Capability development- Engage , Enliven , Excite

A new master’s degree offering from MOOC platform EdX and seven partner universities allows online learners to earn a post-baccalaureate diploma at the fraction of the cost of a traditional program. Experts say such programs may cause colleges to rethink costs and transform the admissions process.

At first glance, it may seem as though practicing mindfulness is not related to education. However, a month ago I wrote a blog post on mindfulness for educators, which you can read here. In the post I mentioned some studies focusing on the mental health of educators which are quite alarming. 

“A few years ago I decided to start making video tutorials for the many Google tools that I write about on this blog ...”

"Digital credentialing and microcredentialing are two advances, driven by technology, pushing a paradigm shift in higher education and the labor market that recognizes lifelong learning as the new normal."

It’s no surprise that Google, now part of Alphabet, loves data, and the company’s execs frequently share the revelations they find, such as their insights on mobile web use. But some of us would be surprised to discover that this unicorn company often turns its eye inward, analyzing information about its people to help improve its operations.

A group of employees from Google’s People Operations section, the equivalent of an HR department, decided to complete an analysis to answer one question: What makes a Google team effective?

Here’s a look at their approach and the startling revelations they had along the way.

The TED-Ed Educator Talks channel will be dedicated to celebrating and amplifying the ideas of teachers around the world. Thanks to support from Google

On the occasion of our upcoming Future of Work Tour, we sat down with Heather McGowan – one of the key experts of the tour – to talk about how technology and globalization are reshaping how we live and work. It quickly became clear that the issue of identity is foremost on Heather’s mind. She elaborated: “Higher education went from being a rare pursuit of creating new knowledge to a factory pipeline aimed at creating a deployable and skilled workforce. Then, from the late ’60s to early ’90s, we started on a pathway of creating a fixed identity. We asked people to choose an occupation and a future self, and to study and work hard to realize that identity. We still ask children what they want to be when they grow up. We ask university students to pick their major before they have taken their first course. Yet more than half the work we’ll be doing in future doesn’t yet exist and the other half of those work tasks may become automated.

6 Strategies For Creating An Inquiry-Driven Classroom by Irena Nayfeld, TeachThought PD Inquiry Workshop Facilitator Teachers of young children juggle a lot

"Researchers at the University of Maryland have found that people remember information better when it’s presented in an immersive Virtual Reality (VR) setting."

While it's relatively easy for competitors to implement technology similar to yours, duplicate your strategy, and even mimic your culture, they can't clone your people. That's why most organizations agree talent is a top priority. At the end of the day, people are your truest form of sustainable competitive advantage. 

To expand the capabilities of their best asset, most organizations invest in some form of continued development. Research from the Brandon Hall Group revealed the average training budget for large organizations hovers around $13 million. Also, out of all the delivery mediums available (i.e., mobile apps, simulations, and e-learning), classroom settings are still chosen 22 percent more often than any other modality.

This research came as a bit of a surprise, given all the advancements in technology. Although the study also indicated classroom settings were effective, I couldn't help but think that many companies are behind the times. 

As a part of the research, Rallyware, a training platform that delivers adaptive learning solutions, interviewed learning and development thought leaders to get their perspective on how technology will shape the future of corporate training. 

Through these interviews, five e-learning trends emerged:

I'm not the only one who says yes to projects that I'm not 100 percent certain I can do, right? My motto is say yes and figure it out later. It's risky, but it's also a lot of fun. I can't tell you how many times a YouTube video or an on-demand course from Lynda.com has saved me. 

Kevin Delaney, VP of learning and development at LinkedIn, realizes that future corporate training must adopt to these types of situations. Two-day workshops aren't efficient enough. We need access to just-in-time solutions that help us troubleshoot issues within minutes. In his interview, Delaney offered valuable insight that foreshadows future learning tools: When employees are stuck, they want the answer quickly.

It doesn't help them to sign up for a class that will happen three weeks from now and sit through a four-hour session to get the answer they need this minute. They are more inclined to engage in learning if they can watch a short video that they have access to 24/7 on any device.

Different learning styles and varying role responsibilities are making big-box, off-the-shelf learning solutions less and less effective. Now, customized and concentrated learning experiences are critical. Employees need access to content that's relevant, easily digestible, and engaging.

Delaney offered some opinions on how personalized training should be delivered:

First, don't bore people. Bored people don't learn. Second, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to learning. Companies need to offer a variety of solutions and focus on creating a one-size-fits-one experience.

The amount of content on the web is unbelievable. Udemy, an e-learning provider, has more than 65,000 courses on its site alone. With employees' increased access to content, learning is now a dual responsibility. Learning and development professionals can pinpoint key learning areas and vehicles and employees can be proactive about owning their development. 

The days of creating a huge list of internal content are changing, says Beth Loeb Davies, director of learning and development at Tesla:

At this point, I believe that we don't need to produce our own content in organizations as often as we did before but rather find the right material and deliver it to those who need it when they need it ... People are already learning through alternative media. Our role is becoming to curate resources in the context of the company culture and people's needs.

Many organizations are shifting to flatter and more efficient org charts. However, the same amount of work still needs to get done. It's not uncommon to see employees operating outside their job descriptions. If organizations expect to do more with less, then they'll need to broaden the scope of skills development, says Tom Brown, VP of HR Americas and APAC at eBay:

Companies will need to ensure that there are opportunities for their employees to build a quorum of different skill sets which won't necessarily be linked to their job titles. It means that there will be a decreasing emphasis on the career ladder, as we know it.

Data is a powerful validator, especially for cost-center functions like learning and development. Now, through advances in technology, initiatives that were traditionally seen as nice-to-haves can produce quantitative results proving their value. HR (the department in which learning and development professionals sit) will have to adjust, says Kvon Tucker, an Amazon global leadership development partner.

HR will need to become more data driven ... Learning experience data will be most valuable to companies, to help them track and correlate the most important experiences to the development outcomes needed for the organization.

This is a lot to take in. If leaders want to address all these trends, then they'll have to consider new technology including artificial intelligence, data, and machine learning. These tools are giving leaders the ability to analyze individual behavior and then deliver the right content to the right people at the right time on the preferred device. If you haven't already, take a look at microlearning, big data, and gamification to see if they're the right solution for your organization.