Walking, inside or outside, improves creativity, influences cognition and improves physical fitness. Stanford released a research report following a study in 2014 claiming; Walking boosts creative ideation in real time and shortly after. It is well known that, Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs held walking meetings and others, such as Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, see the benefit walking can have … Continue reading How to improve creativity
Author: Focus 'N Develop
Empowering people and organisations to Focus ‘n Develop through learning.
Smartphone Video Training
Yesterday I attended the Girlguiding Trainers Conference 2019 and spent the day with the Digital Zone in the 'have a go' area alongside two other external facilitators Piers Ansell and Emma Gray. It was lovely to see Trainers look at a variety of digital learning solutions, think of ways they could be embedded into their … Continue reading Smartphone Video Training
Design and creativity #BlogEveryDay
When designing a learning experience you need to think of ways to capture the learners attention and bring the subject to life. Finding new ways to do this requires you to be creative. A common misconception of creativity is to be original, to me it is bringing the right idea at the right time and … Continue reading Design and creativity #BlogEveryDay
Expect to be challenged #BlogEveryDay
Today I had a meeting with an SME to review an eLearning course I have designed and developed. Having been a classroom trainer for years the SME was very clear on the learning outcomes and the flow of the content. They wanted a lot of information on each slide which, ideally, would be repeated on … Continue reading Expect to be challenged #BlogEveryDay
Visual Design #BlogEveryDay
If, like me, you design digital learning experiences you need to make sure that the visual elements used support the flow of the training and don't add confusion. Applying visual hierarchy principles to these elements can ensure they don't become a distraction. https://youtu.be/Hc899qz42PQ The same principles can be applied when creating a slide deck for … Continue reading Visual Design #BlogEveryDay
Journey Map #BlogEveryDay
One element of User Experience is a customer journey map. This is a diagram or flowchart which breaks down the steps required to meet a specific goal. Looking at this timeline provides an opportunity to identify any problems which may occur, where users may lack motivation or see areas which may have a high error … Continue reading Journey Map #BlogEveryDay
Learning design models #BlogEveryDay
I don't follow one model when designing a learning experience. There are elements of Deign Thinking and ADDIE which overlap at different stages of a project. I have recently been introduced to a new model, User Experience Design (UX), which could also help L&D. Wikipedia's definition of UX is: is the process of enhancing user … Continue reading Learning design models #BlogEveryDay
Observational feedback #BlogEveryDay
So the learning solution has been designed; the learning outcome agreed and activities selected. You have developed the 1st version and this has gone to testing. What now? Evaluation. What is the best way to collect the views of the people who have experienced the learning event? I have recently sat with my testing group … Continue reading Observational feedback #BlogEveryDay
Testing, testing 1,2,3 #BlogEveryDay
If we think back to the design thinking model: Emphasis Define Ideate Prototype Test The lesson plan / storyboard becomes your prototype and once you have defined the activities and flow of the learning experience it is time to test it. This could be a via a pilot event or testing group, the feedback gathered … Continue reading Testing, testing 1,2,3 #BlogEveryDay
Storytelling #BlogEveryDay
People like stories, to quote Tyrion Lannister in the last episode of Game of Thrones, which aired this week: There's nothing more powerful in the world than a good story. We learn a lot from stories and this is how humans have shared information for generations. Stories can help structure a learning experience as they normally … Continue reading Storytelling #BlogEveryDay
