Before I get into today’s post, here’s a brief report on this week’s ATD EXPO in Atlanta. From friends and business acquaintance phone calls, they believe that two subject areas stand out this year: 1) LMS-like technology (no surprise) and Microtraining (which has been on the horizon for some time and is now beginning to explode — and, in my opinion, all for good reason. Today’s learner demands it and rejects the...
This is the week (May 22-24) of the ATD International Conference & Exhibition. ATD is expecting in excess of 10,000 attendees to gather at the Georgia World Conference Center in Atlanta. Better than a quarter of that number will be international visitors (a remarkable percentage that indicates how global the appeal of training has become). ATD (Association for Talent Development) is the largest training society in the world and hosts the largest...
I have had several varying careers in the training business, professional theater and in higher education. More importantly, I have watched many things change within the culture of our country. But, the change that bothers me most is the over-emphasis parents place on grades today — an emphasis they mistakenly associate with future success. Unfortunately, what those parents mean by future success is almost always equatable with money. “Make straight ‘A’s’ in...
“ . . . So to conclude my brief glimpse into the difference between PowerPoint and eLearning… They can both be full of amazing graphics and engaging interactions, but they are different tools with different aims. My point is, many of us may have used a knife to loosen a screw, but sooner or later we come to the conclusion its far more effective if we take a little more time and...
“Poverty, undereducation and disconnectedness to society beget exactly those same things — a problem that has stymied policymakers since the advent of public education, which was supposed to be the solution. Four centuries of publicly funded schools in America have taught us, definitively, that education is much more than schooling. All receive schooling, but in large part, those of the educated class get educated and those not of the educated class do...
“No matter how brilliantly Science has understood the mechanics of the material world, it is a remarkable ineffective tool for deciphering the mysteries of human misery. Even with thousands of ‘experts’ telling us what’s wrong, and measuring it, self-knowledge is on the decline. In America, the most technologically advanced country on earth, one has to be oblivious not to hear a din of sorrow and private disappointment just below the gabble of...
I have observed during the time that I have been a training consultant (having left ITC in 1998) that American-produced e-Learning courseware has tended to move away from learning values and, instead, has focused their efforts on the initial cost of online training technology. For me, that has been a big step backward. And, from a true ROI view, I’m relatively certain that the economic equation comes up on the negative side. ...
From a QUANTA Magazine interview with Freeman Dyson, “A ‘Rebel’ Without a Ph.D” by Thomas Lin, we find an arresting introduction to today’s subject: Dyson, the world-renowned mathematical physicist and now 90, when asked, “You became a professor at Cornell without ever having received a Ph.D. You seem proud of that fact?” “Oh, yes. I’m very proud of not having a Ph.D. I think the Ph.D. system is an abomination. It was...
I’m sure it’s no secret to any of you who work in the process and manufacturing industries that science and mathematics are inexorably linked to what you and your organization do on a daily basis. Of equal importance is the fact that the American economy is hinged, to a large extent, on the contributions science and math make to our industrial complex. Manufacturing has the largest multiplier of all sectors of the...
While the following results are a couple of years old, they undoubtedly still apply today: “Lack of training is the biggest obstacle to manufacturing quality success today, according to the 2014 Manufacturing Training Trends Survey recently released by Seminars for Engineers. According to the report, 27% of respondents cited lack of training, 20% cited outmoded equipment, 16% cited poor quality control and 14% cited company morale. While 89% said their company offers opportunities...
Lately, we’ve been reading a lot about the changes coming to U.S. manufacturing. We’ve seen articles written about the return of manufacturing jobs to America as well as the disconnect between those jobs and insufficiently trained applicants. An article in Plant Engineering summarizes these issues: More manufacturing jobs are returning to U.S. shores while new innovation “hubs” are being created across the nation. The manufacturing sector is undergoing an evolution where innovation...
“The truth about teachers… Until you have had the distinct privilege to teach, you will never fully know what goes on behind that closed (or even open) classroom door. Despite what some assume, teachers are overworked and underpaid. Despite that, some claim they have perfect hours and more than adequate time off. But teachers don’t clock out at 3p.m. nor do they stop working the first week of June. Despite what some...
“You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.” (Lee Iacocca) We’ve all heard the expression, “Good ideas are a dime a dozen!” And, so they are! But, too many of them prove of little value, simply because the premises behind them are not thoroughly examined. If the more important questions are not asked –- the more important answers are never found. Therefore,...
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” (Benjamin Franklin) When talking about the challenges facing both education and training today, one size no longer fits all. Stand-up instruction, books, distance learning, networked computer-based instruction, and multi-sensory e-Learning may all have a place. Equally important is the support required by education and training professionals in dealing with the increasingly complicated challenges that effect learning. And,...