There are two more days until the Business Blog turns three! Yeeey!
Three years can go by in the blink of an eye, yet so many things have happened! Since the first and the second year of blogging about workplace learning and L&D practices got their fair share of fame (Anniversary edition: Top 10 posts of the Business Blog and The Business Blog turns 2!) this post will focus on the past year only.
During the past 12 months we published exactly 100 blog posts (101 if you want to count this one as well), the number of the contributing authors grew to — coincidence or not — 12, and everyone’s work made the Business Blog advance into the first 5% of all e-learning blogs (based on this impressive list)!
Top 10 Business Blog posts
We touched a variety of topics related to online training for businesses, from adaptive learning to mindfulness at work, to how to meet learners various needs to why to consider using one tech tool or another, and everything in between.
Although it was hard to decide which blog posts have been the best of the best, here are 10 of them that we think deserve the spotlight:
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10 E-learning influencers to watch in 2018 [INFOGRAPHIC]
Whether you’re new to e-learning or a seasoned veteran in the industry, there’s one thing you should never forget: online training is always changing. In order to get a step ahead of the competition, check out our very subjective list of people who know the ins and outs of e-learning for businesses. Following one or more of them — and what they have to say — might help your company thrive this year.
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Top e-learning trends to keep an eye on in 2018
People have always had a fascination with the future. For businesses, however, it is necessity rather than curiosity and they don’t make use of crystal balls. Luckily enough they have the possibility to draw informed predictions and forecasts about the foreseeable future. Here are the trends to look for in this field in 2018: Virtual and Augmented Reality, gamification, social learning, xAPI and open platforms.
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The 5 steps of Instructional Design Thinking [INFOGRAPHIC]
There is a lot of academic literature on the innovation process, how it works and what techniques we can employ to get our brain to create new and different ideas. As far as the design process is concerned, Herbert Simon’s article The Sciences of the Artificial from 1969 is still very influential today. Design Thinking involves five steps: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test.
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4 Things to consider when training Generation Z
Gen Z , though still very young, are already workplace adjacent. Very tech-savvy and with good self-teaching skills, they can perform rather complex tasks even before they get a degree in a certain field. Generation Z show great potential and it will be interesting to see how they transform our world. Those who will have to create training programs for this younger generation might find the tips presented in this article useful.
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8 Best practices to facilitate informal learning
Without ruling out traditional L&D practices, informal learning should find its way into today’s workplace. It is very cost effective, convenient and learner-oriented, promotes a growth mindset and is objective driven. Most informal learning just happens with no intention on the learner’s part. From a job rotation system to on-demand learning, check out how L&D professionals can facilitate informal learning.
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The power of the spoken word: including podcasts in training
There was a window of time in which audio material did fall behind the video version but these days it has gained back all the lost terrain. The spoken word can be very powerful and engaging and that is why L&D specialists should seriously consider including podcasts in their training materials. These audio files may not replace other means of delivering training but they ought to be part of any effective learning team’s arsenal.
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5 Non-negotiable features to expect from any business LMS [Infographic]
An LMS is like an ecosystem made out of an array of features, that together form a complete learning and training solution. While there will never be two LMS vendors with the same exact features, there will never be two companies that need the exact same features in an LMS. However, there are a few core aspects of an LMS that should be part of any vendor’s training solution and any company’s must-haves.
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How to increase your training program success by assembling a great team
The success of a training program is correlated to how good the team doing the training is. By putting together from the start a great team, there is a better change of the program being successful. Therefore it’s important to know the goals of the training program, how the perfect team can achieve these goals, where help is needed, how to find people to help you, and how to convince them to join you.
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Are remote teams the future of the workplace?
Remote workers can now do pretty much everything in-office workers can do, and quite often they can do more. Remote work will become more popular; the delay is the result of companies figuring out exactly how to roll out these changes in a way that makes the most sense for the business. But it will happen. You can be sure of that. And eventually, telecommuting will define the way we work.
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The business LMS – from basic requirement to learning ecosystem
Learning management systems are not new to corporate learning, they have been around for quite some time. The LMS is the critical component to the entire e-learning program, acting both as the foundation (by incorporating all the modules) and as the engine (by providing the environment in which learners can access them and suggesting various topics based on curriculum and personal interest).
Celebrating the 3rd anniversary of the Business Blog
There were no silly party hats this year in the office, no confetti and no cupcakes either. But we did have cake! Delicious cake. And since we live in the era of “pics or it didn’t happen”, here is our proof:
Happy anniversary, Business Blog! MATRIX LMS is proud of you!
