PodCascadia: My New Job

Back in December of last year, I joined the ASTD-Cascadia Chapter as well as the ASTD National Chapter. While browsing the local chapter’s website, I came across the PodCascadia page and had the pleasure of listening to Christine Martell and Aaron Munter host their podcast show. Fortunately for me, they were looking for someone to help with the program. After a few phone calls, an email or two, and a face-to-face meeting, I joined their team. Let me say, it has been a wonderful experience working with both of them.

My primary job is to help locate guests for the program, manage some of the administrative functions, and when necessary, record/edit podcast segments. One of the first guests I was able to book is Will Hornyak. Stop by and listen to Episode 53: Storytelling with Will Hornyak at the PodCascadia web site today!

Is Corporate America Ready for Blogs?

According to Technorati, there are over 70 million blogs on the Internet and the number is growing daily. The majority of blogs are created by people like you and me but some of them are finding their way into Corporate America. Are today’s companies prepared to manage this new collaboration tool? I don’t think so, let me explain.

Effective Trainers

Many years ago, I signed up for a class at a local training company (which will remain nameless) to learn more about computers and networking. The trainer walked in and proceeded to tell us about himself. He had been training for over 20 years, had worked in the networking industry as a consultant during the same time period, and had several industry certifications. Needless to say, we were all very impressed to be in the presence of such a knowledgeable person. Then, it happened…

Instructional Design: Is Storyboarding a Bad Idea?

When I’m working in the role of a trainer, I spend a lot of time sitting on planes, eating bad airport food, and trying to avoid catching bugs spread by fellow passengers. On the flip side, I’ve also discovered it gives me a lot of time to read. On a recent trip to New York, I had the opportunity to read Michael Allen’s Guide to e-Learning. The book discusses why e-learning is often of poor quality and why we need to break the cycle in today’s corporations which have accepted, as Michael Allen puts it, “lackluster training products.” According to Allen, “Projects should often be reduced in scope so that real interactivity–meaningful, memorable interactivity–can take place to demonstrate its power.” I’ll talk about that in a later post, but for now, I want to focus on one section of the book that caught my attention: Storyboarding

Training: Can You Tell a Story?

Recently, I was reading an interesting post by Michelle over at The Bamboo Project Blog. The article, “Reflections on a Stalled Learning Project” summarized some of her thoughts on how a recent learning project stalled. One area she discussed, was how she was researching storytelling and how it could be used with online portfolios. Ironically, I was reading a book on how storytelling could be used from a trainer’s perspective to get a point across. Could it be that great minds think alike?

Training: Technology and Accessibility for the Visually Impaired

Technology has made incredible advances in the last ten years. With each advance, there is new hope for those with disabilities. Yet, there are still obstacles that must be overcome to assist people in living and functioning more independently. As a trainer, it’s possible to train for years and never have someone who is visually impaired or blind attend your class. But when they do, how can you ensure they get the most from your class?

Training: Keeping Students Involved

As a trainer, I’m always looking for ways to get/keep students involved in the learning process. One technique that I’ve used, several times in the past, is called “passing the ball”. My object of choice? The nerf football.

For those of you who have not used this approach, here’s how it works:

Starting with yourself (the trainer) ask a question related to the subject matter you are training on. Next, pass the ball to one of the students in your class. That student will attempt to answer the question. If they don’t have the answer, they can ask for assistance from their classmates. Once the question is answered, the student can ask another question (related to the current subject matter) and pass the ball to another student to answer.

This is a great way to have a little fun and also keep your students involved in the learning process. What other techniques have you used to engage students? Let’s hear about them.