Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Tin Can (But Were Afraid to Ask)

Lately there’s been a lot of talk about Tin Can and how this API (application programming interface) will revolutionize how we access information and how we learn. We asked Andy Whitaker, Tin Can API Strategist of Rustici Software, to explain exactly what Tin Can API is and how it can benefit Learning and Development professionals. Although the questions are geared toward applications for L&D, there are also implications for Technical Documentation.

Launching the Start-Up of You

I recently read, The Start-Up of You, by Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha. Hoffman, the cofounder and chairman of LinkedIn, suggests you think of yourself as “an entrepreneur of your career.”

The reason for the new way of thinking, he explains, is because there’s been a seismic shift in the job market:

For the past 60 years, the job market worked like an escalator. After graduating from college, you landed a job at a firm such as IBM or GE and were groomed and mentored there.

Poor Writing Is No Laughing Matter

The title of Lynne Truss’ runaway bestseller Eats, Shoots and Leaves (Gotham Books, 2003) illustrates the impact of a wayward comma:

A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots into the air.
“Why?” asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.
“I’m a panda,” he says, at the door. “Look it up.”
The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.
“Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.”

Year’s End: Time for a Career Tune-Up

Many L&D professionals shine at helping others in their career development, but true to the saying, “the cobbler’s children have no shoes,” they tend to neglect their own development. The ultimate captain of your career is you, and Reid Hoffman, cofounder and chairman of LinkedIn, suggests you think of yourself as “an entrepreneur of your career.” Reid recently wrote The Start-Up of You with Ben Casnocha.

How to Create an Online Portfolio

You may not be currently looking for a job, but it never hurts to have an up-to-date online portfolio of your work. And if your work samples are gathering dust in a folder somewhere, all the more reason to get your expertise displayed electronically.

Habits of Mind

Why do we do what we do, over and over? New York Times business reporter Charles Duhigg was curious about how we form habits and how we might circumvent these patterns, and so he researched and wrote, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. The book examines science’s new understanding of the neurology of habit formation and how this research plays out in real world examples.

Top 10 Infographics for L&D

[feat-img-left] Infographics—they’re everywhere. From uncovering sugar consumption in the U.S. to revealing the psychology of colors; infographics run the gamut of subject matter. So what about the field of L&D? We rounded up what we think are the top 10 infographics: What is Social Learning? Skillsoft created a concise overview of social learning—helpful to hand […]

Design for How People Learn

“That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you’ve understood all your life, but in a new way.”
― Doris Lessing

There’s a book that was released in the past year, Design for How People Learn, by Julie Dirksen, that’s becoming a must-read for both novice instructional designers and L&D veterans alike.

Few of us grew up dreaming of being an instructional designer, but instead entered the profession in a roundabout way.

The Beauty of Infographics

Infographics have been growing in popularity recently and it’s almost impossible to go a day without seeing a new one. As learning professionals, we’re aware of the effectiveness that visuals add to learning design, but how about including infographics in our designs as a compelling way to convey data and otherwise dry information?

Introverts Get Their Time in the Spotlight

It’s not easy being an introvert in an extroverted world. Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, says that the rise of the Industrial Age in the United States has created a “culture of personality” where people are obsessed with celebrities and performers. Cain, a self-proclaimed introvert, argues that “there’s zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas.”

Conquer Information Overload with Content Curation

How do you cope with information overload? A recent McKinsey study found that the average knowledge worker spends 28 hours each week writing emails, searching for information and collaborating with coworkers. The authors of the study suggest that when internal knowledge and information is more available on social media, a typical employee could increase productivity by 35%.

Free Social Media Tools for Content Curation

As community manager for Clarity Consultants, there are a number of tools that I use to help manage the flood of information I encounter every day. Many of these tools that I use for community management can also easily be used for content curation for L&D practitioners.