Leading Links 2023 – Issue 2

Ready to boost the reach, revenue, and impact of your learning business? Here’s our latest round-up of resources. Before we dive in, a couple of items we want to highlight:

• Our next Leading Learning Webinar will address LMS Selection in the Evolving Learning Landscape. Learn about a time-tested process you can use to find a learning management system that will help your learning business thrive. Recording and CAE available. Reserve your complimentary seat today. 
• Presenting for Impact – Help your presenters create online presentations and courses with higher educational impact. It’s free for them and free for you to review for use. Find out more and get free review access >> 

Please consider sharing the above resources with your colleagues, followers, etc. and letting them know they can also sign up for their own free Leading Links subscription.  

Now, on to the links. As always, these are curated based on the Tagoras Learning Business Maturity Model. 

529 Savings for Workforce Training and Credentialing
We’ve often pointed out that association leaders seem to be largely missing in many of the more public discussions about the growing importance of lifelong learning, so we wanted to highlight this advocacy effort by the American Society of Association Executives. Whether people will really take advantage of 529 savings to fund their training and credentialing is an open question, but it seems like a good base to cover. (Note: We have not found a good current page to link to with more info, so the link above goes to a LinkedIn post with the text of ASAE CEO Michelle Mason’s update. Here’s the related House bill and corresponding Senate bill.)

Competing in the New Era of Education
While focused on the state of academic professional, continuing, and online education (PCO), the state of affairs described in this interview on The Evolllution applies to all continuing education and professional development providers. Higher competition, demand for increased access, different modalities, and alternative credentials – all issues every learning business needs to be thinking about and developing strategies to address. 

[Capacity | Marketing] The Complete Guide to Project Management Basics
Good project management is an integral part of creating and maintaining capacity for your learning business. This post from HubSpot does a thorough job of covering the basics and also doubles as a good example of indirect content marketing. While HubSpot does not offer any sort of project management software or services that we are aware of, the vast majority of people it attracts to this post probably work at a company that needs marketing and sales software (which HubSpot does offer) and many of them are likely to actually be marketers (who need project management as much as any other business function). Worth some thought as you consider your own content marketing efforts. BTW – we cover a range of project management software here. 

Badge Count 2022 
A new report released by 1EdTech (formally IMS Global) and Credential Engine providing data on growth in the use of Open Badges, one of the most widely used digital badging formats. One headline: 74.7M Open Badges were issued in 2022 – up 73% over 2020. This is free, short, and easily shareable. (So, please do.) Be sure to also see our recent interview on digital credentials with 1EdTech. 

<<<<  AI Watch >>>>>
We or may not include this section in every edition going forward, but given the speed at which AI is evolving right now, we think it is important to keep it front and center for Leading Links readers. Here are two notable items, both via Stephen Downes:

AI and learning is about to get a massive boost 
This one comes from Donald Clark – a guest on the Leading Learning Podcast – who argues that what AI is doing for semantic search may be as or more important than ChatGPT. 

Introducing: ChatGPT Edu-Mega-Prompts
In this one, Philippa Hardman walks through using ChapGPT to create an “undoing” activity. If you aren’t familiar with what an undoing activity is, the article is worth reading if only to learn about that. 

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That’s it for this edition. Be sure to check out previous issues of Leading Links. There are bound to be valuable resources you missed or have forgotten about. We encourage you to use them as a catalyst for your own learning and for discussions with colleagues. And be sure to follow up on LinkedIn for ongoing resources.