Tip # 837: Outdated Surveys
“Latest survey shows that 3 out of 4 people make up 75% of the world’s population.” Stephen Hawking
I just read another article about the importance of lifelong learning and how to encourage and foster it on the job. I have no problem with the content of the article. What I do take issue with is the fact that it is based on survey findings that are two years old.
Work life and life itself have changed dramatically over the past two years. Why an article published on August 11, 2020 should be based on 2018 findings is beyond me.
It makes me wonder if the author of the 2020 article was simply too lazy to research a more current … Read the rest
Tip #721: Free Image Sites
“Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language.” Walt Disney
If you’re like me, you’re always looking for great images that help to tell a story and ideally are free!
I am passing along information posted by Roger Courville in a recent SpeakerNet News.
- Pexels.com is right up front about their free stock imagery being available for commercial use, which saves a ton of time.
- Unsplash.com also has free stock images for commercial use. They kindly request — but don’t require — that you to provide attribution. And if you’re a Chrome user, get the Instant Unsplash plugin. SO cool.
- BrainyBetty.com is great for those looking for master slide designs and
Tip #690: Why Not Use the Tools We Have?
“If you get stuck, draw with a different pen. Change your tools; it may free your thinking.” Paul Arden
This past week, I was faced with a dilemma. The shrimp I wanted to have for dinner was enclosed in a self-sealing bag. You’d think it would have been a simple thing to open it, right? But no, I absolutely could not get purchase on the two sides of the closure.
Hungry and not completely rational, I struggled for quite a while, getting more and more distressed. I tried using a rubber grip that I use to open recalcitrant bottle tops, to no available. Finally, I opened the kitchen drawer where I keep useful tools at the ready and pulled out … Read the rest
Tip #672: Do You Kahoot?
“My goal in the classroom was always to make sure they were having so much fun that they didn’t realize they were learning.” Rick Riordan
I always learn something new when I conduct train the trainer sessions and last week was no exception.
Have you ever heard of, used or created a Kahoot? Kahoot is a free game-based learning platform that can be used in the classroom to poll participants, test their learning, and even introduce and provide training.
I wanted to learn more about Kahoot and Plickers (a way to poll participants without devices), so I did some research and discovered that there are many classroom tools for gathering feedback- and they’re free!
Here are some of these … Read the rest
Tip #664: Staff Development Options
“It’s all to do with the training: you can do a lot if you’re properly trained.” Queen Elizabeth II
Staff development is defined as the improvement of the knowledge and skills of employees within an organization by providing them with training.
Organizations that invest in staff development have found that it improves efficiency, improves productivity, ensures the continuation of institutional knowledge, reduces turnover, reduces costs, improves employee morale, and increases employee job satisfaction. Staff development may also give the organization greater scheduling flexibility and may lead to operational improvements.
Staff development can take many forms, as the following table illustrates.
| Staff Development Conducted within the Organization | |
| Mentoring | A deliberate pairing of a more skilled/experienced person with a less |
Tip #623: Photofunia for Fun Photos
“It’s a visual world and people respond to visuals.” Joe Sacco
Here is a wonderful free site where you can put your text or your photos onto a huge variety of photos and then use them in participant materials and/or PowerPoint slides: http://www.photofunia.com
This is how Joan Stewart described in SpeakerNet News:
“You can put your face (or someone else’s) on a Wanted poster, on a Times Square billboard, wearing a chef’s hat, in a Santa costume waving your arms and making angels in the snow, on a museum banner, on the front page of a newspaper, and more. You can place your text (just a word or two) on a hot air balloon, on a movie theater marquee, on … Read the rest
