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Top 10 Learning Systems for 2022

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Top 10 Learning Systems for 2022

Here we are again.

The Top 10 Learning Systems.

Not for 2021 though, but for 2022.

This year, a bit a difference than in years past, as it relates to a couple of areas.

a. A mini-report – more of a detailed comparison with charts and data will be available for purchase – next week (2-8-22). I will provide links to where you can purchase this report. 100% of the proceeds will go to three animal shelters I am a patron of.

b. The functionality/skills capabilities which made up a big part of the systems comes directly from the Learning System template that is available for you to use. Some of the questions regarding privacy/security and customer support were included as part of the analysis. Vendors who have been certified by TCWG for Customer Support, received additional points compared to those who have demurred or declined to seek certification for their customer service and support.

I believe that support should not be taken lightly and a vendor who has gone through the certification process and validated (on-going) is heavily committed to top-tier support. Anyway, just an FYI with that.

Key Points to Note

Vendors did NOT HAVE to be in FindAnLMS.com to be considered for any of my rankings or awards. While I want to have the best of the best on the free comparison site, it is not a requirement or plays any role in the decision-making process.

There is no pay-for-play here. No quid pro quo. There wasn’t any fee for submission, no fees for selection, zip, nada, nothing. This is an independent analysis with weights assigned to different areas and categories, as it has been done in the past.

The analysis covers 1,000 learning systems around the world. It may no difference whether a vendor was LXP or LMS or Learning Platform or TXP or Skills Platform or Whatever I want to call myself system.

Skill capabilities/functionality as a whole is still in the infant stage (across the industry). This will change by the end of the year, as many of the vendors in the rankings are adding more capabilities and functionality around it.

When reviewing these rankings, please be aware that I am looking at each of the systems, in a different way, or perspective than you might. Always do your due diligence. Always make sure the system you select, truly aligns with what you need and wish to accomplish.

Tap into FindAnLMS.com for additional comparisons and details with the vendors who are in the rankings, and in the platform. With the exception, of Pluralsight, I’m thrilled to announce that every other vendor in the rankings is on the platform. If a vendor has been certified by me, for customer support, it will be noted.

Ranking Factors

People always want to know what I am looking at or considering when I conduct my analysis.

What isn’t relevant

  • How many clients they have? Unless the numbers are going down, the total they have isn’t a factor. There are vendors who are very picky on who they want as a client, based on user size or industry, and then there are vendors that if you are breathing, they will take you as a client.
  • Sales numbers. The majority of the industry are private, and extracting sales data is always tricky. Yes, there are vendors who will tell me, their sales numbers for whatever their fiscal happens to be, but way more won’t. Ranges of sales is a common one to provide, but again, it is hard to validate. What I always find interesting is that a vendor won’t say their sales revenue numbers for the year but will espouse the percentages – an increase of 132%. To which I say, from what exact number? Anyway, not a factor.
  • Number of end users. Never relevant to me. If my target are clients under 900 employees, how can I honestly be compared to someone whose target are clients over 25,000? Number of end users makes fine marketing copy for a vendor and a press release. To me? Hey, happy for you, not relevant.
  • White papers, case studies any of that stuff. ZERO relevance. They are all marketing materials. Nobody is publishing a case study on some client that hates them or experienced ungodly misery.
  • How much money the vendor raised. Not relevant. Raising capital has nothing to do with actual sales data. Total projections here. And BTW, it doesn’t mean the vendor has a better system than someone who decides not to raise funds.

Relevant

  • UI/UX – Learner side – Always a huge role. If you are going customer education/learning the last thing you want is a dated front-end. That will land like a lead balloon. You have one chance to impress, never forget that. For the employee side, how easy is it to use and navigate? Does it have widgets/blocks of information that is essential or relevant to my job role or skills (if applicable)? What is the layout? Is it fluid or congested? The same applies to customers BTW. I did split the learner side based on whether I am an employee vs a customer and looked at those perspectives. They should be slightly different to be quite honest. I mean, do I need an assigned playlist, if I am selling courses to customers or clients? (The answer should be no).
  • UI/UX – Admin side. Very important. Again, how fluid is it? Can anyone figure out how to navigate to find and tap into key capabilities to enter, edit or delete information? Can metrics and data be accessed quickly and will it tell the story of the learning or training? Is it relevant or is it just buzz? How do I add content/courses? Do you offer batch (you want this) or not? Can someone with no background in L&D or Training, be able to use the system to identify key skill gaps or content that is relevant to whatever the target is? If your system is focused on customer learning/education, is the admin side designed for it or not?
  • Metrics and Reporting. Very relevant. It is all about the data, you need the right data to make an informed decision on the person’s learning or training for whatever. If it is customer learning – sales numbers are important to see, trend lines around which content is selling or isn’t very few vendors list the most popular or least popular courses/content (regardless of if it is B2B or employee) – vendors who offer that data are ahead of the game. Segmentation is important here as well. A single data point tells me what exactly? Slice and dice can provide further insight. Plus, never forget that some systems rely on the “tap to complete” as a key indicator for their A.I. to work but showing only what is completed on your metric side, isn’t as key, especially for customer education/learning. Completion tells only part of the story. I looked at any skills data, if it is tied to job role or not, what is being presented (if available).
  • NexGen – Relevant. Any vendor who tells you that playlists or content curation isn’t important, clearly is using Lycos as their search engine of choice.
  • Mobile. Relevant. I want systems that offer on/off synch with a native mobile app. And if they are in the customer ed/learning segment, can be white labeled for that client. Sadly, there are systems that still lack the first two items, and many in the customer ed segment lack the white label. One system that I really like, failed to crack the top two, due to the lack of a native mobile app, and on/off synch. It is 2022 people. What are you waiting for? 2040?
  • Overall functionality and capabilities – there are trends here. Some stuff is basic, forget password, for example, others a tad more complex – depending on the system – employee only focused, combo, or customer learning/Education – the functionality should align to that target audience. I am still stunned that there are vendors out there, who are not ADA508 or similar compliance in 2022. And yes, there is a vendor in the top 10, that isn’t. Thankfully it is on their roadmap for 2022.
  • Machine Learning – Vendors not just in our industry, but others push the system is using A.I., however that is somewhat misleading. It is machine learning based on an algorithm and a set of data it was trained with, and from which continues to be updated and enhanced with on-going data sets. It is only beneficial if the data is truly reflective of what it is outputting or focused on. I want to know what a vendor’s ML can do, and how it works in the system. Again, there are systems where you must complete any piece of content, in order for the recommended playlist to show recommended content – the algorithm presents this. But the data is skewed. Why? Because I am forced to complete the content, even if it is not relevant to me. One of my favorite systems does the complete it aspect. They know who they are – and are aware of my feelings around it.
  • Support/Service – Very relevant. A vendor is never going to tell you their support is awful, but I do know of vendors whose support is awful, so yeah, it weighs here.
  • Remote Workforce – This is a new aspect to the rankings, does the system truly align and offers the right capabilities for a remote workforce? For example, what impact does a VPN have on accessing the content in the learning system? What is the minimum browser(s) version and which ones will it work with? Vendors love to say browser agnostic, but trust me, nobody is accepting IE version 6 here. Nor does Opera or Brave work with every learning system. There are vendors, if you ask, that will tell you the minimum of Chrome for example that will work with the system.
  • Connections and Customization – How customized can the system go? I have no issue with a turnkey only, but there are vendors who can go full throttle. APIs should work without any problems. If a vendor offers Open ID, I think that is a plus.
  • Pricing. Yeah, this year, I weighed into. Vendors that had the “all-included” scored a bit higher in this category, than the buy this, then if you want that, buy this or that. You are not forced to use certain functionality, but you never know when you may want it. If a vendor is IMO, charging way above the average pricing, they lost a few points in this category. I based the pricing calculations on bands (which the majority of vendors use). Pricing Scale is via a range and identified as $-Low, $$-Avg $$$-Above Avg, $$$$-High) – Based on 2,500 active users, before any form of negotiations. I went with a benchmark on average pricing and hence the $$.

The Rankings

Because a mini report is going to be made available, this year’s blog post will contain less information about each system, than in the past. I decided on a PRO vs Weakness angle since systems are getting more ubiquitous than ever before.

Rankings go from #10 to #1. This year, there are two vendors who tied for #2.

Every vendor was given the option to provide screen shots.

#10 ACCESS LMS

Pros

  • System is designed specifically for the FS market. Compliance capabilities play a crucial role here, and the system taps into it.
  • Comes with a quiz game capability, that is engaging, interactive and fan to use and play tying in your own questions.
  • CPD is part of the mobile app, and a nice slection of content with curation capabilities
  • Renewed focus on their target which has resulted in an improvement to UI/UX for learners and administrators
  • Systems comes with content/courses for compliance in the FS space
  • Easy to use on the leaner side, Admin side is easy to use

Weaknesses

  • Late to the game with NexGen capabilities, still lacking
  • Metrics are sufficient for most, but it needs an advanced segmentation and data to levarege the full power of the system

Pricing Scale (Based on 2,500 users) – $$$

Access LMS is employee-focused system. If you have any of the other ACCESS solutions, it appears as part of your workspace.

Access competes well against SuccessFactors, SumTotal, Kallidus and Talent LMS.

#9 Docebo

Pros

  • The add-on Discovery, Coach and Share is well worth it – This is the “coaching”, “ask an expert/experts”, curation piece. You need to have Learn though, before you can purchase it.
  • Docebo Learn is the LMS. Very nice UI/UX on the learner side, pretty easy to navigate and figure out. The Admin side is more streamlined with groupings that make sense
  • Analytics and Metrics wise – the best option to go with is Learning Analytics (another add-on). Learning Impacts (Add-on) is far better than what you get out of the box with Docebo Learn, but LA takes it to a whole new level. You can also purchase LA as a standalone and tie it into your own LMS, I found that intriguing.
  • When you purchase Learn you receive “Content”. Content is Docebo’s third party marketplace, thru GO1. You – the client still needs to purchase the courses/content to use in the system if you choose this route. GO1’s most popular subscription is the “all you can eat model”, which means you pay per seat for the entire massive library
  • Docebo Learn is a full-functionality LMS, with some components of an LXP (and has been for a while). In my template they scored very high on the features tab. Skills are another matter.

Weaknesses

  • Docebo outsources some of their implementation/configuration to partners. I’m not a fan of outsourcing implementation/configuration simply because there is no transparency on the track record of the partners. If you purchase in Europe for example, you are sent to a partner in Europe. Fine. But when you have support issues who is going to resolve them? The partner or Docebo? Usually a partner will offer support for an additional fee. In the States, Bluewater is the partner you want; however, they are also a partner of Cornerstone, and thus, if you are deciding between Cornerstone and Docebo, Bluewater is contracted to be Cornerstone first partner.
  • The Admin side has been tweaked, but I feel it needs a refresh in terms of overall design – i.e. UI.
  • The metrics that come out of the box with Docebo Learn are, IMO, not that beneficial nor modern in terms of look. If you go with Learning Impacts, at least the data visualization looks far better and some of the data is quite beneficial. If I was Docebo, I’d sunset the metrics out of the box, and replace them with Learning Impacts.
  • The Suite is not all-included. Docebo Learn and Content is a bundle, and Discovery, Coach and Share is an add-on to Docebo Learn. Docebo Shape is very underwhelming – pass on it, Analytics, I already covered, and then there is Flow, which doesn’t make that much sense to me. Docebo also sells Connect, as an add-on to Learn. Connect allows you to create your own APIs – without programming langugage and create your own push/pull data sets. It has a nice UI/UX and flow, but it has a learning curve, and is pricey.
  • Docebo Skills is at a very early stage. They have skill ratings, and overall, based on my data sheet for skills scored 58%. That is higher than average, but surprisingly low for a system that is strong on the functionality side, scoring at 98%.
  • Mobile is so-so

Pricing Scale: This gets a bit tricky, because monthly active users’ model – which focus on the “up to” in your proposal. I admit I got confused briefly, and I know how the model works. If you purchase only Docebo Learn (which comes with Content – but still an additional cost) – $$ If you purchase Learn
+ Discovery, Coach and Share (which I recommend) – $$$. Docebo is a combo system. They compete well against SAP Litmos, Learn Upon, Talent LMS, SumTotal, and eloomi.

#8 Absorb LMS

For my analysis, I went with a few of their add-ons, which included Infuse, Engage and Analyze. The Create LI is their authoring tool, and while it will work for the vast majority, it isn’t a must need. It is far better, on the above avg side when comparing to other learning system vendors’ authoring tools. Absorb LMS is a combo system.

Pros

  • UI/UX on the learner and admin side is very fluid, easy to use, and robust. There is a lot of options on the administration side, and the home dashboard is tight. I like that I have some options there as well.
  • The catalog for learners is visual and sharp. Eye attention is clear, and types of courses are too.
  • As with many systems, you can change up the banner/header of the system.
  • The analytics you want is with Analyze. They will be far superior to what comes out of the box.
  • On my administrator and Learning Environment scales, they scored 100%
  • Absorb is a Certified Customer Support Vendor, the toughest certification program in the industry
  • Offers a 3rd party marketplace
  • Native apps for mobile with on/off synch and the ability to check bandwidth speed and make modifications (huge win)
  • I like that you can have multiple certificates per a course/content. This is not common in the industry but opens up a lot of options.
  • Compliance and Regulatory is quite good, including digital signature
  • E-Commerce and Multi-Tenant scored very high

Weaknesses

  • Content Curation and Digital Coaching are a work in progress
  • They scored around 50% for Machine Learning functionality and playlist capabilities – However a stronger and superior playlist capability (ies) are coming in mid 2022.
  • Analytics out of the box are underwhelming
  • This is a system that requires add-ons, rather than everything is included. I can see perhaps the advanced analytics being an add-on (the route many vendors are going), but Infuse, Engage and even Create should be part of the suite.
  • The front-end can be cumbersome with too much stuff, but again, you can remove what you want as the admin
  • On the skills tab side of things, Absorb slides into the majority of the industry – poor. However, they do have all of the skills validation capabilities – 100%, including a future tech one. So, kudos there. (I prefer the term validation to assessment).

Pricing Scale – If you go only with Absorb Learn – $$, if you go with what I analyzed – $$$; Absorb is a combo, they compete well against Docebo, SAP Litmos, Learn Upon, Meridian, and Axonify.

Roll the Scroll

#7 Pluralsight

This learning system breaks the rankings for the first time. It is 100% skills-based system around technical skills. I stress, this, only technical skills. There are learning system vendors who offer Pluralsight in their marketplace, which is odd, since it isn’t just content per se.

Pros

  • UI/UX on the learner side is fantastic. Easy to navigate, rich and luxurious is how I would describe it. Admin side, ditto.
  • Easy to see the experts you can select from, and other options such as boot camps, sims/sandboxes, and certification programs
  • From a technical skills platform only, they are by far the best
  • Compliance and Regulatory scored high, they lack digital signature in the platform
  • Certification Prep is awesome, so is the Inventory Activity. I can see each of these in a variety of learning systems.
  • Analytics are very strong. Top tier.
  • Native mobile app, on/off synch

Weaknesses

  • Skills specific functionality (based on my template) was well above average, but not the best, scoring 69%. Yet, for skills analytics they scored 100%, so there are hits, with some of the misses. Based on their roadmap, I do expect them to break into the upper 70’s to low 80’s by the end of the year.
  • Zero for Microsoft Teams (at the moment)
  • NexGen was solid, I was expecting better, especially around digital coaching – which has some power to it, just not all
  • Lacks video skills validation – which to me, seems would be a necessary feature benefit
  • Admin area needs to improve, way too many misses for a system such as this

Pricing Scale – $$$$ Pluralsight is a skills-based system focusing only on technical skills. While they slide heavy towards employees, I see them as a combo, with some clients.

Roll the Scroll (uh, you click) – Learner Home Page, Certification Prep Center, Inventory Activity

#6 Cornerstone LMS

This analysis is based solely on Cornerstone LMS and not on xPlor. The Cornerstone LMS is a full featured, very strong LMS that comes with content anytime (3rd party marketplace, but you purchase the “all you can consume plan”), a lot of NexGen functionality and top-tier skills capabilities.

Pros

  • #3 in NexGen Rankings for 2021
  • #1 Skills Management Learning System for 2021 – they Scored 87% the highest in the industry
  • Learning environment and Administration scored 100%
  • System offers native mobile apps with on/off synch and a nice set of capabilities
  • This is a very robust system – breaking with over 85% of my learning system template on the functionality side; 100% with vILT, Playlists, Curation to name just a few
  • The system really comes with the functionality of an LXP
  • Learner UI/UX has improved greatly, the best look in the system to date
  • You can go full customization here with the system – pretty much the sky is the limit – additional costs

Weaknesses

  • They outsource implementation and configuration to partners. Again, I wish they provided their clients a scorecard of data regarding each partner (I made the same argument with Docebo too). The best is Bluewater, who if you go with them, select their support instead of Cornerstone. Think this way, who is going to know your system inside and out? The partner who is configurating and implementing it or Cornerstone? The downside to partners is it is a mixed bag. Some are good, some are not, err so-so.
  • System needs a refresh on the admin side. While solid in some areas, needs improvement in others.
  • For a system that is strong with digital coaching and skills capabilities, it is befuddling that they are poor with video skills validation. While it is true, that the majority of vendors in the industry, lack these features, it is surprising nevertheless that a vendor such as Cornerstone is part of that group.
  • While they push the narrative of customer learning/education (using the legacy term extended enterprise), their messaging indicates something entirely else – employees specific. Especially when you push L&D as the key group.
  • Analytics – data visualization wise needs an overhaul. It just doesn’t align with the system in terms of look and feel. I understand why they went with xPlor, but to me, they should have focused first in this area or at least the revamp of the UI/UX on the admin side.
  • You cannot white label their mobile app

Pricing Scale: $$$ Cornerstone LMS is a combo, albeit heavily tilted towards employees. They compete well against, SuccessFactors, SumTotal, Gloat, EdCast TXP.

Roll the Scroll (Two versions of the Learner home page, you can create more: and one of the catalogs)

Top Five Learning Systems for 2022

#5 Schoox

A true TXP, combining talent development features with an LXP. They do offer basic level of e-commerce, which will suffice for some folks, but they plan to push further into e-commerce in 2022, thus making themselves a system that goes TXP with customer education/learning as an option. They have the multi-tenant capabilities.

  • Feature wise this is a very solid system, with a lot of functionality and capabilities
  • #8 NexGen Learning System for 2021
  • Scored 97% on my functionality scale, with perfect scores in Learning Environment and Administration, plus Manager and Instructor
  • Native mobile app with on/off synch
  • Certified in Customer Support
  • Nice analytics and metrics capabilities
  • Skills wise, the system landed with 64%, which is above average in the industry. They are targeting the upper 70’s, to low 80’s in 2022.

Weaknesses

  • Learner UI/UX and Admin UI/UX needs an overhaul. Schoox has recognized this and brought in new folks to update the system in 2022.
  • While 64% is nice, it is still a bit of a shocker for a vendor who prides themselves as skills-heavy focused – The biggest downer – Skills Playlists, and lack of digital coaching on the skills side
  • Lacks ADA508 or similar compliance. The good news is that in 2022 (by mid-year) they will be compliant, but still, why the wait?

Pricing Scale – $$$ Schoox is a TXP, which normally pushes employee-focused, but with the push more on the customer learning side, the system is now a combo. They compete heavily with Degreed (a TXP), EdCast TXP (a TXP) and Docebo.

Roll the Scroll

#4 Thought Industries

Thought Industries is a learning system focused heavily on customer learning/education. We are talking over 90% of their client base. As such, these systems tend to lack functionality you would see in systems that play heavy on the employee side, for example, workforce development and compliance and regulatory. Nevertheless, a CE/CL focused system should and must have functionality that cannot be found in a “combo” system.

Pros

  • #1 Customer Education/Learning System for 2021
  • Panoramas are fantastic, there is a lot you can do with each tenant that goes beyond what the majority of systems can do
  • Learner UI/UX is very good. Admin side is solid.
  • Scored in the high bracket for NexGen Learning Systems for 2021, I like that they are adding: AI in system can scan documents, courses, content, audio and video files and produce text results in a transcript or similar items, which is still lacking in the majority of the market.
  • One of the few vendors in the industry to have video skills validation with digital coaching and scenarios – While it is an add-on, I strongly recommend you buying it with the system. You can see picture in picture (in real time) with the coach and the customer; record via your mobile device, even record scenarios with your mobile too.
  • Robust yet easy to use learning system. For folks who are not experienced in Training or L&D, don’t fret – the system will be very effective for you. So, marketing and sales folks – this is a winner.
  • Metrics include a few tailored specifically for the customer learning side of the house
  • Customization is doable with this learning system
  • E-commerce is elite

Weaknesses

  • Lacks a native mobile app. It is on their roadmap for 2022, nevertheless it is by far the biggest miss in the system.
  • Admin metrics dashboard is really a nice touch, but it has limitations on what can be slid in there and selection options. While the majority of systems lack even these features, it was a surprise that there were not more options, and that it lacked a drag and drop mechanism (which is thankfully, appearing in many learning systems).
  • If you want skills capabilities, the customer learning/education focused market is at the infant stage (as are many learning systems that are combo and employee-focused). This is slowly changing in 2022, due to the competitive nature of running up against Combo systems.
  • With the lack of native mobile app, comes the inability to have white-label

Pricing Scale – $$ . They are one of only a few learning systems in the industry that focus solely on the customer education/learning market (aka B2B, extended enterprise). They compete well against Docebo (combo), Skill Jar (combo), Intellum (customer-focused) and Valamis (customer-focused).

Roll the Scroll

# 3 Learn Amp

Learn Amp is a complete learning system, there is no other way to say it. Okay, it has one miss (discussed shortly), but from an overall system standpoint it has quite a bit, from an LMS, to an LXP to skills capabilities that are above average in the industry.

Pros

  • Learner UI/UX is very good. They scored 100% on my learning environment and administration side. Easy to use, navigate and tap into for all learners.
  • Admin side – UI/UX is quite good too. Easy to figure out and choose.
  • #1 Learning System for mid-market (2,500 to 5,000) – referred to as mid-market Enterprise
  • #4 NexGen Learning System for 2021
  • Certified Customer Support by TCWG
  • Personalized recommendations based on an algorithm that does not require you to complete the content
  • 3rd party content marketplace
  • Analytics and metrics are solid – with key data that will help you make appropriate decisions around your learning
  • Includes multi-tenant capabilities

Weaknesses

  • Metrics need to have an advanced option – with stronger segmentation
  • Lacks a mobile app, although they have it on their roadmap for 2022
  • Skills capabilities are average, a work in progress, that should improve in 2022 – based on their roadmap
  • Lacks e-commerce, which is fine if they were only employee-focused, but they are a combo

Pricing Scale – $$ Learn Amp is a combo system. They compete well against, Docebo, SAP Litmos, THRIVE, eloomi and 360Learning.

#2 (A Tie)

EdCast TXP and Degreed

I’ve written a pretty extensive analysis between these two vendors, along with Fuse.

EdCast TXP will be presented first, followed by Degreed. I will try not to regurgitate the analysis above.

EdCast TXP Pros

  • #1 NexGen Learning System for 2021
  • #2 in Skills Capabilities with 77%
  • Very nice UI/UX on the Learner side and the Admin side
  • Includes quite a bit of LMS capabilities, including classroom management (it is an add-on, aka LMS Light).
  • Skills Studio is a plus – requires a learning curve, but once achieved will help administrators
  • Advanced Analytics exists – but it is an add-on cost (i.e. not included)
  • Analytics and metrics out of the box that comes with the system will be sufficient for most folks
  • Microsoft Teams capabilities are better than Microsoft Viva Learning – In fact, it is the best in the industry – i.e. EdCast’s MS Teams capabilities
  • Skills tied to job roles plays heavy here – will continue.
  • Skills Bookmarklets in your extensions bar is very impressive – best in the industry
  • Can heavily customize the system, far more than Degreed
  • Certified Customer Support

Weaknesses

  • System lacks on/off synch with their native mobile apps
  • Manager area is relatively weak, although many features are on the roadmap for 2022
  • Multi-tenant capabilities out of the box are on the roadmap for 2022
  • While I like the UI/UX on the system, I believe it needs a refresh for 2022

Pricing Scale – $$$$ – Not including any of the add-ons . EdCast TXP is employee-heavily focused. A combination of a talent development and LXP. They compete well against, Degreed, Fuse, Docebo, SumTotal.

Roll the Scroll

#2 Degreed

Total TXP here. Fun fact – they were the first LXP on the market, but they no longer call themselves that. They are another vendor that goes with some add-ons, which while a couple are understandable, one isn’t.

For in-depth analysis, please read the Battle 2.0 post.

Pros

  • Nice UI/UX on the learner side, admin side is good too
  • Skills capabilities scored #3 in the entire industry at 72%
  • First vendor to have skills ratings with skills levels
  • Analytics and metrics out of the box are a mixed bag – One screen is slick with the metrics that are relevant and key data; the other side is dated UI with some metrics of relevance
  • Robust system on NexGen capabilities
  • Offers the bookmarklet extensions
  • Guidebooks is a home run- best product add-on in learning system for 2021 (sadly it is an add-on, additional cost, that comes with Degreed Intelligence)
  • Opportunities tied to skills another winner (and yes, an add-on)

Weaknesses

  • Skills Coach as an add-on. Makes no sense. They slide it under Degreed Intelligence (add-on, which is quite nice, think advanced analytics), but Coach isn’t fully what I would think digital coaching is all about, and secondly, isn’t a fit for DI.
  • They need a refresh on the Learner UI/UX
  • For an “upskilling platform”, it is surprising to see they lack any video skills validation tied around digital coaching and scenarios, especially business scenarios – either as boot camps or sandbox. I’m not talking about technical skills here, rather, general business skills.
  • Recommendation engine is based on “complete” on any content. Thus, even if it isn’t relevant to you, but you click complete because it is assigned, it impacts the algorithm. This goes against why WBT – aka online learning was created in the first place.

Price Scale – $$$$ – And that is not including any of the add-ons; Degreed is a TXP. They compete well against Schoox, EdCast, Cornerstone.

Roll The Scroll

#1 Learning System for 2022

Fuse

Repeat here – but for some in-depth please read Battle 2.0

This is not a system for everyone. I say this because the entire approach is wrapped around communities and groups. Thus the UI/UX looks far different than what you usually see in a learning system. To me, this is truly a human-centric/focused learning system. Many systems pitch learner-centric, but they feel like you are in a lab or a museum, almost bland with some notable paint. The system has a lot of “on roadmap” for 2022 – track record for roadmap has been excellent.

Pros

  • #2 Learning System for NexGen 2021
  • #1 Learning System (5,000 to 10,000) Enterprise
  • Learner UI/UX overall is nice, needs a refresh which is on their roadmap for 2022
  • Analytics and metrics are the best in the industry (comes with the system) and provides the key indicators you will need for your learning and training. Data that matters from engagement to consumption.
  • Content curation is outstanding – scrolls the net to pull down free content that is relevant to your search, coming in 2022, you will be able to ask questions in your search – “What do I need to become a marketing professional?” – for example, and it produces specific to that question. Similar to what someone would ask when conducting a web search.
  • 66% for skills capabilities, way above the mark for the industry as a whole.
  • System has LXP functionality, with strong LMS capabilities.
  • Certified Customer Support from TCWG

Weaknesses

  • E-commerce, especially since Fuse is eyeing the customer education/learning market; Fuse does offer multi-tenant capabilities though.
  • As noted above, the UI/UX needs a refresh – but as noted above, it is on their roadmap for 2022.
  • Biggest minus – they only support SCORM 1.2. They need to add at least xAPI.
  • MS teams capabilities are lacking, but they are on the roadmap for 2022.

Pricing Scale – $$$ – Everything is included. Fuse is a combo. They compete well against, Degreed, EdCast TXP, Docebo.

Roll The Scroll

Bottom Line

There you go.

The Top 10 Learning Systems for 2022.

Don’t forget, that the min-report, a perfect addition to these ratings will be available next week. I will be listing the places you can purchase and download it from.

E-Learning 24/7

7 Apps Created By Black Developers Inspired By The Black Community

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7 Apps Created By Black Developers Inspired By The Black Community
Apps Created by Black Developers

This Black History Month, we’re celebrating Black-owned apps that support and elevate the African American community.

From an app that connects you to Black hair stylists to an investment app for kids, these innovative apps are useful for BIPOC individuals and allies, and also address issues that disproportionately affect the Black community. Taken together, the apps are proof that you can use coding to address systemic issues and make a difference.

Here are seven Black-owned apps that are inspiring us:

We Read Too

We Read Too App

Kaya Thomas wanted to make it easier for young people to find books written by people of color and featuring main characters and authors who look like her. So, she built We Read Too, a mobile database with hundreds of picture, chapter, middle grade, and young adult books.

Thomas has lots of professional experience developing apps (she worked as an iOS engineer at Calm and Slack, and has a degree in computer science from Dartmouth), but she clearly remembers the a-ha moment when the power of coding clicked. “Once I realized that anyone can create an app, it was a huge moment for me to understand that I can build real things that people can use and put it out for them to be able to access,” she told Apple.

“Technology can sometimes seem like such a black box, this magical thing,” Thomas said in the Apple interview. “But once the veil was ripped away, I realized I could build something that could potentially solve problems.”

Learning to code can be frustrating — here are some common obstacles that beginners encounter, with advice about how to overcome them.

Why we love it: There are more than 900 titles on We Read Too, but if you see one that’s missing, you can easily send suggestions through the app.

Download We Read Too from the App Store and Google Play.

EatOkra

EatOkra

In charge of picking the next restaurant for date night? Consider checking EatOkra, a database for Black-owned restaurants, cafes, food trucks, and eateries around the country. The app EatOkra was founded by Anthony and Janique Edwards, a couple who wanted to discover Black-own eateries in their own neighborhood in Brooklyn.

Edwards worked as a software developer and always wanted to build his own app. “But most importantly, I wanted to gain new skills for the next development job down the road,” Edwards told Travel Noire in June. “So what’s better than building a product that people are using?”

It took Edwards 14 months to build and launch the app, but word spread quickly about the app. In 2020, as people prioritized shopping at Black-owned businesses in the months following the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests, EatOkra saw a 4000% spike in users, the founders told MarketWatch. The app now has more than 400,000 users.

Why we love it: Beyond promoting brick-and-mortar restaurants, EatOkra also keeps you posted about local events, like Black food festivals, brunch parties, and grand openings.

Download EatOkra from the App Store and Google Play.

Liberate: Black Meditation App

Liberate: Black Meditation App

Listening to a guided meditation through an app is one of the easiest ways to learn how to meditate, but finding a platform or instructor that fits your specific goals and vibe can be a challenge. That’s why Julio Rivera created Liberate, a meditation app led by BIPOC teachers and designed for the Black experience.

Rivera, who identifies as Black and Latinx, was a computer programmer working at Priceline.com when he decided to expand on his knowledge and learn to build apps. “I self-taught myself how to build iPhone apps with the kind of background in programming,” Rivera told Remezcla. “It was pretty straightforward.”

As someone with an avid meditation practice, Rivera was eager to share the benefits of mindfulness with a broader community. “When I realized that there was not a lot of resources out there for folks of color, it was like, ‘Well, of course I can build something, and not only to help my own practice selfishly but the practice of others,’” he told Remezcla.

Why we love it: The meditation sessions on Liberate address nuanced issues related to race, like coping with microaggressions, healing from racial trauma, and finding community.

Download Liberate from the App Store and Google Play.

Goalsetter

Goalsetter App

Most 8-year-olds don’t ask their parents for investment accounts for their birthdays, but that’s exactly what Tanya Van Court’s daughter wanted for her 9th birthday.

The unconventional gift inspired Van Court to start Goalsetter, an app for kids that gamifies financial literacy. “In that moment, I knew that if I could get every Black child to say that, I could change the world for our community,” Van Court, who was formerly an exec at Nickelodeon, told BET.

As a Black woman in fintech, Van Court feels uniquely positioned to help educate the next generation of savers and ultimately close the racial wealth gap that persists between Black and white people in America. “[N]ever before in the history of America has there been a Black woman-owned tech and financial education company that is targeted at our children,” Van Court told AfroTech.

Why we love it: There’s a feature on the app called “Learn Before You Burn,” which freezes a kid’s debit card until they pass a (fun and meme-heavy) financial literacy quiz each week.

Download Goalsetter from the App Store and Google Play.

Kickstroid

Kickstroid App

If you’re a sneakerhead who’s constantly checking your social feeds for the latest trends and shoe news, take note: Kickstroid is a new app that uses artificial intelligence to help sneaker fans track shoe prices on the resale market, learn about sneaker culture, and follow favorite brands. David Alston and Nicco Adams, friends and self-proclaimed sneakerheads, built the app as students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

To the co-founders, the app’s mission goes deeper than their interest in fashion: “Sneaker culture is so rooted in Black culture and Black vision,” Alston, who has a computer science background, told InputMag. “Yet a lot of people on the technical side [of the sneaker industry] don’t look like us.”

Why we love it: Kickstroid hosts virtual sneaker battles on the app, where users share photos of their favorite kicks and vote on their favorites — but they’re surprisingly high-tech. “As each user votes on a picture, our AI-based sneaker detection algorithm scans each photo to identify the sneaker, break it down by its visual characteristics, and then use that information to help create personalized metrics for that user,” the co-founders told AfroTech.

Download Kickstroid from the App Store.

Official Black Wall Street

Official Black Wall Street App

Mandy Bowman used to keep a spreadsheet with a running list of Black-owned businesses — then she turned the directory into an app called Official Black Wall Street.

“The idea for the website came first, but I really wanted to get to the app,” Bowman, who worked in marketing and social media prior to starting Official Black Wall Street, told Essence. “I wanted to make the search as easy as possible, to the point where we can literally let people know, ‘Okay, there’s a business next to you right now that you should walk into.’”

Today, thousands of Black-owned businesses around the country (plus Canada, the Caribbean, and the United Kingdom) are listed on the app. Whether you’re looking for a gym or coffee shop to try, or need to find a doula or insurance agent, having Official Black Wall Street on-hand makes it way easier to buy Black.

Why we love it: In addition to brick-and-mortar shops, Official Black Wall Street also lists online shops so you can buy products straight through the app.

Download Official Black Wall Street from the App Store and Google Play.

Swivel

Swivel App

Longtime friends Jennifer Lambert and Jihan Thompson co-founded Swivel in 2016 after struggling to find local hair salons and stylists who specialize in working with textured hair. The app allows you to read reviews, book appointments, and pay for services directly through the app interface.

“Neither one of us knew how to code when we started, so that was our biggest initial technical hurdle,” Thompson, a former magazine editor, told Elle. Building an app was “a big challenge,” Lambert, who was a lawyer prior to Swivel, said in the Elle interview. “But…it’s been extremely rewarding to see what we’re capable of figuring out on our own.”  

Why we love it: You can search for hair salons based on the hairstyle and hair type. Before you book, the app also connects you to the stylist or salon’s Instagram, so you can be sure to do your research ahead of time.

Download Swivel from the App Store.

Feeling motivated to take the next step with your own app idea? Here are the best languages to learn for mobile app development. From there, check out our skill paths that teach you to make an app from start to finish, like Build iOS Apps with SwiftUI and Build Basic Android Apps with Java.


Mobile Development Courses & Tutorials | Codecademy

Every year more and more people rely on mobile devices to meet their needs. Where websites used to be the gold-standard, people now rely on mobile apps. The technologies used to create these apps are expanding and improving quickly, so it’s an exciting time to start learning Mobile Development!

“Why I Code”: The Black Developers Learning How To Build The Future

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“Why I Code”: The Black Developers Learning How To Build The Future
Black History Month: Why I Code

Everyone has a different path to coding. For some people, coding is an outlet to express yourself and be creative, while others seek out programming skills that will help increase their earning potential. And for many folks, coding is a tool that enables them to address problems and inequalities within their communities.

In honor of Black History Month, we’re celebrating the Black learners in our Codecademy community who are helping to shape a more diverse and inclusive tech industry. Here, a few of them share the reasons why they pursued coding, the advice that they wished they had when starting out, and the Black leaders in tech who are inspiring their journeys.

Samson R., front-end developer

Samson R. Front-End Developer

Why I code: “I am someone who can generate tons of ideas and wants to get started on everything. I started coding because I believe it allows me to pursue passion projects. Not having to look elsewhere for a coder saves both time and money, plus it means I can keep changing and redesigning as my idea develops.

“Outside of the implications of coding that look good on a resume, I think coding actually does boost my skills, which are actually useful to most jobs. Problem-solving and logic are the main two. Learning to code is like an exercise session for the ‘left’ side of my brain.”

What I wish I knew: “Like everyone else who started programming, the only thing I cared about was writing code. For me, coding was some kind of magic: You type something on a keyboard and a computer instantly shows your result on the screen. This magic started to come to the end when I began to face real-world problems. The number one thing I wish I knew was that programming is not about coding, programming is about solving problems with coding.”

Black programmer, technologist, or mentor who inspires me:Ivy Barley.”

Jalyn A., student

Jalyn A., Student

Why I code: “I started coding because I wanted to explore the different ways I could use technology to solve problems within my community. Technology is flexible, accessible, and powerful. Learning how to code opened the doors to an entirely new way of thinking and solving problems.”

What I wish I knew: “It is not as scary as you think it is. When I started learning to code from scratch, I was really scared and overwhelmed, because I knew absolutely nothing about coding and it looked really complicated. However, I realized that once I became familiar with how to code in different languages, everything was not as difficult as I originally thought it would be.”

Black programmer, technologist, or mentor who inspires me: Joy Buolamwini.”

Tyra C., front-end engineer

Tyra C., front-end engineer

Why I code: “I started coding because I wanted a career where I can express my creativity, be challenged, and where failure isn’t a bad thing.”

What I wish I knew: “It’s okay if you don’t land your first tech job in six months, it’s far more valuable to understand the programming fundamentals and principles, rather than tutorial hopping.”

Black programmer, technologist, or mentor who inspires me:Bukola on YouTube.”

Fialeta M., student

Fialeta M., student

What I wish I knew: “I wish I knew about better resources to learn how to code (like Codecademy!) and also about Black coding groups for support.”

Black programmer, technologist, or mentor who inspires me: “I see a lot of Black software engineers working at a FAANG [Facebook (Meta), Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Alphabet (Google)], company, and they inspire me to keep pushing towards my ultimate goal.”

Tiffani G., executive assistant

Tiffani G., executive assistant

Why I code: “I’ve always been interested in technology since I was little. My family says I could work the remote as a 1-year-old. When I found out that coding allows you to build apps and websites, I’ve wanted to learn. I took some coding courses in school but didn’t realize I could do that for a living.”

What I wish I knew: “Failing is okay, and in fact, encouraged. In school, it’s so taboo to get things wrong. You miss points and get bad grades when you fail. You don’t always get credit for trying. But in learning to code, it’s okay to fail, because in failing, you’re actually learning. And then you’ll fail less and less until you’re great at a concept or language. Then you can move on to the next thing and start failing your way to the top again!”

Black programmer, technologist, or mentor who inspires me: “I really look up to Jeremiah Peoples, Bree Hall of Bytes of Bree, and Nicole Young. Their YouTube channels have really helped me on my coding journey and they inspire me to keep learning.”

Donté L., product marketing for Codecademy

Donté L., product marketing for Codecademy

Why I code: “I wanted to increase my earning potential in the tech industry by learning increasingly desirable technical skills like HTML, JavaScript, and SQL. I also wanted the ability to build my own website and automate personal tasks, such as updating my personal budget.”

What I wish I knew: “There are multiple ways to achieve a result in the coding world. Different programming languages can be used to build a piece of software. It’s just a matter of personal preference (in the case of a professional job, it’s a matter of what the company uses).”

Black programmer, technologist, or mentor who inspires me: “Black women in tech inspire me the most. That includes people like Arlan Hamilton, who founded Backstage Capital, Morgan DeBaun, who founded the digital media company Blavity, and Kimberly Bryant, the founder of Black Girls Code.”

How To Land Your Dream Job As A Machine Learning Engineer

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How To Land Your Dream Job As A Machine Learning Engineer

People with machine learning skills are in high demand. According to Forbes, the global market for Machine Learning Engineer jobs is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 42.8%. And that’s no surprise because machine learning is now used in nearly every industry — from healthcare to agriculture to energy.

If you’re excited about artificial intelligence, algorithms, coding, data, and automation, a career in machine learning could be the right fit for you. It could also give you an average salary of $114,579, a figure that’s expected to increase by 13% by 2026.

So it should come as no surprise that there can be a lot of competition if you’re trying to land a job as a Machine Learning Engineer. The good news is that, while there’s no singular path to getting hired, there are a few tried and true ways to increase your chances of landing your dream job in this exciting field.

First, narrow down the industry you want to work in

As a Machine Learning Engineer, you can take your pick as far as which industry to work in — machine learning is used in finance, manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, food and beverage, advertising, energy, and automotive just to name a few. So we suggest focusing your job search on one or two sectors that you’re really interested in.

For example, if you’re a career changer who worked as a bank teller, you might consider looking for a position with a finance company. Your background could bring a unique perspective to the company, and give you an advantage during the interview process.

While you’re narrowing down which industry you want to work in, you’ll also want to consider the size of the companies you’re looking at. Larger companies may have more opportunities for advancement, but you may have a narrow scope of responsibilities. At small-to-midsize companies, you may have more responsibility, which has its own pros and cons.

Learn, learn, learn

Machine Learning Engineers have a particular set of skills, no matter which industry you decide to work in. And the competition is high, so you really have to know your stuff to land a job.

In addition to knowing a handful of programming languages — Python being the most popular language for machine learning — you’ll want to focus your learning on basic computer science principles. You should have a strong grasp of algorithms and data structures, data visualization, statistical modeling, quantitative analysis, and cloud computing.

Other programming languages and some typical tools you’ll see listed on machine learning job descriptions include R, C++, Java, TensorFlow, Pytorch, Scikit-learn, NumPy, Pandas, Apache Spark, and OpenCV.

Each company will have its own requirements, but to prepare for a career in machine learning, you can brush up on or learn new skills you frequently see in job posts.

Get experience

Once you feel confident in the basics, you can look for ways other than a full-time job to gain experience. This might look like a personal project, freelance gig, or volunteer work.

Don’t worry if you can’t find a project or volunteer work that specifically involves machine learning. Can you find a company looking for a Python programmer for 10 hours a week? Great — that’s real-life coding experience that will get you one step closer to a full-time role.

Build a strong portfolio

Creating a portfolio that showcases all of your best work is one of the most productive things you can do to increase your chances of getting hired for any technical position. It’s how you’ll grab the attention of the hiring manager and prove you can do the job they’re looking to fill.

Your portfolio should include sample projects as well as a GitHub profile containing all the code you wrote over the past several months. If you’re looking for project ideas or ways to add work to your portfolio, a number of our Skill Paths have portfolio projects built into the curriculum, like Analyze Data with Python and Build Deep Learning Models with TensorFlow.

One bonus of building a robust portfolio is that you gain a lot of experience while working on all the projects you include in your portfolio. Also, your portfolio will include a lot of the same information that you’ll put on your resume, so spending some extra time on your portfolio will probably make building your resume a bit easier.

Prepare for the interview process

Being prepared for each step of the interview process is crucial. It’ll usually kick off with a phone screening where you should be prepared to answer why you’re interested in the position, as well as questions about your background and your familiarity with certain tools you’d use on the job. If this screening goes well, the next step is oftentimes a technical interview.

Technical interviews are more in depth, and you’ll be asked a variety of questions related to machine learning, as well as other technical and behavioral questions.

A few tips for the technical interview:

  • You’ll most likely be given a challenging scenario during the interview and asked how you’d approach it. They may ask about how you would preprocess, augment, and acquire data. You may also be asked to execute the code on a computer or given a whiteboard or sheet of paper. So you might want to practice hand-writing code to be prepared for different scenarios.
  • You should expect to be asked to solve a larger technical task. This might be something you’d do over a day or two and turn back in. Before turning in your code, write a short report that outlines the steps you took to solve the problem. Clarify which code you wrote and which code you copied and pasted, and be sure to add functionality to the code you pasted into your project.

Hiring managers expect you to use some existing code but also want you to demonstrate what else you can do. Don’t forget to include tests for the code you wrote.

  • There’s always a chance that you won’t know the answer to a question. Prepare for how you’ll respond if you don’t know, and don’t let that influence the rest of your interview.

One way to respond to questions you don’t know the answer to is to explain how you would find the answer. Discuss what resources you might use and your general approach to dealing with knowledge gaps.

Getting a job as a Machine Learning Engineer is an involved process that requires a chunk of time, but it’s worth it! Not only is your earning potential high, but you also have the option to work in a lot of different industries on a variety of challenging and interesting problems.

Interested in going down this path? Check out some of Codecademy’s machine learning courses and brush up on your skills.  


Machine Learning Courses & Tutorials | Codecademy

Machine Learning is an increasingly hot field of data science dedicated to enabling computers to learn from data. From spam filtering in social networks to computer vision for self-driving cars, the potential applications of Machine Learning are vast.

Python Courses & Tutorials | Codecademy

Python is a general-purpose, versatile, and powerful programming language. It’s a great first language because it’s concise and easy to read. Whatever you want to do, Python can do it. From web development to machine learning to data science, Python is the language for you.

Free February 2022 Wallpaper & Instagram quote

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Free February 2022 Wallpaper & Instagram quote

Free February 2021 Wallpaper & Instagram quote

Our Free February 2022 wallpaper is here!

Love is in the air again! Decorate your computer (or phone!) screen with red rose petals and instantly change the mood into a more romantic and mysterious one. There were lots of bright wallpapers recently, so it is all about dark and bold colors this month.

Each wallpaper download from February 2022 include:

  • Desktop wallpaper x3 (plain, with the calendar, and with a quote)
  • Phone wallpaper x2 (plain and with a quote)
  • Tablet wallpaper
  • Instagram ready quote

As always, our February free wallpaper comes with two different mobile phone layouts. They are great to use at once – the simple version for your phone background and the one with a quote for the lock screen.


Quote for February 2022

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that this month’s quote is about love. I didn’t want it to be romantic, so I picked something with a positive message for all of you. Let it be a small reminder for you every day!

Let all that you do be done in love - february instagram quote

Let all that you do be done in love

P.S the square image is also included in the download package below! Feel free to post it on your Instagram.


Looking for more? Check our previous wallpapers!

The free download includes three desktop options – one with the calendar and one without the calendar, and one with a quote. There is also a wallpaper for tablets and two options for the phone. We have also included an Instagram-ready square with the weekly quote.

FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.

NOTE: this template is available as a free download through February 28, 2022 only. After that, a $5 download fee applies.


What font is it?

If you are curious what font has been used this month, let me help! Aurora Script comes in two different styles and will be perfect for all more elegant crafts and designs.

If you are looking for some new fonts for your collection, make sure to check 8 Trendy Modern Calligraphy Fonts You Must Know.


Your voice matters!

If you have your favorite quotes and would like them to appear on the next free wallpaper, make sure to post them in the comments below or send us your ideas via email.

Enjoy!


P.S This post includes affiliate links so by clicking them you are supporting us. Thanks!

Smart Watch

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Word of the Day: luminous

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This word has appeared in 133 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence?

How Much Do You Know About Haiti?

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How Much Do You Know About Haiti?

Can you find Haiti on a map? What else do you know about this Caribbean island nation with about 11 million people?

What’s Going On in This Picture? | Jan. 31, 2022

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Look closely at this image, stripped of its caption, and join the moderated conversation about what you and other students see.

By embracing three key mindsets, Kennedy channeled his passion for AI and learning into a successful career

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By embracing three key mindsets, Kennedy channeled his passion for AI and learning into a successful career

Meet Kennedy, a 24-year-old data professional and tech community builder. After getting his first taste of artificial intelligence (AI) four years ago in Kenya, he started learning on Coursera before putting his skills to work for companies like NVIDIA and NCBA Bank. Now, he’s a rising leader in developer communities in sub-Saharan Africa, championing better representation of Black people in tech industries and empowering future African AI talent. 

We loved learning about Kennedy’s career journey and valuable advice he shared about three mindsets that helped him along the way. You can learn more in the interview below.

Thanks for taking the time to speak with us, Kennedy. From starting out in online learning, to directing AI developers, you’ve achieved some amazing accomplishments. If you had to give advice to learners early on in their career journey, what would it be?

Thank you! To learners just starting out, I’d say: be different, build a solid portfolio of practical solutions, and keep solving more and more complex projects. In fact, become so good at your projects, you make them your credentials! 

That’s great advice. Do you have a certain mindset in approaching your projects and goals?

Definitely. I actually think the best advice I’d give is to embrace three key mindsets: the learning mindset, the focused mindset, and the self-trust mindset.

Can you tell us more about these three mindsets you’ve found to be helpful and why—starting with the first “learning mindset”?

Of course. For the learning mindset, it’s all about becoming a life-long learner and staying relevant. It’s important to adapt to changes in your desired field, and remain agile and flexible to tap into unique opportunities. My recommendation is to be constantly building up your knowledge and expertise at any chance you can.

For my own learning, online courses have been a wonderful place to learn specific skills I’ve been able to apply in job roles and community work. For instance, after completing the Deep Learning Specialization, I developed a deeper understanding of neural networks, machine learning concepts, workflows, and algorithms. In the Deeplearning.AI program, I had an opportunity to gain practical experience, but also build relationships with peers and learn from them. And in completing the Machine Learning Engineering for Production (MLOps) Specialization, I learned how to operationalize and scale leading-edge AI technologies—going on to use that knowledge to solve real-world problems while working at Xetova.

Outside of coursework, I’ve been able to share the experience of learning with others by setting up a Deeplearning.AI Nairobi Community. We all share ideas, collaborate, and build innovatively together—which energizes me for advocating for accessible AI Education across Africa. My peers actually started nicknaming me “The Data Captain from Africa,” and I couldn’t be more humbled.

Learning is so important for growth—and involves a lot of self-discipline. Which leads us to the next mindset, the “focused mindset.” What does this mean to you, and how do you find focus?

The focused mindset is all about maintaining high levels of discipline, dedication, and patience along your journey. I’ve found that motivation is key to navigating the complexity of a subject and not getting disheartened by the wealth of information. You’ll also need to build discipline so that you will continue working after the motivation goes away. It’s important to be dedicated and have patience with yourself.

To make real progress in machine learning, I realized it was important to be mindful of not becoming swayed by overly trendy ideas or hype, and not getting burdened with projects springing up around these two things. Instead, it’s critical to remember to stay motivated and focused toward your goal, and continue to augment your skills.

Also, before enrolling in any course, I always consider whether the specific program will help me achieve my objectives. Analyzing and evaluating this by using metrics can be very helpful, and keeps me focused. For example, metrics I typically tend to use are: industry-ready curriculum, affordability, highly practical sessions, mentorship support, and type of instructor.

Developing the ability to focus is an invaluable skill. In terms of the last mindset, the “self-trust mindset,” why is it important to be able to trust yourself, and how did you learn to do this?

Yes, so with the self-trust mindset, it’s pretty straightforward: you’ve got to be able to trust yourself if you want to achieve your goals. Be courageous enough to follow your passions aggressively, and believe in your capabilities to evolve and grow. Don’t give up on the things you believe in and want to achieve.

One way I started believing in my capabilities is my experience taking the Online Community Leadership course. By complementing my other technical skills with leadership skills, I’ve become an impactful AI and tech community builder, have been able to amplify community work, and contribute to the Deeplearning.AI Coursera Community, where I can mentor the next generation of the global machine learning community.

Growing my leadership abilities has helped me empower, support, and strengthen the professional development of new African AI talent by connecting with the community—whether by participating in interviews and thought leadership AI talks on television, radio, print media, in policy debates, webinars, or LinkedIn.

Remember: skills and learning material alone don’t make you successful. Instead, it’s on you to prove to yourself that what you’ve learned is valuable and beneficial to what you want to accomplish. For me, it’s solving existing problems in the community and seeing the positive impact I’ve helped make—from machine translation projects for Kenyan languages (Kikuyu and Kiswahili languages as part of the Masakhane Community) to using AI to solve pressing problems in the supply chain field.

All three of these mindsets sound extremely helpful for navigating a career. For our last question: What are your personal and career goals for the future?

A few of my goals include: becoming fluent in Spanish and French; furthering my academics; owning a house, new car, and becoming debt-free; transitioning into an executive position at a Fortune 500 company; and building a successful AI startup and solve problems in agriculture and finance. 

Lastly, my long-term goal is to become a subject matter expert in machine learning engineering, time series, data visualization, and storytelling. I want to become the go-to person for anytime that data holds the key to solving a problem—however esoteric, complex, unreal, or challenging it may be.

Thanks so much, Kennedy! 

We hope you enjoyed hearing from Kennedy as much as we did. Interested in learning more about data science and AI? Here’s a list of courses Kennedy has taken:

  1. Natural Language Processing Specialization by DeepLearning.AI
  2. Advanced Machine Learning Specialization by HSE University
  3. Advanced Machine Learning on Google Cloud Specialization by Google Cloud
  4. Deep Learning Specialization by DeepLearning.AI
  5. Business Analytics Specialization by the University of Pennsylvania
  6. AI for Medicine Specialization by DeepLearning.AI
  7. DeepLearning.AI TensorFlow Developer Professional Certificate by DeepLearning.AI
  8. Mathematics for Machine Learning Specialization by Imperial College London
  9. Machine Learning Engineering for Production (MLOPs) Specialization by DeepLearning.AI
  10. Data Visualization with Tableau Specialization by the University of California, Davis
  11. Applied Data Science with Python Specialization by the University of Michigan
  12. Career Success Specialization by the University of California, Irvine 
  13. IBM Data Science Professional Certificate by IBM
  14. Project Management Principles and Practices Specialization by the University of California, Irvine
  15. Tensorflow: Data and Deployment Specialization by DeepLearning.AI