676 - Shoe Reports, Balancing Learning Discussions, Tablet as a Decision Support Tool
August 15, 2011 Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - August 15, 2011.
#676 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
55,418 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Host of Learning 2011 - Over 927 Registered Already!
1. Sensible Shoes for Training and Teaching - Great Responses.
2. App’s Change Decision Process - Horse Auctions in Action.
3. Balancing Learning - Theme for Learning 2011!
1. Sensible Shoes for Training and Teaching - Great Responses! One of the most interesting waves of responses from TRENDS readers came last week, after I asked for your ideas for “sensible shoes to wear when doing stand-up training.” My inbox was swamped with shoe names, pictures, stories and ideas. Clearly, training is a physical as well as intellectual activity. But, there are also the issues of appearance and expectations. Here is the summary from the wave of responses:
Among responding trainers, Clarks and Rockports were the most popular shoes choices for comfort and style. Below, you’ll see the breakdown of preferred shoes among female and male trainers.
Top choice for women: Dansko shoes and clogs. Runner up: Clarks, specifically the Unstructured collection
Least Popular: Heels! If necessary, the suggestions were to go low heel, or even low and wide for balance. Aerosoles and Easy Spirit recommended.
More popular shoes: Born, Crocs, Keen, Merrell, New Balance walking shoe, Nike, Converse, Cole Haan, Reebok.
Overwhelming choice for men: Rockport walking shoe, Encounter. The variety of widths available makes this a popular choice. Runner Up: Cole Haan loafer with Nike Air technology in the soles!
Next top choices: Clarks (the Unstructured collection once again); Ecco brand in tie styles.
Other popular shoes: Asics, Merrell, Crocs.
Readers also sent in these shoe wearing tips for trainers:
* Switch shoes halfway through the day. For women especially, rotate heels with a comfortable clog.
* Invest in orthotic inserts.
* Clogs and mules are great for the traveling trainer: easy on and off at airport security.
* Switch up with a fun shoe for last day or round! Shoe conversation can be a memorable closer or interesting icebreaker.
Selected Thoughts:
* “I once heard a story about Ronald Reagan keeping a second pair of dress shoes under his desk to change into in the afternoon. His father was a shoe salesman and taught him that trick to feel fresh on his feet for the second half of the day. And my training experience confirms that this totally works!”
* “My shoe choice depends on the audience. I have found through trial and error that one way to get instant respect is to come to the class 1.5 times more formal than the audience. So the exact shoe depends on the outfit.”
* “Somewhere long ago, I remember reading a survey that indicated the two things that learners remembered the best about every instructor were their shoes and their nails. They would forget instructors’ names, outfits, content, even color of the hair but seemed to retain these two items.”
* “You’ve got to look the role, but you need to survive the day.”
* “Of course, I think the best classes are those where the participants are doing most of the work, so that doesn’t require me to stand much at all!!”
* “I can tell you from experience that miserable feet make for a miserable day, so it’s best to take care of them so you can focus on more important goals!”
2. App’s Change Decision Process - Horse Auctions in Action: I watched a process of decision making being altered by the use of an App for the iPad this weekend. In Saratoga, there are very famous horse auctions where hundreds of top yearlings are viewed, inspected and then sold. Up until this year, each buying team walked around the various barns with a thick catalogue, scribbling notes and making evaluations of the horses they inspected.
Since the MASIE Stable was shopping for another horse, we gave our trainer an iPad and suggested that she download a new free app from Equineline that has the complete catalog in digital format. But, even more importantly, the App allows for detailed evaluations to be added, including ratings for each horse on physical characteristics, vet inspections and overall rankings, along with detailed notes. These can then be sorted and shared. We watched dozens of buying teams, walking the barn areas, tablets in hand, making and sharing assessments. And, in the heat of the auction, these ratings were on the laps of buyers (including our trainer), helping to inform choices and targeted price ranges.
While we didn’t get the horse we wanted this time, one big take-away was the value of a Performance Support app, organized around a shared data set, with the ability to add notes, rankings and ratings - as part of a collaborative decision making system. Many non-techie owners, trainers and vets were seen sporting their digital “horse GPS” systems, impressing me with the speed of adoption once an app is optimized and simplified to a specific and high value decision process. You can check it out at http://tinyurl.com/horsegps
3. Balancing Learning! - Theme for Learning 2011: A core theme is emerging for our Keynotes, Case Studies and Conversations at Learning 2011: “Balancing Learning!” One of the key challenges that learning professionals are facing is how to creatively and strategically balance innovation, design elements and learning choices for workplace training, learning and development. Here are a few examples:
* Balancing Innovation & Tradition in Learning.
* Balancing Digital Content & Face-to-Face Contact.
* Balancing Authored Designs & UserCreated Content.
* Balancing Memory & Referenced Information.
* Balancing Mobile/Social & Classroom/eLearning.
* Balancing Global Processes & Local Culture.
* Balancing Compliance & Performance Drivers.
* Balancing Production Values & “Good Enough” Content.
* Balancing Social Knowledge & Corporate Policy.
* Balancing Deep Skills & Broad Perspectives.
* Balancing LMS Models & Evolving Learning Methods.
* Balancing Our Careers & Personal Lives.
We are excited to ask our Keynoters, Faculty and Participants to discuss the challenges of Balancing Learning! The innovations we are seeing in the world of learning and knowledge are exciting and create many new design options. But, let’s not fall in love with the hype! We have a great opportunity to experiment our way to new points of “Balance” as we evolve organizational and workplace learning strategies. We now have over 927 colleagues registered for Learning 2011 (Nov 6 to 9 - Orlando, Florida). Info and registration at http://www.learning2011.com
Yours in learning,
Elliott Masie
email: emasie@masie.com