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Learning to Play… Playing to Learn!
By astdcascadia | June 15, 2010
Announcing the 2010 ASTD-Cascadia Regional Conference where it is all about PLAY! Join over 200 workplace learning professionals as we learn to play in the workplace October 20-21, 2010 in Salem, Oregon.
Dr. Thiagi, a pioneer in using games and play in the classroom will serve as the Thursday keynote. Thiagi has published 40 books, 120 games and simulations, and more than 200 articles. He wrote the definitive chapters on simulations and games for ISPI’s Handbook of Human Performance Technology, ASTD’s Training & Development Handbook, and the American Management Association’s Human Resources Management and Development Handbook.
Brad Barton, author and magician will keynote on Wednesday. Laugh out loud at the tricks and tales of this master disillusionist and discover how misdirection and mental conditioning – powerful techniques magicians use to fool their audiences for fun – create illusions in our personal and work worlds that aren’t fun? Whether improving your teaching environments, serving your community, or building a rewarding personal life you already possess all you need to enhance your bright and successful future – just like magic!
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Getting Ready for June’s Monthly Program
By Gerry Munzing | June 10, 2010
June’s ASTD Monthly Program is fast approaching and below is some background information that can help you prepare for it.
The focus this month is on Demystifying Talent Management. The presenters include experts from Adidas, Regence, and Bonneville Power Administration who will share their insights on how they have defined and successfully implemented Talent Management strategies.
If you are interested in getting a head start on the presentation, here are three places where you could do further research.
As stated in on the Event Information page, “according to Bersin & Associates’ research, companies with intermediate to advanced levels of talent management performed better financially during the recession as well as generated higher revenue per employee and lower overall voluntary turnover.”
Additionally, here’s where you can go to find out more about the talent management framework defined by IBM and the Human Capital Institute.
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Learning Leader’s Forum - May
By Gerry Munzing | May 5, 2010
There are several high quality ASTD events going on in May. For now, I’d like to provide you with a little more background for the Learning Director’s Forum scheduled for May 20th.
Here are a couple of snippets that stood out to me as I perused the U.S. Department of Education’s study on the effectiveness of online learning.
In the abstract (pg. ix), “The meta-analysis found that, on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.”
In the Key Findings section (pg. xv), “Instruction combining online and face-to-face elements had a larger advantage relative to purely face-to-face instruction than did purely online instruction.”
And (pg. xvi), “Online learning can be enhanced by giving learners control of their interactions with media and prompting learner reflection.”
There’s a lot more to the report (93 pages) and it would be great if I had time to read over the whole thing. Even so, I’m sure it would be much more useful and time efficient to get an expert analysis of the contents while discussing it with fellow ASTD professionals at the Learning Director’s Forum.
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The Transitions SIG in April
By Gerry Munzing | April 23, 2010
Next Thursday, the Transitions SIG is meeting in Beaverton. Here are a couple of reasons why I’m going.
Everyone knows a strong professional network is vital, and building and maintaining yours is an ongoing process that needs to be kept up even if you’re not in the job market. I recently relocated to the Portland area and the thing that strikes me about networking here is that it’s really a small world. The people you meet today might be the same ones who you interview with in the future.
At many similar event s I attended back when I was looking for work, it seemed like I only ever met people who were also in the job market. Whenever I’ve attended the Transitions SIG it has been refreshingly different in that there is always a balance between people working and those who are looking, and I really think that helps improve motivation overall.
Besides, next week’s SIG is a great opportunity to maximize your Cascadia membership because we can all benefit from learning more about “Tapping the Resources of ASTD and Its Partners.”
I look forward to seeing you there.
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Learn, Understand, Embrace, Discover at April’s Monthly Program
By Gerry Munzing | April 13, 2010
How do you feel about your presentation skills? What do you do to get your message across and make it memorable?
On 4/29 – Thu, Jim Endicott from Distinction Communication, Inc., will present Winning the Hearts and Minds of Busy People: The Art of Persuasion, Influence and Personal Impact at ASTD Cascadia Monthly Program.
Jim sums it up well when he says that there’s a difference between simply “giving” a presentation and knowing what it takes for our audiences to actually “get them”.
In December 2009, Jim’s company conducted its Annual Presentation Impact Survey and here is a taste of the results. Looking them over, I can definitely relate to the following experience,
Dozens of times every year I ask groups about their greatest presentation successes. More times than I can tell you I’m told about a seemingly horrible situation when a certain technology left the presenter(s) high and dry and they simply turned everything off and had a conversation with the customer, investor or partner. No projector… no screen or PowerPoint. Just conversation. And the funniest part? They get the opportunity. The “best meeting they ever had” so many have told us.
As Jim points out a few lines later, this reinforces an important truth, “First and foremost, the art of presenting is not a technical skill, it’s all about some very important relational ones.”
When you sign up for Distinction’s eNewsletter, you can receive a copy of the entire survey results. It came out in the March 2010 issue.
If you haven’t already signed up to attend the program, then I hope to have sparked your interest in doing so.
I look forward to seeing you there!
p.s. If you’re wondering about all those verbs in the title, they come from the Monthly Program’s Outcomes.
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