October ASTD Mid-NJ Chapter meeting

Bobbe Baggio, speaker at the October ASTD Mid-NJ Chapter meeting, received glowing reviews from all attendees. She spoke at the Courtyard by Marriott in Princeton on Effective Design Makes for Efficient Learning. One attendee wrote that “although I’m familiar with much of the content, it was presented in a fresh and engaging style. Loved the fortune cookie exercise.”

 Comments:

1. Clearly and concisely showed ways to create more powerful graphics whether on paper or online

2. When writing text for presentations, less is more. Let the audio embellish.

3. Use of white space is powerful. Too much information on slide increases cognitive load and reduces ability to focus and retain.

4. Don’t overuse color or fonts

5. Chunk information as you chunk telephone and social security numbers for better retention

6. Four basic elements of graphic design, “CRAP Principle,” which stands for Contrast, Repition, Alignment, and Proximity

7. Importance of using people in graphics

8. Embed text within graphics instead of underneath

9. Key visual eye points are at top left third and bottom right third

For more information, please visit her website at http://www.bobbebaggio.com/.

 

All Aboard

September 19, 2008 by Steve Woodruff

Attended a local ASTD (Mid-NJ chapter) last night, which was on the topic of On-Boarding. Scott Mason of BlessingWhite gave a very interesting talk, which was peppered with all kinds of audience involvement – this was clearly a hot topic for folks in the audience.

Having worked deeply with one client on a revamp of the initial sales training process (touching also on Orientation/On-Boarding), I found the talk to be very on-target. Scott identified 4 elements to a good on-boarding process:

• The Basics – the organization, HR stuff, basic overview of functional matters
• The Affirmation – good first impressions, fun, meeting executives, network-building
• The Fit – mission/culture of the organization, where this role “fits” overall, job-specific info
• The Job – manager/employee relationship, alignment of goals/strategy, rapid learning curve to productivity

One of the major points was the dollars-and-sense importance of making those initial days as positive and constructive as possible, since a great start is an important factor in productivity and retention. Good stuff!

(for those of you in the NJ area, I should mention that I have now transitioned out of my former role as VP Communications with the Mid-NJ chapter, handing it off to a very dynamic replacement who will serve on the board and continue to move things forward. It’s been an honor to work with the Mid-NJ team over the past couple of years).

 

June Meeting sum-up

Our June meeting was a bit “different,” with a focus on creating a more healthy workplace environment. Below are the impressions of one attendee:

I admit that I was skeptical at first, but one exercise converted me (at least for this concept). We all stood with a partner with one arm raised to shoulder height. First, one partner told the truth and the other tried to lower the arm. The arm didn’t budge. Then the first one told a lie and the second attendee was able to lower the arm. I still didn’t believe until we reversed roles. I used the same pressure with the truth as with the lie and the results were the same. The lie, regardless of whether I said the lie first or second,  triggered the arm lowereing.

Those who attended this atypical presentation rated it very highly. I say “atypical” because Dr. Jeanette Schwartz, with Planet Apothecary, did not lecture on instructional design, measurement, facilitation, or the usual training and development topics, but rather on how to improve in all of these areas and more through the recognition of the power of speech, feelings, scents, and room design.

A summary of the participants’ comments:

~ Emotional drain when lying vs positive energy when telling the truth

~ An awareness of your feelings can promote clearer communication

~ Be conscious of your space and how you set it up

~ Pay attention to words I use and others use

~ Pay attention to feelings in the moment

~ Be aware of your physical space

~ Use of oil and scents as influencers and healing agents in training and staff meetings

~ Drumming to enhance team work, communication, and decision making

Every chapter meeting, an attendee has the chance to win a delicious pie made from a local bakery to help us promote the concept that it is the People, Ideas and Energy from the chapter that enhances everyone’s experience. The winner of the June pie was Chantal Ricketts, who was our newest member attending the chapter meeting.

 

A Persuasive Evening in February

The February chapter meeting was marked by 3 significant things:

1. A great presentation, by Dr. Rosemary Dietrich, on Persuasion and Influence in Training,

2. An overflow crowd that was very lively and enthusiastic,

3. Good weather, finally!

While the last two chapter meetings were marked by inclement weather that kept attendance artificially low, this meeting was packed with pre-registrants and walk-ins, such that more chairs had to be set up in the room. A new policy we’re trying out – allowing people to attend just the talk (no dinner) for a lower cost seemed to be well-received also, though most came for dinner and enjoyed the interaction of the mealtime. As usual, we had a number of folks “in transition” who are looking for their next career role, and the format of our meetings allows for networking connections to be made that might prove helpful.

Louise Vivona-Miller, one of our first-time guests, won the traditional pie (cherry this time, in honor of President’s Day) for having the closest birthday to the event!

Dr. Dietrich did a wonderful job presenting the principles of persuasion hammered out by Dr. Robert Cialdini, while also facilitating helpful group discussions. In fact, the audience participation was so lively that she barely made it through the material! Some photos of this enjoyable evening together are below (our next event chapter meeting, in March, is on Level 3 Evaluations – see our Events page for more information and a link to sign up!).

Discussions over dinner

Dr. Dietrich presents

Application discussions at the table

Discussion of principles during workshop exercises

 

Annual Report

Here is a link to our annual report looking back at the year 2007, written by outgoing President Bob Zimel. This document sums up the goals of the Mid-NJ ASTD chapter, and outlines the current volunteers who give their time to help orchestrate chapter direction and events. All members are encouraged to download and read!

 

A Competent Time was had by all

For our January chapter meeting, we had a last-minute change of speaker, but the session came off quite well (we hope to re-schedule Dr. Robin Taylor Roth later in the year).

With only one week to plan, Dr. Diana Kramer gave an excellent presentation on competency models. Once again, our intrepid attendees had to fight through bad weather (one traveled 2.5 hours!) to make the meeting.

Here were some “Lessons Learned” comments from the evaluation sheets handed in after the meeting:

A competency model is an integral part of training strategy; can be used in conjunction with needs analysis to identify training needs.

A model helps companies build short and long-term development strategies by identifying the competencies needed now and in the future and building the curriculum around those competencies.

A model facilitates optimum use of an organization’s resources to support the strategic business direction.

Need to link competencies to other functions such as recruiting, development, etc.

Competencies need to be re-evaluated every 3-4 years.

Walter Hoff – who traveled the farthest for the session! – won the blueberry PIE given out at the meeting.

 

Year-end Holiday Bash

A brave group battled the elements to attend the annual Mid-NJ ASTD Holiday Bash on December 13th. The speaker, Avish Parashar, kept the event lively, entertaining, and informative for the attendees who ventured out in the treacherous weather conditions. Avish spoke on (and demonstrated, of course!) Improv techniques, and their usefulness in training.

The exercises showed that Improv techniques can be used when training team building and conflict resolution, along with many other themes. Avish’s three guiding principles were, 1) have fun even when life throws you a curve, 2) react instantly and powerfully by focusing on only those items that you can control, and 3) learn to say “Yes, And” instead of “Yes, But” to improve communication, flexibility, and personal success.

All attendees received a gift – there were 5 poinsettias, 3 books from Elaine Beich, a fresh apple pie donated by the Marriott and one gorgeous iPod Nano won by Susan Lichtig.

Here are some photos from the festive event:

 

Pix from November Technology Showcase

In November, the Mid-NJ Technology SIG and the Mid/Northern-NJ Sales Training SIG sponsored a successful meeting showing technology solutions for training. Here are some photos from that very enjoyable evening (a thank you to James Barnes for the pix):

 

October Chapter Meeting: Reusability 2.0

On October 3rd, the Technology Special Interest Group (TechSIG) of the MidNJ ASTD Chapter hosted a special speaker to present the latest ideas on content Reusability.

Bryan Chapman is  the Chief Learning Strategist at Chapman Alliance, LLC; a provider of research-centric consulting services that assist organizations to define, operate and optimize their strategic learning initiatives. He spoke on the latest research on reusability of learning objects in the development and deployment of training programs. Bryan presented a summary of his latest research paper, presenting a set of examples on how reusable learning content can extend beyond e-learning to additionally support instructor-led training (ILT), print-based learning, textbooks, job aides, and performance support.

Bryan also explored what it takes to develop learning that can be created in single production pass, while supporting multiple modes of delivery on-demand. And, he discussed the conditions that precipitate adoption of reusability 2.0 versus traditional methods for creating and formatting content for specific learning purposes.

While technology-delivered training has become mainstream in many organizations, most are still not fully leveraging the power of reusable learning content to meet their instructional needs. One of the main reasons is that most learning technologies are designed to create content for a specific learning purpose (i.e. e-learning). Bryan shared three specific examples of organizations that had implemented reusability programs in varied environments. Sharing with the audience that research results that show 64% of all training is still provided by instructor-led facilitators and that the latest trends have included a growth in blended learning programs with an emphasis on rapid development and global implementation.

Bryan examined case studies of several organizations that employ reusability 2.0 techniques to meet sophisticated learning and business requirements, while delivering on-demand content for use in customized instructor-led training (ILT) support material, student manuals, lesson plans, textbooks, job aides, performance support, certification exams, etc. – all through a single production pass to assemble and organize reusable learning content.

The discussion both during and after the presentation was quite lively; another hour could easily have been spent discussing these important issues. Thanks to Bryan for enlightening us with his experience and ideas!

 

September chapter meeting – the PIEs have it!

This month, our chapter had the privilege of hosting an excellent speaker, and launching our new PIE (People, Ideas, Energy) campaign.

Jennifer Hoffman, principal eLearning consultant at InSync Training, spoke to the ASTD Mid-NJ Chapter on September 12 on the topic of Turning Classroom Trainers into Online Facilitators. More trainers are finding themselves spending less time face-to-face with trainees and more time using the Internet tools to perform their training function. Jennifer shared her knowledge of the changing roles of the trainer and showed how many Internet services, such as WebEx, provide tools that allow the trainer the ability to connect with the trainee as though they were in the same room.

She reviewed best practices in the virtual arena particularly suggesting that online facilitators work with team members to monitor the technology aspect of online training so they can focus on the content and delivery. In addition, facilitators must develop skills to maximize engagement and learning for their participants. They need to use the technology tools to make sure learners are in the virtual classroom and not checking emails. Online courses need to be designed into smaller segments.

Also at this meeting, we began a new tradition of awarding a pie from Mr. Todʼs Pie Factory to a lucky recipient (the pie symbolizing our new theme – People, Ideas, Energy). As we introduced ourselves, Jeanne McCarthy said that she was starting a new job this very day and that her new boss told her that it would be OK to attend our seminar first and to come to work after the meeting. She then suggested that if she won the pie, she’d give it to her new boss. Well, as life would have it, Jeanne did not win the pie – John Dix of Compass-USA won it. However, in a grand gesture, John gave the pie to Jeanne, to a resounding round of applause.

In Jeanne’s words: “Of course, my new colleagues were wondering where the pie came from and by the next day, it was happily consumed. I had the PIE my new role needed: playing out my passion with new People, Ideas and Energy are on my mind, thanks to this year’s theme! Thanks!”