transform your approach to talent management. 
Learn why providing your workforce with generative AI tools is essential for achieving your strategic goals.
Identify how leveraging AI can triple the effectiveness and satisfaction of your internal customers.

Speaker: Andrew Leong-Fern, Founder and CEO, Strategy.ai
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