tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157245792024-03-12T22:42:00.276-07:00Corporate eLearning Strategies and DevelopmentTraining is an event. Learning is a process. Technology supports both. Improving workplace performance is the goal.bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.comBlogger1089125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-63307041947892540782019-10-10T07:39:00.003-07:002019-10-10T07:39:52.440-07:00Your Digital Content Needs to be 5-able<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
The 5-ables of Digital Training Content</h2>
Join me on crowdcast this morning for a conversation about content. All content in the 21st century is 5-able. Come hear about what that means.<br />
<iframe allow="microphone; camera;" allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="800" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.crowdcast.io/e/halftilt-thursday-100919?navlinks=false&embed=true" style="border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid #eee;" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="100%"></iframe><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" ng-href="https://www.crowdcast.io/?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=embed" style="color: #aaaaaa; display: block; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding: 5px 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;">powered by Crowdcast</a>
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bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-9167512668581843292019-05-07T12:55:00.000-07:002019-05-07T12:55:21.118-07:00The Daily BSchlenker - Guest Michael Sheyahshe Shows us Unreal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTCbPo5vxvWO-6IB7lgwOMgC1spFn0Tzh0eSXMusPX3Pkkla-uM38OyfLMblNkY5oJWCRPkd988AP_P69oINch_YN_7jhjIqXAwSNiLMu8A3JC1miWD-PsyydJYGCfkhkA5gCx/s1600/michael+sheyahshe+050819.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTCbPo5vxvWO-6IB7lgwOMgC1spFn0Tzh0eSXMusPX3Pkkla-uM38OyfLMblNkY5oJWCRPkd988AP_P69oINch_YN_7jhjIqXAwSNiLMu8A3JC1miWD-PsyydJYGCfkhkA5gCx/s1600/michael+sheyahshe+050819.png" /></a></div>
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Surprise! eLearnDev is back... sort of...</h3>
Does anyone even blogger any more? LOL!<br />
<br />
Well, for a good laugh I'm going to click the publish button and see how many RSS readers are still connected.<br />
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But I'm also posting this here to promote my new (almost) daily live streaming conversations for corporate training professionals. Tomorrow at 3pm PST I'll be talking with Michael Sheyahshe about using the Unreal gaming engine to create eLearning experiences.<br />
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And if you're not familiar with crowdcast, and don't want to mess with it, then you can just watch the show here. Let me know what you think.<br />
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<iframe allow="microphone; camera;" allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="800" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.crowdcast.io/e/050819-michael-sheyahshe?navlinks=false&embed=true" style="border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid #eee;" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="100%"></iframe><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" ng-href="https://www.crowdcast.io/?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=embed" style="color: #aaaaaa; display: block; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding: 5px 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;">powered by Crowdcast</a>
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bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-85723493688241099672018-07-19T07:17:00.000-07:002018-07-19T07:17:36.939-07:00TLDCast - Stella Lee Talks About Aging Workforce<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Special Guest Stella Lee Talks About Issues Facing Learning and Development Professionals</h2>
I'm really looking forward to today's #TLDCast with Stella Lee.<br />
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She is going to help us answer these big questions:<br />
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<li>How do we support the aging workforce? </li>
<li>How do they prefer to learn? </li>
<li>How can we leverage data to improve learning and performance support? Is big data the answer? </li>
<li>What is the role of the L&D department for employees in preparing the future of learning (e.g. AI/machine learning/automation replacing workers, jobs being obsolete, etc.)?</li>
</ul>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Live Streaming Daily Conversations for Corporate Training, Learning and Development Professionals</h2>
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Weekdays: 8am Pacific - 11am Eastern - 4pm British Summer Time</div>
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<iframe allow="microphone; camera;" allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="800" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.crowdcast.io/e/Stella-Lee?navlinks=false&embed=true" style="border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-radius: 3px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px;" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<a href="https://www.crowdcast.io/?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=embed" style="color: #aaaaaa; display: block; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding: 5px 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;">powered by crowdcast</a>
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bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-45770386756841551322018-06-03T15:54:00.000-07:002018-06-03T15:54:15.038-07:00TLDCast - Open Forum - Host Brent Schlenker<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
#TLDCast is going to be FANTASTIC this week! Get it on your calendar.<br />
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<b>Monday through Friday </b></div>
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<i>8am PT - 11am EST - 4pm UK</i></div>
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Don't forget to get registered for Monday's open forum conversation. These are my favorite. The serendipitous nature of community conversations is always surprising me.<br />
<br />
We will likely review the video challenge that I presented the community on VideoFriday last week. Since it was #NationalDonutDay I created the following challenge:<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
TLDC VideoFriday Challenge:</h2>
Create a dramatic 10sec Video of yourself eating a doughnut (or other food).<br />
1) Use 5 shots/edits or less<br />
2) Straight cuts only - no transitions<br />
3) Must be completely produced on your mobile device.<br />
Those are the only rules!<br />
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TLDCUK Meetup</h2>
Don't forget to RSVP for the TLDC-UK Meetup coming June 21st.<br />
<iframe allow="microphone; camera;" allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="800" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.crowdcast.io/e/060418?navlinks=false&embed=true" style="border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid #eee;" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="100%"></iframe><a href="https://www.crowdcast.io/?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=embed" style="color: #aaaaaa; display: block; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding: 5px 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;">powered by crowdcast</a>
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bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-74831338743569563352018-06-01T07:47:00.000-07:002018-06-01T11:30:32.158-07:00VideoFriday on TLDCast - Back to Basics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today is #VideoFriday on #TLDCast. Brent Schlenker and Sam Rogers will be helping you get started with video production for eLearning.<br />
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UPDATE: What a great show today. Thanks to everyone who joined us for sharing your questions, ideas, and expertise. <br />
<iframe allow="microphone; camera;" allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="800" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.crowdcast.io/e/060118?navlinks=false&embed=true" style="border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid #eee;" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="100%"></iframe><a href="https://www.crowdcast.io/?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=embed" style="color: #aaaaaa; display: block; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding: 5px 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;">powered by crowdcast</a>
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bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-47316707904192331682018-01-16T08:37:00.001-07:002018-01-16T08:37:47.152-07:00Game Design and UX Design are about Learning<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm really looking forward to today's #TLDCast because I'll be hosting a book review of one of my favorite books: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1449363210/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_WKHxAbB4N4FNV" target="_blank">A Theory of Fun by Raph Koster</a>.<br />
<br />
Whenever anyone asks me to recommend a book for newbies in the world of training and/or L&D, this is my #1 recommendation.<br />
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Why?<br />
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Because Raph takes very complex neuroscience, cognitive psych, and other complex studies and applies them in a narrative of discovery. A journey into why some activities are fun and others are not.<br />
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In corporate spaces "fun" is often frowned upon. I believe that is the case because it is misunderstood. Fun is misinterpreted as the opposite of work. Having fun can often times be very hard work. And working hard is often fun.<br />
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But at the heart of the fun of games is learning. I've embedded this UX/UI presentation by Raph directly to his statements about learning. Click play and listen to about 3-5mins. If that doesn't intrigue you then you're done. But if it does, rewind to the beginning and watch the entire video.<br />
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<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ns9Azf9UKO4?start=750" width="560"></iframe>
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bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-20440236639740367412018-01-09T07:10:00.000-07:002018-01-09T07:10:20.759-07:00TLDCast Tuesday Topic is eLearning Projects<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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How Do You Manage eLearning Projects?</h2>
How many eLearning development projects are you currently working on? One? One hundred?<br />
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Many training departments are overwhelmed with eLearning projects that need to be delivered. The demand for content is growing as is the need for continuing professional development.<br />
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Today's <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=TLDCast" target="_blank">#TLDCast</a> conversation is about addressing these concerns. <br />
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What is a TLDCast?</h2>
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<a class="" href="https://tldc.us/tldcast-schedule/" target="_blank">TLDCast</a> is a live streaming collaborative conversation for the entire Training, and L&D industry. <a href="https://tldc.us/tldcast-schedule/" target="_blank">TLDCast </a>will always be FREE as is the 24/7 TLDChat conversation occurring in slack.<br />
<br />
It's not a webinar. It's a collaborative live streaming broadcast running Monday thru Friday 8am PT - 11am ET - 4pm UK. We've embedded the platform here for your viewing convenience, or you can participate at <a href="http://crowdcast.io/tldcast">http://crowdcast.io/tldcast</a>.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="800" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.crowdcast.io/e/010918?navlinks=false&embed=true" style="border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid #eee;" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="100%"></iframe><br />
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<a href="http://tldc18.com/" target="_blank">TLDC18</a> is coming up January 29th & 30th in sunny Phoenix Arizona. Join your training, and L&D colleagues for 2 full days of networking, learning, sharing, and fun! Contact me directly for a discount on your registration. Let me know you saw this post.<br />
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<br /><a href="https://www.crowdcast.io/?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=embed" style="color: #aaaaaa; display: block; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding: 5px 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;">powered by crowdcast</a>
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bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-25019253830405057522017-12-20T15:09:00.002-07:002017-12-20T15:09:43.489-07:00Congratulations TLDCast! Today is the 200th Episode for Training Learning and Development Professionals<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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THANK YOU TLDCommunity!</h2>
Thanks to everyone who joined us today! Luis and I appreciate all of you. If you'd like to continue the <a href="http://crowdcast.io/tldcast" target="_blank">TLDCast conversations</a>, please join us in the slack group. <a href="http://bit.ly/2jMKreV" target="_blank">#TLDChat </a>will continue in slack making the connection between live streaming broadcast and text-based chat conversations.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
TLDC18 January 29-30 Phoenix, AZ</h2>
We're also looking forward to seeing everyone in Phoenix January 29th, 30th for <a href="http://tldc18.com/" target="_blank">TLDC18</a>!<br />
It's the best for a professional development opportunity that you will find. Join us for TLDCast and ask others why they're going. You don't want to miss this!<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="800" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://www.crowdcast.io/e/122017?navlinks=false&embed=true" style="border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid #eee;" width="100%"></iframe><a href="https://www.crowdcast.io/?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=embed" style="color: #aaaaaa; display: block; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding: 5px 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;">powered by crowdcast</a>
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bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-5404840987094868782017-12-20T08:08:00.000-07:002017-12-20T08:08:15.999-07:00A Hero's Story that MUST be told! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="565" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Falison.levine.397%2Fvideos%2F524875511214450%2F&show_text=1&width=560" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
This is my friend <a href="http://www.alisonlevine.com/" target="_blank">Alison Levine</a> and her wonder dog, Trooper!<br />
<br />
Alison is an amazing woman... for many reasons. You may even remember her keynote from <a href="https://www.elearningguild.com/conference-archive/3957/keynote-cliff-notes-leadership-lessons-from-the-edge/" target="_blank">DevLearn 2012</a> or hundreds of other events.<br />
<br />
But Alison isn't the Hero in this story. She is doing what great leaders do, and highlighting others...the unsung heroes. In this documentary, it's one special hero from Nepal that inspired a nation of women to be bold and break through the glass ceiling.<br />
<br />
The indiegogo campaign is ending and the documentary still needs funds to become a reality. Please help make this movie happen. </div>
bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-4575619137586366912017-04-06T16:57:00.000-07:002017-04-06T16:57:53.086-07:00TLDChat - Video Friday - Guest Brian Fanzo talks Live Streaming<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Welcome to #TLDChat!</h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Today we are talking with the amazing Brian Fanzo, aka <a href="http://twitter.com/isocialfanz" target="_blank">@iSocialFanz</a> !</div>
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You can view it here or click the video screen below and login at crowdcast.io for the event. </div>
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Be sure to get updates on future #TLDChat guest by signing up for the newsletter at <a href="http://tldc.us/">TLDC.us</a> <iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="800" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://www.crowdcast.io/e/040717?navlinks=false&embed=true" style="border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid #eee;" width="100%"></iframe></div>
<a href="https://www.crowdcast.io/?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=embed" style="color: #aaaaaa; display: block; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; padding: 5px 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;">powered by crowdcast</a>
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bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-91982975291506215542017-03-20T13:09:00.003-07:002017-03-20T13:09:37.500-07:00TLDChat - Another First for the L&D Industry<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrPr5g0XEQX85rg2USi65QSJp8TfHCDMIK_dGuUOIXBar10oeyE7Ykm0y7lV-j1E4toWPIBLlsPVUXEMCbuCWkpt12DHmMtNdLJ7pxfTtUTevgudsnPacQ-I2Ubt5OR78UZsf8/s1600/join-us-on-crowdcast.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrPr5g0XEQX85rg2USi65QSJp8TfHCDMIK_dGuUOIXBar10oeyE7Ykm0y7lV-j1E4toWPIBLlsPVUXEMCbuCWkpt12DHmMtNdLJ7pxfTtUTevgudsnPacQ-I2Ubt5OR78UZsf8/s640/join-us-on-crowdcast.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Last year we experimented with a daily live streaming show called L&D Talk. It was a fantastic experience, and convinced me that this crazy idea of daily live streaming was now possible. I've been thinking about this since my days in broadcast television back in the early '90s. The live streaming tech that exists today makes it possible within a simple interface. And we are looking forward to moving the L&D industry forward and seeing the future. But we are also focused on how you can do the work of training today and provide immediate business value.<br />
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Crowdcast.io</h2>
There are many new apps, tools, services, launching in this space, but we've decided on <a href="http://crowdcast.io/" target="_blank">Crowdcast.io </a>to get us started. So far the tool has been wonderful. The Q&A and polling features are simple to use and add an interesting element to the conversation. The screen sharing is simple to use as well, and now that I have tested it I am looking forward to using it more often in unique ways.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
TLDChat</h2>
#TLDChat is a part of the TLDC brand experience. TLDC is the Training Learning and Development C...: Community, Conference, and Chat. All aspects of the experience revolve around YOU, the members of the community. Technology has given us all the ability to organize more efficiently than ever before. TLDC is here to facilitate your success through interactivity with your peers and the experts the you want to hear from.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Rings of Focus</h2>
Are you familiar with the Rings of Focus yet? Maybe not. This is just one way that we looked at designing the TLDC experience. There are 5 rings: YOU in the center, Projects, Team, Organization, and Industry in the outer rings. These 5 areas make up the work in your career. You focus on yourself in order to produce great projects within teams for organizations or clients. You then have the ability to share key learnings and experiences within the industry as a part of giving back to the community that most likely helped you succeed. It always comes back full circle. <br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<br />TLDC.us and TLDC.events</h2>
Check out <a href="http://tldc.us/">TLDC.us</a> to see a list of episodes and review the notes and archived recordings. If you want to participate in the live streaming conversation you can find us at <a href="http://tldc.events/">TLDC.events</a>.<br />
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The TLDCommunity is yours. Tell us what you want to discuss, learn, and share. We will figure out how to facilitate that for you. Because we probably want the same things. </div>
bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-44723516810160762282017-03-14T11:41:00.002-07:002017-03-14T11:41:43.510-07:00Brent Schlenker Says Good Bye to Litmos!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipuwYDcxvlK_JD0Zf-wr1rVPG6NMdc5g1-DJOouQpQA6nC85cMQkD4L94PCUyVaAL-4jQMRTjiM-pcZAYhL7mUFQbDIj9PDMTsluOD3Id_t1hYRHjo-owjnPy9mOr36lkXZIU5/s1600/goodbye.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipuwYDcxvlK_JD0Zf-wr1rVPG6NMdc5g1-DJOouQpQA6nC85cMQkD4L94PCUyVaAL-4jQMRTjiM-pcZAYhL7mUFQbDIj9PDMTsluOD3Id_t1hYRHjo-owjnPy9mOr36lkXZIU5/s400/goodbye.png" width="266" /></a>
The Big Idea</h2>
Today Litmos is announcing that I am no longer working as their Chief Learning Strategist. We still plan to work together in the future, but currently have no specific plans to announce.<br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
A Quick Look Back...</h2>
I remember meeting the Litmos founders via twitter back when they launched. And seeing them exhibit for the first time while I was Program Director for DevLearn was a highlight. I remember being so excited to finally see a SaaS based Learning Management System disrupt our industry. Of course today, just about all LMSs are SaaS based, but as far as I know Litmos was the first.<br />
<br />
Litmos was acquired by Calliduscloud back in 2011 and I joined the growing team in 2014. Up until that point I had experienced corporate training, and L&D, from just about every angle. As a practitioner that included instructional designer, eLearning & virtual reality developer, Director of Training, and other titles across different organizations like HR, logistics, manufacturing, IT, and corporate universities. My passion for technology as an early adopter and evangelist for what we called Learning2.0 launched my industry career beyond my corporate career as a practicing L&D professional which led to my role in programming DevLearn for 5 years. <br />
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
Why Did I Work for Litmos?</h2>
The piece of our industry that I had not yet experienced, on the inside, was the vendor community. So, in 2014, I jumped at the opportunity to work with the vendor I saw disrupting the industry the most. I learned so much and enjoyed offering them leading industry knowledge, thought leadership, and playing a role in their tremendous growth. Through my industry presence blogging, being active in social media, presenting at events, and marketing campaigns, I provided Litmos visibility across many different channels giving them a voice, and face, in the larger community.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
So, What's Up?</h2>
It's been a fantastic 3 years. Experiences like this have given me a more complete picture of our L&D industry that is unique and valuable. I'm looking forward to taking this experience, and new vision of the future of training/learning into my next role. I'm grateful to the Litmos leadership team for the amazing opportunity. We plan on continuing our relationship while I continue to pursue opportunities helping other corporate training and L&D organizations optimize their training systems and processes.<br />
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As always, you can find me on twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/bschlenker" target="_blank">@bschlenker</a>, or on snapchat as @schlearning. And my Facebook page is <a href="http://fb.com/brentschlenker" target="_blank">http://fb.com/brentschlenker </a>.</div>
bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-17211682950698435592017-03-03T09:42:00.000-07:002017-03-03T09:42:13.907-07:00Corporate Trainer as Knowledge Broker<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="s1">I've</span><span class="s2"> </span><span class="s1">often referred to the corporate training professional as a Knowledge Broker. And not in the academic sense (Google it and you'll see what I mean), but in the framework of the corporate training profession. In all honesty, in the corporate setting that just seemed more closely aligned with what training professionals did on the job, and the value they provide to the<span class="s2"> business</span>.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>A Knowledge Broker connects those that have the knowledge with those that need the knowledge. - </i>Brent Schlenker</span></blockquote>
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<span class="s1">The Knowledge Broker & Their Solutions</span></h2>
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<span class="s1">Designing and developing courses as solutions is only one part of the job. Actually some of your most valuable solutions to the business do not involve the creation of<span class="s2"> training content</span> or courses. The Knowledge Broker has a much larger bag of solutions to choose from than the traditionally defined training professional. But don't get too caught up in the semantics of it all. No matter what your job title is, thinking differently about how you provide value to the business is the ultimate goal.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">"Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match!"</span></h2>
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<span class="s1">It may seem over simplified, but here's the reality: Some employees HAVE the knowledge and other employees NEED the knowledge. New employees, often overwhelmed, approach the training department looking for answers, for content, for training... but mostly just for help. And more often then not, just connecting the new hire with the subject matter expert is all they need to get started. It's 1:1 training. And it's the most valuable thing you can do.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">That may not sound like "your job", and that you didn't really do anything because you didn't design a solution. But I would argue that you did. In fact, you designed the most elegant and, likely, most effective solution.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>"A designer knows when he has achieved perfection </i><b>not</b><i> when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to take away." - </i>Antoine de Saint-Exupery</span></blockquote>
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<span class="s1">Remember To Keep It Simple!</span></h2>
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<span class="s1">Remember to keep your solutions simple, and always look to add value to the business. Part of your job as Knowledge Broker is simply being a matchmaker. Try adding Matchmaker to your toolkit of solutions.</span></div>
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bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-15838868288268348222016-11-23T09:44:00.000-07:002016-11-23T09:48:59.278-07:00Remembering L&D Entrepreneur Leader Don Pierson<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The L&D industry lost another member of the community last week. Don Pierson died in a car accident last Friday. Read In Memory of Don Pierson <a href="http://startupaz-donpierson.strikingly.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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This month last year we lost Jay Cross who was such a visible and outspoken advocate for learning and development. But Don was not part of that side of our industry. He was a strong member of the Phoenix entrepreneur community and a builder of software products. He was part of the L&D vendor community. Most ISDs, and practitioners of training and eLearning, probably didn't know him. But many of you have used the products and services he's built for us over the years.<br />
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Don was a co-founder of Learning-Edge, and founder of Interactive Alchemy. Then went on to launch Flypaper which was acquired by Trivantis 3 years later. He then jumped outside of L&D, but not by much, and started a business that could track and predict sales performance based on activities (at least that's how I understood it.) He most recently joined the Indecomm team providing software services for some of the largest companies you can think of.<br />
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I met Don in 1997 when he hired me to work for him at Learning-Edge. That was my first experience working with a small company and the entire team he assembled was top notch. I was honored to be a part of that team. I didn't end up staying long, because I was just starting my family and Intel was pulling me back with offers I couldn't refuse. I was only there a year, but that year built many great relationships.<br />
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I lost touch with most of my Learning-Edge colleagues during my Intel years until I discovered the Interactive Alchemy offices a half mile down the street from my house. Then he and I met for lunch and he introduced me to his latest project, Flypaper. It was very cool! I was programming DevLearn at the time and I remember their first appearance in the expo...they had the coolest stickers. Those were the golden years of eLearning to be sure.<br />
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Don and I had just recently started meeting for lunches again and talking L&D. I was actually looking forward to our next lunch today. I will miss him. And my heart goes out to all of his family and friends.<br />
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Don was a big part of the Phoenix startup community. StartupAZ #yesphx has created a memorial fund in his name that will support the StartupAZ Foundation. Please consider giving a small donation in his honor. <a href="http://startupaz-donpierson.strikingly.com/">http://startupaz-donpierson.strikingly.com/</a><br />
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bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-41546104200962680502016-08-26T14:24:00.000-07:002016-08-26T14:24:31.206-07:00Video Friday - Scoping Video Projects for eLearning<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today we're joined by the President of Cine Learning Productions, Diane Senffner, for a fantastic discussion about all things Video Learning!<br />
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You can find out more about Diane and Cine Learning Productions at: <a href="http://cinelp.com/">http://CineLP.com/</a><br />
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Some fun tangents videos we referenced:<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YxVMg8pWH8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YxVMg8pWH8</a><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2128crl2JaA">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2128crl2JaA</a><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wew6K4zpGf8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wew6K4zpGf8</a><br />
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Keep this conversation going on LinkedIn:<br />
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7059426">https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7059426</a><br />
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Also chime in with your 140 characters of comments on Twitter!<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ldtalk">https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ldtalk</a><br />
<br />
...And we'll see you here every weekday at 8am Pacific / 11am Eastern
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bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-64522040850483054952016-08-25T11:42:00.000-07:002016-08-25T11:42:14.747-07:00L&D Talk: Gartners Emerging Tech Hype Curve, LMS Platforms, The Changing L&D Industry<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-align: center;">L&D Talk is presented by </span><a href="http://litmos.com/" style="text-align: center;">Litmos.com</a> - <span style="text-align: center;">Get your FREE trial at</span><a href="http://litmos.com/trial" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank"> litmos.com/trial</a></h3>
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Today our panel discussion centered around the new <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2016/08/21/gartner-hype-cycle-for-emerging-technologies-2016-adds-blockchain-machine-learning-for-first-time/#53eda5651ef2" target="_blank">Gartner Hype Cycle For Emerging Technologies</a> report.</div>
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We also discuss <a href="https://thejournal.com/articles/2016/07/28/learning-management-system-market-expected-to-grow-10.5-billion-in-next-5-years.aspx" target="_blank">LMS markets, trends, and issues</a>.<br />
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Keep this conversation going on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7059426" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>:<br />
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Also chime in with your 140 characters of comments on <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ldtalk" target="_blank">Twitter</a>!<br />
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L&D Talk is every day 8am Pacific Time. We are currently testing new live streaming platforms.<br />
But you will always find us at <a href="http://lndtalk.com/">LnDTalk.com</a>.<br />
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bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-46106382809489764902015-12-03T10:36:00.000-07:002015-12-03T10:36:14.358-07:00Christmas Items for the Training Professional on Santa's Nice List<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Check out these 3 great lists of gift ideas for the corporate training professional in your life.<br />
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This is a 3 Part Series from <a href="http://www.litmos.com/blog/" target="_blank">The eLearning Blog</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://www.litmos.com/blog/articles/christmas-wish-list-for-corporate-training-professionals-part-1-books" target="_blank">Books</a><br />
<a href="http://www.litmos.com/blog/articles/christmas-wish-list-for-training-professionals-part-2-trainers-emergency-kit" target="_blank">Trainer's Emergency Kit Items</a><br />
<a href="http://www.litmos.com/blog/articles/christmas-wish-list-for-training-professionals-part-3-video-recording-gear" target="_blank">Video Recording Gear</a><br />
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You can also see the <a href="https://trainlikeachampion.wordpress.com/2015/12/03/holiday-gift-guide-for-the-special-ld-professional-in-your-life/" target="_blank">Holiday Gift Guide for that Special L&D Professional in Your Life</a> from Brian Washburn at his blog Train Like a Champion.<br />
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Brian was the inspiration for part 2 of the Litmos blog series the Trainer's Emergency Kit. So, I'm certain you'll find more cool stuff in his latest post.<br />
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There are big items and there are stocking stuffer ideas. You're sure to find something for the trainer in your life. Let's stop giving apples :)</div>
bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-74315252249210777712015-11-09T09:37:00.001-07:002015-11-09T09:37:57.340-07:00Remembering Jay Cross and Informal Learning<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUxXyIwKZQfWGgTmNnrVJZ1YtNFg25ANDphhu6ghRB_oEBXANDnUgpx-Bv33xHxlJdrwPnOVR5_FxU9ovWxWJMwfKMks3fipo46LCJNxmi_MktsKaBg9aTFEXatwzm7PAmCtus/s1600/Jay+Cross+-+Quotes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUxXyIwKZQfWGgTmNnrVJZ1YtNFg25ANDphhu6ghRB_oEBXANDnUgpx-Bv33xHxlJdrwPnOVR5_FxU9ovWxWJMwfKMks3fipo46LCJNxmi_MktsKaBg9aTFEXatwzm7PAmCtus/s640/Jay+Cross+-+Quotes.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We lost an great leader in the Learning and Development community this weekend. His presence will be missed. But his impact will forever be felt by an industry struggling to see the future that appeared so clearly to him. </div>
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I will miss Jay's casual, yet driven, approach to spreading the word about informal learning...and that smile. Oh, and those shirts. They were the perfect informal vehicle for carrying his message of informal learning. His warm presence will be missed at industry events all over the world. </div>
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We love you. Rest in peace, Jay.</div>
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I am encouraging everyone in the industry whether you knew him or not, to record a short, "informal", video with a short story, or comment about Jay's impact on your work. I will be collecting and editing them together to be posted on the ITA website or other appropriate internet location.</div>
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You can use wetransfer.com to send large video files. And send it to brentschlenker(at)gmail(dot)com. </div>
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Thanks!</div>
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bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-51566774154770953322015-07-19T19:32:00.001-07:002015-07-19T19:32:27.088-07:00My Advice for New Bloggers - Don't do it!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://twitter.com/technkl" target="_blank">Nick Leffler </a>shared a tweet of mine in his blog post <a href="http://www.nickleffler.com/community-advice-for-new-bloggers/" target="_blank">Community Advice for New Bloggers</a>.<br />
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It's a great post. And I say that because it got me thinking. Not many posts that I read, or write for that matter, do that any more. In fact I reflected so deeply on the post that I felt moved to blog here again. I haven't posted here in a while and the few posts that I have done have been few and far between. So, special thanks to Nick for writing the post and for all those who shared their thoughts about getting started.<br />
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Blogging has changed so much over the last 10+ years. In the early 2000s blogs were pretty much all we had for sharing our own content online. Compare that to today's social media cacophony and I can see why people don't even feel it's necessary to blog. Why bother, when I can just post to twitter, or update my status in <a href="http://www.facebook.com/" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, or share an article on <a href="http://linkedin.com/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>, or share photos on <a href="http://instagram.com/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>...I almost typed Flickr but that's not so cool these days...and now I feel old.<br />
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Today's blogosphere seems to have a lot of rules. There are a multitude of books on how to blog, how to write the best headline, how to make money with your blog, and so much more. The wild west world wide web of yesterday it seems has matured into the big city internet.<br />
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Professional writers have taken over the internet providing an unending stream of content to large blogging sites like The Huffington Post and so many others. Blogging has simply become a shorter form of writing for the professionals and aspiring professionals. And I find that quite sad. Those who simply want to write in a blog stop themselves because they don't feel like they are good enough, or ready. I call BS!<br />
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I never started writing this blog to "become a writer". Although I will say it built my confidence in sharing what I know. Honestly, my favorite part was knowing that I didn't need to be a good writer to start my blog. I didn't need to worry about spelling, I didn't need to worry about grammar. I just didn't care because the only person I was doing it for was me.<br />
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When I first discovered that people were finding my blog and reading it, and commenting on my grammatical errors I was SHOCKED to say the least. But after getting over the initial fear and uneasy feeling of being judged I found a comfortable groove and enough positive, friendly supporters, that I just kept going.<br />
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It actually became quite fun to know that I had the power to irritate the grammar nazis with a misplaced apostrophe, or using too instead of to. But my personal favorite has always been using too many exclamation points. I LOVE IT!!!!! And more importantly...I really dont' care if you don't!!!!!!!<br />
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See?! That's what blogging was. It was the internet's first gift of user-generated content. Then it all when to hell from there.<br />
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If you really want to start something with a little more 21st century kick, start a <a href="http://youtube.com/" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a>. If you really want to write about your chosen profession, then just use the platform built into <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>. You don't need to mess around with <a href="http://wordpress.com/" target="_blank">wordpress</a>, or the headaches that come with it, just to express yourself these days. There are plenty of really simple platforms for expressing yourself in writing. Make your life easier and just start blogging in those spaces.<br />
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My blogging advice to those who are set on doing it stands as stated in Nick's blog. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that really isn't what I should be advising anyone. If you are a writer, or want to be a writer, then fine. Go start a blog and practice your craft. There is no better environment for practicing than in the real world. So go for it.<br />
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However, if you are looking to express yourself with the medium of tomorrow then consider video. The YouTube explosion today, is what blogging was 10 years ago. It's raw. It's undefined. And yet, it's got a large enough community for support and encouragement. Check out the backchannel for <a href="http://vidcon.com/" target="_blank">Vidcon</a> this week. It's the largest gathering of YouTubers. You'll probably see me tweeting about it quite a bit this week.<br />
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Don't start a blog! Start a YouTube channel!!</h3>
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bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-73728593619329781522015-06-02T11:58:00.002-07:002015-06-02T11:58:33.931-07:00Is Vertical Video the Next Big Thing?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've always wanted a reason to try out Storify and so I took my own advice and just did it. This week <a href="http://www.litmos.com/blog/articles/internet-trends-report-offers-glimpse-of-the-future-of-training-and-development" target="_blank">I posted about Mary Meekers Internet Trends Report on the Litmos blog.</a> There are just under 200 pages of information. And each page lights up a new nugget of information shining light on an otherwise unseen trend in technology.<br />
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One of the most interesting items Mary reveals is the trending of vertical video. You've seen these people. The soccer moms recording their kids with their smartphones in portrait instead of the video standard landscape mode. Well, it's not just that soccer moms are doing it wrong. They may actually have been the early adopters.<br />
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And of course knowing that the eLearning industry is a technology lagging indicator, I wrongly assumed that it would be a long time before training departments starts producing vertical video.<br />
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Wrong again!<br />
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Shortly after publishing my Litmos blog post I had this conversation on twitter.<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="no" height="750" src="//storify.com/bschlenker/internet-trends-report-reveals-vertical-video-tren/embed?border=false" width="100%"></iframe><script src="//storify.com/bschlenker/internet-trends-report-reveals-vertical-video-tren.js?border=false"></script><noscript>[<a href="//storify.com/bschlenker/internet-trends-report-reveals-vertical-video-tren" target="_blank">View the story "Internet Trends Report Reveals Vertical Video Trend" on Storify</a>]</noscript></div>
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bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-9195804570269354842015-03-26T18:22:00.000-07:002015-03-26T18:22:04.930-07:00VIDEO: Bschlenker - Streaming with Periscope and Meerkat<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Live streaming apps on your phone have finally landed. And they are officially cool!<br />
Check out <a href="http://meerkatapp.com/" target="_blank">Meerkat </a>and <a href="https://www.periscope.tv/" target="_blank">Periscope</a>. And here's my vlog on the topic.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v2nvZZokYgs?rel=0" width="560"></iframe>
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bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-33015975653891368222015-03-02T15:46:00.003-07:002015-03-02T15:46:51.144-07:00Why is Instructional Design Trending Downward ...since 2004?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8AqbHV40TNbzi163sUrPRxh0W-w94VDMRmP6gpRDvgC-hQVFSHteolGjRimibti8ShcYPjkVS8Oi3peEopztsywkDj6uiLBdOw680u17wG1XshjBf-9WgCGA-R5ZqlqhpUWFK/s1600/trends-instructionaldesign.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8AqbHV40TNbzi163sUrPRxh0W-w94VDMRmP6gpRDvgC-hQVFSHteolGjRimibti8ShcYPjkVS8Oi3peEopztsywkDj6uiLBdOw680u17wG1XshjBf-9WgCGA-R5ZqlqhpUWFK/s1600/trends-instructionaldesign.png" height="233" width="400" /></a></div>
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The graphic above comes from trends.google.com using the search term "instructional design". </div>
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This is a bit surprising to me as I see online training becoming more and more popular every day. I see the digital marketing world promoting the online courses as another great form of content. I see more and more bloggers in the world of online training. And of course the blog aggregation sites are still as popular as ever.</div>
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I'm curious to hear what you have to say about this. What's the deal with instructional design?</div>
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bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-21717909644071105022015-02-06T11:03:00.001-07:002015-02-13T08:41:31.783-07:00Future thoughts: Grades, Degrees, Certifications, Certificates Become Meaningless<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The future of Higher Ed is in jeopardy for many reasons. But the single biggest reason is the declining value of their value proposition: The Degree.<br />
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The future of Grading scales in all of education are in jeopardy... well... because they just don't accurately measure true competency in a subject. How many adults do you know that took 2 to 4 years of a foreign language in school but can't communicate in that language?<br />
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Certification and certificate programs make for a nice addition to the line items on your resume, as well as a nice plaque for your cubical wall. But do they really prove competence in a newly acquired skill or knowledge set?<br />
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Listen to Mark Cuban talk about the future of your social media presence and then we can continue.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uttAdIhfAHc?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br />
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I've had conversations prior to seeing this video regarding technologies he, and others, are working on in this space. But until now, I haven't seen it openly discussed like this. And what that tells me is that 1) it's real, 2) it's coming faster than anticipated, and 3) it means a LOT more than what Mr. Cuban mentions in this video.<br />
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He mentions the movie Minority report which sort of kills a little of the credibility here as viewers will most likely brush off his ideas as crazy. But if you think about what's currently possible (like how much Facebook knows about you) and how fast things are moving it begins to make a lot of sense.<br />
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Do you see the same connections to our industry that I see?<br />
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Can you read the first part of this blog post, watch the video, and see where this is going?<br />
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Let's put aside the fact that the video is fear mongering to help sell apps. He's trying to solve a problem that everyone views as a problem: the evils of the internet and how communicating on it will most certainly one day be what defeats you. That is a completely different blog post for another time.<br />
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I prefer to take a much more positive spin on these types of new technologies. If there are algorithms than can predict your personality type, and possible future actions, based on your social media presence, then I will tell you that there are, in fact, algorithms that can also determine your skills and competencies based on the same social graph.<br />
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It is not all that different from today's version of "being published" in academia, or showing a portfolio of work in artistic fields like photography, writing, and other fine arts. Your competence is on display every day. And you are only viewed as good as your last big success.<br />
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Leveling the Playing Field</h3>
There is a powerful leveling of the playing field when you are forced to prove your skills and competencies or basically they don't exist. <br />
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Instead of saying you speak 3 languages, the social algorithms will gather all of your online interactions and be able to know if it's true, and to what level you are competent in that skill. It will assess if you've ever communicated with others in those languages and how well you communicated. It will see pictures of your time spent in countries speaking those languages along with the dates to calculate your level of competence. It's a simple example, but it makes sense, right?<br />
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And opting out as Mr. Cuban's app supports will be more problematic for everyone. Apps like his will quickly become the default standard for communicating the things you wouldn't communicate publicly. And that's not a bad thing, but it does expose the reality of the human condition in that we all have our demons.<br />
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The way I see it, all of this new technology is simply forcing the progression of who we are as people. Are we understanding, forgiving, and loving of others... including their inner demons? Or are we the type of people looking to step on a few heads to get ahead?<br />
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In the end, we won't stop this technology from existing. But it will redefine our public institutions, and who we are as a collective redefining our culture. How we learn and what we learn and master will be measured and visible to all...for better or worse.</div>
bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-68719344504930486932015-01-27T13:35:00.003-07:002015-01-27T13:38:09.956-07:00Serendipity and Reflection on Games and Learning<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Cruising the twitter streams this morning I noticed this tweet retweeted by <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/109335121856460502069" target="_blank">+Koreen Pagano</a>.<br />
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All I can think to say is thank you, thank you, thank you. <a href="http://t.co/g05g6H9cM7">http://t.co/g05g6H9cM7</a><br />
— Brenda Romero (@br) <a href="https://twitter.com/br/status/560134238969032704">January 27, 2015</a></blockquote>
A quick click on the link brought me to an <a href="http://gamasutra.com/view/news/235065/Brenda_Romero_and_David_Braben_win_prime_GDCA_2015_awards.php" target="_blank">article in the webzine Gamasutra</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqnfKz40F0aWGPDc83kIpuxpYX_ZjqGTk3rKbyjH3tdvPVy5h66b3upWQdf0Iro-bYeGp66QM5qOm5eTnN5mfH5sytGKfn2Q2GhGs_ahVz2S2TkQ1UlgmR8TDNO6cwnLWvs-ET/s1600/Gamasutra_-_Brenda_Romero_and_David_Braben_win_prime_GDCA_2015_awards.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqnfKz40F0aWGPDc83kIpuxpYX_ZjqGTk3rKbyjH3tdvPVy5h66b3upWQdf0Iro-bYeGp66QM5qOm5eTnN5mfH5sytGKfn2Q2GhGs_ahVz2S2TkQ1UlgmR8TDNO6cwnLWvs-ET/s1600/Gamasutra_-_Brenda_Romero_and_David_Braben_win_prime_GDCA_2015_awards.png" height="299" width="640" /></a></div>
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Brenda is the winner of the Ambassadors Award as part of this years <a href="http://www.gamechoiceawards.com/" target="_blank">Game Developers Choice Awards</a>...<br />
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<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><b>"...honoring someone who is helping video games "advance to a better place" through advocacy or action..."</b></span></blockquote>
First off, a big shoutout to Koreen for retweeting. And an even bigger shoutout and congratulations to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenda_Romero" target="_blank">Brenda</a> for being so highly recognized by her peers in the gaming industry.<br />
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<i>Oh but wait...this is supposed to be a blog about eLearning and all that stuff. Don't worry. It still is.</i><br />
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I believe there is a very strong connection between gaming and learning. One of my favorite quotes comes from <a href="http://www.theoryoffun.com/" target="_blank">Raph Koster's book "A Theory of Fun"</a>.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">"Fun in games arises out of mastery. It arises out of comprehension. It is the act of solving puzzles that makes games fun. With games, learning is the drug."</span></b></blockquote>
Learning is the drug! It's such a great line because it's so true. There is such a great high that comes from working hard on a problem and seeing it through until you get it right.<br />
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Knowing how learning is such a big part of games, and fun, it bothers me to continue seeing the eLearning industry struggle to figure out how to make learning fun. Game designers seem to have an innate ability to figure out fun, and yet instructional design is void of any discussion around fun. The closest we get is talking about "engaging the learner". <br />
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BARF!<br />
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I'd rather tell designers to figure out how learners can have FUN!<br />
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And NO! I'm not talking about a Jeopardy template, or crossword puzzle, or drag'n'drop matching quiz game. That's what we get when we attempt to connect pre-made games with learning. I'm just talking about fun. There must be a way to create learning content that is so fun for learners that they WANT to "play", or "engage", with the learning.<br />
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The Serendipity of Social Media and Reflection</h3>
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This entire blog post is really just an attempt to capture fleeting thoughts and memories for me. Seeing Koreen's tweet reminded me of meeting her for the first time at DevLearn. And how we all used to be so excited about the coming together of games and learning. Koreen even created the Zombie Apocalypse game for DevLearn2010. Other eLearning community members, Kris Rockwell (@KrisRockwell) and Alicia Sanchez (@gamesczar) later created a card game for mLearnCon called "A Game of Phones".<br />
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And reading about Brenda's success reminded me of booking her to do a workshop at DevLearn2010. I was only able to sit in on the workshop briefly, but I do remember wishing I could have spent the entire day in there with her and the other attendees.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDrt_lKT1WimEVVTsj2JP1SsPmHmgMJxWrrA5nxP8loPurj9OA4hnehMrDX8vn4dAf-dkZASpFg5uhcePdaKaM63574mU3qWv4OvBPPFxJHci3pKCNQwKFakO1h1VPkti4eMI_/s1600/Brenda+Brathwaite+The_eLearning_Guild_DevLearn_2010.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDrt_lKT1WimEVVTsj2JP1SsPmHmgMJxWrrA5nxP8loPurj9OA4hnehMrDX8vn4dAf-dkZASpFg5uhcePdaKaM63574mU3qWv4OvBPPFxJHci3pKCNQwKFakO1h1VPkti4eMI_/s1600/Brenda+Brathwaite+The_eLearning_Guild_DevLearn_2010.png" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
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I booked a lot of speakers for eLearning Guild events, but I can honestly say she was by far my favorite. And quite frankly I think she does more for learning and education than most who are actually IN Learning and Education related fields.<br />
If you really want to know why I find Brenda so exceptional, then just watch her TEDxPHX talk for a brief glimpse into her work and how she views games...and the world. Trust me on this. You'll be glad you did.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="https://embed-ssl.ted.com/talks/brenda_brathwaite_gaming_for_understanding.html" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe>
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bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15724579.post-74448685662785983132014-12-30T10:21:00.003-07:002014-12-30T10:21:57.847-07:00Looking Back at Wikis - My Early Days of DevLearn - and 2015<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgssTvm3u_KhllfTRcAzCb3u36Bp-Y0sH6b7lQuTM7mX4FnSZtpy3h0kYW-najRlEjKfnBfmkIcxrO39DjSUb6jKYxzwzyrPM5T3f6S9xvEK8Y_JpxAjgvQPbe0mivQNPVrQzko/s1600/We+can't%2Bjust%2Bhave%2Banyone%2Bcreating%2Band%2Bediting%2Bcontent!-.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgssTvm3u_KhllfTRcAzCb3u36Bp-Y0sH6b7lQuTM7mX4FnSZtpy3h0kYW-najRlEjKfnBfmkIcxrO39DjSUb6jKYxzwzyrPM5T3f6S9xvEK8Y_JpxAjgvQPbe0mivQNPVrQzko/s1600/We+can't%2Bjust%2Bhave%2Banyone%2Bcreating%2Band%2Bediting%2Bcontent!-.png" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
Nobody really talks about wikis any more. I think the closest most people get to a wiki these days is wikipedia. Bummer.<br />
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They were my absolute favorite new tech back in the day. The genius of the wiki was it's edit-ability. Of course today, everything is sharable and editable by multiple people. <br />
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Google docs is the best current example. Ho hum... I still dream of an old-fashioned wiki circa 2005-ish.<br />
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It's the end of the year so I'm already feeling a bit nostalgic. So imagine my delight when I read an email from PBwiki reminding me that I have <a href="http://elearndev.pbwiki.com/">elearndev.pbwiki.com</a> sitting idle. <br />
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Cool. I wonder what could be there?<br />
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Wow! <a href="http://elearndev.pbworks.com/w/page/16948680/DevLearn2006" target="_blank">DevLearn2006</a> stuff...</h3>
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LOL! Now I remember how busy Heidi kept me at early eLearning Guild events. Looks like I did 3 sessions and sat on a panel discussion:<br />
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<li>RSS: The New Learning Pipeline</li>
<li>Interactive 3D Simulations w/ Macromedia DirectorMX</li>
<li>MMOs Gaming and Learning</li>
<li>Learning2.0 Panel Discussion</li>
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Does anybody remember DevLearn2007 and the pocket guides I created for the event? </div>
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Check out the <a href="http://devlearn2007-pocketguide.pdf/">DevLearn2007-PocketGuide.pdf</a>.</div>
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From the extreme lack of interaction on the pbwiki site I'm reminded how much these technologies scared training people. I remember the rolling eyes, the many dissenting opinions around security, and my personal favorite...</div>
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<b>"We can't just have everyone creating and editing content however and whenever they want!!!"</b> - Corporate Gatekeepers and fearful training leaders circa 2005</blockquote>
Will anyone admit to being freaked out by this stuff back then? Probably about as many twitter "experts" will admit to "not getting it" when they first signed up.<br />
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(<i>Feel free to join the <a href="http://elearndev.pbworks.com/" target="_blank">pbwiki</a> and add your comments or memories from back then. Maybe I'll keep it around and breath life back into it.</i>)<br />
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Times have changed...FINALLY! </h3>
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I'm looking at 2015 as the year everything we longed for back in 2005 has finally come true. Complex corporate cultures are even beginning to come around...even if the old guard corporate leadership continues to struggle with it. <br />
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2015 will certainly be filled with new incredible technologies. But for our little world of training and eLearning, 2015 is the year we finally see the culture shift we've been looking for. More on that later.<br />
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bschlenkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13519463877110474192noreply@blogger.com0