The Learning Lab

With 169 million unique visitors per month and well over 800,000 subreddits, pseudo news site and Internet hangout Reddit pulls in the numbers that most L&D only see in their dreams. Reddit also boast pageviews in the billions and over three million users, but the most astonishing data might not be who’s on Reddit, but how they’re using the site. Sure, cat pictures and funny llama videos are front page staples, but the site also functions as one giant eLearning machine. From one-off statistics to world news, industry forums, controversial conspiracies, and media reviews, there’s no denying that Reddit users learn something every day.

What if eLearning could harness the power that Reddit exerts over users to check back often, get active, and learn–even if knowledge share is inadvertent? By understanding what makes Reddit-based learning so effective, you might have the workings of a new /r/strategy. Read More

When planning eLearning solutions, it’s not only about the content, but how that content is delivered and received. And, in today’s fast-paced, tech-based society, just because information is good doesn’t mean it’ll make a learner pay attention. It’s like serving filet mignon to a vegan: If they don’t want it, it doesn’t matter how perfectly it’s prepared.

Call it CADD: Content Attention Deficit Disorder. The sheer volume of content, information, and media being fed to the brain at any given time is astronomical, and it’s hard for the brain to stop and take notice of any one stream of information. There’s always something new and better to which a learner can pay attention, so the cure for CADD might not be in the content itself, but how it’s broken up and connected. Read More

In HBO’s sleeper hit Silicon Valley, we follow the trajectory of fictional tech startup Pied Piper. Starting as a one-man-show, Pied Piper soon rises in the ranks and requires an entire team of people for daily operations. As the Pied Piper team navigates the sometimes-choppy waters of workplace relations, we see what they’re doing wrong–and what they’re doing right.

The Pied Piper offices are anything but the stiff and formal workplace you might see on other shows and movies. From day drinking to treating responsibility as a revolving door, the idea of the flexible workplace has merit. While it might not be as dramatic as Silicon Valley, instituting a culture where employees feel free to share the responsibility and solve conflicts together could have award-winning results, especially where L&D is concerned. Here’s why. Read More

“The Me, Me, Me Generation” proclaimed the front page of the May 2013 issue of Time. “Millennials are lazy, entitled narcissists who still live with their parents.”

Ouch. If you’re a millennial, that type of criticism stings. And if you work with millennials, you might secretly agree. Call them the Selfie Generation: Gen Y is often pegged as self-centered and somehow overly ambitious and overwhelmingly unmotivated at the same time. Read More

Steve Jobs is credited with everything from producing Toy Story to essentially inventing the way we interact (or avoid) each other via mobile technology every day. But one of his most important contributions might not be the computer mouse or the iPad, but the availability of mobile devices as a vehicle for mLearning. Read More

The fact that eLearning is a growing industry isn’t exactly a secret: The North-American and European markets are moving at breakneck speed. Even Africa is getting in on the act. But lately, all eyes have been on Asian–and particularly–Chinese growth opportunities for eLearning. With a potential learner pool well into the billions, expansion in China is pretty compelling.

Comparing the numbers for population versus eLearning participants identifies a gap which could be easily closed using prepackaged eLearning, better workforce training, and even the freedom for social networking as part of the learning process. Find out how China is growing, and what it means for the rest of the eLearning industry. Read More

At first glance, Snapchat isn’t the first medium you’d reach for when planning training strategy. After all, a social network which sends pictures to individuals to view for a paltry few seconds is hardly conducive to knowledge sharing. With the 2013 addition of the Snapchat Stories feature, however, the app gets a facelift that makes it more relevant and a favorite way to increase interest, share progress, and yes, even teach learners a thing or two.

Think beyond the memo, and you have an innovative new way to keep your team connected and your learners in the know, all from your smartphone. Read More