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Entries from August 1, 2009 - August 31, 2009

Friday
Aug282009

589 - Back to School Feelings - New Lunch Pail & Pens

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - August 28, 2009.
#589 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
54,787 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Host - Learning 2009 - Nov 8-11 - Orlando, Florida

1. Back to School Vibes - New Supplies & Excitement!
2. NEW: Learning 2009 Brochure Now Online

1. Back to School Vibes - New Supplies & Excitement! Every late August, a “Back to School” feeling starts. I still think of the year as starting in early September. In fact, I have felt that way since I was 6 years old:

- I head to the store and get new school supplies. Every year, I buy a new notebook or stapler or cool pens. It makes me feel “ready” for the new year of learning.
- I fondly remember putting Loose Leaf Reinforcements on a ream of paper. These small plastic rings would keep the paper from easily tearing out of my book. When I was six, we had to lick them. When I was in Junior High School, they were just peel and stick.
- I’d start to sing “School Days” in mid summer, revealing to my parents that I was ready to get back into learning.
- There would be excitement and a bit of anxiety about meeting the new teacher. Would they be boring or challenging? And, would I fit into my seat? (I was a tall kid.)
- My learning muscles would kick into full gear by the time Labor Day rolled around.
- And, my parents would buy me one piece of new clothing or an updated lunch box to celebrate the back to school moment.

I still feel that way! I’m ordering new books to read and later today, you can find me at the Staples store in Saratoga, checking out new notebooks, pens and maybe even a colorful stapler or compass. Yeehaa!

2. NEW - Learning 2009 Brochure Now Online: You can download the new Learning 2009 Brochure. Just go to http://www.learning2009.com/brochure Save $$ with Advanced Registration!

Elliott Masie
Contact: emasie@masie.com

Upcoming MASIE Center Services & Events:
* Learning 2009: Nov 8 to 11 - Orlando, FL
* Membership in our Learning CONSORTIUM (Over 240 Fortune 1000 Organizations)
Information and Registration at http://www.masie.com
Follow Our Twitter Feeds: http://www.twitter.com/emasie

Tuesday
Aug252009

588 - Powerful Rant About PowerPoint - Dumb Dumb Bullets

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - August 25, 2009.
#588 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
54,781 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Host - Learning 2009 - Nov 8-11 - Orlando, Florida

1. A Powerful Rant about PowerPoint - “Dumb-Dumb Bullets”
2. Emergency Preparation and Roles for Learning Departments

1. A Powerful Rant about PowerPoint! I just read a very powerful rant in the Armed Forces Journal about the destructive use of PowerPoint - in terms of thinking and decision making. Here is a short excerpt and a link to the full article called “Dumb-Dumb Bullets” by T.X. Hammes (Retired Marine Corps).

“Every year, the services spend millions of dollars teaching our people how to think. We invest in everything from war colleges to noncommissioned officer schools. Our senior schools in particular expose our leaders to broad issues and historical insights in an attempt to expose the complex and interactive nature of many of the decisions they will make.”

“Unfortunately, as soon as they graduate, our people return to a world driven by a tool that is the antithesis of thinking: PowerPoint. Make no mistake, PowerPoint is not a neutral tool — it is actively hostile to thoughtful decision-making. It has fundamentally changed our culture by altering the expectations of who makes decisions, what decisions they make and how they make them. While this may seem to be a sweeping generalization, I think a brief examination of the impact of PowerPoint will support this statement.”

“The last point, how we make decisions, is the most obvious. Before PowerPoint, staffs prepared succinct two- or three-page summaries of key issues. The decision-maker would read a paper, have time to think it over and then convene a meeting with either the full staff or just the experts involved to discuss the key points of the paper. Of course, the staff involved in the discussion would also have read the paper and had time to prepare to discuss the issues. In contrast, today, a decision-maker sits through a 20-minute PowerPoint presentation followed by five minutes of discussion and then is expected to make a decision. Compounding the problem, often his staff will have received only a five-minute briefing from the action officer on the way to the presentation and thus will not be well-prepared to discuss the issues. This entire process clearly has a toxic effect on staff work and decision-making.”

For the complete article, go to http://www.afji.com/2009/07/4061641

I’d love to hear your thoughts at emasie@masie.com

2. Emergency Preparation and Roles for Learning Departments: In recent weeks, I have been in conversation with quite a few Chief Learning Officers about how they are building more robust Emergency Prep plans for their Learning Departments. How well prepared is your Learning function to support the organization at the time of an extreme emergency - from bans on travel (in case of a Pandemic or Crisis) to the ability to drop intense learning and support resources into a region facing a disaster? This is a good time for learning professionals to reach out to their “continuity” teams and engage them for an expanded role in these situations. Our skills and technology platforms can be of great assistance. We will have a series of sessions at Learning 2009, focused on Emergency Prep and Roles for Learning Departments.

Elliott Masie
Contact: emasie@masie.com

Upcoming MASIE Center Services & Events:
* Learning 2009: Nov 8 to 11 - Orlando, FL
* Membership in our Learning CONSORTIUM (Over 240 Fortune 1000 Organizations)
Information and Registration at http://www.masie.com
Follow Our Twitter Feeds: http://www.twitter.com/emasie

Thursday
Aug132009

587 - Learning in the Year 2019?, Working Learners, Textbooks on My iPhone

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - August 13, 2009.
#587 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
54,779 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Host - Learning 2009 - Nov 8-11 - Orlando, Florida

1. Learning in the Year 2019? Your Brainstorms Please!
2. “Working Learners” - New Report on ReSkilling
3. 10 More Content Sessions for Learning 2009
4. iPhone and Textbooks

1. Learning in the Year 2019? Your Brainstorms Please! Here is a fascinating question to ask yourself and colleagues:

“What Will Learning Be Like in 2019?”

It is 10 years from now! What changes in process, models, technology and assumptions will occur for Learning by the year 2019? Please take a minute and do some free-form Brainstorming. Just go to http://www.learning2009.com/2019 and add your thoughts.

2. “Working Learners” - New Report on ReSkilling: Here is a thought-provoking report to read and distribute. “Working Learners: Educating Our Entire Workforce for Success in the 21st Century” by Louis Soares from the Center for American Progress. The executive summary and full report can be downloaded at http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/06/working_learners.html

3. 10 More Content Sessions for Learning 2009: We continue to add cool sessions to our Learning 2009 program. Here are 10 more workshops from over 100 sessions that you can choose from at Learning 2009 (Nov 8 to 11 - in Orlando):

* Georgia Pacific: Virtual New Hire Orientation: 1 Year Later
* Central Intelligence Agency: Training the CIA Trainer - Weaving Diversity into Curriculum
* Accenture: Industrializing User Generated Content: Rapid e-Learning for 180,000 People
* Wyndham Vacation Ownership: Hospitality Now - A Customer Service Performance Support Success Story
* Centocor R&D: Collaborating Globally - The Creation of a Cross Regional Portal at Johnson & Johnson
* AstraZeneca: Are We There Yet? Challenges and Considerations for LMS Implementation in a Global Organization
* Textron: Learning in the Field: Front Line Supervisor Program
* Kelly Services: Learning Without Borders - Developing a Global Curriculum
* General Mills: Teaching Virtual Classroom Skills: - One Size Does Not Fit All
* CPA Austrailia: So Much Social Media, So Many Demographics

More sessions are being added every day! For information and Early Registration Discounts: http://www.learning2009.com

4. iPhone and Textbooks: Just downloaded a new application to my iPhone called CourseSmart eTextbooks. This is one of several movements away from print based textbooks. In this application, a student would have access to all of the textbooks for their registered courses right on their mobile device. I’m starting with a Calculus Textbook to see how it goes.

Elliott Masie
Contact: emasie@masie.com

Upcoming MASIE Center Services & Events:
* Learning 2009: Nov 8 to 11 - Orlando, FL
* Membership in our Learning CONSORTIUM (Over 240 Fortune 1000 Organizations)
Information and Registration at http://www.masie.com
Follow Our Twitter Feeds: http://www.twitter.com/emasie

Tuesday
Aug042009

Content Preview from Learning 2009

TO: Learning & Training Colleagues
FROM: Elliott Masie
RE: Preview of Content from Learning 2009

Dear Colleague,

Every day, we add another session to the Learning 2009 Program. We are honored to have the Learning Leaders of major global corporations and government agencies designing sessions and workshops for you at Learning 2009 (November 8 to 11 - Orlando, Florida). Here is a small sample of the content:

* Google: gLearning - Foundations of Leadership and Teamwork
* Intel: Partnering with IT for Social Learning Success
* AstraZeneca: Bulking up Leadership Skills: Hitting the eGym
* Bank of America: Mobile Learning the Second Time Around: If We Only Knew Then What We Know Now
* Bristol-Myers Squibb: Learning 101 - Key Terms, People and Decisions You Might Need to Make
* YUM!Brands: Global Learning Implementation: Grease the Wheels With “Guidance Sessions”
* Joint Special Operations University: Learning Agility: From the Classroom to the Battlefield
* Comcast: Defeat Repeats: A Blended Learning Solution
* Symantec: Transforming a Sales Conference: From Vegas to Virtual
* Wendy’s international: Building a Collaborative e-Learning Methodology - Design, Develop & Manage Projects
* JetBlue Airways: Managing Strategic Business Content with Non-Traditional Too
* Cash America: Just Like YouTube! - User Content for Learning

We are designing a whole series of activities where you will be able to tackle challenges common to the evolving workplace:

- ReSkilling the Workforce and the Learning Profession
- Disruptive Technology on the Horizon
- Designing Performer Support
- Globalizing Learning
- New Models for Leadership Development
- Encore Careers
- Learning and Accountability for Distributed Teams
- Distracted Learners :)

And, our keynoters include Malcolm Gladwell, Capt. “Sully” Sullenberger, Betsy Myers and Laura Fitton - plus Chief Learning Officers sharing their “Learning Challenges” in these UnCertain Times! I will present the Learning 2009 Overview and Radar Screen at the opening session on Sunday Night.

We have colleagues registered from around the world, including 14 corporate teams. Please visit our website for information and early discounted registration: http://www.learning2009.com

Looking forward to learning with you at Learning 2009.

Elliott Masie
Contact: emasie@masie.com

Upcoming MASIE Center Services & Events:
* Learning 2009: Nov 8 to 11 - Orlando, FL
* Membership in our Learning CONSORTIUM (Over 240 Fortune 1000 Organizations)
Information and Registration at http://www.masie.com
Follow Our Twitter Feeds: http://www.twitter.com/emasie