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Greetings!
The next chapter meeting will be held
Wednesday, October 20 from 5:30 pm to 7:15 pm at
Washoe Professional Center, 75 Pringle Way Room 108.
Next month's speaker is Cheryl Woehr, IBET Program
Coordinator
Intercultural Business Education & Training
Northern Nevada International Center
University of Nevada, Reno
President's Message:
Comic Relief
Quick! Here's a test: what was last month's President's
Letter about?
If any of you came up with the correct answer, I am
seriously impressed. For those who didn't, it was all
about delivering ethics training, not exactly a "light"
subject. The July article was on conducting peer
reviews, also a rather serious piece. I personally
think we all need some comic relief now and then
(preferably every day). I certainly need some, so I
refuse to write anything serious today, and plan
instead to pass on some moments and various snippets
for your (I hope) amusement.
When I think of amusing moments, I always have to
think of the story of a fellow English trainer who went
to Iran several years back to make the big training
bucks being offered there. Entering the classroom on
his first day he looked out on a sea of stony young
male Iranian faces, obviously not interested in learning
English. The trainer cleared his throat and instructed
them to open their books to the first page. Nothing
happened. He demonstrated, he asked, he demanded,
he pleaded, he cajoled; still nothing happened.
Finally, in total frustration and seemingly in defeat, he
slammed his own book shut, strode with it in his hand
to the second floor window, and hurled into the garden
below. Immediately, the young Iranians sprang
excitedly to their feet, ran to the windows with their
books, and threw them in high arcs out of the windows,
all the while talking and laughing. At that moment, the
trainer had gotten their attention, and they were ready
to learn English.
(Have you ever experienced moments like the above
when the class seems to revolt or is just not
interested? If you have - and most of us have - then
this Wednesday's membership meeting presentation is
for you. Trip Barthel, Executive Director of the
Neighborhood Mediation Center, will be sharing tips for
handling difficult situations in front of large groups of
people in an interactive session titled: "Training in
Conflict: Mutiny in the Classroom.")
Speaking of learning language skills, there are plenty of
native English speakers out there who could use some
help. For example, here are some actual comments
from insurance claim forms:
• The guy was all over the road. I had to
swerve several times before I
hit him.
• I had been driving for forty years before I fell
asleep at the wheel and
had an accident.
• I collided with a stationary truck coming the
other way.
• I told the police I was not injured, but on
removing my hat, I found I
had a fractured skull.
• I saw a slow moving, sad-faced old gentleman
as he bounced off the roof
of my car.
• The pedestrian had no idea which direction to
run. So I ran over him.
Or consider these actual comments taken from
hospital charts:
• On the second day the knee was better, and
on the third day it disappeared.
• She has no rigors or shaking chills, but her
husband states she was
very hot in bed last night.
• Discharge status: Alive but without my
permission.
• The patient refused autopsy.
• While in ER, she was examined, x-rated and
sent home.
• Occasional, constant infrequent
headaches.
• I saw your patient today, who is still under
our car for physical therapy.
• The lab test indicated abnormal lover
function.
• The patient was to have a bowel resection.
However, he took a job as
a stockbroker instead.
• The patient was seen in consultation by Dr.
Blank, who felt we should
sit the abdomen, and I agree.
• Patient has two teenage children, but no
other abnormalities.
Then there are some job applicants who flash little
red flags at us on their
real resumes and applications:
• Here are my qualifications for you to
overlook
• Planned and held up numerous meetings.
• Reason for leaving: I did not have enough
idle time.
• Objective: To learn new skills and gain
training, which will help me
develop my new business.
• I have an excellent track record, although I
am not a horse.
• Don’t take the words of my former
employer too seriously. They
were unappreciative beggars and slave drivers.
• Qualifications: no education or
experience.
• I was working for my mom until she decided
to move.
• Please don’t regard my 14 positions
as job-hopping. I never once
quit a job.
• My goal is to be a meteorologist, but since I
have no training in meteorology,
I suppose I could try stockbrokerage.
• At the age of 12, I began hustling
newspapers like many other great
Americans had done. The difference was that they
became great.
• My mother lives with me. She is 69 years old
and can travel.
• Failed bar exam with relatively high
grades.
• Instrumental in ruining entire operation for a
Midwest chain store.
• Vocational plans: Sea World.
• Please call me after 5:30 because I am self-
employed, and my employer
does not know I am looking for another job.
Although we try to weed out job applicants like the
above, some of them slip
through the cracks, as evidenced by the following
explanations given by employees
when asked to explain their tardiness:
• I felt it was better to sleep at home versus
sleep at the office.
• The dog was asleep behind the car, and I
couldn’t back out of
the driveway.
• I forgot what day it was; I thought it was
the weekend.
• My dog swallowed my car keys.
• I couldn’t remember what time zone
I was in.
• The elevators in this building are too
slow.
• I’m not late; I decided to change my
hours to make them more convenient
for me.
• The bartender wouldn’t let me
leave.
All of the above would suggest there is plenty of work
out there for us trainers. We can talk some more
about that - and even about ethics training or doing
peer reviews, if you like - when we come together
Wednesday evening at the Washoe Professional Center
to work with Trip on dealing with "Mutiny in the
Classroom" situations, sure to be a learning experience!
Best regards to all,
Shelley
Shelley MacDonald
2004 ASTD Sierra Nevada Chapter President
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ASTD is bringing E-Learning Pioneer, Dr. Eric Parks, to Reno! |
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What's the "e" in e-Learning?
Eric Parks, Ph.D, President & CEO, ASK
International
Has anyone defined what the letter 'e' in e-learning
stands for? I have asked some colleagues. They tell
me it refers to 'enterprise', while others say it refers
to 'electronic' like electronic mail. I have my own
opinions about the 'e' in e-learning. I feel that the 'e'
represents how we will increasingly acquire, store and
disseminate knowledge.
e-verything
I believe that the letter 'e' stands for 'everything'. It's
common to think that e-learning only describes online
courses, synchronous or asynchronous. It's more. It's
about using pre-study materials to prepare learners to
get more out of a classroom training session or
laboratory. It's about online assessment, qualification
testing and certification. It's about facilitating
collaboration, sharing ideas and encouraging learning
form peers. And it's also about performance support in
the form of job aids, checklists, electronic
configurations, FAQs, proposals, libraries, etc. The 'e'
in its fullest meaning should communicate to us that
learning requires structured experiences, collaboration
and performance bridges to facilitate a more skilled
workforce.
e-veryone
I believe that the letter 'e' also stands for 'everyone'. I
shudder to think that workers who have access to
computers and network connectivity will benefit from e-
learning while those who do not will not. I worry about
those of us who are less fortunate, not only poor in
terms of socioeconomic status, but also poor in terms
of learning opportunities. This extends to the vast
majority of workers in factories, on construction sites
and on farms who, due to work requirements, do not
have ready access to e- learning. During his keynote
address at the e-Learning 2000 conference in
Singapore, Jim Cavenague, general manager at Hewlett-
Packard Worldwide Education, revealed that HP
Research Labs have been working on a low cost,
portable e-learning device for middle and high school
students that is targeted for release later this year. I
believe that each and every individual has the right to
learn. For the first time 'readily available' knowledge
can actually be made available. I look forward to
innovative companies like HP creating low cost
technologies to help make the 'e' truly stand for
everyon.. rich or poor, knowledge worker or factory
worker.
e- ngaging
I believe the 'e' in e-learning stands for 'engaging'. I
view this from both a user's and producer's point of
view. For e-learning truly to have value to learners, it
must transcend the current 'state of the art' model of
5-7 screens followed by a multiple-choice question.
And it must engage the learner at bandwidths that the
vast majority of workers have. My challenge to course
developers: can we create online courses that are
interesting, challenging and relevant to the learner
population? I think so. Remember that a good book
doesn't have motion pictures, sound, still pictures or
animation. It has a story that we can relate to.
Developers must start creating courses that engage
the learner's mind, body and sprit.
Last but not least, the 'e' stands for enough. You have
most likely heard enough 'e' for while.
Dr. Eric Parks, President & CEO of ASK International,
Fair Oaks, CA can be e-mailed
ateric.parks@askintl.com
© 2004 ASK International, Inc. - All Rights Reserved
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Chris Champagne's Book Review: |
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Book Review by Chris Champagne, ASTD Sierra Nevada
Chapter President-elect
"The Purple Cow- Transform You Business By Being
Remarkable"
During a family trip through France, Seth Godin and his
family were struck by the picturesque landscape filled
with endless hillsides of grazing white cattle. However,
after a while, the cattle became a common sight, and
ultimately boring. He thought then that a "purple cow"
would have been remarkable. But even that sight
would become uninteresting if regularly repeated.
Godin's point throughout this book is that consumers
today are bombarded by mass media and other
distractions that draw their attention. Your product,
service or message must stand out, or it will simply get
filtered out with the rest of the noise. Consumers have
more choices, and less time to spend on thinking about
them.
Godin recommends: "Differentiate your customers.
Find that group that is the most profitable. Ignore the
rest. Your ads should cater to the customers you'd
choose if you could choose your customers."
Standing out of the crowd is scary. It's risky. It's
counterintuitive to everything we learned in grade
school. Standing out and being the purple cow will
mean some folks won't like your purple cow.
The Purple Cow is chock full of real world companies
and examples. Interspersed are Godin's points that will
challenge any reader to see their product or their
market in a new light. At 145 pages, it's a short read.
But the central message struck a chord in me. I think
now, more than ever, with the power of technology
linking people in ways and numbers never known before
in history, being the purple cow is going to be key to
success. There are simply too many choices and too
many things trying to grab everyone's attention.
Businesses, organizations and individuals will have to
constantly re-frame and re-define their products and
messages to stand out. If the cow was purple
yesterday, it's going to need to be turquoise the day
after tomorrow. Get used to it.
Godin's style is easy to read, easy to grasp and his points
are immediately applicable. I would recommend this book to
anyone trying to create a brand, launch a business, re-tool
for the job hunt or start the quest for new clients. He is
a regular columnist in Fast Comapany magazine and his Web
site www.sethgodin.com
is one of my favorite links |
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