Clark Quinn

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

When I agreed to join as co-director of the Learning & Development Accelerator, I’d already attended their first two conferences. Those had been designed to reflect the circumstances at the time, e.g. the pandemic. In addition, there was a desire on the part of Matt Richter & Will Thalheimer (the original directors) to reflect certain values.

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Conference Design DevLearn Virtual World 213

Clark Quinn

JULY 7, 2022

So, somehow I got on Myra Roldan ‘s # MyraMonday question list. She asks a question every Monday, dobbing in some likely (or, in my case, gullible) victims to respond. And I do (unusually ;), because occasionally it’s good to challenge your mind. This past week, the question was particularly interesting: about what you’d do if there weren’t elearning.

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Clark Quinn

JULY 5, 2022

Harold Jarche’s elegantly crafted announcement: The Internet Time Alliance Memorial Award , in memory of Jay Cross , is presented to a workplace learning professional who has contributed in positive ways to the field of Informal Learning and is reflective of Jay’s lifetime of work. Recipients champion workplace and social learning practices inside their organization and/or on the wider stage.

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Internet Communities of Practice Community Social Learning 156

Clark Quinn

MAY 10, 2022

On my walk yesterday, I was reflecting on our You Oughta Know with Christy Tucker (a great session, as usual), who talked about scenarios. It got me pondering, in particular, about different interpretations of ‘ gamification ‘ As I dictated a note to myself as I walked (probably looking like one of those folks who holds phone calls on their perambulations), I found myself discussing the differences between two approaches.

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Gamification Alternatives Coaching Course 184

Clark Quinn

APRIL 19, 2022

Our brains like to categorize things; in fact, we can’t really not do it. This has many benefits: we can better predict outcomes when we can categorize the situation, we can respond in appropriate ways via shared conceptualizations, and so on. It also has some downsides: stereotyping, for one. I reckon there’re tradeoffs, of course. But we also have to worry about when we over-use categorization, we can risk making the wrong bucket lists.

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Learner Learning Styles Brain Benefits 261

Clark Quinn

FEBRUARY 1, 2022

Of late, I’m working in a couple of engagements where the issue of learning and performance strategy have come up. It has prompted some thoughts both on my part and the part of my clients. I think it’s worth laying out some of the issues and thinking, and of course I welcome your thoughts. So here are some reflections on whether to use learning or performance strategy as an organizing concept.

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Performance Support Performance Strategy Learning 263

Clark Quinn

DECEMBER 28, 2021

I don’t think I’ve made a habit of it, but it occurs to me that it might be good to reflect a little on this past year. In particular, I want to revisit the areas I’ve been focusing on. There’ve been some emergent themes, and it’s worth it (to me, at least ;) to think a bit more about them. So here’s what I’m thinking about while reflecting on 2021.

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Cognitive Agile Learning Digital 225

Clark Quinn

OCTOBER 19, 2021

Several years ago, I was pushing the notion of the Coherent Organization. While I still feel it’s relevant, perhaps the time wasn’t right or I wasn’t convincing enough. However, as I continue to consider the issue of alignment of what we do in L&D (and organizational) practices, I realize there’s more. One way, then, to think about the coherent organization is as achieving levels of organizational alignment.

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Metrics Performance Support Mentoring Culture 272

Clark Quinn

AUGUST 24, 2021

I probably seem like a crank, given the way I take things apart. Yet, I maintain there’s a reason beyond “get off my lawn!” I point out flaws not to complain, but instead to point to how to do it better. (At least, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. ;) Here’s another example, providing more lessons from bad design.

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Lesson Design Cognitive Performance Support 357

Clark Quinn

AUGUST 17, 2021

After continuing to take down marketing blather, it’s time for a plea. Caveat Malarkey! And, as always, the prose. If you’ve been paying attention, you will have seen that a number of my blog posts take down a variety of articles that are rife with malarkey. A lot of them come from connections or pointers on LinkedIn. (If you want to live in infamy, feel free to point me to your posts. ;) It’s time to address what I’m seeing, from two points of view.

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Clark Quinn

JULY 7, 2021

As always, I like to participate in my Internet Time Alliance colleague Jane Hart’s Top 10 Tools for Learning survey. However, in reviewing last year’s list , things haven’t changed much. Still, it’s worth getting out there. So there’re my selections for 2021 top 10 tools for learning. One of the major things I do is write: book, blog posts, articles, and more.

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Tools Learning Write Blog Apple 318

Clark Quinn

JULY 5, 2021

Jay Cross was a deep thinker and a man of many talents, never resting on his past accomplishments. Following his death in November 2015, the partners of the Internet Time Alliance — Jane Hart, Charles Jennings, Harold Jarche, and myself — resolved to continue Jay’s work. The Internet Time Alliance Award, in memory of Jay Cross, is an annual presentation.

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Internet Social Media Performance Support Social Learning 270

Clark Quinn

MAY 11, 2021

When I wrote my last post on a message to CxOs about L&D myths, I got some pushback. Which, for the record, is a good thing; one of us will learn something. As a counter to my claim that L&D often was it’s own worst enemy, there was a counter. The claim was that there are folks in L&D who get it, but fight upward against wrong beliefs.

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Learning Augmented Reality LMS Training 302

Clark Quinn

MARCH 2, 2021

Want to dig a bit deeper into improving design processes. Here, I look at tools, asking IDs to ‘support thyself’ As usual, the transcript: One of the things I do is help organizations improve their design processes. Last week, I talked about when to team up in the process of learning design. Another component of good design, besides knowing when and how to draw in more minds, is baking learning science into your processes.

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Clark Quinn

FEBRUARY 23, 2021

Ideally, we’d have teams doing all our design and development. There are benefits to working together, not just for the innovation and creativity, but also for process. We can watch out for other’s mistakes and limitations just as they can look for ours. However, it can be costly to run teams when an individual will do.

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Teams Theory Design Benefits 182

Clark Quinn

FEBRUARY 17, 2021

Ok, I know I just talked about this, but something happened to sharpen my understanding. Recently, a colleague was advocating, for a product she’s responsible for managing, that she was aware that people were “not used to reflowable text” And, frankly, that surprised me, but also explains the problems I’ve railed about in the past. Because reflowable text thinking is a key to moving beyond hardwired formatting to separating content from description. .

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Mac Web Library Microsoft 249

Clark Quinn

FEBRUARY 9, 2021

There’s a potential belief that I’m the ‘ myths ‘ guy, and I’ve both principled and practical reasons to try to counter that. Here’s my thinking. And, as always, the text. I’ve a dilemma. These days, if someone posts some learning myth, people tend to let me know. And I don’t really mind, but I do worry that it buckets me as the ‘myths’ person.

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Personal Personalization Cognitive Design 320

Clark Quinn

FEBRUARY 4, 2021

In this fourth, and final, post about making it meaningful , I talk about process. You need to systematically acquire the necessary additional information to make learning experiences work. And, of course, to then use them. All explored more in the workshop. And, as always, the text. This is the fourth (and final) post about how to ‘make it meaningful ’.

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Cognitive Learner Course Analysis 241

Clark Quinn

FEBRUARY 3, 2021

This is the third of four posts about making learning meaningful. Here, I talk about the implications for some key learning elements. And, as always, the text. This is the third post about how to ‘make it meaningful ’. I talked about tricks and tips in the previous one, and here I want to talk about the implications for elements in creating experiences that matter.

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Cognitive Learner Communities of Practice Course 227

Clark Quinn

JANUARY 19, 2021

I know, I know, I’ve been doing a lot of updates: books , workshops , and now webinars. I promise I’ll get back to my regular posting on learning things, but the benefit of these, unlike books or courses, is that they’re free. And several are coming up! So I thought I’d at least let you have a chance. So, here’s an update on my webinars.

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eLearning Social Networks LinkedIn Course 214

Clark Quinn

JANUARY 6, 2021

Having heard it’s good for maintaining cognitive ability, I like to vary things. And, to keep doing things right, I like habits. Are these mutually exclusive? Maybe, but here’re some thoughts on habits and variety. It’s been touted that a great way to fend off the diminishment of cognitive capability is to do things differently. So, for instance, turning off the hall light before going down the hall on your way to bed.

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Cognitive Emergent Activities Training 220

Clark Quinn

DECEMBER 15, 2020

As frequently happens, I get asked for my predictions. And, of course, I have reservations. Here’s a video that provides the qualifications, and five trends for 2021 that I’d expect, or like, to see. And the script: Hi, I’m Clark Quinn, of Quinnovation (a boutique learning experience design strategy consultancy). I was recently asked about what trends I thought would be seen next year. .

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Trends Predictions Portal Content 214

Clark Quinn

DECEMBER 8, 2020

Another video, this time (ok, again ;) about learning science. They like me to do this to push the course, but I did hear the feedback on LinkedIn that the video format works. Nice to know. As always, also the script. I’ve argued in an earlier post for the value of learning science, but I want to go a little deeper. I want to talk a little about the evolution, and a little bit about what’s involved.

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Cognitive Learning Video Format Emergent 242

Clark Quinn

DECEMBER 1, 2020

So I saw a twitter thread pointing to an argument about how ROI is dead. And, well, that’s largely okay with me. However, the trigger for the post was from the results of Chief Learning Officer 2020 State of Learning report. And, when I saw them, I saw some problems. The question is whether we’re measuring impact, or not. I’d like to go through them and evaluate each.

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Clark Quinn

AUGUST 11, 2020

This pandemic has led to everyone scrambling to work digitally. And it’s not really a transformation (which shouldn’t be ‘digital first’), but rather just ‘move what we do online’. And that’s understandable. Over time, however, I think we want to shift our mindset. And, I think a previous exercise in thinking transformation is valuable here. I’m talking mobile.

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Cognitive eLearning Strategy eLearning Tools Mobile 303

Clark Quinn

JUNE 2, 2020

So, last week, I asked the musical question: where are we going most wrong? I followed that up asking what most would help. I also suggested that I had my own answers. So I have answers for each. My answer for the first part, where we’re going wrong, is somewhat complex. But for the second, I’m thinking that the biggest opportunity is making learning meaningful.

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Clark Quinn

APRIL 28, 2020

We live in interesting times. And, of course, that means many things have changed. Some for the worse, some for the better. I thought I’d just overview some of ways I’m adapting to change, so you can keep track and take advantage. I was scheduled to do a number of things. One that wasn’t on the list was a trip to Brazil in May, also to give a talk (at least).

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Change Case Study Course Conference 202

Clark Quinn

APRIL 22, 2020

So I was talking to my brother the other day. He is a community college instructor (and, now, department chair). He was telling me about taking his class online (like so many others). I of course offered some suggestions, and he opined that I could (and should) be helping others too. Which, of course, I agree with, because that’s what I do. So, here, is a brief summary of my experience taking courses online.

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Course Online eLearning Guild Cognitive 177

Clark Quinn

MARCH 24, 2020

So, I work from home. A lot. And lots of folks are providing advice for those who have to make the shift in these interesting times. Rather than talk about what you should do, however, I thought I’d share what I do. So this is how I work. This is my workspace. That’s a convertible desk, so I can be standing or sitting. That varies depending on what I’m working on, how I feel, etc.

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Social Networks Google Docs Exercise LinkedIn 172

Clark Quinn

MARCH 3, 2020

I was asked to comment on intrinsic motivation, and was pointed to an article claiming that it’s a myth(!). Given that I’m a staunch advocate of intrinsic motivation, I felt this was something that I should comprehend. Is intrinsic motivation a myth? My inclination is ‘no’, but let’s explore. As background, there’s usually a distinction made between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.

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Learner Course Picture Teach 215

Clark Quinn

JANUARY 21, 2020

My travels are a little more restrained this first half of the year, but then again, things change! And, it occurs to me to talk just a little bit about the things I do that aren’t speaking, writing, and consulting. So here’s my spring 2020 schedule and a bit more. First, I’ll be speaking at ATD’s Techknowledge conference. I’m doing several things, including: a talk on ‘transforming learning’ (a recurrent theme of late ;). a talk on professionalism in p

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TechKnowledge eLearning Consultant Instructional Instruction 32

Clark Quinn

JANUARY 1, 2020

Memory’s funny. I recall attending Learning Technologies to speak on games, many years ago. And, as part of the conference, one keynote was a speaker who talked to the futility of predicting the future. And I want to push that point just a wee bit. The speaker’s point was more than just the famous quote “never predict anything, particularly the future” Instead, he suggested that what happens is that you follow the trends, but things take an unexpected turn owing to some

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Predictions DevLearn Organizational Learning Conference 133

Clark Quinn

DECEMBER 12, 2019

How do I drive myself? I was asked that in a coaching session. The question is asking how I keep learning. There are multiple answers, which I’ve probably talked about before, but I’ll reflect here. I think it’s important to regularly ask: “how do you drive yourself?” As it’s the end of the year, my conversant was looking at professional development.

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Cognitive Coaching Lesson Conversation 158

Clark Quinn

DECEMBER 3, 2019

In my book Engaging Learning , I had a suite of elements for both effective education practice and engaging experiences. Of course, the point was that they perfectly aligned. However, I’m unpacking a couple of them, and I thought it’d be helpful to ensure that I am clear about them, and so that you are too. So I’m unpacking some nuances in two different groups of elements.

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Learner Knowledge Alternatives Problem 131

Clark Quinn

OCTOBER 1, 2019

I was recently asked to endorse two totally separate things. And it made me reflect on just what my principles for such an action might be. So here’s an gentrified version of my first thoughts on my principles for endorsements: First, my reputation is based on rigor in thought, and integrity in action. Thus, anyone I’d endorse both has to be scrutable both in quality of design and in effectiveness in execution.

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Reputation Quality Customer Service Version 125

Clark Quinn

SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

In my thinking about LXD strategy , I also was thinking about what roles are necessary. While you can do handoffs, what are the core skills you need to make this happen? And it’s not that you need all these people, but you need these roles. Someone may be a polymath (though I’m somewhat resistant that one person can do them all sufficiently well), but it’s really not fair to expect someone to be a one-person shop.

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Clark Quinn

AUGUST 27, 2019

With any industry, a large quantity of buzzwords exist, and Learning & Development isn’t any different. Likewise, plusses and minuses accrue. It’s helpful to know the buzzword as well as the real meaning behind it, but how do you do this? Buzzwords can become vernacular. With a professional vocabulary, everyone has a shared understanding of what’s meant.

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