MWL Newsletter No 79

Here are posts, articles and news about Modern Workplace Learning (MWL) selected by Jane Hart for the week 19-25 August 2018.


From around the Web

Why mindset is driving the age of agile  Steve Denning, Forbes, 20 August 2018

“Professor Birkinshaw said that the older forms of organization– bureaucracy and meritocracy—were failing through their inability to cope with today’s fast pace and complexity of change. Organizations are entering a new era, he said: the age of adhocracy and agile.”


The magic circle of corporate L&D  Paul Jocelyn, Work is Learning, 10 August 2018

There is a familiar cycle for the way that many L&D teams operate in corporate organisations. The common recipe includes:

1. The organisation hasn’t defined the role and priority of ‘learning’; (i.e. to accelerate change, move the work culture, improve individual and team performance, enable the business strategy)
2. The L&D team (who are unable to influence the’Why?’) get stuck as reactive training order takers
3. Ideas get watered down through rounds of ‘pleasing the teacher’ meetings resulting in ‘Learning programs’ and ‘Learning solutions’; (interchangeable words for ease of political passage)
4. ‘Learning programs’ are a drain on time / costs / interest for everyone; (especially for ‘busy people’ on the ‘front line’ doing the ‘real work’)
5. Measurement of benefits from ‘Learning programs’ is difficult / negligible / hard to keep people’s attention on
6. As the work performance improvements weren’t clearly defined, leaders don’t take any collective responsibility
7. ‘L&D’ (the “experts”) take the blame. (But round we go again)


Could this be the worst piece of online learning ever? Let me explain why it may well be…  Donald Clark, 20 August 2018

“This is a hilarious example of condescending scenarios, awful multiple-choice questions, interspersed with screens full of text, even a game within a game. It’s so bad it’s good – as comedy. Seriously though, it has all the hallmarks of where the online content market has gone wrong. I can only guess what this cost the client – but it was most likely a high five or even six figure sum.”


Problem-solving techniques take on new twist  The Harvard Gazette, 15 August 2018

“For best solutions, intermittent collaboration provides the right formula.”


Agile production – online learning needs to get its skates on  Donald Clark, 21 August 2018

“If Learning and Development is to remain relevant, it has to get out of the slow lane, with its glacial production processes and dark ages design, all presentation and little learning. The problem is that online learning has become a media production process, where most of the budget goes into graphics, video and presentation, not learning.”


Four Ways Jobs Will Respond to Automation  MIT Sloan Management Review, August 2018

“Which Professions Are Most Vulnerable to Automation? Threats should be assessed along two dimensions: How replaceable are the core skill sets? And how much of a shift is there in the way value is delivered?”


Less than 3 weeks to vote for your Top Tools for Learning 2018

 1,942 votes received as at 25 August 2018

The Top Tools for Learning 2018, the 12th Annual Digital Learning Tools survey will close on Friday 14 September.

Jane Hart will then compile the Top 200 Tools for Learning 2018 list as well as 3 sub-lists:

  1. Top 100 Tools for Personal & Professional Learning 2018
  2. Top 100 Tools for Workplace Learning 2018
  3. Top 100 Tools for Education  2018

Results will be released at 8 am (GMT) on Monday 24 September 2018

VOTE HERE


Next MWL Workshop

Designing & Delivering Modern Training for the Workplace

Online Workshop runs 3 September – 14 October 2018

There will always be a need to organise training events and content – but these just need to be more relevant and appealing for today’s workforce. This 6-week online workshop will help you consider a number of ways to design and deliver a range of modern training experience

Participation includes free access to the CILD resource (see below)


Continuous Improvement, Learning and Development

A Online Resource Book for Modern Workplace Learning

Continuous Learning is vital – everyone says so – but what does it mean for organisations? it’s not just about providing continuous training or making employees study continuously; it’s more about helping them establish a regular habit of learning. In this new online resource we look at how to help individuals become independent continuous learners, how to provide a flow of continuous learning opportunities – which includes modern training – and how to help them learn continuously from their daily work.

Find out more here


How to become a Modern Professional Learner

In the modern workplace there is no longer such a thing as a job for a life – only a life of jobs – so it’s up to everyone to continuously update their knowledge, skills and productivity and become an independent modern professional life-long learne

This online resource contains 60 Tasks to help you get the most out of your work life and take control of your career.

Find out more here


Jane Hart
Centre for Modern Workplace Learning
w: ModernWorkplaceLearning.com
t: twitter.com/C4LPT 
l: linkedin.com/in/C4LPT

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