Digest #170: Fun Activities to Reduce Forgetting (and Boredom) over the School Break

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July 20, 2023

Digest #170: Fun Activities to Reduce Forgetting (and Boredom) over the School Break

The time between the end of a school year and the start of a new one can feel long and from a memory perspective considerable forgetting occurs. Engaging children and young people with different activities can help to counteract forgetting and boredom. In today’s digest, we highlight different activities and free resources.

1. Primary games & Secondary games, BBC Bitesize

BBC Bitesize hosts a variety of mini games for children and young people that tap onto different subjects (e.g., maths, history, science…). They are all free to play and children can pick and choose.

2. Fun Learning for Kids &

The Fun Learning for Kids website features different activity cards that can be printed out and children can work on them at their own pace. There are literacy and numeracy exercises and all of them are nicely formatted to spark interest.

The OxfordOwl website is similar and features activity sheets for children up to 11 years old. This resource also has a creative writing section and storyteller videos.

Analysis of Generative AI PDF Solutions

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July 20, 2023

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Generative-AI which I have written about many times (and will in the future too, as it impacts our space), continues to be “hot.” The challenges include “quality,” “hallucinations,” “bias,” and “output.” There are a lot of products already out there for someone to choose from, and in this analysis I focused on the whole PDF (and it can include other documents depending on the platform) and the usage of text-based generative AI.

GPT-4 which is the “best,” LLM from OpenAI, now offers plugins (it is still in beta). Since it offers this option, I had to go and hit the test to find out which one does the best job, which one(s) are so-so and if there were any that totally failed with hallucinations? I then selected two standalones (i.e. they are not in the GPT-4 plugins) to see how they stood up.

Since ChatGPT is popular, although there are some early indications that the “novelty,” may be wearing off, it is still very hot with your employees (Congrats!). As such, if someone was to spring for the fee-based GPT 3.5 or GPT-4 (the only one with the plugins), and decided to just go and upload their PDFs, and then extract – well, they might be surprised by the findings. And if you as a learning system vendor is thinking or using GPT Model, and GPT-4 and are exploring adding the PDF extraction angle, then you are in for a real treat.

With the standalones, the ones I tried out are 100% free. One even has a chrome extension (shudders). Anyone who has access to a browser and is searching for a PDF AI offering can find these and many more.

The one – and it is a big one – to remember is that at least for now, when you upload your PDF and seek those summaries, tap into the premise of an answer engine (which reallly is it), that it is 100% text. You won’t see the PDF itself on one side for example, and the text on the other side – i.e. the answers to your questions. You only see the retorts.

The two standalones I tried though, did show the actual PDF on one side of the screen, and then the responses to my questions on the other side, with one offering such suggestions to select to start. Each of them then highlighted the text on the PDF to correspond to the answer, and included the page it came from. Sounds great, but surprise – each ran into issues with that – the highlighted text didn’t align to the question, and twice the page to which is corresponds to (based on the question) was wrong. If someone isn’t paying attention to this, they are going to assume that it is 100% correct, and therein lies the problem with generative-ai in general – it is not infallible.

On the Gen-AI PDF options (all products BTW you can find on the web), the results were all over the map. One of them, based on a question I asked produced a response that was 100% wrong – a total hallucination. Not one item was correct. And it wasn’t a fluke. When I went with a different question, it provided a response that was never mentioned in the PDF – as though it just picked it out of the blue.

The Vendors – With GPT-4 (I used as plugins)

AI PDF – The web site, you can do nothing with it. So, no need to add the link.
AskYourPDF
ChatwithPDF
MixerBox Chat PDF
Link Reader – The web site of Link Reader is now called something else, like Sider or something like that. But Link Reader is readily available as a plugin, and you can find YouTube videos on how to use it.

Of that list, under “Popular Plugins” – AI PDF, AskYourPDF and ChatwithPDF where in the top list (along with others, that aren’t PDF) – thus think of it, as just popular in general.

The Test PDF

I went with my Learning System Buyers Guide – 18 pages full of very useful information. Easy PDF to upload, and then start right in.

The Questions

I tried to stay consistent here by may have rephrased it, with the same goal. For Link Reader once I saw the first hallucination, I then had to go another step to see if it was a “one-off” or if it happened again, with a very specific and different question – and yeah, it happened again.

What were the questions?

Summarize or provide a summary of the Learning Systems Buyers Guide
What are the key items around pricing?
What are some pricing examples?

With Link Reader – whose big push is to find links that you can click and go to the web, within your documents – and PDFs, I had to really expand out – so I asked what helpful articles are in the buyers guide? There are 17 with links in the guide. Link Reader, the first time around provided seven, of which only two actually existed; and the second time around with the same question – five were provided, only two were in the PDF. It also noted that there were no links in the PDF. I went with a third question asking, “What Skills Based Measurement Platform does he recommend?” – The response was 100% hallucination – more on that later.

What I learned from each of the plugins (excluding Link Reader) was that their responses were not consistent – thus while one provided this type of summary, another went a different way. That’s fine as long as the information is relevant and on-point.

AI PDF

What is great about any of these, okay, I am referring to TextChat responses, is that you do not have to pose your inquiry as a question. You can just ask as a statement. The key though is if you want specifics, you have to go specific; asking for a summary is general – wanting to know pricing around AABD is specific.

Q: Summarize the Learning System Buyers Guide

AI PDF response:

Here’s a summary of the “Learning Systems Buyers Guide” by Craig Weiss:

The guide provides insights and knowledge about various learning systems, aiming to help those with limited or zero knowledge about these systems make informed purchasing decisions (Page 2).
The guide covers topics such as due diligence, pricing, and the importance of seeing a demo before purchasing a learning system. It also emphasizes the importance of understanding industry terminology and the fact that there are no refunds in the industry (Page 2).
The guide discusses the concept of “Learning System Types” and explains that a Learning System is any system or platform where learning/training (via e-learning, aka online learning) is the core of the solution (Page 3-5).
The guide provides a list of articles that will help those new to the learning system space or those who want to know more (Page 6).
The guide emphasizes the importance of understanding the target audience of a learning system. It breaks down the market share into three categories: Combo (both employees and customers), Customer Focused, and Employee Focused (Page 7-8).
The guide discusses pricing models in the industry, particularly the popular “Monthly Active Users” model. It explains how this model works and what to watch out for (Page 9-12).
The guide recommends a three-year contract as the ideal duration. It argues that one year is too short to assess ROI, while anything longer than three years is risky due to potential changes in the vendor’s situation (Page 13).
The guide concludes by discussing the importance of having a clear use case and business case when choosing a learning system (Page 14).

AI PDF for the plugins, was the only one which provided the page number next to the response. Plus, it was the only one to go chronically number ordered, rather than page four, then page two and so on.

That said, the first bullet point with the page number is wrong. The AI misinterpreted what I actually wrote, which was about buyer guides in general – that you find. The actual text

“I love buyer’s guides. There is something about gaining insight and knowledge around various products or offerings when you either have limited or zero-knowledge about these items, but you want to purchase one at some point.”

Not once does it refer to my guide, but I saw time and time again, various AI PDF programs saying otherwise. Something to recognize when using these offerings – in that if the writer does some generalities, the program can take it as meaning the specific document you are summarizing.

On the page 13, the only reference to the number of years is the last year. The other years and the explanation is is on the previous page. As for the clear use and business case, that starts on page 13.

The summary as a whole is just pulling down a header or extracting a line or two of text. Because you can’t see the PDF at the same time – screen wise, you would need to have both the GPT-4 window open and the PDF one too. Again, this is a downside of using a Plugin with the GPT-4 direct location. If it was to be in a learning system, well, uh, a finagling would need to be done to get it all on the same screen.

When I asked the question around key pricing information, overall, it did a solid job. I found the response to work for anyone who just wanted the highlights if you will. I went one step further by asking for some specific price examples (which is in the PDF). It responded with two examples, then added some more information, which had nothing to do with specific examples.

If you go to AI PDF web site, you can’t test it out there – the site is in beta mode. Thus, it is GPT-4 or nothing to use AI PDF.

AskYourPDF

I had high hopes for AskYourPDF, because it seemed so tantalizing.

Summarize the Buyers Guide oh great AskYourPDF:

The “Learning Systems Buyer’s Guide” by Craig Weiss is a comprehensive resource designed to help individuals and organizations make informed decisions when purchasing learning systems. Here’s a summary of the guide:

Purpose: The guide aims to provide insight and knowledge about various learning systems, especially for those who have limited or zero knowledge about these items but are interested in purchasing one.
Due Diligence: The guide emphasizes the importance of due diligence. It advises buyers to always check out the learning system, ask the right questions, and see a demo. It also warns against assuming that vendors understand industry terminology.
Misconceptions: The guide highlights some common misconceptions, such as the belief that everyone already has a learning system, that everyone knows e-learning, and that talent management is the same thing as learning.
Pricing: The guide notes that pricing can be high for enterprise and large enterprise buyers, especially when procurement is involved. It also discusses the concept of “bundled” and “range/band pricing.”
Formal Proposal: The guide advises buyers to seek a formal proposal from vendors, which should include information about the vendor, a listing of some clients, features/functionality they want to highlight, the benefits of selecting them, and the formal pricing proposal.
RFP/RFI Templates: The guide provides two RFP/RFI templates, one for employees and the other for customer learning/education. These templates can be used to find the right learning system for your needs.
Helpful Articles: The guide provides a list of articles that can help those who are new to the learning system space or those who want to know more. These articles cover topics like learning systems with employees, learning system contracts, decision criteria before buying a learning system, LMS or LXP, and more.

If you start saying, “Hey, there are some similarities,” you would be correct. Both were wrong on “Purpose” to a slight degree. Yes the first part is correct, but the latter doesn’t exist on page two or anywhere for that matter. The rest is spot on. As with AI PDF it offered to answer any additional questions.

What I found most interesting was when I asked for the highlights, it nearly hit the same responses as summary, but with a couple of key differences, the biggest being “RFP Process” which would definitely be of interest to someone. It should have appeared as one of the summary items.

Between AI PDF and AskyourPDF, I liked the latter with the dark bold topic headers but missed the page numbers (although considering AI missed on a couple). Equally for me, the summary with AskYourPDF was better with the summary around specific items that I think many folks would find of interest.

Summary Winner – It was very close, but the bold definitely stood out and the headers; AskYourPDF wins.

Key Pricing Information

AskYourPDF presented six items – with some details. The six included the MAU (Monthly Active User) model, the important of no refunds, “up to”, and pricing difference between Enterprise and High Enterprise. I liked that it included the whole “up to” angle, because it is very relevant, and yes, MAU is by far the biggest takeaway here.

AI PDF also presented six items with a bit more details depending on which of the six. The Enterprise response and never telling your budget were the same as AskYourPDF. MAU was noted by presented differently. Proposal slid in here. Again, with AI PDF page numbers were included.

Key Pricing Information Winner – A close one. I’m calling Tie.

On the provide some pricing examples, AskYourPDF failed. None of the specific examples which had number calculations were presented; rather it was more of insight, which should have been included with the pricing information, albeit two actually appeared in the “pricing information.”

Between AI PDF and AskYourPDF, AI PDF wins this round.

MixerBox Chat PDF

I really hate nag screens, especially when they appear as text at the bottom of each response. MixerBox did this on every response. It was brutal. I refuse to present the information, but did you know that there are more plugins available at MixerBox?

MixerBox Summarize the guide!

The “Learning System Buyers Guide” provides valuable insights into the learning system industry. Here are some key points:

The guide discusses the importance of understanding the vendor’s offerings, including their client list, marketing strategies, highlighted features and functionalities, benefits of choosing them, and their pricing proposal.
It emphasizes the importance of customer support in the industry, suggesting that vendors should provide twice-a-year data on response times, follow-up, and the number of support calls.
The guide introduces the concept of “Monthly Active Users” (MAUs), a popular pricing model in the industry. It explains that MAUs are typically based on one person who logs into the system at least once in a 12-month period.
The guide provides a breakdown of the usage of learning systems, stating that the high range is up to 79% employees vs. 21% customers, with the usual range falling in the 55-65% mark towards employees. Some vendors in this category include Absorb, Learn Amp, Cornerstone, and Fuse.

Please note that this is a brief summary, and the document contains more detailed information. Also, if you’re interested in more tools like this, you might want to check out other plugins by MixerBox in the plugin store. One of them is the ‘MixerBox WebSearchG’ plugin, which lets you browse the internet effortlessly within the ChatGPT interface! For more information, you can visit the website of MixerBox’s plugins: MixerBox Plugins.

Alright, you saw the pitch of the plugin, but wait there’s more – I refuse to show the pitch on other responses.

Overall, the summary failed. An 18-page document, that has info on 17 of those pages, and you give me four points? At least they didn’t give the “lack of experience,” result.

Key Pricing Information

MixerBox did a bit of a better job here – with bolded headers (which it didn’t have for the summary) covering Bundled and Range/Band Pricing. But it missed with zero information around MAU – which is the key dominator in how vendors pitch the pricing aspect. I’m not sure I would put a Proposal here, but AI PDF did the same thing.

On the key pricing examples, MixerBox presented the same two items on Bundled and Range, and then added MAU, but again slide proposals here. The odd thing is that in the document it says, “here are some pricing examples,” and shows numbers. AskYourPDF figured this out, the others didn’t. Yes, you can argue that MB provided examples – by showing the model types, but model types and key pricing info to me are different things.

Current Tally

Mixer failed with summary, did so-so with pricing information, and so-so (I will give into the types), on examples. In other words, of the three, they are dead last. Trust me, they won’t be when this is done.

ChatWithPDF

Summarize CWP

The “Learning System Buyer’s Guide” provides comprehensive insights and advice on purchasing learning systems. Here’s a summary:

Introduction: The guide is designed to provide knowledge about various learning systems to those with limited or no prior knowledge. It emphasizes the importance of due diligence, asking the right questions, and never assuming that the vendor knows the industry terminology.
Learning Systems: The guide categorizes learning systems into three main categories based on their target audience: Employee Focused, Customer Focused, and Combo (both employees and customers). It emphasizes the importance of understanding the focus of a learning system as it can explain why they have certain functionalities and capabilities.
Pricing: The guide discusses the industry’s pricing strategies, including “bundled” and “range/band pricing.” It also introduces the concept of Monthly Active Users (MAU) pricing, where an active user is defined as a person who logs into the system for that month or logs into the system and takes a piece of content.
Contract Duration: It advises against contracts longer than three years due to the risk of the vendor being bought out or making changes to the system that may not align with the buyer’s needs.
Use Case and Business Case: The guide emphasizes the importance of having a clear use case and business case when selecting a learning system. It encourages buyers to provide detailed scenarios of what an end-user will do in the system.
Proposal from Vendor: When seeking a proposal from a vendor, it should be itemized, include setup pricing and support details, and match the agreed duration (e.g., three years).
Negotiation: The guide advises never to reveal your budget to the vendor. The initial price quoted is often a street price or retail, and there’s usually room for negotiation.

The guide is a comprehensive resource for anyone looking to purchase a learning system, providing detailed insights into the industry’s practices and what to look out for when selecting a vendor.

Once again, the “The guide is designed to provide knowledge about various learning systems to those with limited or no prior knowledge,” retort appears. To be honest, when I asked for highlights, it was listed a couple that should have been here in the summary. The extraction of lingo as you can see with nearly all of them is my vernacular.

If CWP had used those couple of items found in highlights which could slide into summary, they would lead. That said, still promising.

Key Pricing Information

CWP started strong with the Bundled and MAU, but then went off the rails with the Proposal. There was no mention around Range/Band which would have been relevant far more so, that say negotiation (also presented).

Pricing Examples

CWP listed three and went into a deep dive with MAU far more than the other vendors. Bundled provided the information, although not the specific number example. The last item just didn’t fit here – negotiation.

The Tally – Going into the Final Stretch, it is neck and neck with AI PDF and AskYourPDF in the lead, ChatWithYourPDF just slightly behind and MixerBox being a nag, dead last.

Link Reader

I always talk about hallucinations, and sometimes I see eye rolls as if there isn’t a reason to press this as much as I do. Link Reader validates the whole hallucinations statement.

Link Summarize The Guide

I readily admit that Link started out strong – far better than the others (except the page listed one, only because it provided the page numbers)

The document you provided is a comprehensive guide titled “Learning Systems Buyer’s Guide” by Craig Weiss, who is the CEO and Lead Analyst of The Craig Weiss Group. The guide is intended to provide insights and knowledge about various products or offerings in the learning systems space, especially for those who have limited or zero knowledge about these items but are considering purchasing one.Here are some key points from the guide:

Caveats for Buyers: The guide emphasizes the importance of due diligence when purchasing a learning system. It advises buyers to thoroughly check out the learning system, ask the right questions, and remember that there are no refunds in the industry.
Learning System Types: The guide explains different types of learning systems, including Learning Management Systems (LMS), Learning Experience Platforms (LXP), Coaching Platforms, Mentoring Platforms, Learning Suites, and Talent Development Platforms (TXP).
Pricing: The guide discusses the pricing models in the industry, particularly the Monthly Active Users (MAU) model, which is the most popular pricing model in the industry. It also warns about vendors who might attach a percentage increase in their contract each year under the guise of “inflation or some similar angle.”
Contracts: The guide recommends a three-year contract as the most appropriate duration. It argues that one year is too short to assess ROI, while contracts longer than three years are risky due to potential changes in the vendor’s business.
Use Case and Business Case: The guide distinguishes between a use case, which is what the organization wants to accomplish with the learning system, and a business case, which is what the business wants to accomplish with training/learning.
Demo: The guide emphasizes the importance of asking the right questions during the demo and understanding the vendor’s customer support and service.

The guide also provides links to several articles that can help those new to the learning system space or those who want to know more. The articles cover a range of topics, from decision criteria before buying a learning system to turning training into a profit center.

When you compare this to all the others, you can clearly see the differences, plus some similarities. Overall, though, I felt it did the best job of all of them with this first part.

Link Reader pushes the whole “web links” err links to go the web thing, so I had to bounce right over to test it (and yes step away from the other items).

In the guide, it lists 17 different sites that you can click and go to the article/post. When I asked Link what the helpful articles were (using the exact wordage for that section), the first time it showed seven. The Power of the LMS Sandbox, Learning System Comparison Guide were just two of many that does not exist in my entire guide. One they noted, I gave it credit even though it is not under the helpful articles section but is a link to my Template. Thus of the seven, two were in the helpful articles, and one was pressented elsewhere in the guide. I should add that before it provided this information, it listed this statement:

“The guide provides links to several articles that can help those new to the learning system space or those who want to know more. Here are the articles mentioned:”

Since four do not exist, I think you can see where this is going.

I went ahead and redid it to see if the same thing would happen or if it would correct itself. Nope. Five were presented, including my personal favorites – the comparison and sandbox. Just to verify that there wasn’t an article that perhaps the AI was seeing as an article, I did a search for “sandbox” in the guide. It appears a whopping ZERO times. Once again though the AI saw FindANLMS which notes the text “comparison” of learning systems – as an actual helpful article. Still the results were not promising.

I then went one further step and asked Link Reader the following:

“What is the one skills-based measurement tool he recommends?”

Link Reader gave me a false answer – it said “Skillboard.” However, in the document, under the specific statement of the skills-based measurement platform I recommend it Skills Base. Skillboard never appears in the entire guide.

I didn’t go ahead and seek our pricing summary and examples, because once I experienced the multi-hallucinations, I decided, what’s the point?

Bottom Line

When I compared the standalones – ChatPDF and PDF.AI I ran into similar issues with page numbers being off and missed highlight areas. One produced information that seemed to come out of the blue. That said, because the PDF was visible on the left side, and the highlighting was either Blue (ChatPDF) or Yellow (PDF.AI) they did I think a better job, as a whole. Neither was perfect, and neither would be ones that I would rely on 100% as being exact without verifying everything as I go thru it.

And therein lies the rub.

You must go thru all of them – every one of them to verify that the information is correct. The human element must exist, and I can tell you, a lot of people ignore that and just go with the flow.

In my test, Link Reader generated information that came out of outer space, and with the recommendation, being false. MixerBox, just failed across the board, ChatWithYourPDF, AskYourPDF and AI PDF had hits and misses.

For right now, think of Generative-AI PDF products as more of an answer engine.

With you giving them

A helpful hand. And extra check.

To validate.

Right from Wrong.

E-Learning 24/7

The top 10 skills of 2023 (and how to start learning them)

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July 20, 2023

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The top 10 skills of 2023 (and how to start learning them)

Did you know? Between now and 2027, 60% of workers will need retraining due to global transformation and macrotrends.

That’s one of many findings in the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Future of Jobs Report. It reflects 800+ global employers’ views of skills and jobs over the next 5 years—and it features Coursera data that highlights fast upskilling and reskilling strategies.

The report also identifies the top 10 skills of 2023, and skills that are on the rise.

If you’re ready to get started with any of these skills, you can find options from top universities and companies on Coursera. To help, we identified some top rated programs on Coursera that map back to the World Economic Forum’s top 10 skills of 2023. And even better, all of the courses and programs below are included in Coursera Plus which means you can access all of them for one single price, easily switch between courses to find the right one for you, and earn unlimited certificates. Or, you could ask your manager to bring Coursera to your team with Coursera for Teams!

Let’s get to the top 10 skills of 2023 and how to start learning them

Analytical thinking
- Exploring and Producing Data for Business Decision Making from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is great if you’re just getting started.
  - Skills you’ll learn: Basic Descriptive Statistics, Data Analysis, Probability & Statistics, Exploratory Data Analysis, Business Analysis, Statistical Analysis, Survey Creation, Research and Design, General Statistics, Decision Making, Analysis, and Microsoft Excel
- Business Analytics for Decision Making from University of Colorado Boulder is great if you’re looking to go a little deeper.
  - Skills you’ll learn: Data Analysis, Research and Design, Business Analysis, Decision Making, Data Analysis Software, Strategy and Operations, Operations Research, Exploratory Data Analysis, Mathematical Optimization, Data Management
Creative thinking
- Creative Thinking: Techniques and Tools for Success from Imperial College London is great if you’re just getting started.
  - Skills you’ll learn: Research and Design, Entrepreneurship, Creativity, Leadership and Management, Human Learning, Business Psychology, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Brainstorming, Innovation, Communication, Collaboration, Business Analysis
Resilience, flexibility and agility
- Positive Psychology: Resilience Skills from the University of Pennsylvania is great for beginners.
  - Skills you’ll learn: Business Psychology, Communication, People Development, Professional Development, Leadership and Management, Human Resources, Entrepreneurship, Emotional Intelligence, Personal Development, Resilience, Gratitude, Adaptability, Mindfulness
- Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential from McMaster University is another great first step.
  - Skills you’ll learn: Entrepreneurship, Human Learning, Business Psychology, Emotional Intelligence, Leadership and Management, Lifelong Learning, Communication
Motivation and self-awareness
- Visionary leadership, identity & motivation: Become a meaning maker from Macquarie University is a good entry point.
  - Skills you’ll learn: Leadership and Management, Marketing, Communication, Strategy, Brand, Resource, Leadership, Strategy and Operations, Brand Management, Sales, Entrepreneurship, Motivation
- Self Awareness and the Effective Leader from Rice University is another great option.
  - Skills you’ll learn: Leadership and Management, Professional Development, Entrepreneurship, Leadership Development, Communication, Business Psychology, Emotional Intelligence, Problem Solving, Resilience, Leadership
Curiosity
- Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects from Deep Teaching Solutions is a crowd favorite.
  - Skills you’ll learn: Personal Development, Business Psychology, Human Learning, Learning How To Learn, Entrepreneurship, Collaboration, Decision Making, Problem Solving, Learning To Learn, Test Preparation, Leadership and Management, Adaptability
Technological literacy
- Surviving Disruptive Technologies from the University of Maryland, College Park is a great place to start.
  - Skills you’ll learn: Business Analysis, Leadership and Management, Business Transformation, Sales, Marketing, Strategy and Operations, Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Supply Chain and Logistics, Research and Design, Probability & Statistics, Leadership, Innovation, Risk, Statistical Tests, Strategic Planning, Planning, Change Management
Dependability and attention to detail
- Putting Strengths to Work from ADP, Inc. is made for beginners.
  - Skills you’ll learn: Team Management, Storytelling, Professional Development, Mindfulness, Reflective Learning
Empathy and active listening
- Inspiring Leadership through Emotional Intelligence from Case Western University is built for beginners.
  - Skills you’ll learn: Personal Development, Leadership and Management, Communication, Emotional Intelligence, Influencing, Leadership Development, Business Psychology, Collaboration, Leadership, People Development, Change Management, Mindfulness
- Conflict Transformation from Emory University is another great option.
  - Skills you’ll learn: Analysis, Communication, Conflict Resolution
Leadership and social influence
- Leadership Through Social Influence from Northwestern University is a great place to start.
  - Skills you’ll learn: Entrepreneurship, Influencing, Communication, Marketing, Strategy and Operations, Leadership and Management, Leadership, Sales
- Inclusive Leadership: The Power of Workplace Diversity from the University of Colorado System is great for all skill levels.
  - Skills you’ll learn: Leadership Development, Communication, Collaboration, People Development, Leadership and Management, Emotional Intelligence, Business Psychology, Culture, Business Analysis, Diversity (Business), Self-Awareness, Strategy and Operations, Data Analysis, Listening
- Inspiring and Motivating Individuals from the University of Michigan is great when you’re ready to go deeper.
  - Skills you’ll learn: Leadership and Management, Human Resources, Communication, Emotional Intelligence, Business Psychology, Leadership Development, Storytelling, Strategy, Employee Relations, Motivation, Business Communication, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Strategy and Operations
Quality control
- Project Execution: Running the Project from Google is a great starting point
  - Skills you’ll learn: Leadership and Management, Strategy and Operations, Communication, Project Management, Business Communication, Collaboration, Writing, Risk Management, Influencing, Storytelling, Project, Strategic Thinking, Leadership
- Six Sigma Advanced Improve and Control Phases from the University System of Georgia can help you build more advanced skills.
  - Skills you’ll learn: Organizational Development, Business Psychology, Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Management, Probability & Statistics, Strategy and Operations, General Statistics, Supply Chain Systems, Operations Management, Operational Analysis, Analysis, Process, Project Management, Mathematics, Trigonometric Integral, Project, Lean Six Sigma, Differential Equations, Six Sigma, Planning

What about skills on the rise?

Many are the same as the top 10 skills of 2023, with three additions:

AI and big data
- The AI For Business Specialization from the University of Pennsylvania can be a great starting point.
  - Skills you’ll learn: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Management, Analytics, Fraud Prevention
- Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Ethics from the University of California, Davis, is another great option for beginners.
  - Skills you’ll learn: Big data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Algorithms, Research Ethics, IBM Watson, Natural Language Programming (NLP), AI Ethics
Talent Management
- The Leading People and Teams Specialization from the University of Michigan is a great starting point.
  - Skills you’ll learn: Vision Alignment, Talent Management, Goals and Rewards, How to Motivate Employees, Leadership, Goal Setting, Communication, Leadership Development, Onboarding, Coaching, Recruitment, Management
Service orientation and customer service
- Introduction to Customer Service from CVS Health is a great place to get started.
  - Skills you’ll learn: Active Listening, Task Prioritization, Communication, Time Management

Which course will you try next?

Let us know by tagging @coursera on LinkedIn!

Knowledge Sharing in The Workplace: How to Do it Right

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July 19, 2023

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Knowledge Sharing in The Workplace: How to Do it Right

In today’s fast-paced and competitive business environment, knowledge sharing has emerged as a critical factor for organisational success. Knowledge sharing is crucial for fostering collaboration and innovation in the workplace. By fostering a culture of open collaboration and effective knowledge sharing, companies can tap into the collective intelligence of their employees and drive innovation. This article explores essential strategies to facilitate successful knowledge sharing in the workplace.

What is knowledge sharing?

Knowledge sharing refers to the process of transferring knowledge, information, expertise, and insights from one individual or group to others within an organisation. It involves the dissemination and exchange of valuable knowledge assets, such as best practices, lessons learned, innovative ideas, and experiences.

Knowledge sharing can take various forms, including verbal communication, written documentation, presentations, training sessions, collaborative platforms, and online knowledge repositories. It goes beyond simply sharing information and involves fostering a culture of collaboration, learning, and continuous improvement within the organisation.

Why sharing knowledge in the workplace matters

Sharing knowledge in the workplace is crucial for several reasons:

Fosters collaboration and teamwork: Knowledge sharing encourages collaboration among employees. When individuals openly share their expertise and insights, it facilitates teamwork, problem-solving, and innovation. It brings diverse perspectives together, leading to more comprehensive and effective solutions.
Avoids redundancy and duplication: Knowledge sharing helps prevent the duplication of efforts and resources. When employees share their knowledge, others can benefit from existing solutions, best practices, and lessons learned. It reduces the need to reinvent the wheel and allows for more efficient and streamlined work processes.
Accelerates learning and growth: Knowledge sharing creates a learning culture within the organisation. Employees can learn from each other’s experiences, skills, and expertise. It accelerates the learning curve for new hires, promotes professional development, and enables individuals to expand their knowledge and skills.
Increases productivity and efficiency: When knowledge is readily shared, it improves overall productivity and efficiency. Employees can access the information they need to perform their tasks effectively, reducing time spent searching for information or troubleshooting problems.

How to improve knowledge sharing in your company?

Improving knowledge sharing in your company requires a proactive approach and a supportive environment. Here are some strategies to enhance knowledge sharing:

Encourage and nurture knowledge sharing:

Develop clear policies and guidelines that outline the expectations and processes for knowledge sharing. Communicate these policies to all employees and provide training if necessary. Make sure the policies align with the company’s overall goals and values.

Recognise and reward knowledge sharing:

Establish recognition programmes to acknowledge individuals or teams that contribute valuable knowledge. Incentives and rewards can motivate employees to actively participate and share their insights.

Remove communication barriers between your employees:

Break down silos and encourage collaboration across different teams and departments. Facilitate regular meetings, workshops, or projects that bring employees from different areas together. This cross-pollination of ideas and expertise promotes knowledge sharing across the organisation.

Create knowledge-sharing opportunities:

Foster a work culture that values and encourages knowledge-sharing. Promote open communication, collaboration, and mutual support among employees. Recognise and celebrate individuals or teams that actively engage in sharing their expertise.

Start sharing yourself:

Share your personal experiences about your use of learning management systems, peer-to-peer learning, and other avenues you have utilised and you have found helpful in your professional development journey.

Have your senior employees share their knowledge:

Managers and leaders should actively participate in knowledge-sharing initiatives. When leaders demonstrate their commitment to sharing knowledge, it sets a positive example for others to follow. Encourage leaders to share their expertise, experiences, and insights through various channels.

Formalise a knowledge management process:

Invest in employee training and development programmes that promote knowledge sharing. Offer workshops, seminars, or webinars on topics relevant to employees’ roles and interests.

Use effective knowledge-sharing tools:

Invest in tools and technologies that facilitate knowledge-sharing. Implement collaborative platforms, intranets, or knowledge management systems that make it easy for employees to create, access, and share information. Ensure these tools are user-friendly and accessible to all employees.

How can Alison help your business share knowledge?

Alison can be a valuable tool for businesses looking to share knowledge about Learning Management Systems (LMSs) with their employees or clients. Here’s how Alison can help:

LMS courses: Alison offers a variety of courses related to LMSs, including introductory courses, advanced courses, and specific courses for popular LMS platforms. Businesses can leverage these courses to educate their employees or clients about the features, functionalities, and best practices of different LMSs. Learners can access these courses at their own pace and convenience, allowing them to gain a comprehensive understanding of LMSs.
Certification: Alison provides certifications for completing their courses. Businesses can encourage their employees or clients to complete relevant LMS courses and earn certifications. These certifications serve as proof of knowledge and can be included in resumes or professional profiles. This helps businesses ensure that their employees or clients have a solid understanding of LMSs and can effectively use them.
Customised learning paths: Alison allows businesses to create customised learning paths by selecting specific courses related to LMSs. This enables them to curate a comprehensive learning experience tailored to their specific needs. Businesses can guide learners through a sequence of courses, ensuring they cover the essential topics and gain a well-rounded understanding of LMSs.
Training materials: Alison offers downloadable resources, such as e-books, toolkits, and reference materials, accompanying many of their courses. These materials can be valuable assets for businesses to supplement their LMS knowledge-sharing initiatives. They can distribute these resources to their employees or clients to further enhance their understanding and provide ongoing reference materials.
Global accessibility: Alison’s online platform is accessible globally, making it suitable for businesses with a distributed workforce or international clients. Employees or clients located in different regions can access the same courses and certifications, fostering consistency in knowledge sharing across the organisation.
Cost-effectiveness: Alison’s free courses and certifications make it a cost-effective option for businesses looking to share knowledge about LMSs. It eliminates the need for businesses to invest in expensive training programs or hire external trainers.

Alison’s free learning management system (LMS) is unlike other e-learning platforms. It has over 4000+ courses across a wide range of subjects and industries that you can register for. Here, businesses, schools, and philanthropic organisation can design customised learning paths based on their unique business and personnel needs.

Unlimited number of team members
Quick and easy set-up time and process
Aggregate and individual reporting: set up your group’s training progress with a choice of daily, weekly, or monthly reports, you can keep track of the academic progress your team makes.

Effective knowledge sharing is a key driver of organisational growth, innovation, and competitiveness. By implementing these strategies, businesses can create a culture that values and promotes knowledge sharing. Remember, successful knowledge sharing requires ongoing commitment, support, and the active participation of all employees.

Word of the Day: megalopolis

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July 19, 2023

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The word megalopolis has appeared in eight articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Nov. 21 in “Exploring a Plan to Remake the L.A. River” by Soumya Karlamangla:

But the river flooded frequently. And as Los Angeles grew, development encroached on the river’s banks, leaving less open land to absorb the overflow. That came with disastrous consequences: During a heavy rainstorm in February 1938, the Los Angeles River burst its banks and ultimately killed 87 people.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decided to entomb the river in concrete to speed up water flow and prevent flooding, a project that was completed in the 1960s. The channel protected Los Angeles’s infrastructure and allowed the city to grow into a global megalopolis, Michael Kimmelman, The New York Times’s architecture critic, recently reported in The Times Magazine.

Daily Word Challenge

Can you correctly use the word megalopolis 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 megalopolis 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.

‘My Love for Queer Literature’: The Week 3 Winner of Our Summer Reading Contest

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July 18, 2023

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‘My Love for Queer Literature’: The Week 3 Winner of Our Summer Reading Contest

Our annual Summer Reading Contest invites teenagers around the world to tell us what New York Times pieces get their attention and why. This week, the third of 10, we received 889 entries. Thank you to everyone who participated, and congratulations to our winner, who would like to be known as E., as well as to the runners-up and honorable mentions we honor below.

Scroll down to take a look at the variety of topics that caught the eyes of our participants, including disinformation, chatbots, the Supreme Court’s affirmative action decision, the saga of the Titan submersible, and reflections on the television shows “Breaking Bad” and “The Bear.” You can read the work of all of our winners since 2017 in this column.

Remember that you can participate any or every week this summer until Aug. 18. Just check the top of our contest announcement to find the right place to submit your response.

(Note to students: If you are one of this week’s winners and would like your last name published, please have a parent or guardian complete our permission form [PDF] and send it to us at LNFeedback@nytimes.com.)

Winner

E., 16, from Vancouver writes about T Magazine’s “The 25 Most Influential Works of Postwar Queer Literature”:

My bookshelf at home is a glass closet; Woolf and Wilde next to anthologies about Stonewall.
But it wasn’t always like this. My love for queer literature started with my ninth grade English teacher recommending Whitman and Lorde. Poems printed out. pocketed so they couldn’t be seen by anyone else. The shove of a book into my bag when met with a “whatcha reading?”; paperback covers creased with shame.
I read “Stone Butch Blues” in my tenth grade socials class, slamming my laptop shut any time anyone asked what I was doing. “Giovanni’s Room” was the only Baldwin my school library didn’t have, and my face was warm when I asked our librarian to buy it for me.
Pride overtook my shame, eventually, but I spent a lot of my (relatively short) life feeling alone in my body and experience as a queer person. Like the writers in this article talked about, I found something so powerful in literature’s capacity for helping me phrase my thoughts and shape my understanding of my identity.
Today, when someone asks me what I want to study in university, I’ll tell them I want to minor in Gender Studies. I’m usually met with laughter, which is why I want to study it in the first place. These stories, though formative to me and to the six interviewees of this article, are obscure to most. So is our history. I wonder what growing up would have felt like if I or anyone else had been told more stories about girls like me.

_______

Runners-Up

In alphabetical order by the writer’s first name.

Celia L. on “When Doctors Use a Chatbot to Improve Their Bedside Manner”

Dante C. on “How It Feels to Have Your Life Changed By Affirmative Action”

Isabella C. on “The Beautiful Chaos of the Notes App”

Jerry W. on “The Myth That May Have Doomed the Titan”

Olivia on “I Thought No One Had Felt Grief Like Mine. Then I Saw ‘The Bear.’”

Sunwoo C. on “Restaurant Review: Okdongsik Serves Two Things, and Both Are Outstanding”

Vera Hsiang on “‘I Can’t Continue This Fight Any Longer’”

Yaqing on “The Art of Being a Flâneur”

________

Honorable Mentions

Ashley on “A Wellness Chatbot Is Offline After Its ‘Harmful’ Focus on Weight Loss”

Turning a passion for art into a profitable business

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July 18, 2023

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Turning a passion for art into a profitable business

Meet Sheila, who’s learning from Long Island, New York. Sheila is a talented artist, art educator, and social media marketer. Keep reading to discover how she turned a passion for art into a viable business using social media.

Art has always been my passion, and I knew I had to find a way to make it a career. The biggest struggle I was facing was growing my online presence to market my art. I decided to search for online resources to assist me and came across the Social Media Management course offered by Meta. Through this course, I gained a comprehensive understanding of the various terms and concepts utilized in the realm of Social Media Marketing. It has been quite an enriching experience!

I have actively implemented these newfound skills to enhance my social media presence and explore opportunities for promoting and selling my artwork online. As both an artist and a teacher, I recognize the significance of effectively marketing myself and my craft. The insights I’ve gained from my studies on Coursera have had a profound impact on both my personal and professional life.

Currently, I am completing course three in social media marketing – seeking to expand my expertise and stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends and practices. One piece of advice I would like to share with the learner community is the importance of maintaining a curious mindset and embracing continuous learning. Sometimes, we may initially perceive certain knowledge or skills as irrelevant, but every bit of new information has the potential to be useful and beneficial. Never discount the value of any piece of information, as no knowledge is truly useless.

By cultivating a lifelong learning approach, we open ourselves up to endless possibilities for growth and improvement. Whether in the context of social media marketing or any other field, acquiring new skills and expanding our knowledge base can greatly contribute to personal and professional success.

New ChatGPT plugin and generative AI courses help learners and employers build in-demand skills on Coursera

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July 18, 2023

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New ChatGPT plugin and generative AI courses help learners and employers build in-demand skills on Coursera

Coursera’s ChatGPT plugin provides personalized recommendations to connect learners to the right learning content; new gen AI content from Google Cloud, DeepLearning.AI, other leading educators teaches in-demand skills

By Marni Baker Stein, Chief Content Officer at Coursera

Demand for generative AI learning content on Coursera has surged. Just this April, we saw a 230% year-on-year increase in on-platform searches for courses that cover generative AI. We’ve also heard from learners about the new generative AI skills they’ve learned and applied in their careers as well as from employers looking to scale generative AI skills across their workforce to improve customer offerings and productivity. To address our global community’s hunger for this new technology, we’re thrilled to announce a new ChatGPT plugin and a growing selection of generative AI projects, courses, and Specializations.

Expanding personalized discovery and guidance with a new ChatGPT plugin

A Coursera plugin is now available directly within the ChatGPT interface. It combines the power of generative AI with Coursera’s trusted catalog of 5,800+ courses, 3,500+ projects, 750+ Specializations, and 50+ degrees to provide learners with personalized guidance.

To access the plugin, learners must be ChatGPT Plus users. When logged in to their account, they must go to Settings > Beta features > select enable Plugins. The plugin store will then be accessible when using GPT-4 via a dropdown menu. Within the store, learners can search for “Coursera,” then select and install the plugin for free. Once installed, learners can enable and disable the plugin when using GPT-4.

GIF showing the ChatGPT interface and how to download the Coursera ChatGPT plugin.

Learners can use the plugin to identify the right learning content on Coursera to hone their skills in a given subject or career field. Akin to an academic counselor, the plugin can help pinpoint specific courses based on what the learner says they’re interested in exploring. The plugin sorts through the thousands of offerings on Coursera to recommend just a few pieces of learning content, including a brief description and direct link.

Screenshot of ChatGPT interface using Coursera plugin to find Machine Learning content on Coursera.org.

This marks a continued expansion of Coursera’s generative AI-powered products and features. Our previously announced Coursera Coach and course building tool are both designed to support learners and educators on the Coursera platform. Now, with our new ChatGPT plugin, we’re able to leverage AI alongside the world-class content on Coursera to serve learners off-platform as well.

Serving learners with generative AI learning content from top educators

Today, we’re excited to announce a collection of the 20+ pieces of gen AI-focused learning content available to learners globally, from individuals keeping their skills sharp to a CHRO preparing an entire workforce for relentless disruption. Coursera also offers hundreds of courses in skills that help equip learners to work with AI more broadly, like machine learning, linear algebra, Python, and much more.

Beginner Projects, Courses, and Specializations

Intermediate/Advanced Projects, Courses, and Specializations

We’re grateful to our global educator community for rapidly bringing this highly relevant content to learners around the world via Coursera. Together, with our esteemed partners and top-notch product teams, we’re committed to providing learners with the content and tools they need to pursue their interests and goals, whether that’s learning the latest technologies or exploring new career paths and possibilities.

Create a free account on Coursera today.

Learn more about Coursera for Business.

Color Love | Shades of Blue

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July 18, 2023

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July 18, 2023

I recently created a stunning color palette called Shades of Blue, and I just had to share it with you! Using blue color in design can evoke a sense of calmness, relaxation, and stability. This palette features four different blue shades, each with its own unique personality. It was all inspired by these gorgeous blue buildings from the photo above.

Shades of Blue Color Palette

Aqua is a refreshing and calming shade, while cobalt is bold and striking. Light blue is a delicate and dreamy shade, and pastel blue is soft and soothing. And to add a pop of warmth, there’s a lovely coral shade of red. I think this palette would be perfect for a coastal-themed room or a summer wedding.

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.

Shades of Blue Color Palette - Aqua, Cobalt, Light and Pastel Blue

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

What do you think about this Dark Blue & Coral 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.

If you’re a fan of today’s color scheme, you should definitely take a look at July’s Free Wallpaper. It was inspired by the beautiful palette we saw today!

And, of course, don’t forget to check the 2023 Ultimate Planners! Over 100 pages that will help you grow your blog and social media and plan your perfect year!

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

‘My Conflicting Views on Affirmative Action’: The Week 4 Winner of Our Summer Reading Contest

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July 18, 2023

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Winner

Smrithi Senthilnathan, 17, from Chennai, India, chose a guest essay from the Opinion section headlined “I Teach at an Elite College. Here’s a Look Inside the Racial Gaming of Admissions.” and wrote:

I’m an Indian high school senior. Applying for college will probably be the most brutal experience of my life, and I have tons of things to worry about without considering whether schools will only look at my application through a diversity lens.
My conflicting views on affirmative action stem from recognizing its importance in the fight against institutionalized racism, while also grappling with the concern of being admitted for the sake of a diversity quota and not actual merit.
Dr. Harper expresses my standpoint perfectly, discussing how affirmative action has fostered a society focused on capitalizing on their race.
I don’t want to write my personal statement about race. I want my essay to convey my passions and personality, rather than factors I cannot control. However, I would also want admission counselors to take into account the opportunities I missed out on because of my identity.
Essentially, both proponents and critics of affirmative action want the same thing: equality.
The only possible solution is evening the playing field. Instead of making reservations for historically underrepresented communities, remove the barriers that prevent these people from being on the same level as the dominant classes.
Although I understand this might be idealistic and not achievable in the next few decades, I am hopeful for a future where this dream will become reality.

_______