The Training Associates

In a recent interview with former NBA star Earl Boykins, we discussed his journey to success and the keys to his ability to stand out among a sea of giants as the second shortest person to play in the NBA. This is why Earl’s message to his basketball academy is that “Talent is the most overrated thing in this world because Talent can quit! It was the result of games like the time when he was a 5th grader playing for the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) League, he beat the team by himself by scoring all the points. Your Vision Boykins told his high school baseball coach he was quitting the team because he was going to the NBA.

You can leverage TNA to determine if a training exists for employees and what is required to fill the gap that exists in the “desired” learner behavior and “current” learner behavior. You can use the following to gather data for the preliminary needs analysis: Use target surveys or questionnaires to gather information about how comfortable the learners are with their current skill and knowledge levels Conduct interviews to assess where and why the learners are coming from and any areas the learners can identify where the training could have done better Make observations about the environment and implications of the trainings being conducted and about the current learning situation as a whole Organize workshops with the targeted audiences to assess their “pain points” and what all they would want this new training to include The gap between the current level and desired level is a good indicator of where the problems are and what needs to be translated into a training need. The organizational-level analysis helps to identify the learner expected competency level after the completion of this training – based on the newly assimilated knowledge, technology, and competence skills. The task-level analysis helps to identify the gaps or discrepancies in the learner’s current skill level and the required skill level to effectively carry out the future job and is generally measured in terms of performance achievement indicator.

• Finding new and better applications for technology i.e. leveraging technology In reading that blog I began thinking about driver 2; leveraging technology and began to jot down where I have found new or better ways to use current technology. I began to think of ways that I used current learning assets and leveraged technology to address the needs of our current or future workforce. Two of the most common and easy to implement include: Here is a video that outlines 30 use cases, using a variety of technologies, to get you thinking about your “Learning Design Remix” for videos: https://bit.ly/2Fldktx If you determine that interactive video meets your learners needs, I would suggest that using some free or low-cost technologies to get started. https://bit.ly/2nU6Fhz Then use YouTube Creator Studio Video Manager to add questions to your video using “cards” Use the variables feature to create a test, personalize, and/or track progress within the video https://bit.ly/2HMDqIM As training professionals, it is important that we look at future trends associated with our profession so that we are ready to address the learning needs of our current or future workforce.

At TTA, we recommend including “social” strategies in your learning experiences designs to fully engage learners, set meaningful context, and help learners realize the full value of your training investments. Think of the full learning ecosystem, and answer the question – “how can I support learners from readiness to discovery, to reinforcement? While individual, on-demand learning helps learners offline – these social strategies encourage connection and collaboration, to engage learners and transfer new skills back into the work. We encourage you to think beyond transactional, feature-centric social options (like chats and likes), to architect learning that engages across the experience – from readiness to discovery, to reinforcement.