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Sara Hope is CEO and cofounder of the Conversation Space; sara@theconversationspace.com.

Sara Hope

January 2024 - TD Magazine

Let&rsquo;s talk about how to improve your communication and conversational skills.

The Fine Art of Conversation

Sara Hopkins is the senior director of custom learning solutions at Paradigm Learning. In this role, she leads a team of instructional designers to bring custom solutions to a variety of clients. Sara has a particular focus on onboarding implementations. She was the lead developer of the Passport to Protiviti game, working closely with a team of Protiviti subject matter experts, project stakeholders, and other instructional designers and consultants. Sara has led the design of custom solutions or facilitated sessions for J.P. Morgan Chase, Merck, eBay, PayPal, Covidien, Anheuser Busch InBev, AMITA, Mercy Health, and many other organizations. She has been with Paradigm for five years. Before Paradigm, Sara worked in book publishing as a literary agent and consultant in New York, Chicago, and London. She is a graduate of New York University.

Sara Hopkins

Prior to joining the performance, consulting, and enhancement department in March 2015 as a training content development specialist, Sarah Callahan entered Pepco as a bilingual customer service representative in May 2012. Before that, she taught high school Spanish at St. Margaret’s Boarding School in Tappahannock, Virginia, where she developed a strong curriculum for the Spanish department during her six-year tenure.Sarah is a 2006 graduate of Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, with a bachelor’s degree in Hispanic studies and humanities and minors in English and history. In addition, she is completing a master’s degree program at the University of St. Louis in Spanish literature and culture, with an anticipated graduation of May 2016. Upon graduation, Sarah hopes to continue her education and get a master’s degree in adult education and training.

Sarah Callahan

Consider the following scenario: You’ve recently purchased a nice plot of land and are in the process of engaging a builder to construct your new home. During your first meeting with the builder, you let him know that you want a three-story house. He asks for additional details, of course, and learns that you would like the house to be approximately 3,500 square feet, modern design, and offer lots of light. In essence, you want “the most recent trends in modern homes, but not necessarily everything.” Then, you ask him for an estimated cost to build the home. He asks you to make more decisions on details about the types of materials you would like in the house (tile, hardwood, custom kitchen elements, and so forth). But you insist that he just give you a “ballpark estimate” on what it costs to build a three-story house—because you have not made those decisions yet. Sound familiar? Alas, this scenario is reminiscent of the headache that many of us encounter when we try to estimate the expense and time commitment of an e-learning project. If you plan to work with a vendor or contractor, there is the effort of finding the right person to design and develop it. Then, how do you effectively communicate the scope of your project? Is there something you could do to better prepare for your e-learning initiatives? Often, organizations will base the scope of their projects on the “run time” of the deliverable. For example, some may use this chart (derived from surveys in 2003 and 2009) as a guide to determine the number of hours it should take to develop one hour of e-learning. Although this information could be used as an extremely generic resource, there are many factors that could dramatically skew even those time estimates. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to prepare for a more accurate estimate. Let me share my “consultant’s view” to scoping a new project. To determine the real level of effort, I request some time to conduct an in-depth analysis before quoting design and development hours. Not only does this help me provide a more accurate estimate, it also allows me to partner with the project owner to ensure that we have a “blueprint” for the right training solution. This process includes the following steps: Interview the Project Owner I have a form that is chock-full of questions to help draw out the project description and goal, learning objectives, technical evaluation (operating system, screen resolution restrictions, LMS requirements, delivery method), and an existing content evaluation (to identify what source content is currently available as an input or resource for the project). Most importantly, this is when we work together to determine how we will define success. To make the most of this process, include all relevant stakeholders in the meeting.   Create a Content Map Not long before I began working in mobile learning, I started using mind maps over other visuals, such as an outline document or typical flow chart. Mapping a project helps me clearly visualize the components of the solution (as well as validate those components with the project owner). Here is an example of a content map for a recent project:Tie-In the Source Content Once I have mapped the project, I can connect the relevant content to each of the components of the solution by adding notes to each. This content has typically already been identified during the interview(s) with the project owner, so it only needs some paring-down at this point. Meet with Key Stakeholders You will want to meet with key stakeholders to validate the map, or blueprint, and present the solution(s). In this step, my goal is to ensure that we have included all relevant information and are in agreement for the type of solution that will best meet their needs. Bottom Line Not to go all “ADDIE” in here, but starting each project with a thorough analysis and a project “blueprint” will result in a more accurate estimate of the time necessary to move forward with design and full development of the project solution. And, much like with building a house, having a thoughtful plan helps mitigate the risk of getting deep into the project and not getting the results you had intended.

E-Learning Estimates Made Easy: Start With a Blueprint

August 2020 - ATD Links

From the very first conversation with a candidate, I aim to be as transparent as possible regarding the constraints of our current climate. We have been working from home for five months, and there is no end in sight.

Onboarding During A Pandemic

(Alexandria, VA) January 14, 2020—In the modern workplace, new technologies are changing how we communicate, learn, and get things done. These technologies are forcing talent development (TD) professionals to embrace, test, and adopt them to advance their careers and the performance of employees and the organizations they serve. ATD’s 2020 Trends in Learning Technology, a new volume by ATD Press, provides a glimpse into several popular trends and gives insight into how they can be used to impact human performance in organizations.“As a talent development professional, it’s important to stay current on new technologies and to constantly assess what can be useful for your TD function, but it can be challenging to do that,” says Justin Brusino, editor of this book and director of content for ATD. “There’s a lot of noise and hype out there. We wanted to produce a book that could be a quick guide for TD professionals to review the potential and limitations on some of these new technologies, trends, and ideas.”ATD’s 2020 Trends in Learning Technology includes chapters by seven technology experts who examine a different trend and look at what impact each has had and might have in the future:· Microlearning by Shannon Tipton· Podcasting by Mike Lentz· User Experience Design by Becca Wilson· xAPI by Sarah Mercier and Sean Putman· Artificial Intelligence by JD Dillon· Augmented and Virtual Reality by Destery Hildenbrand.Capping off the volume is a chapter on talent development’s role in the changing, technology-driven business landscape by Brandon Carson.“While this book focuses on technology, it’s important to remember that technology is only a tool,” says Brusino. “It’s fun and exciting, but without a purpose, technology is meaningless. Fortunately, the best uses of technology can bring us even closer as humans—by putting us in someone else’s shoes through virtual reality, making content more accessible to all, or enabling workers to achieve their best potential through effective learning. The theme of this book may be technology, but the element that ties all the technology together is people.”TD professionals must continually assess their technology toolbox. Given the pace of change and disruption, a regular review and evaluation of new technologies is a best practice. ATD’s 2020 Trends in Learning Technology is a timely resource for today’s future-focused professionals.About the editorJustin Brusino is director of content for ATD and leads the development of new content and products, including articles, webcasts, books, conferences, and workshops on a variety of talent development topics. With a strong interest in technology, Justin is always looking for new trends and emerging topics in learning tech that can impact the talent development industry.About ATD and ATD PressThe Association for Talent Development (ATD) is the world’s largest association dedicated to those who develop talent in organizations. ATD’s members come from more than 120 countries and work in public and private organizations in every industry sector. ATD Press publications are written by industry thought leaders and offer anyone who works with adult learners the best practices, academic theory, and guidance necessary to move the profession forward. For more information, visit td.org/books.ATD’s 2020 Trends in Learning TechnologyISBN: 978-1-947308-90-9 | 110 Pages | PDFhttps://www.td.org/product/book--atds-2020-trends-in-learning-technology-pdf/711912To order books from ATD Press, call 800.628.2783.To schedule an interview with Mr. Brusino, please contact Kay Hechler, ATD Press Senior Marketing Manager, at khechler@td.org or at 703.683.8178.

New Technologies Change Human Performance in Organizations

Shawn Farshchi is the President and CEO of Saba. Prior to taking on the President and CEO position, Shawn was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO), responsible for Saba's product management, product development, cloud operations, professional services, customer support, IT and marketing. Shawn brings more than 30 years of experience leading, driving and managing technological, organizational, and cultural change in highly dynamic business environments.

Shawn Farshchi

Headlines for April 2015: global edtech investments, on-the-job device trends, Vector Capital’s acquisition of Saba, and Tin Can’s new recipe for Open Badges.

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