Leading Links 2021 – Issue 5

The heat of summer is starting to seep in and we’ve got some hot links to go with it. First, a couple of Leading Learning-centric items we think may be of interest:

• Frontiers of Learntech Podcast Series: We wrapped this up recently and you can access the full series here. Please share this page with others who may be interested. 
• Access to Recent Webinars: If you have missed any of our recent Webinars, you can now get access to recordings on this page. Stay tuned, we’ll also be introducing a way to get access to an archive of most of our Webinars. 

Now, on to this month’s links. 

[Leadership] Leading Culture and Ecosystem
The terms “learning culture” and “learning ecosystem” have been trendy for quite a while in the corporate L&D space, but we have not seen them get as much traction among learning businesses. Our view – as you might expect – is that needs to change. So, here’s a new Leading Learning blog post that explores the two terms and that – we hope – may help you with fostering both culture and ecosystem among the audiences you serve. 

[Strategy] Bridging the School-Career Divide
We’ve made the point before that most learning businesses would benefit from viewing themselves as being in the career retention business. Ideally, this strategy begins with building a strong bridge into careers in the field or industry you serve. As this HBS Working Knowledge article suggests, the United States is in need of better bridges (in the literal sense, too, but we’ll stick with figurative here). How is your learning business spanning the divide between school and work? It’s a fruitful area for strategic exploration. 

[Portfolio] Will Video Kill the F2F Star?
Whether it’s live streamed or recorded, it seems like we practically live our lives in video these days. Not surprisingly, more science is emerging around how effective it is for learning. The Learning Scientists and Behavioral Scientist blogs have each offered their take on a recent meta-analysis of the use of video in higher education. It’s worth reading both, but as the Behavioral Scientist sums it up, “when instructional videos fully replace other methods like in-person instruction, videos are marginally more effective for student learning. But when videos are added to in-person instruction, students experience even greater learning gains.” That latter scenario, we would hasten to add, is an example of blending, not hybrid. 

[Capacity] 9 Tips for Preparing Virtual Event Speakers
“Preparing” in this Bizzabo post is really about “managing” – and managing presenters efficiently and effectively can certainly boost the capacity of most learning businesses. There’s no rocket science here, but it is a solid list of tips – most of which are similar to practices we have successfully used in managing presenters for our own events. 

[Marketing] It’s Good to Be a Swiper‘
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it’s also the surest path to arriving at marketing promotions that actually work. That’s why it’s good to maintain a swipe file – that is, a place where you tuck away examples of promotions you come across that seem particularly clever and effective. We keep multiple files, and they help tremendously when we’re trying to come up with new marketing ideas. While labeled as “for Association Marketers,” the 48 copywriting examples in this WBT Systems post apply broadly and are a great start to a new or additional swipe file. 

That’s it for this edition. If you find Leading Links valuable, please share it with a colleague who may also find it valuable. (And, of course, they can get their own subscription here.)