Free webinars for May

The sunshine and fresh spring air is finally here! So “freshen up” your learning by taking advantage of some (or all) of the free webinars being offered this month. We hope they will inspire and motivate you.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: The ROI LIE: The Facts Behind Why Training ROI  is Undermining Credibility

Training is a business function, so why doesn’t management treat Training as a business function? Training's credibility within an organization can be fragile, and management often questions attempts to prove Training’s worth and validity. In recent years, concepts such as Training Return on Investment (ROI) have been touted as the solution to Training’s credibility gap, but has a focus on Training ROI helped or hurt Training’s position? Learn how to identify why the subject Training function is unable to gain management support. You’ll then help develop credible solutions to build support for the subject Training function and demonstrate sustainable business results, all while learning how to demonstrate training results in business terms for your own Training function.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Basics of ROI Workshop

Never before has ROI been of such importance. The ROI Institute’s ROI Methodology is the most documented approach to measuring and evaluating learning and development programs. Join Patti Phillips, President and CEO of the ROI Institute as she presents the key elements in the ROI process including: five levels of evaluation that have served as the foundation for the ROI methodology since the 1970s, six types of results generated by the chain of impact, ten steps in the ROI Methodology process model and twelve guiding principles that support the ROI Methodology.

This is the first of a four part series. Part two is offered May 29, 2012.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Create a Powerful Connection with Your Audience

Teachable moments begin with transforming an audience, but an audience will only change if you resonate with them. Attend this webinar to hear presentation innovator Nancy Duarte demonstrate a new way to create a powerful connection with your audience. Nancy will show how to communicate with carefully crafted messages and how to train learners so they are transformed and help their organization succeed.

Thursday, May 10, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Making Learning Easy: The Impact of a Unified Learning Environment

Is learning in your organization more difficult than it needs to be? Research shows that feedback, career development, and training opportunities rank as top factors for increasing employee engagement; yet most employees say they simply don't get enough development opportunities. For some organizations the culprits are real funding and resourcing issues, but Brandon Hall Groups research has found that for many organizations it is actually complex systems and poor processes that can lead to difficult learning situations. Join Dave Wentworth, Senior Learning Analyst for Brandon Hall Group, and Saba's Naren Patil, senior director of product marketing, as they explore both process and technology improvements that can have a real impact on making learning easier and more accessible.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Eliminating the “Terrible Too’s” of Workplace Training

In 1992 Brandon Hall Group launched their first report on technology enabled learning and the changing direction of the learning industry, at that point the internet was in its infancy and true web based multi-media learning was impossible. Over the last two decades, business and learning leaders alike have continued to strive for relevant learning that was accessible where and when the learning communities needed performance improvement efforts. Today, both the internet and the learning industry have matured, and the possibilities are endless, so why are so many organizations still using old approaches and old ideas to try and meet the learning needs of a new workforce? Join Mike Cooke, CEO of Brandon Hall Group, and Dan Cooper, CEO of eJ4 as they share their unique business perspectives and industry research on learning efforts that exceed leadership expectations.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: The Impact of Business-Led Learning (Case Study – Techtronic Industries)

Techtronic Industries is a $3.7 billion global company. No organization grows to that size - and continues to grow - without a keen sense of what is contributing to its success. Proving the impact of business-led learning is Matt De Feo, Senior Vice-President for Sales, Training and Recruiting at Techtronic Industries. Since he joined the company in 2006, Matt DeFeo has made sure that rigor also applies to the learning and development function. In this presentation, sponsored by Certpoint Systems, Matt and Rachel Ashkin, COO of Brandon Hall Group will discuss the impact of business-led learning. Matt will also share several instances of proving the value of learning, and some hard-won lessons along the way.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Virtual Training:  Building a Global Training Strategy

As enterprise organizations expand to support a globally dispersed employee base, providing regular training and updates becomes a significant challenge. Live physical training sessions and events, simply don’t scale globally and cannot be implemented quick enough to keep up with the constant requirement for new information. By building a virtual training strategy, enterprise companies can effectively deliver real-time training that can be accessed by any employee or partner, from anywhere. In this webinar, learn how webcasting and virtual environment solutions enable you to create virtual learning centers that can be customized to expand your training to multiple theaters and various languages. From delivering individual training broadcasts, to building virtual corporate universities, this presentation will highlight how to increase the reach and effectiveness of your training programs, including:

Tuesday, May 22, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: How to make Technical & Compliance Training and eLearning Fun and Engaging

“Boring”. “Tedious”. “Painful”. “Do I have to?” These are the moans and complaints of learners as receivers of the data-dump type of very technical and compliance forms of eLearning. Technical and compliance elearning can be fun and definitely help people learn when we shift the design by focusing less on just the technical view and instead, considering the learner’s perspective. Ray Jimenez, Chief Learning Architect of Vignettes for Training will present ideas on how to make this shift possible.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Effective Workforce Planning and Development Starts with a Talent Audit

Have you conducted a Talent Audit lately? Organizations regularly conduct financial audits, risk audits, and technical audits – but a Talent audit is often overlooked. Over 66% of CEO’s, in a recent PWC Global CEO survey, said that the lack of the right skills is their biggest talent challenge. The term talent is subjective, but it assumes that someone has the right competencies, background, personality traits, and motivations to exceed expectations. An effective talent audit will help you identify your talent needs and assess your organization against those needs – and most importantly provide concrete details on how to best fill the gaps. Join Stacey Harris VP of Research, Brandon Hall Group as she details key practices in conducting a Talent Audit that helps identify skills gaps, development needs, and talent opportunities.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: 10 Steps to Employee Engagement

More than 70 percent of employees are either disengaged or neither engaged nor disengaged, according to a recent Avatar HR Solutions survey. Lack of engagement quickly leads to lackluster results, productivity losses, and low organizational morale. But in today’s world where everyone is expected to do more with less, how can organizations not only boost engagement but empower their employees?  Discover best practices from two employee engagement experts to learn how to foster employee engagement and empowerment.

Thursday, May 24, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Five Keys to Realize ROI from Social and Mobile Learning

The average sales rep loses more than 80 percent of the knowledge learned within 90 days after a formal training program. How can you help ensure the effectiveness of your sales force when they lose their knowledge so fast and don’t have time for a refresher course? You can become a strategic partner to your business by enabling sustained know-how and sales excellence through continuous social learning and by rapidly sharing know-how — anytime and anywhere. Join this session to learn how to enable sustained sales excellence with social and mobile learning and enable top-line growth.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Collecting Data (ROI)

A variety of data collection techniques exist to help you capture the information need to measure the success of your training programs. Join Patti Phillips, President and CEO of the ROI Institute as she presents the types of data collection methods available for each level of evaluation, options for timing of data collection at each level and sources that provide you the most credible information.

This is the second of a four part series. Part three is offered June 12, 2012.

Thursday, May 31, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Interactive E-Learning Made Easy with Articulate Storyline

You want to build more than click-and-read elearning, but you don’t have the programming skills to do it. That’s where Articulate Storyline comes in. It helps you build highly interactive elearning with no programming required. Join TomKuhlmann, VP of Community at Articulate as he discusses key elements of interactivity and shows you how to build them with Storyline.

Free April Webinars

Spring has arrived with lots of rain, a touch of snow and a little sun.  Take advantage of a rainy (or snowy) days and sign up for one of the free webinars being offered this month. We hope they will inspire and motivate you.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012, 6AM – 7AM PST: The Neuroscience of Leadership: Understanding the Brain to Create Better Leaders

In a constantly changing world, the organizations that succeed will be ones that are the most adaptive. Brain research shows why change is hard, and how organizations can get better at change. This research can improve how you make decisions and solve problems, manage emotions, collaborate, and create change. By understanding the underpinning biology of leadership, leaders can create better organizations, and organizations can produce better leaders.

Thursday, April 5, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Getting to Kirkpatrick Levels 2 and 4: Delivering Believable Value

Attend this information-packed hour to learn how to structure initiatives so they enhance on-the-job performance and impact the bottom line. Learn directly from the creators of the Kirkpatrick Model the newest way to implement the four levels. This program will focus on tactics at Levels 3 and 4 and provide ideas that any professional can implement in their own organization. Attend this session to learn:

• Why starting with desired results in mind is critical for any initiative to be successful
• Specific tactics for influencing on-the-job behavior
• How to create a plan to implement a program that enhances on-the-job behaviour and bottom-line results.  

Thursday, April 5, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Thinking of Replacing Your LMS?

Join Scot Lake, Senior Learning Analyst for Brandon Hall Group, and Saba's Naren Patil, senior director of product marketing , as they share insights that can help reduce your fear of change and increase your odds of success. They'll discuss best practices from hundreds of successful transitions for creating a strategy for the upgrade, as well as tools and tricks for preparing your organization for a limited-impact change. Key takeaways include:

• Insights on business strategies for change
• Best practices for selecting solutions for the future, not just today
• A technology migration framework, highlighting both the risks and rewards in the migration process
• Tips for preparing your organization and data for a straightforward change
• Insights into managing expectations and change-management goals
• Award-winning case studies and practical steps to help you make a successful transition

Thursday, April 5, 2012, 11AM – 12PM PST: Developing Results, Aligning Learning`s Goals and Outcomes with Business Performance Measures

This webinar is based of i4cp in partnership with ASTD Research’s latest report, Developing Results: Aligning Learning’s Goals and Outcomes With Business Performance Measures. It is intended to examine the ways in which high-performing organizations approach the evaluation of learning and tie that measurement to overall business performance measures. The Study found that a strong correlation exists between goal alignment and market performance, as well as a strong correlation between alignment and a learning function that is effective at meeting its own goals and the organization’s goals. Some of the issues and topics addressed in this webinar includes: the development of the learning strategy, the measurement of learning’s impact on results, challenges to maintaining and measuring alignment.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Making E-Learning Stick

The e-learning module or virtual class is animated and interactive, but are participants using it?  Join Barbara Carnes, CEO of Carnes and Associates to learn the latest research on e-learning and live virtual design practices – what works and what doesn’t work to make the e-learning stick. You will learn research-tested techniques you can begin using immediately, with any training topic, to increase transfer to the job.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Props, Magic & Object Lessons – 11 Ways to Involve Participants & Anchor Learning

Magic, props, and object lessons can energize and anchor learning -when they make a point. The story is the key! Attend this session and walk away with at least four magic tricks, props, or object lessons that you will immediately be able to use in your own training. Everyday objects like envelopes, rubber bands, and pennies create memorable learning points that are fun for both participants and the trainer. You'll see each example demonstrated in a compelling way. The speaker will then pull back the curtain and take you behind the scenes to learn how to do it yourself. Come to learn, be amazed, energized, and inspired. Leave prepared to do the same thing for your classes. You will get secret links to videos that demonstrate the various examples.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Engaging the Front Line Workforce: Training and Development that Generates Respect

Front line employees are the nameless heroes in today’s workforce. These employees interact with our clients, build our products, and offer our services day in and day out. Yet, this audience often receives less training and limited development opportunities. Working conditions can make training difficult, and operational demands require that training time has immediate bottom line impact. Research shows that small changes on an organization’s front line can have a major impact on business – so the real question is how you leverage training to engage performance and improve business outcomes on the front lines. Join Stacey Harris, VP of Research for Brandon Hall Group and Joel Copeland, COO for KMI as they share recent research on training and development that engages the front line workforce, and creates an atmosphere of genuine respect.

Thursday, April 12, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Human Capacity Building in Emerging Economies

Governmental and non-governmental agencies are highly involved in projects to improve human capacities in developing countries. In addition to emerging economies, they are also targeting critical priority countries (CPCs), as per the U.S. government (Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the Sudans), in an effort to transition to more secure and stable environments and to strengthen and sustain economies. Many of these agencies, have well-defined approaches to human and institutional capacity development (HICD) from long term experiences overseas. However, these approaches may be limited in practical ways to address elusive cultural aspects of human resource development, which are key determinants of successful project work. In this session, the speakers – a training director from an established international development consulting firm and a globally recognized consultant on culturally appropriate interventions – lead you through the process of identifying likely cultural constraints to improving capacities and devising appropriate ways to address them.

Monday, April 16, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: The Yin and the Yang of Formal and Informal Learning

How would informal learning change the way you do things? Is it right for your situation? What about formal learning? Why so little support and so much action? Informal learning has obvious value for individuals. But, how could informal learning benefit the enterprise charged with developing customer service reps, nurses and truck drivers? Join Allison Rossett as she looks at formal and informal learning for the enterprise, where promises are made beyond individual inclinations. She will use real cases and an online tool to look at what these forms mean, how habits affect us, and whether the approaches are fertile for something you and your organization want to do.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Sustainable Career Management Models for Medium Sized Businesses

In the next five years, businesses will experience major demographic changes as far as their workforces are concerned. Just to name a few: workforces will continue to become more diverse; millennials are projected to represent more than 50 percent of the overall labor force; and the capabilities required to lead in tomorrow’s economy will be different than the capabilities required today. So, in light of these anticipated developments, how does a company successfully engage and prepare such a diverse workforce? Many organizations are turning to career management programs to resolve these challenges.  For mid-market organizations, is this the right answer? For this segment, the answer may be career enhancement over career management. Join Stacey Harris, VP of Research and David Wentworth, Sr. Learning Analyst for Brandon Hall Group as they share the latest research in creating career enhancing programs that work for mid-market organizations.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Whack on the Head Part 2…Now What??? Redesigning Learning Design

This is a follow-up to lively discussion and debate in the March 6 webinar, 'A Whack on the Head: Redesigning Learning Design'. In ' Part 1' (recording available) Lance Dublin, Chief Solutions Architect of Dublin Consulting laid the foundation for redesigning learning design.  Part 1 looked at the challenges facing organizations today, the "alphabet soup" of proven learning and business methodologies at our disposal, and the expanding tool kit of learning and performance support technologies and approaches. The session then outlined eight principles that could form the foundation for a new approach.  In 'Part 2' you will do a quick review and then dive into an in-depth exploration, discussion and debate of these eight principles. Come and join in the discussion and debate.  Prepare to challenge and be challenged.  And, together let's define and operationalize the next generation of learning design!

Thursday, April 19, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Virtual Training Implementations: Preparing for Success

When rolling out virtual training to your workforce, how can you ensure it goes smoothly? What steps do you follow to get facilitators ready and participants on board? Whether you have a blended program for a large global audience or a single synchronous session, proper preparation ensures success.
Join Cindy Huggett, author and CPLP, as she shares proven practical tips for implementing virtual training in your organization.

Thursday, April 24, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Whole-Brain Instructional Design – Rapid, Inexpensive, Durable. Helping Learners Learn Facts, Discoveries, Methods and Values

Cognitive sciences have proven that people learn and perform best when they fully utilize their brains. The challenge for instructional designers is how to make this idea simple  and easy enough to apply in the practical day to day world of rushing through learning and eLearning projects, in a rapid way and of course effective manner. Join Ray Jimenez as he covers:

• The difference between traditional instructional design and whole-brain design
• The new learner is fully engaged, whole-brain speaking, without knowing it or without even trying hard
• The key questions when asked of the learners, increase engagement and learning
• Step-by-step process of designing lessons using whole-brain based applications
• Making very complex topics easy to learn using the whole-brain methods
• Applying the whole-brain design when  creating learning objectives, presentation, exercises and tests and tracking of applications
•  Developing eLearning that is rapid, inexpensive and durable through whole-brain methods
• Demos and examples of a whole-brain eLearning design
• Feature: Thiagi’s 4-Door Learning and Tayko’s WBLDI Online System
• To be received in advance: PRE-WEBINAR STUDY KIT, white papers, demos and examples 

Thursday, April 26, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Create Interactive Software Simulations with Articulate Storyline

Need to train people on using software applications? But you’re not sure if you want a video or interactive tutorial. Have no fear because Articulate Storyline makes the process super simple by offering the best of both worlds in software simulations. You have the choice of inserting demo videos or interactive step-by-step tutorials that simulate the software’s functionality. And you only need to record the screen once. Then you can choose what type of tutorial you need. And you can change it at any time. Join Tom Kuhlmann, VP of Community at Articulate as he discusses screencasting simulations for software training; and then shows how to quickly create and edit them in Storyline.

Thursday, April 26, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Expanding Learning Development Capabilities: Global Outsourcing Done Strategically

Learning budgets are on the rise, but today’s buyers are savvy and have high expectations. Today’s content buying community is looking for quality content at a cost effective prices. They are also looking for organizations that can meet their growing content needs quickly. If you are in the business of publishing on-line learning content for general use, training on global products, or simply creating custom on-line learning content for clients – the one thing you have in common today is the need to develop content quickly and cost-effectively. You need to meet growing client demands and keep up with the changing development practices. The combination of content creation and outsourcing, has had mixed reviews in the past – but organizations are beginning to re-think their approach to outsourcing and their strategies. Join Stacey Harris, VP of Research for Brandon Hall Group and Bill Rosenthal from Communispond as they share research and practical on-the-ground strategies for effectively working with global outsourcing firms.

Free March Webinars

Spring is in the air and it’s a great time for new beginnings. Become informed about new trends, new directions and new research on interesting training and development topics by signing up for free webinars offered in March. We hope they will inspire and motivate you.

Thursday, March 1, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Connecting Your LMS to Your CRM: A Better Way to Bring Training to Sales

The connection between successful sales and training has been demonstrated time and time again, but bringing training to sales is often challenging. Sales forces are often dispersed and on-the-move, pausing only long enough to record a contact or sales call in the CRM. So one strategy for connecting sales to training is to bring the training straight to the place where sales lives and breathes - the CRM. Join Scot Lake, Senior Learning Analyst for Brandon Hall Group, as he discusses key practices for improving sales by integrating your LMS with your CRM. Key takeaways include:

• Tips for setting up access to LMS training in a CRM
• How to select the right content for sales training
• The latest research around measuring training’s impact on sales

Tuesday, March 6, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: A Whack on the Head: Re-thinking Learning Design

Today, organizations are dealing with a unique set of challenges while also having even greater opportunities for innovation. At the same time, we now have at our disposal an “alphabet soup” of learning and business methodologies – ADDIE, HPT, BP, Six Sigma, LEAN, AGILE - and an expanding toolkit of formal, informal, social, virtual and mobile technologies and approaches. So, what does this mean for how we design, develop and implement efficient and effective learning solutions? Join Lance Dublin, Chief Solutions Architect, Dublin Consulting as he: 

• Identifies the new and different organizational challenges – and opportunities!
• Describes six learning and development methodologies and how they impact learning design
• Identifies the range of  learning technologies and approaches now available
• Defines the 8 principles of new learning design

Tuesday, March 6, 2012, 11AM – 12PM PST: How to Market your Online Training (ASTD members only)

Join webinar marketing veteran Roger Courville for a rapid-fire session of pragmatic, get-it-done ideas on improving registration, attendance and revenue in your online training programs.
Attend this interactive webinar to learn:

• How to market the  unique qualities of online training
• 3 tactics for making your invitations and registration site sizzle
• How to avoid everyone’s big social media mistake
• What your audience is willing to pay

Tuesday, March 13, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: The Learning - Talent Connection: How a Single Technology Platform Can Accelerate Workforce Performance

 Organizations routinely leverage the efficiencies of technology platforms for their learning and development initiatives, but many of these same organizations continue to use manual processes to manage their talent. As a result, there’s little opportunity for technology to easily align training with organizational performance. Learning and talent management are inseparable, and managing them in two silos means missed opportunities for increased effectiveness. Join Scot Lake of Brandon Hall Group and Marc Blumenthal of Intelladon as they discuss the competitive advantages of integrating learning and talent management using a single technology platform.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Contextual Learning - Cheapest, Fastest and Easiest Way to Deliver Learning

Join Ray Jimenez, Chief Learning Architect of Vignettes for Training, Inc to learn key principles and practical examples of contextual learning. Most learning approaches are top to bottom, mandated and driven by leaders, trainers and learning specialists. In today's economy, this is costly, slow and often times late. Contextual learning principles and methods suggest that learner's learn best by referring to their own context, first and foremost. What matters is the learners' view of the content, competencies and skills to acquire as they see fit on the job.

Thursday, March 15, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Telltale Signs You Have Outgrown Your LMS

Learning and development is undergoing dramatic shifts. The workforce is changing. The way workers access and use knowledge is changing. Does your current LMS meet new technology and business expectations? How are learning and development functions to respond, and what role should learning management systems be playing in all this change? Join Brandon Hall Group Senior Analyst Scot Lake as he discusses these terrain-altering changes and six key requirements the learning management system should provide to help organizations adapt and thrive.

Thursday, March 22, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Bring Your On-Demand Training Content to Life with Video

An increasing number of organizations are turning to technology for on-demand learning to supplement their live learning programs. Geographic dispersion and cost management pressures drive this trend, along with a recognition that just-in-time learning mechanisms can provide more timely, more motivated learning precisely when it's needed, increasing motivation and knowledge retention.
But it can be tricky to build cost-effectively on-demand content cost-effectively that truly engages. Why? On-demand training modules frequently lack “charisma” due to software or cost constraints. Kirstin Lynde of Randstad Professionals and Michael Kolowich of KnowledgeVision explain and show the basics of bringing an on-demand training content initiative to life.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: An Active Approach to Teamwork Training

Teamwork is an essential component of organizational productivity. Today's leaders require a wide variety of skills for high performance teamwork, and it is up to learning professionals to use the most-up-to-date methods available to develop these skills. Join Thiagi, Resident Mad Scientist of The Thiagi Group and Tracy Tagliati, Training Manager of Move Inc. as they explore a variety of high-impact activities, jolts, and interactive learning strategies that have been specifically chosen to teach and apply some of the most critical teamwork competencies and concepts that we all need.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 11AM – 12PM PST: Leading in the Learning Function as a Business Partner (ASTD members only)

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is top notch for learning and development. Hear from Chief Learning Officer Jody Hudson's team how continuous, agency wide learning supports the business partnership. Also find out, how do you teach effective leadership? How do you enable employees to learn from each other in communities of practice? And learn why job rotation is a critical element of government training and development.

Free February webinars

Our apologies for getting this blog post up a little late. Check out a number of interesting free T&D webinars being offered this month. We hope they will inspire and motivate you.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST

Contextual Learning - Cheapest, Fastest and Easiest Way to Deliver Learning

Join Ray Jimenez, Ph.D., Chief Learning Architect of Vignettes for Training, Inc., in this session to learn the key principles and practical examples of contextual learning. Most learning approaches are top to bottom, mandated and driven by leaders, trainers and learning specialists. This is an old production and content oriented model where the training departments must produce content for learners to consume. In today's economy, this is costly, slow and often times late. In work conditions where change is rapid and learners are adept in the use of technologies (mobile and collaborative tools), trends show that contextual learning is a faster, cheaper and easiest way to deliver learning. Contextual learning principles and methods suggest that learner's learn best by referring to their own context, first and foremost. What matters is the learners' view of the content, competencies and skills to acquire as they see fit on the job.

Tuesday, 07 February 2012, 210AM - 11AM PST

Selecting a Learning Management System

Amid the adoption of informal and social learning strategies, Learning Management Systems (LMSs) continue to play a growing role in employee training initiatives. These systems provide learners with access to content and provide managers with the ability to track a wide variety of information. In industries that require certifying or monitoring training, no better way exists to ensure that individuals are qualified to do their work than by measuring their skills and knowledge using a Learning Management System. How do you pick the right LMS for your organization? Join Scot Lake, Sr. Analyst, Brandon Hall Group as he describes a key practices and a disciplined methodology for selecting the right LMS for your unique organization.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012, 11AM – 12PM PST (ASTD members only)

Serious Play: Blurring the Line between Work and Games

In a sequel to Intrepid Learning’s popular webinar Make Learning Stick: How Games Help Improve Performance, Jason Gorfine, resident customer experience and user interface expert, will take a deep dive into the eight principles of HOW games help us learn. Join Jason for an examination of how “gamifying” a concept can turn obligatory, less-that-exciting tasks from mind-numbing to manageable (and maybe even fun).  Jason will cover a brief history of humanity’s affinity for games, give an overview of the importance of gaming, and a take a tour through of the eight principles of learning (with corresponding real-world examples).

Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST

Monetizing your LMS: Turning your LMS into a Profit Center

Most organizations tend to start shopping for a learning platform because they have internal learning and development needs. But with a vision, a plan, and the right technology, it’s possible to reach beyond internal learning communities and transform learning platforms into profit centers. Join Rachel Ashkin, Chief Operating Officer, Brandon Hall Group and Nancy Rickles, Director of Training, Super Enterprises as they present a case study on how Super Enterprises brought valuable learning content to their extended enterprise to create an often overlooked revenue stream.

Thursday, February 16, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST

Beyond Check-the-Box Professional Education: Associations that Push the Edge of Learning Delivery and Elevate Industries Served

Associations, membership functions, unions, even corporations are being asked to help elevate their individual industries by providing extended professional education to their industry communities. In today’s market were the gap between skilled and unskilled labor can mean the difference in survival for both employees and organizations alike, we are seeing a growing demand for professional education and development. Those who provide these services, such as Associations, want to better understand how to support their communities, industries, and members – while obtaining greater value from their investments in increased memberships and revenue opportunities.  

Join Stacey Harris, VP of Research for Brandon Hall Group, and Christina Turner, VP Client Success & Implementations, Digital Ignite, as they share recent survey data and key practices in increasing the value and effectiveness of Professional Education Programs. They discuss four key practices in improving professional education programs including: Creating a continuum of learning activities, pragmatic social learning, creating membership pipelines, and integration of access and communication points. They’ll share real world examples from associations that have increased member value, revenues, and industry impact – while continuing to elevate the goals of their communities and associations.

Thursday, February 16, 2012, 9AM – 10AM PST (ASTD members only)

Critical Competencies for Today's Leadership

Successful leadership involves managing one’s self and relationships with others to move toward a specific business goal. The role of a leader is to grow others: help people grow their skills, knowledge and their confidence to develop leadership themselves in a real, practical context. The real world has other plans, however. Business goals are fluid, people are stressed, and one way technological messages continue to invade every moment of our lives. One thing remains the same – leadership is all about people. How can you clear a little chaos and build a high performing team? Join Lou Russell from Taleo to consider a new approach to leadership as we are all faced with predictable, constant chaos.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST

Let’s Get Mobile: Changing your Concept of Mobile Content Design and Delivery

We know that by 2015 over 7.1 billion mobile connected devises are predicted to be in service around the globe, and they estimate over 287 million tablets will ship annually. With the launch of Kindle, Fire at $199 – Tablets are now feasible replacements for printing costs. We are at the tipping point, and mobile delivery is here to stay. Many organizations have dabbled with mobile learning, but they haven’t figured out how to take it to an enterprise level. The feedback has been less than positive on simply turning e-learning courses into mobile courses and end-users are requiring that learning organizations speed up the process of delivering better, faster, more relevant mobile content that meets the needs of their on-the-go lifestyle.  

You know that you shouldn’t be asking “if” you need mobile learning, but rather “how” do I best invest resources in mobile learning? Because mobile learning changes all the rules and your learning customers have high expectations. Mobile is a consumer driven market, and learners are not just critical of your approach but vocal if it doesn’t meet their expectations. Join Stacey Harris, VP of Research for Brandon Hall Group, and Mark Hellinger, CEO of Xyleme, as they share recent findings from the Relationship Centered learning market and best practices in expanding your mobile learning efforts. If you’ve been planning on going mobile or have already taken your first steps, this webinar will change your view of the options.  

Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST

Blended Learning: Critical Design Decisions 

What does blended learning mean in today’s learning landscape, and how is it being used?  What guidance or tools are available to help you select the right delivery methods and the most appropriate instructional strategies? Join Sally Hovis, Vice President, Learning Design, SkillSoft, to learn some key points to consider when developing blended learning programs.

Thursday, February 23, 2012, 11AM – 12PM (ASTD members only)

LMS Selection and Implementation

Too often, vendor selection decisions are made in a vacuum. Without consulting others in your organization, utilizing research, and tying the decision to organizational objectives, you risk having the project rejected, a costly and drawn out implementation or under-utilization of the system. Michael Baker and Stacy Lindenberg from First Citizen's Bank address the entire selection process, and shares best practices along the way. In addition, you will receive templates to use in your own organizations to support the process. You can plan ahead and avoid pitfalls associated with vendor selection and learn the step-by-step process of vendor selection, creating buy-in, presenting to executive level stakeholders, implementation and continuous marketing.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST

Evaluation Basics: Four Challenges that can Make or Break Survey Research

Surveys and questionnaires are common instruments used to collect data of all types. Whether evaluating a training program or assessing organizational climate, self-administered surveys are a tool with which we must contend. Join Patti Phillips, Ph.D., President & CEO, ROI Institute, as she presents the four basic, but critical, challenges that can make or break a successful survey project.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 11AM – 12PM PST (ASTD members only)

 Transforming Learning at Hilton Worldwide

Hilton Chief Learning Officer Kimo Kippen will lead this informative session about how a 93-year-old company reinvented itself and transformed learning. During this session, Kimo will share how the company recognized the need to relaunch its learning and describe the strategic approach behind what would be the immediate areas of focus.

A game-changing day

If you haven't yet heard about Apple's announcements at today's Apple 'Educational Event', watch the keynote here. The focus of the talk is what they call interactive textbooks for the iPad - but these 'textbooks' are more sophisticated than a lot of basic eLearning, allowing for video, images and even quiz questions. The FREE tool they have launched to build iBooks, iBooks Author, appears to be easy to use, especially if you're familiar with the iWork tools like Keynote and Pages. Have some content in a Word doc? Just drag and drop into iBooks Author and it will build a book based on the styles in the doc. Drop in pictures, video, even HTML 5/Javascript widgets. Publish very simply to iBooks and share. And this is just the tip of the iceberg - there are so many cool features like note taking, glossary, study cards and more.

It's easy to see how this is a game changer not just for K-12 and university students, but also the world of adult learning. The focus might be on kids right now, but there is so much potential for application in the workplace, especially as iPads gain more traction in the business world. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for iBooks and iBooks Author - I can't wait to try it out!

Kick off 2012 with free webinars

It’s the start of a brand new year and the perfect time to make plans for personal development in 2012. Check out the variety of interesting free T&D webinars being offered this month. We hope they will inspire and motivate you.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: An Active Approach to Communications Training

Join Thiagi and Tracy Tagliati in a webinar that will explore a variety of high-impact activities, jolts, and interactive learning strategies that have been specifically chosen to teach and apply some of the most critical communication competencies and concepts that we all need. 

Thursday, January 5, 2012, 11AM – 12PM PST: (for ASTD members only)

Yawn-Proof Your eLearning

Finding yourself a bit bored with the e-learning you've been creating lately? Looking to jazz up your e-learning courses, but don't have the resources to create a 3-D immersive learning game that can be delivered on your iPhone? Need to get your content turned around fast – but without sacrificing engagement?  Join Cammy Bean to explore strategies and tips for creating quality e-learning in a rapid timeframe without breaking the bank. You'll see examples of incoming content received from clients, discuss the approach to rapid design, and talk about some of the specific strategies you can use to maximize engagement with minimal investment.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: How to Guarantee that Creativity and Innovation Flows Year Round in Your Organization

Based on empirical research, Dr. Robert Epstein, one of the world's leading experts on creativity and innovation, will summarize 10 practical techniques for spurring creativity and innovation in an organization on an ongoing basis, such as using a "shifting" technique for teams and making sure that all assignments and goals are stated in an "open-ended" fashion.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 11AM – 12PM PST: (for ASTD members only)

3 Simple Steps to Convert Classroom Training to Virtual Training

One minute of classroom time does not equal one minute of virtual classroom time–some activities simply don’t translate or even make sense online. How do you know what to reuse versus what to build from scratch?  Join this interactive webinar to discover the answer and begin to convert your classroom training to virtual training using 3 simple guidelines.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Learn to Use PowerPoint for More Than Boring Presentations

PowerPoint's gotten a bad rap. Sure we've all had to sit through hours of boring presentations. But is that PowerPoint's fault?  With the right skills, PowerPoint is one of the best multimedia applications out there. Join Tom Kuhlmann, VP of Community for Articulate as he shares ways to get more our out of PowerPoint. In this session you'll learn how to use PowerPoint to create illustrations and all sorts of multimedia.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: New Year, New Trends – LMS 2012

Join Stacey Harris, VP of Research, Brandon Hall Group, and Donald Taylor, Chairman, Learning and Performance Institute, as they discuss how the world of learning and development will change in 2012—in particular how L & D focus will continue to shift from “learning and development” to “knowledge and performance.” They’ll share insights on the trends to take action on today, as well as those that you’ll need to keep an eye on throughout the year.

Thursday, January 12, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Buried Alive: Human Productivity in the 21st Century

Unnecessary interruptions are consuming 28 percent of a knowledge workers’ day. Knowledge workers indicate in survey results that 40% of their time is spent on irrelevant activities.  In today’s world of unlimited information, technology and opportunities, why is it that people are finding themselves more “buried alive” than ever before?  During this session participants will discover the 21st century’s three key problems that are hindering the capabilities and potential of today’s workforce and their dramatic “hidden costs” taking its toll on organizational results.

Thursday, January 12, 2012, 11AM – 12PM PST: Twitter 101: The Basics and Tips for Learning Use

Twitter is an excellent tool to leverage for both personal and professional learning and growth, and more and more organizations are harnessing its power as part of learning programs. And with that, many learning professionals are encountering the same challenges, such as: How can I use Twitter in my learning programs if I don't even know how to use Twitter myself? What is the platform's value? We will explain what Twitter is, walk through the steps to (properly) set up a twitter account, define much of the technical Twitter terminology, and share some examples of how learning professionals are using the platform.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Modern Mentoring: Harnessing the Collective Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Passions of Today’s Workforce

Technology and innovative thinking have revitalized mentoring and extended its developmental benefits to the entire enterprise. No longer just about one-to-one relationships between senior leaders and potential successors, today’s mentoring is focused on removing the barriers between people and engaging them in rich learning and teaching opportunities. Join Michael Rochelle, Chief Business Development Officer for the Brandon Hall Group, and Randy Emelo, President and CEO of Triple Creek, as they discuss the strategies that make modern mentoring more valuable than ever.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: The Trainer as Peak Performer: Scale the Heights

In this webinar, learn how to identify peak performance in yourself and the trainers who work for you. Develop your training skills improvement plan based on 100 Training Clinic instructor behaviors and activities in ten competency areas. Become a peak performer in the classroom or on-the-job.

Thursday, January 19, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Generation Next: Creating Experiences that Engage

When it comes to learning, Generation Next learners have high expectations. They expect something more than last year’s enterprise-wide learning platform interface, something that looks and feels more like the sites they already frequent in other parts of their lives. Organizations are responding to these expectations by creating engaging, personalized experiences that use gamification and branding strategies to build experiences that are inviting, motivating, and feel familiar to tomorrow’s learners.
Join Scot Lake, Senior Learning Analyst for Brandon Hall Group, and Dan Medakovic, VP, Learning Solutions at Blatant Media as they discuss strategies for engaging Generation Next’s learners.

Friday, January 20, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Getting Great ROI from Attending the Training 2012 Conference

If you will be attending the Training 2012 Conference, join Jack Philips, Chairman of the ROI institute in this thought-provoking webcast to explore how conferences are being evaluated from the participants’ perspective. It shows how you, as a potential conference participant, can judge the ROI of a conference in advance of attending. It presents a system to track what you do with what you learned, including impact and financial ROI. In this session, we will also offer you an opportunity to measure your ROI for attending the Training 2012 Conference. This offer includes participating in a collaborative study to show your ROI for attending.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Meeting the Mobile Need: Strategies for Developing Meaningful Mobile Content

With the explosive growth of mobile device use, today’s workforce is connected and ready to engage—wherever and whenever. But how do organizations go about delivering mobile learning that is effective and well received? What content lends itself to mobile delivery, and how must content developers think and design differently? Join Scot Lake, Sr. Analyst for Brandon Hall Group, and Chris Van Wingerden, of dominKnow Learning Solutions, as they discuss the end-to-end process for designing and developing the most effective mobile learning experiences for today’s connected workforce.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Designing 3-Minute or Less eLearning Programs

Chunking, miniaturizing and boiling down content to fit into short and quick lessons for eLearning and mobile learning are difficult tasks: How does one know what content keep and throwaway? Furthermore, traditional content design assumes that learners must learn all the content. The challenge is that it leads to bloated, long, boring and costly eLearning and impossible to deliver in mobile learning. In this session, you will learn a content design process that shows you step-by-step how to boil down and chunk your content. You will learn how to create 3-minute eLearning lessons.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Through the Looking Glass: 2012 Learning Function Trends

Many learning professionals and leaders are wondering when their jobs shifted from instructional designers and content developers, to social media mavens, workflow analysts, and content filters. The fact is that in a world where over 48 hours of YouTube videos are uploaded every minute, content is really not the problem. Businesses are looking for tomorrow’s learning function to turn the reams of content we are generating into opportunities and increase performance. To do that, the learning function simply has to change. Join Stacey Harris, VP of Research for Brandon Hall Group, as she shares key findings from recent research on award winning learning functions and their new approaches to creating not just effective learning, but learning eco-systems that support sustained performance improvement.

Thursday, January 26, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: Great Ideas from Practice: Lessons Learned from Cases in Training and Development

Looking for some great ideas that have proven successful? Join Saul Carliner, associate professor with the graduate program in Educational Technology at Concordia University in Montreal, who will present several practical tips for designing, developing, and implementing training that have been gleaned from cases of real-world training and development projects.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012, 10AM – 11AM PST: What do Projects and EQ Have to Do with Each Other?

Juggling multiple learning projects with multiple players while trying to do your REAL job makes you FRANXIOUS (frustrated and anxious). Join Lou Russell, President and CEO of L+EARN and Russell Martin & Associates to learn simple project management techniques to start a project and a little emotional awareness and regulation to reduce the chaos as the project progresses.

Free December webinars

Christmas and the New Year are both just around the corner but there’s still time to take advantage of a few more free training and development webinars on a variety of interesting topics. Hope to “see” you online.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Experience is the Best Teacher – Capturing and Deploying Experience using Simulations and Immersive Learning Techniques

In this workshop, you’ll learn a methodology for capturing and ultimately deploying simulations which translate specific experience into learning modalities that engage the learner and help them apply the simulated experience to real-life situations. The result of this approach is that Simulations, once thought of as unrealistic because of cost and time, can become a key part of any organizations learning portfolio in a very practical manner.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011, 11:30AM – 12:30PM PST: Engaging Your Workforce Through Development and Career Pathing

Organizations need to begin to think about recognition differently—both in terms of development and career-pathing. They need to take into account a number of important factors, including feedback, mentoring, education, sponsorship, career management and work/life balance.  Join Stacey Harris of the Brandon Hall Group as she shares her latest research in these key areas, detailing proven, award-winning practices of how organizations of all sizes are engaging their workforces and recognizing valuable employee assets through various development and career-pathing opportunities.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Talent Management System Selection: Top 10 Questions to Ask Yourself and Your Vendors

Join Stacey Harris, VP of Research for Brandon Hall Group as she shares insights on the Top 10 Questions to ask your organization and the Top 10 Questions to ask prospective vendors when researching talent management system options.  She’ll take a deep look at questions like; real global needs, or process automation readiness as well as issues like solution provider testing processes or actual support offerings.

Thursday, December 8, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Design Lively eLearning with Action Mapping

In this webinar, you'll learn a quick way to replace dry information with creative, high-energy activities. Learn about a four-step process that will help you:

• Brainstorm lively, engaging activities that help learners apply new knowledge on the job

• Identify what content really needs to be included and what can be cut

• Convince your subject matter experts to agree to the cuts

• Design materials that intrigue and challenge learners--and change their real-world behavior

Thursday, December 8, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: The Brandon Hall Group Award Winners Webinar Series: The Cisco Learning Network: A Social Success Reaching 480,000 Members

The Learning@Cisco team focused on creating a new way to communicate and collaborate, through Web 2.0 social networking tools including shared wikis, blogs, discussion boards and using web-based learning tools to provide rich feedback and a collaborative learning environment. As part of Brandon Hall Group’s Award Winners Webinar Series, join Jeanne Beliveau- Dunn, VP and GM for Learning@Cisco, as she shares how Cisco has taken e-learning from a cost center to an important strategic element, a valued customer resource, and a key driver of Cisco's continued success.

Thursday, December 8, 2011, 12PM – 1PM PST: AAA University Case Study on Content Management: Creating a self-sustaining learning model

How do you effectively meet the learning needs of over 8,000 internal and external learners, across 23 states – in a federation business model - with a shrinking learning function?  You create a learning system that is self-sustaining and powerful. Join Scot Lake, Sr. Learning Analyst for Brandon Hall Group and key members of the AAA University, at AAA NCNU Insurance Exchange as they share their approach and workflow for creating business information and training materials which leverages metadata-driven content aggregation. They will also share how, leveraging a Learning Content Management System (LCMS), they’ve designed their program to support dynamic content delivery that meets the unique needs of their diverse audiences.

Monday, December 12, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Instant Learning through Story and Experience Sharing

Do you feel at times you have to cram too much content into short lessons? So the tendency of the designers is to compact and squeeze big content lessons. The problem is that learners can't learn instantly compacted lessons. However, instant learning happens by using experiences and stories and embedding the content. This session shows you how to create instant learning by applying tested methods in cognitive sciences, social and behavioral sciences. You will learn step-by-step methods and see live demos from real-life cases on how stories and experience can fast track learning.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Top Ten Challenges When Implementing Blended Learning

This session addresses the most common challenges an implementation may encounter when designing and implementing a blended learning solution, and provides strategies on how to anticipate these challenges and minimize their impact. Technological, organizational, and instructional concerns will be addressed.

Thursday, December 15, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Benefits & Barriers to Social Learning: Discuss, Network & Share

What are the leading benefits & barriers to implementing social learning? Jeanne Meister, Partner of Future Workplace and best-selling author of The 2020 Workplace: How Innovative Companies Attract, Develop & Keep Tomorrow's Employees Today co-author is joined with Glenn Scott (Global Leader - Technology-Enabled Learning) of P&G to discuss benefits and barriers to social learning.

Learn:

• Key benefits & barriers of social learning as uncovered in leading best selling book, The 2020 Workplace

• How to anticipate barriers and communicate benefits

• What you can do to overcome barriers

• Participate in group poll on crowdsourcing your benefits and barriers

• Discuss a plan of action for moving to build a business case for social learning

• How P&G has used social media to drive innovation in building the learning brand and making connections to learn together

This webinar will also share pre work for our session entitled (Social Learning: Drivers, Practices & Business Alignment for Re-Imagining Learning) on FEB 13th at Training 2012.

Monday, December 19, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Getting Great ROI from Attending the Training 2012 Conference

This thought-provoking webcast will explore how conferences are being evaluated from the participants’ perspective.  It shows how you, as a potential conference participant, can judge the ROI of a conference in advance of attending.  It presents a system to track what you do with what you learned, including impact and financial ROI. In this session, you will also be given an opportunity to measure your ROI for attending the Training 2012 Conference.   This offer includes participating in a collaborative study to show your ROI for attending.

Free November webinars

Check out the free training and development webinars this month on a variety of interesting topics. Hope to “see” you online.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: 11 ½  Tips for Designing Slides and Interactions for Live Online Training (members-only webcast)

In a short-attention-span culture, it can be challenging for trainers and instructional designers to engage online learners. Fortunately, many issues of getting and keeping attention can be solved before getting in front of class. Join Roger Courville, webinar expert and author of The Virtual Presenter’s Handbook, to jumpstart your success when designing slides and interactions for the virtual, instructor-led environment.

To register, go to http://www.astd.org/ and click on the Webcasts tab.

Thursday, November 3, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Best Practices in Upgrading Learning Technologies: Reduce Fear and Create a Strategy for Success

Join Stacey Harris, VP of Research for Brandon Hall Group, and Saba's Naren Patil, senior director of product marketing, as they share insights that can help reduce your fear of change and increase your odds of success. They'll discuss best practices from hundreds of successful transitions for creating a strategy for the upgrade, as well as tools and tricks for preparing your organization for a limited-impact change.

 

Tuesday, November 8, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Making Money with your LMS: Innovative Ways to Extend the Reach of your LMS

Extending the use of learning technology to external channels and audiences not only creates avenues for increased revenue, but also creates unique occasions to increase brand awareness and marketing impact. Join Scot Lake, Sr. Analyst for Brandon Hall Group, and Matt Gilley, Co-Founder of Intellum, as they share real life examples and key practices in leveraging learning technology to increase value and reach multiple audiences across existing internal and external supply chains.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Low-Cost, Best Practices for Converting Instructor Led Training to eLearning

This presentation will discuss the key differences in the design approach between ILT and e-learning. It will also provide insight into the e-learning development process. What roles are required? How do you estimate development time and cost? What are the trade-offs between different types of development tools? What new tools (such as storyboards, testing scripts, etc.) are required?

Wednesday, November 9, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Is Mobile Learning Right for You?

Mobile Learning creates a unique channel of communication that can be personalized for the individual learner and their learning style.  Mobile learning offers the ability to have just in time/just for me learning access to highly relevant content that can be immediately put to use by the learner. But is Mobile Learning right for your organization and how do you decide? This session will delve into the decision-making criteria and key considerations that should drive an organization’s assessment of Mobile Learning.

Friday, November 11, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: 10 Cases of Bungled eLearning Implementation – Lessons Learned

In this session, Ray Jimenez will share his 10 most bungled up elearning implementations - horror stories that after resolution breathed life and improved the eLearning programs and systems. Ray will share specific cases and real-life events from his 15 years implementing elearning projects. The experiences and real-life cases help you take a closer look at implementation issues and how to avoid them.

Tuesday November 15, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Blended Learning in Mid-Sized Organizations: Deliverting Engaging Learning to Today’s Audiences

When it comes to employee performance, the two critical factors that influence improvement are motivation and ability. The best learning experiences consider both of these performance needs. Creating a learning environment that meets these goals, while engaging today’s diverse learning audiences, can be challenging for any organization, but it is especially challenging for today’s quickly growing small and medium-sized business market. It requires multiple learning approaches and effective delivery. Join Scot Lake, Senior Learning Analyst for the Brandon Hall Group, in a discussion on the key practices of designing and delivering effective blended learning programs.  Hear about award winning examples with solid business outcomes that have inspired and engaged their audiences.

Tuesday November 29, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Structured Sharing: Orchestrated Spontaneity

Join Thiagi and Tracy Tagliati who will explore a special type of training activity that facilitates mutual learning and teaching among participants. They are called structured sharing activities, because they provide a flexible strategy that creates a context for a dialogue among participants based on their experiences, knowledge, and opinions. They will share several structured sharing activities, and will give you the resources to develop more.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Stop, Look, Listen and Apply – Adding Contemplation in eLearning

Leading critics of technologies like Sherry Turkle (author Alone Together) and David Brooks (author of The Social Animal) and suggest that the abundance of technologies, while there are great benefits, also forces people to imbed gazillions of knowledge and information, but failing to process the information into useful and valuable to impact performance. In this session, Ray Jimenez will share four case studies on how to add the contemplation process in the eLearning design.

Free October webinars

There are a multitude of free training and development webinars this month on a variety of interesting topics. Hope to “see” you online.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011, 11AM – 12PM PST: Low-Cost, High-Impact Training on Demand

Join Kendra Lee, president of KLA Group, and Knoodle's Kelly Smith to learn about cost-effective, quick, and easy strategies for creating and implementing on-demand learning in your small or mid-size organization. You will explore moving from a "push" training model to a "pull" one, in which content comes from subject matter experts and peers rather than corporate trainers, how to repurpose training courses into learning nuggets that can be accessed anytime, anywhere and how to incorporate social learning tools into your training arsenal.

 

October 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25 or 28, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Create and deliver Self-Paced Training in 30 minutes or less

You’ll learn secrets to help you create training in minutes by infusing your presentations with audio, video, surveys and more, engage your audience through interactive and collaborative learning and deliver training anywhere, anytime with a 100% hosted solution.

 

Wednesday, October 5, 2011, 9AM – 10AM PST: Chaos is not Performance: Learning Project Management for Stability

Join Lou Russell, President and CEO of L+EARN and Russell Martin & Associates learn how to organize and prioritize your individual scalability.  Get things done and be more effective.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011, 10:30AM – 11:30AM PST: The New Learning Architect

The new learning architect designs environments that help specific populations take maximum advantage of multiple learning opportunities. To do this, new learning architects need to understand the unique characteristics of their target populations and the business challenges those populations face. New learning architects need to find the right balance between top-down and bottom-up learning initiatives, between formal and informal learning. Join Clive Shepherd, author of The New Learning Architect as he explains what it means to be a new learning architect and how becoming one could transform the contribution you make to your organization.

 

Wednesday, October 12, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Today’s Innovations, Tomorrows Trends: Learning Technology that Meets Learners Expectations

Join Scot Lake, Senior Learning Analyst for Brandon Hall Group, and Jeff Whitney, OutStart’s Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, as they discuss the innovations, the challenges, and the real-life successes around today’s innovations in learning.

Thursday, October 13, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Presenting and Training When You’re Not in the Room: Virtual Training, Webinars, and Video Conferences

Join Jeff Hiller, Senior Trainer and Workshop Leader , from JB Training Solutions who will give you the inside tips and techniques you need to deliver effective presentations and training sessions when you’re not in the room. Through interactive exercises, you will learn strategies for conveying a strong, clear message to your target audience remotely.

For ASTD members:

Thursday, October 13, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Web 3.0 and Mobile Learning Technologies

Join David Wentworth, Senior Analyst  from i4cp who will discuss various components of Web 3.0 and how they might influence the future of learning, with an emphasis on the practices of high-performance organizations. What does mobile learning mean for learning professionals and the learning function? How will it affect instructional design? What influence, if any, will device manufacturers, platform providers, and software developers have on mobile learning’s future? To register, go to http://www.astd.org/ and click on the Webcasts tab.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Developing Talent in the New World of Business

Organizations must be agile, they must be able to adapt and leverage technology to create an environment that allows high performers to grow professionally and, ultimately, develop new skills that will lead businesses into the future. Join Claire Schooley, Sr. Analyst from Forrester Research who will explore new leadership skills, competencies and how to develop leaders who have the attributes the business will need to remain competitive.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 8AM – 9AM PST:  Making 360′s Smarter and Simpler

Join Knowledge Advisors who will share industry best practices, and years of real world experience, to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of your 360 degree assessment process.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Selecting and LMS: Converging your Business Needs with Emerging Learning Trends

Join, Scot Lake, Senior Analyst at Brandon Hall Group and Kenneth Fung, EVP of Product Strategy at CERTPOINT as they share best practices in selecting an enterprise learning solution that will meet an organizations business needs for today and prepare them for the learning trends of tomorrow.  Learn how key learning trends that could impact your organization in the next three years , award winning approaches to selecting solution providers that meet today’s needs and tomorrows challenges, the impact of managing and partnering with solution providers effectively and the value of an effective and well implemented enterprise learning solution.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011, 10AM – 11AM PST: Interactive Lectures is not an Oxymoron

Interactive Lectures involve the participants in the learning process while providing complete control to the instructor. These activities enable a quick and easy conversion of a passive presentation into an interactive experience. Join Thiagi of the Thiagi Group and Tracy Tagliati from Move, Inc. as they explore different types of interactive lectures that incorporate built-in quizzes, interspersed tasks, and teamwork interludes.