Learning may seem intimidating later in life, particularly if you are not an expert at using computers, tablets, or the Internet in general. However, there are many benefits to learning in your senior years, particularly if you are still in work, thinking about returning to work or are considering starting your own business. Learning Improves Brain Function A study showed that 60 to 90 year olds had improved cognitive abilities when learning challenging tasks so, the more you learn, the more effective you will become at picking up other new things. ... [more]
We all know that the pace of summer can be the perfect opportunity to relax and enjoy leisurely vacations and weekend trips. But, summer can also be a great time to learn a new skill, create new personal and professional goals, or tackle that book collecting dust on your nightstand. At OpenSesame, we’re always interested in continued learning, including reading up on the latest advancements in business, marketing, technology, and workplace productivity. To help kick start your summer learning, we’ve compiled a few books covering our favorite subjects and a few related OpenSesame courses. Comment below and tell us what you want to learn this summer! ... [more]
And just like that we’re at the end of January! December and New Year’s seemed to fly by. The end of the month also means we’ve reached the end of our Learning Resolutions series for 2015. We heard some great responses from learning pros across the industry! ... [more]
Life's punches are typically unexpected. These punches come in the form of sudden family needs or surprise demands from stakeholders. They can come from traffic jams, they can come from unresponsive software, but ultimately I think we invite them through our poor decisions in communication, time management, and task management to name a few. ... [more]
So when my dad asked me about 3D printing, I thought it would be easier to show him than to explain. I took him to a local maker faire, which turned out to be a lot of fun. In addition to 3D printing, we saw robot competitions, leatherworking, electric cars, spinning and knitting, and a whole slew of other interesting things. ... [more]
At the end of every year we list a few things we resolve to resolute. The most common are lose weight, exercise more, quit something or start something else. Whether we actually list them or not, we all have them in some degree. ... [more]
Many of us like to organize time by setting yearly goals. It provides a focus and brings a little order to a chaotic world. This year, I'd like to focus on working smarter and using more streamlined strategies. So here are the things I hope to focus on this year. ... [more]
If you ask most HR, Training & Development, OD, and Talent Management leaders, they will be familiar with these statistics: 70:20:10 which means: 70% of development happens on the job 20% of development happens through coaching and mentoring 10% of development happens through formal training which includes instructor led workshops and elearning courseware The first statistic makes sense as we grew up with parents telling us to practice our spelling words, coaches telling us to practice making the shot and teachers asking us to practice playing the piano. ... [more]
Many learning solutions are bloated and overdue for a diet. However, the key to a truly successful diet isn’t just about reducing input. We need to act more like athletes focused on high performance (after all, we are in the performance business). Elite athletes understand what is required to fuel their performance and are highly selective about the nutrients they intake to support it. Our solutions need to be much more selective in providing high-quality inputs focused on supporting performance needs. This alone will shed a lot of unneeded weight. ... [more]
My 2015 learning resolution? Steal like an artist. And I’ve already gotten started as I stole this resolution from Austin Kleon, who wrote a book with this title and expounded on the concept during his keynote at Training magazine’s 2014 Online Learning Conference this fall in Chicago. Kleon’s perspective is that “creativity is built on what came before.” So rather than wasting time reinventing the wheel—which we do all too often—we should focus on improving the wheel or figuring out new, innovative ways to make the wheel work better for us. ... [more]
