Monthly Reads: February

Like Socrates said: "The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know", we are constantly motivated to strive for more knowledge in our area of expertise. In our Monthly Reads section, we bundle the best articles, blog posts, infographics and videos we come across every month.

1. Creative office, creative ideas - Change Designers

Creative ideas are what makes the economy tick. Ideas lead to innovation and growth, in other cases to great learning situations. But if your task is to "Get a creative idea every week", then that's a lot of pressure for something that supposedly happens organically. Instead of listing KPI's, why not create a context that stimulates creative ideas? An engaging and safe workplace that is creative as well, might just be what your co-workers need to get their brains storming.

2. What is a chatbot? - Botsociety

Are chatbots the next big thing in L&D? Though enthusiasm has faded a bit since early 2017, they still provide a huge potential for FAQ pages or technical support. Creating a chatbot however, one that runs smoothly, is not an easy process. That's because chatbots are more than just automated answers. This article discusss the elements in a good chatbot.

3. 20 killer blogging tools for customizing content - Jeff Bullas

In any environment where you need to regularly train people, content is often not the issue. The content is there. It's how you present the content that is the most difficult part. For in-depth training, you might choose for a simulation, interactive e-learning or classroom walk-through with the subject matter expert. For small refreshers, however, putting up some posters or sending out newsflash e-mails might do the trick as well. The internet is literally stuffed with tools that will help you with just that. Jeff Bullas listed his 20 favourite blogging tools for customizing content. Or: another perfect example how Marketing and L&D can help each other out.

4. Make a learning love connection - Allen Interactions

February is still the month of Valentine. So we just had to put this article in. How to make the LOVE connection in your e-learning courses. This articles poses some questions on the topic, and explores answers with experts at the same time. Very interesting, relevant questions and useful sources too!

5. 7 reasons why teachers believe wrongly in learning styles - Donald Clark Plan B

Donald Clark is probably a familiar name to you so you might have already read this blog. Still, the myth of Learning Styles endures. Clark listed seven of the reasons why it's such a relentless myth and how we can safeguard ourselves from falling in the same trap.

EXTRA: Our top 10 recommended L&D blogs - Good Practice

Right before posting this Monthly Reads, this article passed us by on Twitter. Very useful list of L&D blogs, so made our newsletter as an "EXTRA".