Articles for ASTD Austin

There are endless opportunities to attend luncheons, mixers and other networking events. While these events are important it's critical to understand that very few opportunities come from attending these events. Whether you're looking for new clients, investors, partners, a new job or to advance your career it's imperative that you understand what networking really is. In this session you'll learn how to build real relationships that lead to real opportunities. Plus ...

July's lunch program, Web 2.0 in Learning Environments, will focus on the research conducted by several UT PhD students as they explored how the use of innovative technologies affected learning environments. Their presentation will focus on trends in usage as well as what works and what doesn't in regards to implementation. The following article, E-Learning Know How, gets the conversation started by discussing the "seven disastrous decisions sure to sink any e-learning implementation."

As we bring new members into our community, it is important to review our program cancellation policy as outlined in our Terms of Service and a reminder is on the order confirmation email after your register. Our current policy is that any attendee who does not cancel their registration to attend a program (Monthly or SIG) prior to 48 hours of the event forfeits their registration fee. Please feel free to visit our Terms of Service for detailed instructions on canceling a registration.

Recently it has come to our attention that many in the Austin ASTD community either have an incorrect address or no address listed in their profiles. We would like all of our community to take the time and update their profile information on our website. We will clear out the database of any users with incomplete addresses after membership renewals in October. For detailed information on accessing and updating your profile, please click here. Austin ASTD does not sell your ...

Jane "Star" Fisher's article from April 8 about Interactive Learning Events presented a challenge to all of us: post the ILEs that we've used to enhance learning. One of my favorites is also one of the easiest to use. If you've ever played the card game "Spoons", you know the basic premise. Have plastic spoons on hand (1 per group) and 3 x 5 index cards (3 per person). Have participants sit around tables in groups of 4 to 6. §On index cards, each person writes review ...

Please join Austin ASTD in congratulating Kristin Skalko and Pamela Villars for earning their Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) accreditation. Achieving this designation is the result of hard work, dedication and considerable time commitment. Congratulations Kristin and Pamela!

We welcome our newest board member, Birgit Schultz-McDaniel, as Vice-President of Records. Birgit's energy and enthusiasm will be a big part of Austin ASTD growing to its full potential. Do you have a desire in becoming more involved with Austin ASTD? We are currently looking to train two people who are interested in being on next year's board replacing two board members needing to curtail outside activities in 2011. Both are willing to help you get a headstart with training and ...

We have been receiving a plethora of emails lately in regards to renewing memberships, and we wanted to take some time to update our members on this important matter. All memberships expire October 31st. If you are a current member, you do not have to renew until October Renewals can only be processed in October, and you will receive several emails alerting you to renew. In addition, we currently have a special discounted rate for new memberships (these memberships expire on ...

The term “intellectual property” is often bandied about without full understanding of its meaning or implications. Strictly speaking, intellectual property is any intangible asset that consists of human knowledge and ideas. These assets, including patents, trademarks, and copyrights, have been estimated to comprise 45-to-75 percent of Fortune 500 companies’ wealth; and according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the total value of intellectual property in the ...

From PowerPoint to online learning modules, job aids to wikis, or even student manuals to online simulations, we have a wide variety of tools and methods at our disposal that support the learning and performance needs of individuals and organizations. However, many workplace learning and performance (WLP) professionals fail to maximize the potential of these tools. By taking into account knowledge of how adults learn and specifically how the adult brain processes information, WLPs can better ...

I am looking for someone who would like to become a partial partner in a new training business (full or part time). I would like to find someone who understands the needs and potentials of training programs, but I really need someone skilled in the networking, marketing, and outreach areas. The business is already registered, an initial contacts database has been built, and the first classes could be ready to go within 4 weeks of booking. If you have the skills and time to reach out and ...

A recap of the April Cliff Notes Club's exploration of the book summary on Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee.

Introduction to Interactive Learning Events (ILEs) and challenge to share them.

Learning professionals are now equipping themselves with the skills to have these business conversations and ultimately illustrate the connections between learning events and business results. The following is a brief overview of some of the methodologies utilized to measure results in the learning and development profession.

Free parking? There is free parking at the monthly programs? The answer is YES! Austin ASTD wants our members to have a monthly program that is engaging, entertaining and doesn't cause downtown parking anxiety. If you park in St. David's garage, and present your garage parking ticket to the folks at the registration table, you will receive a validated parking ticket in return. So once again, we boldly and proudly say, Free Parking for our meetings.

In this article, Michael Allen, chair and CEO of Allen Interactions and author of Designing Successful E-Learning, addresses the issues faced when designing e-learning solutions. He proposes that designers who address the three learning phases will find e-learning success.

Are you a fan of our Facebook Page? Are you a member of our LinkedIn Group? If so, we encourage all ASTD network members to share, participate, debate and be active on our forums. Only by hearing from you can we grow to serve the needs of the Austin Workplace Learning Community. Join Our Facebook Page Here Join Our LinkedIn Group Here

Last Friday, January 15th, marked the beginning of the A New Year, A New You and A New Austin ASTD initiative with the first lunch program of 2010. Eighty attendees joined our speaker, John Gillis, as he set the stage for our profession’s future where we evolve from being trainers into workplace learning and performance (WLP) professionals. John began the program with a review of our profession, where we’ve been and where we’re going. His analysis of our many roles, ...

See if you can identify which of the following statements is true. a. Project management is really people management (“I’m really good with people so I don’t need to learn about project management.”) b. Since learning and performance initiatives are, by definition, unique, it makes no sense to try to use common processes. c. Only project leaders need to learn about project management. If you’re thinking that this may have been a trick ...

University of Texas Graduate Instructional Design Project The UT Advanced Instructional Design class has an exciting opportunity for Austin organizations and businesses to work with students during the spring semester. Dr. Paul Resta of the Instructional Technology program at UT Austin will be teaching the Advanced Instructional Systems Design (AISD) class this spring. Debby Kalk is working with him to line up projects. They are looking for projects for student teams that will give ...