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Amy Hand

Enhance Your Training Brand

February 2011 - TD Magazine

How to Enhance Your Training Brand

Resilience allows for better decision making, sustained personal growth, and the ability to bounce back with fierce resolve.

The Road to Resilience: Failure, Recovery, and Recovery Again

The ATD Research team is excited to share some of the highlights from ATD and the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp)’s new work focusing on massive online open courses (MOOCs) in learning and development (L&D).MOOCs, which are collaborative online courses open to anyone wishing to participate at no cost (although a fee may be required to obtain credit), have gained popularity and recognition in higher education. Among the benefits MOOCs offer students are the ability to access materials at any time and from any location, and the opportunity to collaborate with other learners. The value of MOOCs has been a topic of debate, however, especially in light of dismal completion rates.With the amount of attention directed at MOOCs in academia, we were not surprised that many talent development professionals were seeking answers to questions:Are organizations using MOOCs in L&D and are they using them effectively?What benefits can organizations realize from using MOOCs? Do poor completion rates also plague MOOCs in L&D? To investigate these questions, ATD and i4cp surveyed 525 learning and business professionals in summer 2014. Our findings were published in our research report, MOOCs: Expanding the Scope of Organizational Learning.MOOCs aren’t widely used in learning but they hold promiseOur research discovered that MOOC use is still low in talent development, with only 22 percent of surveyed professionals reporting that their organization currently uses MOOCs in L&D. Not surprising, most MOOC activity in L&D has been recent. More than three-quarters of organizations leveraging MOOCs only started doing so in the last three years.   The ranks of organizations that are new MOOC users are also expected to grow, however. Of organizations that currently do not use MOOCs, 36 percent are planning on leveraging MOOCs in the future. But these new users may not realize all the possible advantages of MOOCs right away. Our research found that the longer MOOCs were used in L&D programs, the more likely organizations were to report that MOOCs were effective.We polled participants on what they felt were the greatest potential benefits of MOOCs, and they cited broadening the scope of learning opportunities as the single greatest advantage. Other top benefits were providing access to e-learning and expanding the leadership development curriculum. Addressing the problem of poor completion rates Although MOOCs appear very promising, our findings suggest that users of MOOCs in L&D settings, like academic MOOC participants, very frequently become disengaged and drop out. We asked survey respondents about their personal experiences with MOOCs, and it was clear that the majority of MOOC starters never finish. To keep learners engaged and effectively deliver content, Amy Rouse, a director at AT&T’s corporate university, which uses MOOCs, suggested that learning professionals should consider using MOOCs in combination with other delivery methods. “There are limits to what we can do now with technology to connect people who may not be physically located together. So we’re exploring very creative approaches to blended learning, such as how we can combine MOOC content with hands-on labs or self-paced pre-requisite content, and maybe follow up with a social learning collaborative community where employee learners can support each other when they’re back on the job. It may not be all MOOC, all web-based, or all instructor-led training. But we’re excited to see how we can combine these alternatives to create the most effective learning experiences to help employees succeed,” said Rouse. Want to learn more? I encourage everyone to join us for a free webcast hosted by ATD Research and i4cp on February 2, 2014, at noon. We will discuss the report’s findings. The full research report, MOOCs: Expanding the Scope of Organizational Learning_,_ is available for purchase online. Members have complimentary access to the whitepaper version of the report.

The Promise of MOOCs: Key Findings from New ATD Research

Think about your favorite band or artist. They find their rhythm with each other by ensuring they are “N*SYNC” with one another both musically and socially. Employees are the same way.Creating a culture of continuous learning and collaboration is essential for any organization, but it’s not always easy for teams to make the time or prioritize these skills. One innovative way to engage your team and drive discussions around key organizational topics is through book clubs. While book clubs are often associated with personal reading, they can be a powerful tool in a workplace setting, encouraging team members to develop skills and understand topics aligned with your organization’s goals.Promoting Continuous Learning and Professional DevelopmentA book club can serve as an engaging ongoing professional development opportunity. By selecting books that align with your organization’s objectives, your team stays informed about the latest developments in your field but also furthers a collective culture of lifelong learning.The most important part of any book club is the analysis and discussion that happens once the book is read. Through group discussions, team members can apply what they’ve learned to real-world situations, enhancing their ability to contribute to the organization's success. Now you’ve got an excited and engaged workforce that has a collective vocabulary and set of short-hand phrases to convey complex ideas! Here are a few examples of professional development titles offered on Libby.Encouraging Open Dialogue and Diverse PerspectivesBook clubs create a welcoming space where employees can freely share their thoughts and engage in deep conversations on complex topics. Whether exploring themes like diversity and inclusion, change management, or innovation, these discussions promote cross-departmental communication and help break down organizational silos. In an informal setting, book clubs allow employees to connect on a personal level, strengthening relationships and creating a more cohesive workplace. Leveraging existing employee resource groups (ERGs) is an excellent way to launch a book club, seamlessly integrating it into your organization’s culture.Here are a few examples of titles centered around diversity and inclusion in Libby.Aligning Team Efforts With Organizational GoalsBook clubs can be strategically used to align your team’s efforts with the broader goals of your organization. By carefully selecting books that reflect the company's mission, vision, and values, you can reinforce key messages and inspire employees to think critically about how they contribute to the organization's success.For example, if your organization is undergoing a digital workflow transformation, reading and discussing books on technology trends like artificial intelligence can help your team understand the challenges and opportunities ahead.Driving engagement with learning and development isn’t always the easiest sell for an organization, but a book club can help activate employees more, engender passionate advocates for the process, and even develop champions for learning. To learn more about book clubs and how they work at OverDrive, visit our website to inspire your organization’s next book club.

Learning and Reading Are Better With Colleagues

Game On! Action-Based Training Designs for Better Learning Passive learning just doesn’t cut it in today’s evolving, competitive workplace. Research demonstrates that action-first learning works because it engages the mind immediately and makes sure that knowledge and skills will stick. With a more diverse array of action-based training designs, organizations can motivate learners, provide hands-on, collaborative practice, and drive behavioral change. In Action-First Learning, educator and tech expert Karl M. Kapp covers nine distinct types of learning experiences in one volume—from card and board games, escape rooms, and branching scenarios to augmented reality and AI-powered coaching. He explains why each design works and how to choose, plan, and execute the right kind of project for your goals. Each chapter includes a detailed case study, a design checklist, and tips on how to leverage AI in the creation of action-first learning.The book includes a chapter by instructional designer Amy Pape about how to improve action-first learning through accessibility and another by L&D expert Kevin Thorn on the use of comics in action-first learning.

Action-First Learning

Learn and practice the skills of an exceptional facilitator in this proven train-the-trainer certificate program from industry leader ATD. Find out more!

Training & Facilitation Certificate

Learn to tailor your writing to the appropriate modality, format, and audience. Improve the quality of your learning programs through engaging writing. Learn more!

Writing for Instructional Design and Training Certificate

Psychological safety, like anything, can be misconstrued or, even worse, weaponized. Unfortunately, psychological safety frequently gets mentioned with no grace or understanding of how hard it is to build it within a team.

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