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Are You Growing Tired of Superhero Movies?

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Are You Growing Tired of Superhero Movies?

Are you a fan of comic books and superhero movies? Have you seen every film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Do you eagerly mark your calendar when the latest release date is announced? Or are you growing a little tired of the genre?

In “Is This the Endgame for the Age of Heroes?” Maya Phillips writes:

At the center of 2023’s “The Marvels” is Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Captain Marvel, who, if you’ll recall from the 2019 film “Captain Marvel,” destroyed the all-powerful A.I. leading the Kree empire. Joining Carol Danvers is Monica Rambeau, a.k.a. Photon a.k.a. Pulsar a.k.a. Spectrum, who was first introduced in “Captain Marvel,” then later featured in the Disney+ series “WandaVision,” where she was granted superpowers after an encounter with reality-altering witches. And joining these two Marvels is the teenage New Jersey native Kamala Khan, a.k.a. the titular character of the Disney+ series “Ms. Marvel.”

That’s a lot to take in, which is why the first few minutes of “The Marvels” is just a series of flashbacks designed to catch the audience up before the action even begins. Even for dedicated fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the amount of prerequisite knowledge required to watch any M.C.U. movie or show nowadays is tantamount to a college course.

And it seems like audiences are tiring of the constant homework assignments. A year of diminishing box office returns is more proof that the casual superhero moviegoer is becoming more and more of a rarity given how much is being asked of them, which is full, multiplatform investment.

These franchises are spelling their own downfalls, as the price of entry into the fandoms has become frustratingly high for the dedicated disciples of these worlds, and not at all worth it for casual viewers or prospective new fans. This year has been a prime example of what happens when a pop-culture movement takes hold of an industry and then overreaches. We’re witnessing Ragnarok.

Ms. Phillips continues:

The franchises continue to risk fatiguing their current fans and alienating potential ones. More stand-alone films, more inventiveness, more diversions from the grand plots and cookie-cutter setups would give these stories and their fans room to explore, but instead we’re stuck in a cycle of ever-expanding multiverses, narratives and timelines that even the best S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would find impossible to keep straight.

She concludes:

Superhero movies changed the industry. No matter what you think about them as art, the upswing of these comic book stories from the margins to the drivers of popular culture was swift and remarkable. But now these Clark Kents and Bruce Waynes and Rocket Raccoons and various Marvels risk orchestrating the end of this Age of Heroes.

But like in every superhero movie, there’s hope yet: Stories that end. Characters who die. Universes where the stakes are real and cameos and meta-commentaries aren’t just crutches to bait audiences. Stories that don’t cling to a crumbling concept but perhaps start fresh in another corner of the universe.

Superhero movies used to be super. The heroes are still as strong as before. They just need the movies to match.

Students, read the entire article and then tell us:

  • Would you say you are just as big a fan now as ever? Or are you growing tired of these mega-budget action films? Are the newest movie releases feeling stale, as if they were made on an assembly line? Or are they just plain confusing? Do you agree with Ms. Phillips that we might be approaching the end of the age of superhero movies? Why or why not?

  • Ms. Phillips writes, “This year has been a prime example of what happens when a pop-culture movement takes hold of an industry and then overreaches.” Do you agree? What did you think of the latest batch of superhero offerings like “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” “The Flash,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” or “The Marvels”? Are they as good as previous franchise efforts?

  • What do you think of Ms. Phillips’s recommendation for “more stand-alone films, more inventiveness, more diversions from the grand plots and cookie-cutter setups”? Do you think those changes would help break the cycle of exhaustion — for both filmmakers and audiences?

  • If you were asked by Marvel or another movie company to help revitalize the superhero film genre, what ideas would you pitch?

Word of the Day: orotund

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Word of the Day: orotund

The word orotund has appeared in four articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Aug. 28 in “Zadie Smith Makes 1860s London Feel Alive, and Recognizable” by Karan Mahajan:

More so than any other novel Smith has written, this is a book about novelists, and it is in lambasting the egos of male writers that Smith has the most fun. “God preserve me from that tragic indulgence, that useless vanity, that blindness!” Touchet thinks, years before she takes the plunge into novel-writing herself. While discussing Dickens with Ainsworth, she exclaims: “Oh, what does it matter what that man thinks of anything? He’s a novelist!” One of her cousin’s orotund historical fictions about the court of Queen Anne is described as being “almost as dull as the reign of Queen Anne itself.”

Can you correctly use the word orotund in a sentence?

Based on the definition and example provided, write a sentence using today’s Word of the Day and share it as a comment on this article. It is most important that your sentence makes sense and demonstrates that you understand the word’s definition, but we also encourage you to be creative and have fun.

If you want a better idea of how orotund can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com. You can also visit this guide to learn how to use IPA symbols to show how different words are pronounced.

If you enjoy this daily challenge, try our vocabulary quizzes.

Students ages 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, can comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff.

The Word of the Day is provided by Vocabulary.com. Learn more and see usage examples across a range of subjects in the Vocabulary.com Dictionary. See every Word of the Day in this column.

What should you earn: a certificate or a degree?

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What should you earn: a certificate or a degree?

Chances are, you’ve come across a job posting (or two) that requires a bachelor’s degree, even if the responsibilities don’t align with that kind of education. That’s because employers typically set the standards around credentials. “Jobs do not require four-year degrees,” Harvard Business School summarized in a recent report. “Employers do.”

Part of that preference has to do with the fact that companies with an educated workforce tend to have higher rates of productivity, per the Economic Policy Institute. But when the average job posting receives around 118 applicants, a degree can also be a way to narrow the applicant pool. It becomes a kind of shorthand. Manjari Raman, program director of Harvard Business School’s Managing the Future of Work, told BBC that “many companies [have taken] the easy route of using the four-year college degree as a proxy” for a particular ability or skill set.

However, we’ve started to see things change. Chalk it up to the growth of data-driven business models or the exciting opportunities bound up in AI, but what companies need from their workforce has been shifting—and often, they can’t find the skilled employees they most need. In fact, the World Economic Forum estimated that reskilling and upskilling will be crucial to ensure workers have key skills. And we’re not just talking about technical skills. Workplace skills, like analytical thinking, remain incredibly important.

To address that problem, more employers have chosen to drop bachelor’s degree requirements, according to The Burning Glass Institute, which gets us to a very important question.

When you’re looking to either begin a career or pivot to a new one, what is your best option: a Professional Certificate or a degree?

Let’s be clear about one thing: You can’t go wrong either way. Ultimately, the answer depends on your short-term and long-term career goals.

Understanding what you want now and what you’ll want later is key. There’s education to meet you where you are. You can find short-term programs, like Professional Certificates, to help you acquire skills quickly. But if you eventually want to advance in your career, what will you need in order to do that? Zooming out and looking a few years ahead can be a great thought experiment to help you make your choice.

Here’s where some light research can be really helpful. Once you have some idea about your immediate and eventual career goals, take time to review job postings for job titles associated with each level: entry-level, associate, mid, and senior. What are the education and credential requirements? If you can, dig a bit deeper: Try to find people who are farther along in the same career and look at their education path through their LinkedIn profile. If possible, seek out informational interviews. Typically, these help you understand a particular role, but you can also ask about the person’s educational path to understand if it might make sense for you.

Professional Certificates vs. degrees

When you have a better idea about the overall credentials you’ll need, reflect on what you need right away and what you may need eventually. Compared with degrees, Professional Certificates don’t take as long to complete, often cost much less, and emphasize technical skills development above all else. In fact, they’re pretty much designed to help you pursue specific roles in months rather than years.

When you’re just getting started in the workforce, a Professional Certificate can be a great way to develop key skills to do the job you’re most interested in pursuing. Or when you’ve already earned your bachelor’s degree and come to realize that your heart lies in a different kind of work, a Professional Certificate can be a great opportunity to reskill in a timelier fashion than pursuing a master’s degree.

Both bachelor’s and master’s degrees take more time to earn compared to Professional Certificates, and they’re also significantly more expensive. Yet, degrees can be worth it. They deepen your subject knowledge, add to your skill set, and are often designed to develop well-rounded graduates who are able to think critically and creatively about the world around them—abilities that rank among the most important for workers to have, according to the World Economic Forum.

There’s also a wealth of evidence out there that any kind of degree raises salary levels and lowers unemployment risk compared to high school diplomas. What’s more, even though entry-level roles may be dropping bachelor’s degree requirements, you may eventually need a degree to advance in your career.

Now that we’ve covered some of the fundamental differences between Professional Certificates and degrees, where’s the best starting point for you?

The answer may lie in beginning with a short-term program, like a Professional Certificate, to build the skills you need now, before eventually returning to pursue a longer-term program, like a degree, when you have the time and want to keep advancing your education. On Coursera, you’ll find both options.

“Professional Certificates are perfect for breaking into a new field. You quickly learn job-relevant skills from the best in the industry and earn a meaningful credential that helps one in four completers get a new job,” says Marni Baker Stein, Chief Content Officer at Coursera. “While Professional Certificates are great to get your foot in the door, a degree is what often unlocks opportunities for advancement. Before you take the leap and apply: see if you can get college credit for that prior learning, and take an open degree course so that you can see exactly what the experience is like.”

There are also a growing number of performance-based online master’s degrees on Coursera, which offer admission based on your ability to pass three pathway courses in a relevant subject. These can be a great option if you have significant experience or training in a tech-heavy field. “Getting admitted to the program in that way, it’s really innovative,” said Atahan Ünal, a student at University of Colorado Boulder.

Deciding what kind of education you should pursue is a matter of weighing your short-term goals versus your long-term goals. We’re at a point in time when education is rising to meet you where you are, rather than asking you to fit a predetermined mold. No matter which direction you ultimately go in, education of any sort holds weight. So where will you go next?

More resources

Start making your career moves with a Professional Certificate. Learn from industry leaders like Google, Microsoft, and IBM to prepare for your career in data analysis, cybersecurity, web development, marketing, and more.

Learn more about affordable degrees on Coursera. Learn from world-class faculty and earn a degree for less than $20,000 USD—all completely online, no application required.

Explore open degree courses in business, data science, and computer science to see if an online degree is right for you, and hear from more current degree students working toward their dreams, one course at a time: Stanislav Liashkov, SeungGeon Kim, Kaushik Muthyalu, and Hubert Abiera.

What’s Going On in This Picture? | Jan. 22, 2024

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What’s Going On in This Picture? | Jan. 22, 2024

1. After looking closely at the image above (or at the full-size image), think about these three questions:

2. Next, join the conversation by clicking on the comment button and posting in the box that opens on the right. (Students 13 and older are invited to comment, although teachers of younger students are welcome to post what their students have to say.)

3. After you have posted, try reading back to see what others have said, then respond to someone else by posting another comment. Use the “Reply” button or the @ symbol to address that student directly.

Each Monday, our collaborator, Visual Thinking Strategies, will facilitate a discussion from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern time by paraphrasing comments and linking to responses to help students’ understanding go deeper. You might use their responses as models for your own.

4. On Thursday afternoons, we will reveal at the bottom of this post more information about the photo. How does reading the caption and learning its back story help you see the image differently?

We’ll post more information here on the afternoon of Thursday, Jan. 25. Stay tuned!

More?

• See all images in this series or slide shows of 40 of our favorite images — or 40 more.

• Learn more about this feature in this video, and discover how and why other teachers are using it in their classrooms in our on-demand webinar.

• Find out how teachers can be trained in the Visual Thinking Strategies facilitation method.

Students 13 and older in the United States and the Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Here’s How to Make Your Desk Setup a Little Cozier This Winter 

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Here’s How to Make Your Desk Setup a Little Cozier This Winter 

There’s a particular moment during the workday that people working from home dread: when the sun begins to set in the late afternoon, and only the glow of the computer monitor lights the room. The solution, of course, is to flip on the overhead light, but that doesn’t necessarily make the feelings of malaise dissipate.

Working or learning from home in the depths of winter can be downright dreary. From premature darkness to drops in temperature, there are plenty of ways the season brings you down. But there are even more ways to mitigate the effects of the winter doldrums.

Whether you’re a full-time dev or a code enthusiast, you’re going to be spending a lot of time at your computer. It’s worth it to make your workspace more than just functional, but comfortable and welcoming, too. With a few thoughtful swaps, your home office setup can become a space of warmth and creativity. Ahead, find six tips for making your desk a bit more cozy this year.

Consider rearranging the room

Person learning to code at a desk facing the sunny window with a plant

When it comes to sprucing up your home office, there’s a lot of conventional wisdom to go around, like investing in a comfortable chair and making sure your monitor and keyboard are at the correct ergonomic heights. But a winter redo requires special attention to light. Before you get a crash course in artificial light, try your best to maximize daylight. 

“If you can, place your desk near a window,” says Tara Bellucci, an interior design editor who’s worked from home for over a decade. “Any sunlight you can get helps a ton.” 

This might mean rearranging the layout of your home office, or simply moving your desk closer to a source of natural light. According to research from the National Institutes of Health, a lack of sunlight can impair cognitive function and have a negative impact on mood. An important first step toward remedying a gloomy desk setup is ensuring there’s some sunlight streaming in.

Get strategic with lighting

Aside from incorporating sunlight into your office, strategically installing artificial light can boost your mood. You don’t have to go full Twitch streamer and spend hundreds of dollars on hexagonal LED panels to make a difference — even swapping lightbulbs can do the trick.

“Incorporate bright bulbs, preferably LED bulbs with a color temperature of 5000K,” says Dara Greaney, the founder and CEO of LEDLightExpert.com. “This provides a clear and vibrant illumination but also mirrors the effects of natural daylight.”

Artificial light that mimics daylight, or blue light, is effective at combating depression symptoms, according to Ambience Design Group. You can take things a step beyond the average lightbulb, too.

Teenagers wearing headphones learning to code at a desk with LED lightstrip

“The biggest difference I’ve made to my WFH desk setup is installing the BenQ light bar at the top of my monitor,” explains Vivianne Chow, interior decorator and founder of the home decor blog VivandTimHome.com. “You’re able to control the color temperature and brightness of the light and I always keep my BenQ light at a warm color temperature setting. This helps create a cozy and warm atmosphere during the wintertime while creating functional task lighting for your desk.”

More traditional task lighting can also up the coziness factor. A small lamp with a funky shade or an old-fashioned desk lamp could foster the warm, vintage vibes you’re after. (My cozy desk lamp of choice is a banker’s lamp with a green shade.)

Invest in a SAD lamp

SAD, or seasonal affective disorder, is a type of depression that develops during the change in seasons, typically during winter months. According to the American Psychiatric Association, this diagnosis goes beyond a case of the winter blues, as symptoms can interfere with daily functioning. While antidepressants and talk therapy are proven to help, light therapy can also be an effective treatment for some. If you’re concerned you’re suffering from SAD, you should talk to your doctor. They might recommend investing in a SAD lamp, a light box that emits a very bright light to replicate sunlight.

I recently put a Verilux HappyLight at one corner of my desk. I turn it on first thing in the morning to signal to my brain that it is, indeed, the start of the day. The idea is that the bright light snaps my circadian rhythms into sync, boosts my mood, and increases my energy. I’m actually typing these words beside the bright glow of my light box, and it feels energizing.

Put something that brings joy directly in front of you

Woman learning to code at her home desk decorated with blankets and plants

Minimal desk setups are undoubtedly sleek, but on a dark winter’s day, they may not bring you the good cheer you need. Consider shaking up the streamlined look with accessories that bring you joy.

“At my previous apartment, my desk was tucked into an exposed brick nook, so I decorated the wall with photos of friends and family clipped to string lights,” Bellccui says. Maybe you add a rubber duck, a badge from a hackathon, a custom keycap on your mechanical keyboard, or the first Codecademy certificate you earned as a visible reminder of your progress.

For my own desk—a Danish mid-century modern piece—I purchased a clear plastic mat to protect the wood from scratches and stains. Then, to liven things up, I placed photos and mementos under the mat which I can see while I’m working. Photos of my grandparents, postcards, coasters, and a bingo card imbue personality (and joy!) into my WFH setup. The scrapbook-style display is anything but minimalist, and it’s made winter a smidge more bearable so far.

Step out of your comfort zone with color and decor

Adding pops of color is a no-brainer when it comes to creating cheerful designs. But you’ll need to take things a step further if you really want to make a difference in your office. Try incorporating more color than you’re used to, through things like brightly hued desk accessories and patterned file folders, Bellccui says.

Texture in decor is important, too, as it can soften the hard wood, plastic, and metal surfaces you might have in your office.

“Textural elements are calming, but they also have a functional element to them as well,” says Krista Hermanson, founder of Krista Hermanson Design in Calgary. “Cushions, rugs, curtains, and soft blankets can soften the room’s acoustics. Acoustic privacy is essential if you are not alone in the house during your workday.”

For added coziness, try recreating hallmarks of cozy winter scenes—like a crackling fire. Carving a fireplace into the room probably isn’t possible, but specific candles can foster the same vibe. “Select a candle with a wood wick to add to the ambiance,” says Hermanson. “The wick crackling will transport your mind to relaxing beside a roaring fire.”

Add an unexpected element to your setup

At a certain point, while scrolling through pages of desk accessories and furniture online, they all start to look the same. If you’re in the market for a unique piece that’ll make your WFH setup feel different from the rest, try thinking outside the box. Bellucci, the interior design editor, decided to use a bright-orange dining table as her desk, rather than a more standard model. It’s exactly the kind of swap that will keep you from falling into a dull winter routine.

Similarly, a warm wooden bureau could add storage to your space, while a stained glass floor lamp could cast fun, colorful beams of light around the room. Whatever you choose, aim for warmth and light, the experts say.

Want to show off your own cozy desk setup? Share your space on Instagram and be sure to tag Codecademy.

Where in the World Would You Most Like to Travel?

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Where in the World Would You Most Like to Travel?

Do you like to travel? Where have you been that you’ve loved? Where have you always wanted to go?

Each year, the Times Travel section publishes a list of “52 Places to Go.” Here are a few of the destinations the editors suggest visiting in 2024:

The Path of Totality, North America

From the beaches of Mazatlán, Mexico, to the rugged coves of Maberly, Newfoundland, the sky will be the stage on April 8 as a total solar eclipse sweeps across North America. This year, the moon will be near its closest point to Earth, resulting in an unusually wide swath and long-lasting totality.

Paris, France

Already one of the most visited cities in the world, Paris is preparing to welcome millions of travelers this summer as host of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It will be the biggest sporting event in the city’s history, and to mark the occasion many well-known monuments are being transformed into sports and entertainment venues.

Yamaguchi, Japan

Yamaguchi is often called the Kyoto of the West, though it’s much more interesting than that — and it suffers from considerably less “tourism pollution.” A compact city of about 190,000, it lies in a narrow valley between the Inland and Japan seas.

With its impeccable gardens and its stunning five-story pagoda, Rurikoji Temple is a national treasure. The city’s small winding lanes offer an assortment of experiences: pottery kilns like Mizunoue, situated on the grounds of Toshunji Temple; chic coffee shops like Log and Coffeeboy, and older-style options like Haraguchi; and wonderful counter-only shops that serve oden, or one-pot dishes. Just a 15-minute walk south is the hot-springs village of Yuda Onsen.

Dominica, The Caribbean

A patchwork of volcanoes, rainforests, waterfalls and hot springs has earned Dominica, a 290-square-mile independent nation in the West Indies, the nickname the Nature Island. Later this year, visitors will be able to get a bird’s-eye view of the wild landscape thanks to a $54 million, 4.1-mile cable car line that will whisk passengers from the lush Roseau Valley up to Boiling Lake, a roughly 200-foot-wide fumarole flooded with nearly 200-degree water, which currently requires a demanding hike to reach.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.

Break Time

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Break Time

Use your imagination to write the opening of a short story or poem inspired by this illustration or, describe a memory from your own life that this image makes you think of.

Tell us in the comments, then read the related article to learn more.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.

Find more Picture Prompts here.

Word of the Day: kvetch

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Word of the Day: kvetch

The word kvetch has appeared in eight articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Nov. 30 in “‘Doormat Treatment’: Congestion Pricing Plan Riles New Jersey Leaders” by Tracey Tully and Elise Young:

Unsurprisingly, surveys have shown that New Jersey residents are largely opposed to paying more to drive into New York City.

… Still, not everyone in New Jersey was displeased.

“It’s easy to kvetch that the plan is unfair to New Jersey,” said Doug O’Malley, the director of Environment New Jersey.

But an underfunded subway system in New York City would be a “disaster on both sides of the Hudson,” Mr. O’Malley said.

Can you correctly use the word kvetch in a sentence?

Based on the definition and example provided, write a sentence using today’s Word of the Day and share it as a comment on this article. It is most important that your sentence makes sense and demonstrates that you understand the word’s definition, but we also encourage you to be creative and have fun.

If you want a better idea of how kvetch can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com. You can also visit this guide to learn how to use IPA symbols to show how different words are pronounced.

If you enjoy this daily challenge, try our vocabulary quizzes.

Students ages 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, can comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff.

The Word of the Day is provided by Vocabulary.com. Learn more and see usage examples across a range of subjects in the Vocabulary.com Dictionary. See every Word of the Day in this column.

What Students Are Saying About New Year’s Resolutions

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What Students Are Saying About New Year’s Resolutions

Please note: Student comments have been lightly edited for length.

_________

At first, I used to believe that New Year’s resolutions were a ridiculous idea. I thought, “Why would I wait for the whole year to end to make a change in my life?” I still believe that if I want to make a change or improvement in my life, I should start today; however, I often find myself struggling with motivation, keeping myself disciplined, and being committed to my goals … Therefore, I realized that New Year’s resolutions are a good way to improve for several reasons. First, it became a worldwide “tradition” that almost everyone gets involved in. It is encouraging to be surrounded by people who are also trying to learn from their mistakes, cultivate new habits, and strive for better versions of themselves. Also, setting goals at the beginning of the year gives us the sense that we still have the opportunity to do better and that we have another chance to progress.

— Jassica, Fountain Valley High School

As another year goes by, I am left once again to reflect on how I have changed and grown as a person. I have grown tremendously individually over 2023, and my life has become much better as a result. I have also been able to do things I love, and I have improved my time management skills, leaving more time for volunteering and charity work. New Year’s resolutions always give me something to work towards, and always are greatly beneficial in the long run for me. Without these goals, I find it hard to make progress and improve my life for the better.

— Megan, North Carolina

Coming from a Chinese family we’ve always celebrated Lunar New Year instead of New Years. On Lunar New Year kids receive red envelopes with cash from their elders. Lunar New Year is celebrated usually in February because it follows a different calendar. I’ve always wanted to try doing New Year’s resolutions, but always forgot. Since the idea of resolutions is so common where I live, it has influenced me to also set goals.

— Elina C., Julia R. Masterman

I’ve never engaged in New Year’s resolutions; they seem like unfulfilled pledges, easily forgotten by the next year. While they might be commendable goals for those who excel at pursuing and achieving them, I’ve never been among that group. Generally, I believe resolutions aren’t suited for everyone, like myself, but they could serve as admirable objectives for others to attain.

— Kendall, Prep

As far as my personal relationships with New Year’s resolutions go, I almost always accomplish every single one of them without too much difficulty. This is mainly because when I create my resolutions each year, I create them with either what I’m on track to do this year in mind, or the bare minimum. Now while this might not sound like the healthiest relationship to have with your goals, I still find it to work fine, because the new year isn’t the one and only time each year to create goals for yourself: you can do it any day. And with this in mind, I usually change and adjust my goals as the year goes on, but if I’m not able to go above the bare minimum I set for myself, I don’t end up feeling bad about it.

— Charles, J.R.Masterman School

Frontline Workers + Online Learning – Does it work?

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Frontline Workers + Online Learning – Does it work?

I don’t know about you, but I remember you from my first job. I was 16 years old. I was hired by a department chain (name not to be released because they are out of business now, and I can’t fully recall it). Rather than placing me into the music section, a dream for any 16-year-old, I was placed in automotive. It was a bad match. Not only because I had no idea about any of these products, nor because the smell was probably toxic, but because placing a 16-year-old into automotive is like placing a 45-year-old into the music department (you could buy tapes and records then) and expecting them to know the latest punk rock and rock bands of that time. Like I said a bad match.

I got canned a month later. There was no major loss. After all, Howard Johnson’s (well-known hotel chain and restaurant – mentioned even in Blazing Saddles) was calling, and I was happy to oblige.

Hojo (its nickname) provided some training. I started as a dishwasher, then moved up to cleaning tables and hanging out with people when the place was dead – always late in the evening. It was a fun gig.

The other? Zero training. 

What is the correlation between the two? Frontline worker. Retail and Hospitality. One offered training; one offered misery. 

The Hojo experience showed the steps to do, how it worked, and other things. I was brought up to clean tables, the same thing. And the person who provided each one? The head of the kitchen will be responsible for the first part, and the manager for the second hands-on learning. No manuals. No guides. No inane banter that treated a 16-year-old as some aloof kid who wants to hang out, earn money, and do nothing. 

The other one? Did I mention misery?

This was, of course, before e-learning was around, let alone CBT (Computer-Based Training, 640 MB on a CD – for those curious). Neither of those folks who trained me had any background in training, let alone learning. Nevertheless, they understood their audience, targeted the correct information to do an adequate job, and treated that person as a person, not a kid.

Perhaps you had a similar experience or experiences. A frontline worker – dealing with customers Face to Face (first gig) and second when I cleaned tables. Customers – just saying the term will make some folks cringe because people can be friendly, jerkish, rude, pleasant, and demanding. Did I mention jerkish and downright offensive?

We expect everyone to be friendly and pleasant, but being a frontline worker in any face-to-face role with the public, especially in retail and hospitality, will show you the worst in people. 

When I look at e-learning courses/content today, I see a lot of good and, yes, a lot of wrong when providing effective online learning for frontline workers. 

What do you need to have effective online learning for frontline workers?

First, the new term you may hear is “deskless workers.” Which includes frontline, blue-collar, and any other role where the person does not work in the office. I have often written about the awfulness and near indifference regarding blue-collar workers and learning systems, even learning technology. Toss in some C-level executives who treat their blue-collar employees as replaceable, and when someone running L&D or Training wants to do something, they can get resistance and even rejection.

Thus, for this post, I will refer to frontline workers. Retail and Hospitality I see as two different segments where people of all ages have to deal with people of all ages as customers. The good. The bad. The downright nastiness (especially today). 

The Needs

  • A learning system (LMS, LXP, Learning Platform, or combo) that targets the frontline worker (and yes, even gig worker, if applicable). The system has a mobile app with on/off synch.
  • Mobile app – Comes with content that focuses on the frontline employee – from what they need to do for their job to various content that provides skills and fun – remember that with learning? The app has a look and feel that embodies something a frontline worker will use.
  • Content – Some assigned – like regulations and skills for the roles – but with flex so that someone can go back in without a specific due date. Think a mix. The content should be around that specific audience – not all text, not with minimal graphics, not a page-turner – that bores people. Make it fun and engaging – I’ve done it for retail – and that target audience 16-23 loves it. Add content that brings real world. Thus, if you purchase the content, the people aren’t a bunch of 30-year-olds in a retail place talking about customer service. I can’t recall seeing a 3rd party course that presents people being nasty from a current perspective. 2005 is not the same as 2024. 
  • Add engaging activities – the key here is engaging, interactivity and fun. Again, focus on the target audience – this was a staple back in the day with instructional designers/developers who would do storyboards that you would review; it is a process. Nowadays, people use their rapid content authoring tool – to create a PPT or use Gen-AI for a text-based course. Boring with a guaranteed rate of ignore and move on.

An activity could be as simple as the employee recording a short up to three-minute video of someone or some employees doing certain tasks correctly – that others could benefit from seeing. The employee can add filters, tweak it up with stuff, and then upload it. Then everyone can view it. You are leveraging what they are using – Instagram, Tik Tok and similar. They are not using LinkedIn here. Or for the employee a 90 second fun video of their choosing around something they do at work, that they like. The key here is fun and effective learning. Simple, simple stuff – and who offers this option for their employees in retail and hospitality? My guess? Nobody. 

If you really want to push it, find a Generative AI solution that can integrate into your LMS, that does a text to image or something that your audience can use to create their own content related to the skills they are learning or something along those lines. 

With any generative ai solution, always use a human element – thus, you may need to do an approval mechanism, if the employee isn’t 100% sure it is a) appropriate and b) correct.

I love systems whereas the learner can create their own content, because the system enables that capability. Thus, it’s not just on the admin side, learners get access too.

  • Know your audience – You should have done or make sure you do – the age bracket of your audience that this is for. I find many in L&D and, yes, training. Even HR who provide training, regardless of whether it is ILT or e-learning, think from their perspective, not the person and people receiving it.

Where I live, there are a lot of retirees at retail places, especially at fast food – like McDonald’s. And there are high school kids, and folks needing another job. The largest audience are retirees and the kids. Two different audiences, two different types of content are needed. Never a one-size fits all. The entire approach has to be different. BUT what I see is one across the board. Yuck. 

I see the same thing when folks pick a learning system, regardless of the type. If the people are frontline workers, why are you picking a system that appears as though it hasn’t been updated in five or more years? Why are selecting a system without a mobile app with on/off synch? Why are you picking a system that does not give you options for tweaking the labels (changing the text), adding widgets, or removing them, giving off a different appearance for different audiences? Example a retiree will use the system – after teaching them how so – and may require multiple times; and the writing size may need to be different too vs. a 17-year-old or 23-year-old, who wants a hipper look and feel. 

There are systems whereas you can do this not just by group, but for each individual – now that rocks. Go multi-tenant, and now you have multiple view options – one for a senior crowd or older adult, one for your younger audience and one for managers. Managers do not like to be shoved into the same system as everyone else – let alone in anything whereas they need to take content that other learners can see. So yeah, they can access the other tenets, using what we call roles and rules for what they see, even with their own manager view, and equally have a place just for them. District managers can be placed into the same tenant.

Automation and Restaurants

It’s coming, and I wonder whether the human workers that are there, will be trained on an on-going basis around it.

One big chain that rolled it out is McDonald’s. It’s an interesting idea, that has already seen a backlash on social media.

What happens when customers experience it on a daily basis, and something goes wrong? I use the mobile app to place my orders (and pay ahead of time), but there are people who do use the mobile app.

There are already restaurants that have rolled out gen ai and automation. But how does that help the frontline worker when it comes to online training, even if you do a combo with ILT (boo) and OJT (potential double boo).

Do it once with ILT and OJT = then what?

You are relying on the manager to continue the training afterwards, and/or the newbie is assigned a productive worker, who may do short cuts, to get the job done. You are hoping that the productive knows how to teach someone correctly, is patient, understanding, and can apply active learning, and not just step by step to use the register or fold clothes correctly or make a cheeseburger or enter in the right data after a person wants to check in the hotel.

As a customer I have witnessed great with OJT, and miserable. Do you think the new employee will tell the manager that so and so, was awful? 

A combo of ILT – with on-going learning and not some manual which nobody still reads – and the online learning is tailored correctly not just focused on “how to” but the target audience, with interactive steps and approaches. I definitely would incorporate gamification here. With the content. With the activities. With the engagement. With the system itself. Go beyond the extra mile here.

Reasons why people fail to do this

Turnover. Yes, I am fully aware that retaining a frontline worker in retail and hospitality, and other sectors is high. Yes, I know that there are employees who are just not right for the job. I know there are managers who are great managers but are indifferent or do not allow their employees to take some time during the day (when it’s slow) to take content online. Heck, even use their smartphone, but then the manager walks away, and the person starts to use their smartphone.

Yes, I am aware of seasonal employees. Half-time, full-time, even full-time, but they reduce the hours – the manager does because they think the employee will bolt. Promise 40, cut to 30. Yes, there are employees who have to get second and third jobs, because of the reduction of hours, because the fear and yes it happens, the fear the manager has for the employee quitting is strong enough to do this. 

Yes, the wages and/or tips plays a role. Yes, the amount of stress many people deal with these days with customers, plays a role. Yes, lack of benefits for a full-time employee plays a role. Yes, an ineffective employee or one who just decides that day to never show up, plays a role.

Nobody ever said that having employees or contractors (hey, Uber!), who are frontline, or gig workers is going to be smooth sailing. The issues places face today with frontline folks are the same as in the 90’s, 80’s, 70’s and probably before then. The increased nastiness and believe that people can say whatever they want and treat frontline workers and gig as less than a human being with feelings, is new. Nobody deserves that. Back in the day when I worked at another retail place in the summer prior to grad school, I remember the manager saying something along the lines that if a customer was rude or saying offensive things, to stop talking and get the manager. 

I always appreciated that. The challenge? Finding the manager, while the customer is getting angrier. Nevertheless, the manager did show up. 

Your online learning has to address the nastiness. You cannot ignore it. Nor can you ignore the common issues on why frontline workers quit. Ask yourself what incentive can I do with my online learning which will help them to stay? Sure, it may not work, but what can do you do or offer them, from a learning and training standpoint?

Access to take online courses/content for skills that are not job related? Access to online content around interests? (YES) Access to online courses/content that is wide scope beyond the usual standard fare? (YES). Access to content that offers life skills? (YES). Access to courses that allow them to learn another language or take courses/classes from online universities and community colleges? (YES, and it can be done, there are systems that have this). Access to the above, and you the company pays for it? (YES, it should be done).

I think back to that McDonald’s, whereas they note all these benefits – when they were trying to find folks. This one offered a lot, even I believe something around tuition or some similar ilk – I honestly can’t recall the wordage, but it was towards past high school, and onto college/community college. Think how many people want to take this content/courses, but do not have the funds to do so. You are now their destination.

What else would they like to learn? Have you asked them? Pick anything you say that is non job-related. Because you, as the client – the company can find it and offer it. And if you don’t know where to look, go beyond two pages of the web, reach out to various 3rd party vendors. 

As for job related. Did you know there are courses specifically for the whiskey industry? Being a barista? Working at a cannabis shop, along with learning all the various types of cannabis? Working in the tennis industry. And the list goes on. 

The Kiosk and Gen-AI

McDonald’s plans to roll out Gen AI with their restaurants, from food, to taking orders.

Good idea. Eliminate the need for some frontline workers (let’s be honest here) and have only people make the food and hand it off. Down the road, I am sure there will be technology whereas the food is just delivered out, and you grab and go. 

Always remember that no LLM, and thus for right now the focus is generative ai (so when people say AI, this is what they are referring to, albeit machine learning is another form, but I digress) – is infallible.

They can produce bias.

They all have hallucinations, which data shows can range from 2% to 27%. Even 2% is bad, if you think about it. How many customers will be impacted when let’s go hypothetically and say 4%?

While I won’t go with the total number of customers per day – with all their locations. McDonald’s reports 69 million customers per day – globally with all their locations.

I’ll just pick one, the one I go to – estimate at best, the one I go to and say 1,000. 40 customers whose information presented to whomever is viewing it, is fake, due to the gen ai.

40 doesn’t seem like that much, right? I mean customer service isn’t a necessity today, right?

I sure hope your online training or ILT on-site will address that issue, and how to resolve it, because 40 is a lot especially in the days of social media. I mean who knows – on that day, someone with 1 million followers just got the whammy of gen ai hallucinations. At your restaurant.

Lastly, it should be noted as a side bar, that gen ai today lacks empathy.

I mean what could go wrong here?

This is why the human element must always be involved – always, before in this case, the order is approved and goes through.

Empathy

The empathy thing is a huge issue with gen ai. Humans usually have it (ok, serial killers, narcissists. and people you may know, lack it). There is a company out there whereas they are working on an LLM that has empathy. 

Thus, what is the game plan for each restaurant, regardless of if it is McD’s here or any other place, retail, hospitality and so forth, when they use gen ai – and run into the lack of empathy (at least today), bias, and hallucinations? Even if you fine tune your LLM, you won’t eliminate hallucinations.

What is your online learning, OJT and ILT plan to handle this with your employees – more importantly, in this post.

The Kiosk Problem

If you think about it, you will clearly see it.

How many times have you seen people who can’t figure out an ATM (yes, plenty exist) or some other type of machine that requires them to push buttons and read the screen? How many times have you seen people who can’t figure out the kiosks at the airport to get their ticket?

At McDonald’s and again, I’ve seen other chains with the kiosk, there are sometimes an employee to help them (the person) and other times, not. 

I’ve even seen employees who can’t figure out certain things on the screen, and they are supposed to be the knowledgeable one.

What are you – not just McD’s here, but any retail or hospitality place…

Are you offering ILT or OJT or ongoing online learning around the whole gen ai aspect for your employees and its issues? Did you offer or continually offering the latest around gen ai, what it has challenges with? Because new things are showing up all the time.

I wonder.

The LMS, LXP, Learning Platform and Content with Gen AI

Right now, overall, it is course/content creator and assessments. As noted before, I have yet to see any of these vendors, actually any that have gen ai in their system whereas a person on the admin side or learner side, has a context window, that if the info is wrong, they can identify that, and enter in the correct information.

A crucial step so that gen ai can continually learn. This is why you see it when you use ChatGPT, GPT-4, Claude, Perplexity.ai and many others – regardless of if it is text generative only (chatbot) or images, PDFs, audio and so on (multimodal).

Which as early noted, baffles me, on how nobody who added gen ai in their system forget about adding that, let alone text letting people know it may produce hallucinations (fake and false information) and may contain bias. I’ve seen two vendors who mention this, and one who mentions it on every screen whereas gen ai (it’s on the admin side) can see it, before using.

Do I see it with the skills produced by gen ai? Nope. Gen ai tied around skills and content? Nope. I won’t mention the vendor name, nor what they are rolling out (but it’s’ cool), but this cool offering lacks any context window and the text for that matter that is needed – even though they the company knows about the issue around hallucinations. Ditto for the company whereas skills is produced by gen ai – and other items they have with gen ai including course creator. Seriously, some amazing stuff they are working on, and solid that is live – no context windows. No text. 

Mystified.

And here comes the client, unaware of the issues right now with gen ai. 

It’s like boarding the Titanic and thinking to yourself, “They seem to have a small number of lifeboats,” oh well, “hey, look at that dinner menu.”

Bottom Line

Turnover. Unhappy people who berate frontline workers, because they can. Managers who are indifferent. Bias at the restaurant by employees, even managers. Training. Ongoing? OJT? What happens if the manage doesn’t have time nor allows their frontline staff to have access to online content on their mobile app?

What if that OJT employee has a bias towards minorities, that the manager is unaware of, but the new employee is assigned to said employee?

What type of content do you have for that?

Are you understanding that to reduce turnover you need new ways to combat it, thru online learning (e-learning) which is achievable.

Have you started or do you have it today?

Are you understanding your audience, truly. Your frontline employees who are worried about life, feeding their families, taking care of loved ones, or lack essential life skills. Your frontline or gig workers where productivity is expected, especially because gen ai will handle everything else.

Do you have the online content for that? Are you going to ignore it?

What is your learning game plan for employees who recognize that gen ai will replace them – or at least think they will? Because not just frontline, but Gen Z in general think so.

What’s your online learning and training plan and strategy for that?

We want you as an employee. We provide all these cool things, we want you to stay because our turnover is over 80%, but we are going to bring in automation and gen ai, to help you be more productive.

Do you honestly believe any frontline worker is going to see a plus here?

What is your online learning plan, or whatever you do from training or learning, to keep them there – and see the pluses for them, and not the big monster in the room of you are not needed?

As a 16-year-old it was clear to me, that at that retail place, I was replaceable.

I was not needed.

At Hojo’s a completely different story.

And one, I will fondly remember

And tell others about.

E-Learning 24/7

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