Let’s Learn Together (and Lean on Each Other) was created to help support my friends and colleagues in the Learning and Development community during the pandemic. We first met on April 3rd, 2020. I wrote the following words in anticipation of meeting.
I can’t give blood. I can’t work in the front lines of medical care. But I can help you keep your training and facilitation going. I can provide support that you need and in return receive your support.
You can read the original post here. You can read about our first session together here.
We’ve met almost every month since then discussing many topics but most importantly creating a supportive community. I feel fortunate to spend the time together. I feel fortunate to call so many people friends. We need each other now more than ever.
On this page you’ll find the resources we mention and share in our time together.
We started with a Padlet that you can access here. When we became aware that not everyone could access it, we created this page.
I hope you will find useful resources here.
Dr. Keith Keating joined us for a conversation about his new book The Trusted Learning Advisor (use code sale25 for a discount at checkout)
Highlights of our discussion included:
- “Our job is to make our stakeholders the hero of their own story.”
- “I’m a learn it all, not a know it all.”
- the importance of considering the tenure of your relationship when receiving a request for training
- Asking “is this is a fire” before proceeding with training requests
- Important to put out the fires first to build trust
Connect with Dr. Keating on LInkedIn.
Download the book group guide here.
We will launch the Let’s Learn Book Group on February 23rd at 9:00AM to discuss Keith’s book. Register here.
The 3rd Annual Gift Exchange was filled with valuable gifts for everyone!
2023 Gift Exchange
From Patrice Lynn:
AI Certification for L&D (360learning.com)
With it, you can level up your AI skills and help deliver the outcomes that matter, faster.
- Master AI terminology.
- Discover how to write powerful L&D prompts.
- Learn how to deliver effective courses faster.
Plus, it’s completely free. Receive a certificate to post on LinkedIn.
From Jennifer Crook:
Cheap/Free Kindle Books:
Bookbub.com
Amazon first reads for prime members
Amazon: Kindle Unlimited – monthly subscription
Cheap Audio books:
Audible.com – monthly subscription
Amazon: Kindle Unlimited – monthly subscription (read and listen for free or add audio book for cheap)
chirpbooks.com
Hoopla and Libby are apps that are linked to your library and you can check out audio books
Amazon Prime First Reads – One (sometimes two) free Kinde books a month
From Lisa Laughter:
We Connect Cards
Movement and getting to know you questions for training sessions
From Katie Hymans
PowerPoint (downloaded)
From Dhanya Mathew
https://community.articulate.com/e-books
From Jessica Branum
Dave’s Warehouse (open two times a year with leftover fundraising items at a deep discount)
1355 Tradewinds Cir. West Sacramento 95691
From Jessica Birkman:
Develop your personal wellbeing and career skills – Mind Tools
From Ashley Mahurin
Paraphrasing Tool – QuillBot AI
Share BOTH screens in Zoom for training –
Control / Shift for Mac
From Rachel Olson:
Great site to do quick easy whiteboards with sticky notes and you can set it all up ahead of time before a training:
https://jamboard.google.com/u/0/
From Catherine Gray
The HYGGE Game – cards with questions that can be used to start conversations, meetings, training, etc.
From Rafael Cruz
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl_exercises/grammar_exercises/index.html
From Jaime Partlow
Sheep “How are you feeling today?” slide
From Katrina Kennedy
ATD Toolbox : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvUGjRiQsE44hGH4Alas_z0GUJxrXB0-V
At the May Let’s Learn we dove into Learning Engagement.
We explored:
- Dan McAdam’s 3 Levels of Connection.
- Myths & Facts About Learning including a conversation on Why Learning Styles Don’t Exist.
- 20 questions in 4 minutes with the prompt, “We want engagement to lead to learning and transfer to the job.”
We closed with a quick practice challenge. Everyone wrote an example of a Level 3 Connection question. They included:
| What is a lesson learned during training that has been pivotal in your life? |
| What is your biggest accomplishment? |
| What’s been the most exceptional thing to happen to you this week, month, year? |
| What ideas do you have for creating a safe workplace? |
| Whats one thing you wish you could do over in life? |
| What’s the best thing that’s happened in your life |
| what’s a challenge you’ve overcome? |
| What is the theme song you would use to enter the stage as a wrestler? |
| What was the last thing that made you smile really big? |
| When did you realize something powerful? |
| What is a bucket list item you have? |
March Let’s Learn participants found themselves locked into a virtual escape breakout room with a few other people.
Their challenge?
Solve three instructional design challenges with clues provided in twenty minutes or less. The first groups escaped in nine minutes!
Want to take the challenge? You’ll find it at this link. Let me know when you get out!
Resources shared included:
Kassy Laborie’s Linked In (Virtual training ideas and more!)
Bored Teachers Escape Room Google Form and instructions
Shellburne Museum Virtual Escape Room
We Are Teachers In Person Escape Room Instructions
We kicked off the year with a Learning Challenge. The challenge? Can you create a learning habit to take you throughout the year? Can be small. LARGE. Professional or personal.
Everyone set a challenge using the Learning Challenge Job Aid. Everyone was given an opportunity to pair with an Accountability Partner to discuss how and when they’d stay in touch.
The Habit Tracking app HabitShare was offered as a way of staying in touch.
We’ll connect on Discord on January12th @ 9:00AM for a habit check in! You can join our discord with this link.
Inspiration for the Learning Challenge was taken from Atomic Habits by James Clear. Read his article on 3 Simple Things to Build Good Habits.
We will check in with our habits at each month’s Let’s Learn! See you in February.
Wow! This is a generous community. Here are the gifts shared in our time together.
Katrina: Cameo Insert for PowerPoint (not available to everyone yet)
Susanne: Expand your horizons and change your perspective. Resources we use in training may be impactful in our lives. Shared the book 7 Habits for Highly Effective Teens as an example.
Mickey: Join the Discord conversation on December 15th @ 2:00PM, worthwhile!
HabitShare app – accountability partner for habit building
Tiffany: Coolors help picking color palates
Antwaun: 211.org or 211 from your phone Community resources including housing, utilities, and food assistance and more!
Jennifer: Escape Room information for safety training.
Tina: BraverAngelsSac.org and BraverAngels.org A bipartisan citizen’s movement working to unify our divided nation. Book: I Never Thought of it That Way: How To Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times (affiliate link)
Jessica: Micro-Resilience Book and program Example: Grab a handful of almonds instead of a sweet snack
Danielle: 5 Languages of Appreciation Assessment
Jaisha: Find Your Why by Simon Sinek
Richard: Soup Season! To make the perfect soft boiled egg for ramen: 6-7 minutes then dunk in ice water. Hard boiled: 11-12, then dunk in water. Add vinegar to the water for easier peeling.
Katie: On A Scale of… to use at beginning of class. Google “on a scale of meme”
July: Author of Atomic Habits’ James Clear’s weekly newsletter
Berna: EatFresh.org recipes and healthy eating information
Steven: Comfort Food cookbook and THE BEST eggnog recipe
TIna: Facilitator Cookbook
Katrina: Playful Rebellion by Gary Ware
Katie: Interplay, 3rd Tuesday of the month, 7:00-8:30PM PST
Ashley (and several others): Karmere Vineyards & Winery, Plymouth CA
Thank you everyone for sharing your gifts and your time with the Let’s Learn Community. Thanks to Michelle for recording all of the gifts. You are truly a special group of people
For Dale’s Cone, please read this article. It isn’t what you may have been told! And then check out The Debunker Club. Every trainer should.
Links Shared In Chat:
10 Resources for Inspiring Laughter In Your Class
Fun At Work from Teambuilding.com
Flippity.net (online games for the classroom)
Research On Fun In Learning
Does Fun Promote Learning? Science Direct
Why Fun In Learning Is Important Growth Engineering
Learning Communities, Collaboration, & Creating a Sharing Culture | October 7, 2022
For our October session we started with a grounding and connecting exercise inspired by Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering.
Everyone was asked to share in chat:
- The town or city where you are joining from
- The space where you are joining us from
- The floor material currently underneath you
After sharing responses which included everything from 1950’s painted lenoleum, old carpet, and concrete to Pergo and beautiful wood floors everyone was asked how they felt. Responses included: connected, grounded, good, optimistic, inspired to relocate outside, and uplifted and hopeful.
Four more questions were asked:
- What do you hear right now?
- Wo did you need to check with to be here today with no other obligations?
- If you could play this group a song to evoke a specific emotion that you think is appropriate for this moment, what would it be?
- If you weren’t following your current path, what else might you be pursing?
Then everyone joined small breakout rooms to discuss a question or challenge they were facing. Each person had seven minutes to share and receive responses. After the Slide of Insight was created with stamps given to things everyone could relate to. “Setting boundaries doesn’t kill character,” was a popular insight.
New Discord Server for Let’s Learn Together!
And then our exciting Let’s Learn Announcement! In September a method to stay connected was requested as a way of supporting each other.
We launched our Discord server! Imagine a place you can hop on to send a message or read messages left by other learning and development professionals. No ads. No obligation. No algorithms. Just sharing our ideas, insights, questions and resources! How can you get an invite? Join the mailing list to receive your Discord invite. Each month I’ll have a scheduled time on Discord for an informal coffee chat. (And you’ll get to see the songs everyone selected!)
We hope to see you there!
Register at the link at the top of the page for November’s Let’s Learn | Put The Fun In L&D
Dr. Robert Epstein’s Creativity resources
Books Mentioned:
Books are linked to my favorite local bookstore’s online Bookshop account except for This I Believe.
This I Believe (Amazon affiliate link)
This I Believe was a series on NPR! It ended in 2009, but you can read or listen to the short segments here.
| Connect With Erin To Write Clearly and Confidently with High-Value Writing |
|---|
| Write Clearly and Confidently with High-Value Writing |
| Website: highvaluewriting.com |
| YouTube: High-Value Writing |
| LinkedIn: Erin Lebacqz |
| Get the High-Value Writing book here! |
PowerPoint Deck with methods used listed in NOTES.
BrightCarbon – weekly free PowerPoint webinars with lots of other resources
Unsplash – free, high quality, royalty free images
Color Calculator – use to select a color palette
Ideas for Engaging Learners included:
- Explain the relevance of training (the why)
- Make it fun
- Provide a good breakout room experience
- Precise instructions
- Clear idea of what to report back
- Ask questions and listen to responses
- Give space
- Have the learner do the work
- Ask good questions
- Create a safe environment
Wow! What a great gift exchange. So many great tools, tips, and resources shared. Enjoy the gifts everyone shared.
Dunk Tank Game PPT (PowerPoint)
LinkedIn Activity Worksheet (Word Doc)
“I Could Talk About…” Connecting exercise
Your Logical Fallacy Is poster
JamBoard tip: Set background image to information you don’t want participants to move
“Timeline of Lives” Connecting Exercise
PowerPoint Tip to Make Window Smaller in Show View: Choose browse in individual window.
PowerPoint Slides for Sharing To Breakout Rooms with timer and transitions (PowerPoint)
Thank you to everyone who joined us! Enjoy your gifts.
Instructions for Immersive View
We grew again! Thank you to those who were unable to register because we met our MAX! Wow. Unexpected. It does look like you all deal with boring content!
We discussed perspective with boring content…maybe it’s not really the content!
We explored methods to liven things up including:
- Be the SME
- Fill in the blank Lectures
- Self Correcting Worksheets
- Lab exercises
- Flipping the classroom
- Analogies and stories
- Using games and quizzes
- Moving things to Storyline, OneNote, or video
- Teach backs
The following books were mentioned:
Wow! We had record numbers coming together to explore producer secrets. While we don’t record our Let’s Learn sessions, we do share materials and some activities we use during our gathering.
There were so many great questions asked about producing. Here are the documents we referred.
Producer Question Brainstorm In four minutes breakout groups brainstormed their producer questions. There were A LOT of questions. Michelle, our producer, answered many of them. I plan on answering them all through blogposts and in the newsletter.
Producer/Trainer Agreements (PDF)
Producer Notes Example (Excel)
Producer Notes Example (Google Doc — please make your own copy)
Questions To Discuss With Your Producer We brainstormed this list together. Please add any additional questions we might have missed.
Virtual Training Resources
Cindy Huggett’s Virtual Training Resources
Thank you everyone for a lively, information packed gathering. We look forward to having you join us for the next one.
Sign up for the mailing list to receive notifications about future gatherings and other training resources.
There are two rules to Question Brainstorming:
- Only contribute questions
- No preambles or justifications
Question Brainstorming Breakout Room (Google Doc)
The 4-24 Project website can be found here. Hal Gregersen’s technique for finding solutions through question brainstorming.
One Year @ Home | March 5, 2021
Appreciative Interview Highlights and Quotable Quotes H (Google Docs)
What are you Reading? -A Handout filled with great books to read and upcoming class links!
TheStoryGraph is a website where you can input your reading history and SEE your books become data. It’s not owned by Amazon so their “recommended for you” books are usually affordable. You can follow Katrina and others on the site too. “It’s a facebook for bookworms. All Books and no faces!”
Here’s the Google Doc participants used to discuss learning obstacles and how they brainstormed solutions. You may find a connection to this in either the obstacles or the solutions to them.
Katrina invites you various digital brainstorming sites below:
The MURAL App. This is a great tool to use when brainstorming with a team virtually because MURAL enables innovative teams to think and collaborate visually to solve important problems.
Sign up with MIRO. The online collaborative whiteboard platform to
bring teams together, anytime, anywhere. You can sign up for a free version and pay for more if you so desire.
Here’s some shared resources this class provided. We love a little give and take.
Google Document Activity to identify alternatives for instructor led activities in the virtual environment.
