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A high-income skill you can start learning today: project management

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A high-income skill you can start learning today: project management

We are back with the second issue of our high-income skills series.

Last week, we discussed how you can benefit from data analysis skills, even if you aren’t pursuing a career as a data analyst. In the comment section, Cathyann Martin emphasized the link between data analysis and good communication, saying that “being able to share the findings from the data in non-technical terms, so that others can understand and use it to make decisions, is important.”

This is a great point; it highlights how your technical skills and workplace skills can interact with and enhance one another. Project management, our topic for this week, is another technical skill that is boosted by several workplace skills.

Project managers incorporate many tools and processes into their workflow, but their ultimate goal is to get things done, and they do this with strong organization, persuasion, negotiation, and risk management skills. For a practical explanation of this skill set, watch the first lecture video of the Google Project Management: Professional Certificate.

If you have strong project management skills, then you’re a planner.

You see the big picture and are able to identify the tasks and people that will enable you to achieve your desired outcome. You strategically navigate roadblocks while keeping everyone involved happy. Most importantly, you are a finisher. If you commit to doing something, you will get it done or find a reasonable alternative.

Here are some ways you can (and maybe already do) flex your project management muscles: 

1. Concentrate your organizational efforts into one place.

Perhaps you use a calendar or to-do lists to stay on track. Take your organization a step further by consolidating your thoughts, tasks, and deadlines into a single, shareable source of information, such as a spreadsheet. This exercise showcases your ability to manage goals and collaborate.

Get a sense for how project managers organize their efforts with Guided Projects that help you create a project management tracker and create a simple Gantt chart. Both projects take about two hours to complete and will leave you with a reusable template for your future planning needs.

2. Practice managing projects in your everyday life.

Managing the needs of others, effectively communicating, and making decisions are key project management concepts, and they also tend to show up in daily life. Next time you’re asked to make a decision, tune into your inner project manager.

For example, when you’re asked “What do you want to eat?” consider:

  • Risk management: How much longer can the vegetables in your refrigerator last? Prioritize accordingly or run the risk of wilted produce.
  • Budgeting: Want to eat out for under $15 per person? You can rule out everything that exceeds that budget.
  • Communication: Share your selection with the person who posed the question. Offer your reasoning to get them on board with your decision (also called stakeholder alignment) and draw upon your negotiation skills as needed.

Where to begin

If you’re new to project management, start with the first course in the Google Project Management: Professional Certificate, Foundations of Project Management. Here, you’ll get an overview of the skill set, and if you enjoy the course, you can continue on to earn a certificate.

For a crash course, check out Fundamentals of Project Planning and Management from the University of Virginia. This is another popular choice that condenses the basics into a single 9-hour course.

For specialized applications of project management, you may be interested in IBM’s IT Project Manager Professional Certificate, Columbia University’s Construction Management Specialization, or IBM’s DevOps and Software Engineering Professional Certificate. IT, construction, and software development are all in-demand career paths that tend to incorporate project management tools and techniques into their workflow.

Let us know any other courses you’ve taken to grow your project management skills in the comments. Next week, we’ll continue this series with another high-income skill, user experience.

See you then!

Most-Used Affiliate Marketing Channels

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Most-Used Affiliate Marketing Channels

Affiliate marketing is a lucrative industry that’s been experiencing an upward trend over the years. This rise has seen businesses and affiliate marketers leveraging various marketing channels to promote their products and services. The success of affiliate marketing often depends on choosing the right marketing channels to reach your target audience effectively. In this article, we will explore some of the most-used marketing channels for affiliates and provide insights into their advantages and how to leverage these channels for success.

Most-used Affiliate Marketing Channels for Affiliates

Affiliate marketers can use an array of marketing channels to promote goods and services. These channels consist of affiliate blogs and websites where they post content and include affiliate links, email marketing campaigns directed at their subscriber base, social media platforms where they share affiliate promotions, and paid advertising through strategies like pay-per-click (PPC) advertising or social media ads. The key to success in utilising the various channels is to understand the target market and choose the right mix of marketing channels to reach and engage your audience. If you can get this just right, it will lead to more sales and income for both affiliates and businesses.

Affiliate marketing channels come in various forms, tailored to suit different niches and marketing strategies.

Blogs

Blogs are powerful marketing channels. Affiliates can create high-quality, informative content that integrates affiliate links seamlessly. This approach allows affiliate marketers to educate their audience about products or services while simultaneously earning commissions through affiliate partnerships. Successful bloggers have over time developed relationships and built trust with their readers. This relationship makes it more likely for their recommendations to convert into sales.

Tips for success: Choose niches relevant to your audience, create valuable content, and disclose affiliate relationships transparently to maintain trust.

Email marketing

Email marketing is another popular channel for affiliate marketing. As an affiliate, you can build multiple email lists with subscribers who are interested in specific topics or products and send targeted affiliate offers through monthly email campaigns. The key to success in email marketing is crafting compelling and personalised email campaigns that resonate with subscribers.

Tips for success: Categorise your email list and create engaging, tailored content to optimise email performance. For example, you could segment your audience based on their interests, country, profession or other data you may have gathered about them to ensure the content they are receiving is more personalised.  

Social Media

Social media platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok have become significant affiliate marketing channels due to their massive user bases. Influencers and affiliate marketers use these platforms to promote products or services through sponsored posts, stories, reels, or videos. The nature of these platforms allows affiliates to exercise their creative juices and create visually appealing content that educates, entertains, and converts.

Tips for success: Each platform has a specific audience so it’s important to choose platforms that align with the audience, create authentic and engaging content, and comply with the community, content, and disclosure guidelines for each platform.

YouTube and Video Marketing

YouTube is the go-to channel for affiliate marketers with an affinity for being on camera. YouTubers can produce product reviews, tutorials, or demonstrations of products and services they are affiliated with. Video content often builds strong viewer trust, making conversions more likely. Moreover, you can repurpose the video content of your YouTube Shorts as an Instagram Reel or onto TikTok.

Tips for success: Invest in video production quality (lighting, sound, and editing), maintain authenticity, and provide in-depth insights into products or services.

Coupon and Deal Websites

Coupon and deal websites focus on sharing discounts, deals, and promotional offers. Affiliate marketers can partner with these platforms to promote exclusive discounts through affiliate links. Online shoppers frequently visit these sites when looking for savings, making them an effective channel for increasing conversions.

Tips for success: Affiliates should offer competitive deals, regularly update promotions, and collaborate with well-known coupon websites.

Review Websites

Review websites specialise in providing detailed reviews of various products and services. Affiliate marketers can create comprehensive, honest, and unbiased reviews that include their affiliate links to the products they evaluate. These reviews come in handy for readers who seek out reviews to make informed purchase decisions.

Tips for success: The best practice is to always conduct thorough research, maintain objectivity, and provide balanced reviews that address both the pros and cons of the product or service. These are always better if you have used them yourself, so your reviews are based on experience.

The diversity of affiliate marketing channels allows businesses to tailor their approach to specific goals and audiences, making it a versatile and effective marketing strategy.

How Alison’s Affiliate Programme Works

It’s easy to become an Alison Affiliate. Once you’ve created your Alison account, you can sign up to become an Affiliate.

  1.  Register an Affiliate

Go to our Affiliate Page and click the button “Become an Affiliate”. Once you’ve read and accepted the T&Cs, you are fully registered. It’s that easy! You can also join one of our informative webinar sessions and speak directly with an Alison representative to learn more about empowering others as an Alison affiliate.

  1. Invite

Using the Affiliate link generator located at the top of our website, create a link you can share online with your friends, family, colleagues, neighbours, and anyone else you can think of who might benefit from our free educational and professional tools.

  1. Earn an Income

You will receive 20% of the revenue generated by the new learners who come to Alison through your Affiliate links.

Affiliate marketing offers numerous channels for marketers to promote products and earn commissions. The choice of channel depends on your niche, target audience, and marketing strategy. Successful affiliate marketers often leverage a combination of these channels to diversify their income streams and reach a broader audience. Regardless of the channel, building trust, providing value, and adhering to ethical marketing practices are essential for long-term success in the affiliate marketing industry.

Do You Ever Feel Pressure to Post About Your Outrage Online?

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Do You Ever Feel Pressure to Post About Your Outrage Online?

These days, when tragedy strikes or a divisive political issue makes headlines, ordinary people, along with celebrities and corporations, are often expected to post their reactions on social media. Have you felt this pressure with any recent event, perhaps after a school shooting, during the Black Lives Matter protests or now, during the Israel-Hamas war?

Do you think expressing your opinion publicly is important in times like these?

In “I Don’t Have to Post About My Outrage. Neither Do You.” Elizabeth Spiers, a contributing Opinion writer, argues that not posting may sometimes be the wisest choice:

I am neither Jewish nor Palestinian, and none of my six regular gigs have anything to do with foreign policy, but the other day I opened Twitter (now called X) after some time offline to find people I don’t know demanding that I make a public statement about what’s happening in the Middle East. It seemed that most of the people on social media had made a statement, including various corporate brands, celebrities and miscellaneous lifestyle influencers. American Eagle’s chief marketing officer posted to LinkedIn that the company had changed its Times Square billboard to an image of the Israeli flag. “Praying for Israel,” Justin Bieber posted on Instagram, over an image (later deleted) of what was actually Gaza.

But not everyone was taking a side. As I scrolled through my timeline, I saw lots of random citizens being told that if they didn’t speak out, they, too, would have blood on their hands.

People speaking from both the right and the left seemed to attribute my silence to depraved indifference to human suffering, though they were divided on which humans were suffering. As it happens, I had been dealing with shingles (zero stars, do not recommend) and the depression I struggle with periodically. I was tired and overwhelmed, as are a great many other people. But the voices yelling at me and anyone else who failed to post seemed to believe that not making a statement was itself a statement — and an immoral one, at that.

There’s a facile version of taking a stand on social media that generates righteous back patting but reduces complex issues to a simple yes or no. Taking simplistic stands can also lead to twisting words. Concern for Palestinians is portrayed as support for Hamas or hatred toward Israel or Jews in general. Anger about Hamas’s deadly attacks on Israeli citizens — or any mention of antisemitism — is portrayed as denigrating the dignity of all Palestinian lives. This kind of thinking is deeply unserious and further fuels hostilities, warping nuanced positions into extremism and mistaking tweet-length expressions of outrage for brave action in the face of atrocity.

Ms. Spiers continues:

Knee-jerk social media posts are not what bother me most, though. Instead, it’s the idea that not posting is wrong somehow — that everyone needs to speak, all the time. It discourages shutting up and listening and letting the voices that matter the most be heard over the din. It implies it’s not OK to have any uncertainty about what’s going on or any kind of moral analysis that does not lend itself to presentation in a social media post. It does not leave time or space for people to process traumatic events in the sanctuary of their own minds or to gather more information before pronouncing a judgment. It pressures people who don’t have an opinion yet or are working out what they think to manufacture one and present it to a jury of total strangers on the internet who will render an instant verdict on its propriety.

Students, read the entire article and then tell us:

  • In the wake of big and emotionally charged news events, such as the Israel-Hamas War, have you felt pressured to post your reaction online? To express outrage or sympathy? To take a stance or a side? What is that like for you?

  • If you don’t feel pressure to post online, what about among your peers? In this conflict, or others, have those around you asked that you make your opinion known? How do you feel about this expectation?

  • What are your thoughts on the author’s argument? Do you agree that not everyone has to share their outrage publicly? Or do you believe that not expressing an opinion is wrong? Explain.

  • In times like these, do you expect companies or celebrities to make a statement on where they stand? Do you find these statements helpful? Why or why not? If not, whom do you want to hear from?

  • Think of a time when you chose to publicly take a stand or not in response to a world event or a divisive issue. How did you make that decision? What was the outcome? Looking back, would you have made a different choice? Why or why not?

(Please note, we are not asking you to share your thoughts or opinions on the Israel-Hamas War here. If you would like to say more about the conflict, you can go to our related post The Israel-Hamas War: A Forum for Young People to React.)

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 Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.

The Mall

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The Mall

Does your town or city have a mall? Do you spend a lot of time there? What do you do when you go? Shop? Hang out? Kill time? Hide out when the weather is bad? People watch?

If you don’t have any nearby malls, do you wish your community did?

Tell us in the comments, then read the related article, where the author of an Opinion essay argues that in a time of increased loneliness we need malls — or something like them.

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: irascible

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Word of the Day: irascible

The word irascible has appeared in 29 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on March 11 in “Brett Goldstein Faces Life After ‘Lasso’” by Jeremy Egner:

The show’s creators, who also included Brendan Hunt and Joe Kelly, wanted some English soccer fans on staff, and Lawrence thought of Goldstein. He was hired as a writer but soon became convinced that he was the person to play the surly, fading pro Roy Kent. As scripting on the first season wrapped up, he made a video of himself performing several Roy scenes and sent it to the creators, stipulating that if he was terrible, all involved would never speak of it again. He was not terrible.

It’s a story he has told many times. But it hits different in person, as the gentle fellow in a fitted black T-shirt recounts how he felt a bone-deep connection to the irascible Roy. The face is essentially the same, but the eyes are too friendly and the voice is smooth and mellifluous where Roy’s is a clipped growl.

“I get that you would be confused by this,” Goldstein said, setting his coffee cup neatly into its saucer. “But I very much relate to the anger. I used to be very, very miserable and had a quite dark brain, and I’ve worked very hard at changing that. But it’s there.”

Can you correctly use the word irascible 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.

Then, read some of the other sentences students have submitted and use the “Recommend” button to vote for two original sentences that stand out to you.

If you want a better idea of how irascible can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com.

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.

Color Love | Colors of Halloween

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Color Love | Colors of Halloween

Halloween Color Palette

I came across a captivating image of candles that featured an impeccable blend of Halloween colors. I could not resist turning it into a Halloween color palette. The shades of grey, black, orange, and a hint of blue combine to create a hauntingly elegant atmosphere ideal for any crafts, decoration or outfit.

Halloween Color Palette

If you’re looking to create a standout Halloween decor, choosing the right color palette is essential. It’s a modern take on the classic black and orange color scheme, with a fun pop of blue to liven things up. This unique combination is sure to give your decorations a spooky yet modern look. You can mix and match different decor items to create a cohesive and stylish atmosphere. So, if you want your Halloween decorations to be one-of-a-kind and eye-catching, give this custom color palette a try!

As always, we have put together a mood board with some inspiration. It is in perfect Pinterest format, so feel free to pin it for later.

Halloween color palette - Orange, Black and Blue

See our collection of other gorgeous color palettes by visiting our color palette section.

What do you think about this Halloween color palette? We would love to hear about the places you see yourself using it. Your feedback means a lot to us, so please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

Make sure you take a look at our blog post about the importance of using color in blog design. It’s a really interesting read and will show you just how big of a role colors can play in your projects.

Looking for more inspiration?

Browse other color palettes. There are so many beautiful combinations out there to choose from!

Do you like blue?

I have something perfect for you! It is the limited edition color of 2024 for our famous planners.

If you create something using today’s color palette, don’t forget to share it with us!

What Have You Learned From Failure?

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What Have You Learned From Failure?

Bombing on the big test. Falling on your face during an audition for the school play. Striking out with the bases loaded in a big game.

When have you failed miserably?

Looking back, have you gained anything positive from past failures, despite the disappointment or embarrassment you might have felt? Any lessons about yourself, life or what it takes to succeed?

In “Want to Thrive? First, Learn to Fail.” Jancee Dunn writes about the value of embracing our mistakes:

When Sara Blakely, founder of the shapewear brand Spanx, was a child, her father would pose an unusual question to her and her brother over dinner: How did you fail this week?

“He encouraged us to fail, and not to be afraid of it,” she told me. “If we didn’t have something to tell him that week, he would be disappointed.”

When Blakely tried out for the cheerleading squad and was “horrible and didn’t make it,” he high-fived her. When she revealed that she lost her campaign for senior class president, he told her that was amazing.

“I knew that the most popular girl was running and would win, but I had been trained by my dad to do it for the experience and the stories and the people you might meet by putting yourself out there,” Blakely said.

But most of us try to avoid failure and are embarrassed when things go wrong, said Amy Edmondson, a professor of leadership at Harvard Business School.

Dr. Edmondson has spent 20 years researching psychological safety, or the belief that people can speak up in the workplace without the risk of punishment or humiliation. Her new book “Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well” uses that research to explore how we can build a healthy relationship with our mistakes.

Ms. Dunn outlines three strategies to process and learn from our missteps, based on Dr. Edmondson’s research:

Put your failure into context.

Learn how to pivot.

Encourage failure sharing.

Students, read the entire article and then tell us:

  • When have you failed in your life? Describe a memorable mistake, blunder or epic fail: What did you set out to do? What actually happened? How did you feel at the time?

  • In retrospect, did you learn any valuable lessons from your failure? If so, what positives did you gain?

  • Dr. Edmundson says that most of us try to avoid failure and are embarrassed when things go wrong. To what extent does the fear or shame of failure shape your choices and life, in and out of school? Do you think they prevent you from growing, thriving, taking risks or trying new things?

  • Which strategies outlined in the article do you find most useful for reconciling with mistakes? Do you have tips of your own to recommend to others?

  • Do your parents, teachers or coaches encourage you to fail? What do you think of the question Sara Blakely’s father posed to her and her brother over dinner: “How did you fail this week?” Do you wish the adults in your life would encourage trying and failing 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 Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.

Fall

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Fall

Cozy sweaters. Pumpkin picking. The changing color of leaves. What are your favorite things about this time of year? What are your most vivid memories of fall?

Tell us in the comments, then read the related article to learn about the best places to bask in spectacular foliage this fall.

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: métier

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Word of the Day: métier

The word métier has appeared in 15 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on May 11 in “Before Taylor Swift or David Bowie, There Was Sarah Bernhardt” by Beatrice Loayza:

In the 19th and early 20th century, everyone worshiped at the altar of Sarah Bernhardt. She was a stage actress at a time when the theater was the equivalent of a stadium, a global celebrity who ushered in the very concept.

Born in Paris in 1844, Bernhardt was a sickly child whose mother preferred to ignore her. As an adult, she insisted on standing out. She captivated theatergoers with her hypnotic voice (Victor Hugo called it “golden”) and her bombastic performance style. No role, no métier, was too ambitious: She was a writer, painter, sculptor, director, entrepreneur and philanthropist, too. The newspapers amplified the legend of the “Divine Sarah,” as did the sundry artists and writers who counted her as their muse.

Can you correctly use the word métier 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.

Then, read some of the other sentences students have submitted and use the “Recommend” button to vote for two original sentences that stand out to you.

If you want a better idea of how métier can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com.

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.

ChatGPT, Gen-AI and Learning Systems – The Latest

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ChatGPT, Gen-AI and Learning Systems – The Latest

Last week, I attended a conference in Amsterdam. The conference? World of AI Summit (as in Artificial Intelligence). While, as with any conference, there were good sessions, especially the opening sessions in the morning, I was a bit surprised at how many of the speakers never addressed a couple of points, including the “what happens if your technologist (3rd party) is speaking to another technologist at a company, who doesn’t know or fully understand all the implications of selecting the right LLM, let alone the pros and cons?” I asked this question, and two-panel speakers agreed it was a good question and something to consider as valued. I didn’t do it to score brownie points; I did it because I saw it, and I know it will happen time and time again.

After that one session, a few folks approached me to discuss that question, and one sought advice on what LLMs they should consider if not OpenAI. All agreed it was an excellent question to ask.

Later, I attended a few Gen-AI sessions – I was going to the Gen-AI track, which included ChatGPT.

I came away with a few points – I should note that in the early panel session, where I posted the question, one person was from a university and an expert, and the rest were AI experts across the board. In one ChatGPT session, again, a university person, two AI experts, and a professor from Oxford with a strong background in AI and Economics. I was very impressed by him and his retorts.

I raised my hand at the end for a question. The key was regarding token fees because nobody in the panel addressed it, which has real consequences. Any company that implements an LLM must recognize that the token fees will not be cheap – usage is the key role here. It will impact financially, and thus, what do you say to a company or tell them to be cognizant of this fact? The economics gentleman agreed about the token fees and cost impact. He stated that a company must be willing to take a risk, knowing the financial implications of using Gen-AI (assuming it is not 100% free, even then, though there is always a cost) and that risk-averse companies should hold. Yet, if you look at the number of companies just diving in without consideration of the token data fees – you will see people are not thinking or understanding or getting the whole picture.

The biggest takeaway from the event was the heavy focus on ChatGPT, which is fine as it is the leader. Yet, many other LLMs are legit competitors to ChatGPT and other LLM companies that should be considered besides OpenAI. When you hear about those latest cool features, which are not ChatGPT, that isn’t coming to the freebie version; it is coming to the fee-based one, ChatGPT Plus or Enterprise ChatGPT (company version). OpenAI added Bing (to ChatGPT Plus, coming soon) because of Bard and Google. Amazon invested four billion dollars with Anthropic, the makers behind Stability.ai (not a fan of), and the latest version Claude2 (now referred to as Claude). They are going to launch a business version of Claude, at some point.

They wouldn’t do it just because they like dropping that money. Plus, they have Titan (now available for commercial use) and Bedrock – which is amazing, and yet so few folks are aware of it – once you see it, you will be like – holy moly – because it has the potential to solve the inevitable interoperability issue that will come some day. AI21 Studio, which received a lot of capital, is a pretty cool LLM. Cohere is a legitimate competitor and another LLM. And the list goes on.

I heard from numerous folks that they were unaware of other LLMs. And there weren’t all newbies, by the way. Quite the opposite.

The Learning Library BTW, has a few sections around Gen-AI, including comparisons between Claude and ChatGPT, ChatGPT Plus, and Claude Pro.

ChatGPT the answer?

One Learning System vendor told me they hired a consultant to provide them with a recommendation for the LLM they should use. This so-called expert’s selection? ChatGPT. The logic behind it made no sense, by the way.

Docebo switched from OpenAI (although I never saw ChatGPT or any other LLM from OpenAI in the Docebo system per se, the company they acquired recently was using an LLM from OpenAI) to Google Cloud (I’m still working on which LLM they are using). They are through the anomaly. Every vendor I have spoken with who has added an LLM (the foundation you need for Gen-AI) has gone with OpenAI or Azure AI, which is Open AI. It’s odd. Each of them is using ChatGPT, with some going with the GPT Model, which enables them to use ChatGPT 3.5 turbo (which is ChatGPT with some token fees) or move up to ChatGPT Plus (formally known as GPT-4), which incurs a higher token fee, and a lot of financial impact. Some vendors just went with ChatGPT to avoid paying fees, which is about as valuable as peanuts with CrackerJack. I swear the ratio was 50 peanuts to one corn thing. Nobody wants those peanuts.

I should note here that authoring tools, including AI-only ones, are going heavy with ChatGPT. Again, I have yet to see a vendor select any other LLM out there.

Lucy.AI, a 3rd party AI solution that SAP will implement, and a variety of entities use, wait for it, ChatGPT – the Plus version.

Arist, the darling of quite a few companies? ChatGPT Plus.

I can’t say why all these vendors went with ChatGPT 3.5 Turbo (lower token fees), ChatGPT Plus, or the GPT model, which includes both, and then whatever comes next – and trust me, those token fees will be higher, but I can surmise for some why they did. They weren’t aware of others, or they looked at a couple but didn’t know what else was out there. Sort of like folks looking for a learning system – regardless if it is an LMS, LXP, Learning Platform, etc. They are aware of only a few and zero there, rather than going full throttle and looking everywhere (I think way too many think Trust Radius and similar ilk are the most trustworthy – they are not).

What are they using ChatGPT or Azure AI (again, it’s OpenAI) or another Gen-AI (LLM) offering for?

Overwhelmingly it is for content – as in their content creator tool (formally known as an authoring tool). The premise? Create content quicker. A few use it to create a course pathway or plan or modules, whereas it will give you the header(s) for each module/path, and then you can add your assets, OR you might get lucky where it will produce a description, for example.

Next up? Assessment tools. LearnUpon does it (just released), Knowledge Anywhere, and others.

Then, some go further; they use it as almost an answer engine. This is a good one because you would go (assuming you are using ChatGPT) with either the full freebie or, for many vendors, ChatGPT 3.5 Turbo. Why the lower token or zero fees ones? Each prompt, which is made up of characters, adds up. Think 2,500 people asking questions (using prompts). Every character, which behind the scenes includes ” and a space, starts to add up.

I liked what Learning Pool did, where using your own content (PDF, etc.), an end-user can type in the start of a word or words, and the system goes right to where that statement or paragraph is, without showing you the entire document (something Lucy.ai for example, doesn’t do – it shows it all). Granted, a vendor with machine learning could pull this off, but the bonus and win for me was that it provided the page number. Thus, if you wanted to go at some point into the material, you could find it with the page number.

This is low-hanging fruit for the usage in my opinion, so why aren’t other vendors using this?

As with any Gen-AI LLM (or LLM, for that matter), even with your content, you will get hallucinations. That’s reality. And any vendor who tells you that with your stuff, you will never get them, or it is always accurate, is lying. I had to say this bluntly because if they are selling you a system with AI – and that AI is Gen-AI (the key here), they should know this fact. There are no excuses here – to which I never understand why vendors pass the buck on you – expecting you to know it, even though they push and heavy tap it with their marketing.

Could their LLM do more than what you stated above?

100% yes – but it depends on what LLM they use for Gen-AI. If they are using Claude2, for example, you can drop a PDF or any type of file, such as an Excel file, and it will automatically output a summary. If it is ambiguous – i.e., what you are asking- it can still pull the summary if the file is more accurate and better.

For those using ChatGPT Plus, they could rock it because OpenAI is adding new capabilities all the time. The image thing is amazing. Just look at some of these examples, and think how that could be used for your learners – and then go – “Why are those systems using ChatGPT Plus not doing this?”

On a side note, your L&D, Training, and HR departments do not have to wait for your learning system to do this, kind of cool stuff – if you choose to try out ChatGPT Plus. The fee is $20 per month. I use it and love it. I also use Claude2 Pro and a couple of others because not one and only one is perfect. Each has strengths and weaknesses. And BTW, you can try out for free A21, which I also play around in. It’s a very cool offering.

If I am a vendor-learning system or other learning technology, what should I be aware of, before I add Gen-AI?

  • What do you want it to do? Why do you want to add Gen-AI? Is it because your clients are asking for it? Because you recognized you need it? Another reason?
  • Did you look at the various LLMs out there besides OpenAI and Azure. There are a lot of LLMs out there, and one that intrigues me (not yet live, but Google is having a few companies test it out), is Gemini. Now, that could damage OpenAI realistically—a potential game changer.
  • Do you need it now, or can you wait until 2024? If you say 2025, you are going to be far back.
  • If you add it, what are some of the low-hanging fruit you could do immediately? And, what are some things you could add next year that would be a USP (unique sales proposition) for you? Do you want to be like everyone else, Or do you want to truly be a leader?

If your CTO, IT team, or development team pushes back because they do not want to do this, let’s remember who is in charge. The last time I looked, it was the CEO. If you think none of my clients are asking for it, this isn’t the time to think that way. Nobody goes yuck when they see it. Think this way: if your clients saw your new updated UI, do they tell you they want it ahead of time? This whole – “we let our clients drive approach, which you should never do anyway, is non-applicable here.”

  • Do you have the budget to do this? Can you handle the costs? One way around this is to do machine learning (a form of AI) with Gen-AI or just go only machine learning (which many vendors have or still have, actually)
  • Are you aware of the number of tokens per prompt? There are always caps.
  • I’d ignore the number of parameters. It sounds impressive, but how many are you genuinely going to use? I highly doubt 1 trillion (yes, an LLM has it).
  • How will privacy and security issues be addressed? Just because your system has it, does your Gen-AI LLM too? I mean if you have to strip out PII with the Gen-AI, how will that work?

One option is to look at RAG (Retrieval Automation Generation) – which also increases accuracy -, but again, nothing is 100% with Gen-AI (LLM). If you use Azure or OpenAI, for example, you can get a plugin for it.

Bottom Line

In just a short period of time, numerous learning system vendors and learning technology vendors have added Generative-AI. Yet, overall, it is limited to what they offer. Are text-based retorts or outputting faster content the best they can do? For example, if they are paying for ChatGPT Plus, the answer is no.

Maybe it is in their roadmap to do more.

Maybe it isn’t.

Maybe they are unaware of what is out there, and rather than waiting, testing, and validating with a rollout in 2024, they felt the need to push quickly and figure it out later.

All options are on the table.

Until they

Aren’t.

E-Learning 24/7

The answer is yes for those who have asked whether I provide services around Gen-AI for L&D/Training or other departments for their employees or customers, members, etc. – that are using it already, and what you need to do, etc.), Learning Systems, Learning Tech, and companies in general. I offer workshops and speaking (on-site or via a webinar)- and you can be anywhere in the world and a bundle of options. Contact me to learn more.

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