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Surprises so Far in 2023

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Surprises so Far in 2023

Happy post Valentine’s Day or as many refer to it, Happy Card Company who created this billion-dollar industry. We can thank Coca-Cola for helping to create the image of Santa Claus, to this day! Yep, the world back then was in perfect harmony – according to Coke.

Holidays, okay, the amount of money dropped on Valentine’s Day, always surprises me. Chocolate heart shaped things. Teddy Bears. Peeps (My favorite, the person who created them, was a genius). Expensive dinners at restaurants you normally wouldn’t go to. Nice meals. And the list goes on. Nowadays I think that the gig is up, and everyone realizes the scam. Actually, that isn’t true. Another surprise.

Surprises in E-Learning

One of the biggest surprises, is that so many folks are unaware that e-learning was an umbrella term, as I noted in the History of the LMS post. Today? Vendors use it to refer to online courses/content. On top of that, they misspell it – the term is e-learning. It has always been e-learning. Vendors who use it? eLearning or elearning. That surprise isn’t so alarming that we should call out the cupids to jump off the cards and launch arrows.

Some of my favorite surprises in 2023, okay, have continued for many years, and still are rocking it, include:

  • Rapid Content Authoring Tools – that have been reduced down, to be nothing more than slides where you can stick images/items in, and lots of templates. I know why this is being done, because so many folks do not know instructional design, and many have no interest in learning some of the basics, or even if they did, due to budget constraints or just boss arrogance, they can’t go and learn somewhere. WYSWIG (What You See is What You Get) is extremely popular – especially with learning systems’ authoring tools. The ol WYSWIG isn’t new, it has been around even in the 90s. Anyway, RCAT’s which changed the industry dramatically, opening course development to anyone, should have created early-on a solution better suited for folks with instructional design backgrounds OR people who wanted to start at the basics, but could eventually go further up. Today, Storyline offers both avenues, dominKnow does too, and the list goes on. However, there are authoring tool vendors, who still think PowerPoint can be an authoring solution. Shame on them. No peeps for you.
  • E-Learning tools that people haven’t utilized in their own online learning and training. I’m not referring to VR, or AR or MetaVerse (which all require a bit more, and the VR out of the box authoring tools, and not fully VR), I’m talking about offerings such as Bongo, which taps into video skills assessments, scenario-based learning, coaching/mentoring and more; or that solution which converts any podcast into a visual learning experience (their name escapes me, blame my concussion) or Audiate, which Techsmith sells on top of Camtasia, that is a very cool solution. The moment I saw what it could do, I’m thinking, why isn’t everyone tapping this. Part of the issue is that Techsmith, isn’t great at pushing it beyond their web site, and the other issue is folks are unaware. It has a lot of potential, to go even further. And yeah, it doesn’t require any skill sets, which folks will say, “well RCAT’s don’t either, and you griped about that”, but if you have some audio skill sets, such as editing and using waveforms, plus understand the nuances of taking Camtasia to a whole new level, then yeah, you need some skills – especially with the Camtasia power. The downside? It’s expensive – i.e. Audiate, ditto with Camtasia.
  • Other vendors taking a look at Anders Pink and seeing how they can create a solution that goes even further and do more with curation of content, even via bookmark extensions – in other words a mashup, along with a few other touches. Look this industry is a lemming industry (minus what Disney actually did, which still gives me nightmares – okay where is my Chocolate Hershey Kisses?), and if they see something that works, which can be replicated, it will happen. Just like NFL offenses!
  • Mentoring solutions could be the next big thing to go into multiple channels, but I’m still surprised on how many vendors believe coaching and mentoring are the same thing. They are not. Coaching is focusing on a skill – hence I am coaching you on leadership. Mentoring is focused on the entire person. Trust me, you want the latter. I currently mentor a couple of folks on the business side. It is very rewarding.
  • Vendors who are not paying attention to the wordage or name of their solution/system/tool. I see this at trade shows, where the wording is quite visible, and a quick walk by, which many people do, will see the word or words, as something else, that is rated R. I will still remember the vendor whose name was Shift! (it was or still is an authoring tool). Every time, I saw the word, I saw something else. Seriously, nobody else realized this? At a trade show, DevLearn, there was a vendor who had a phrase, with some words that followed suit. They didn’t realize it, until I pointed it out. Then there are vendors like Intellum, who referred to themselves as EdTech, ignoring that edtech means K-12 and higher education. Their marketing person said, well we provide customer education, so we are edtech. No, you are not. Speaking of which
  • EdTech used by vendors focusing on the corporate space or used in press releases or by so-called experts, that you see on the net. The term never meant anything besides educational technology, and the higher education/K-12 space. Yet, time and time again, I still see it. Even today, by learning system vendors on the corporate side. E-mail means electronic mail, it doesn’t mean sending it by snail mail (postal). Nobody would ever think it means anything except electronic mail. So, why would someone think EdTech means customer or association education?
  • Lastly, on the surprise side, are vendors whose names are either difficult to spell or say. If you have to spell out the name, to find it on the web, that’s an issue. The same thing, with trying to pronounce it, and then obliterating it. There are vendors are fine with this enunciation spin. Docebo for example, is pronounced as (DOE-Che-BO) – there are an Italian company. Many people say (DOE-Chee-BO) or (DO-C-Bo). Schoox on the other hand, slides under – try to spell us – which unless you are aware of the system and know how to spell it. I repeatedly get folks asking me how to spell it. The vendor is aware of this and is fine with it. They explained to me, why they refer to their company with this term, which okay, whatever. Then there is Agylia. I like the system but every time I see it I think Argyle. And try to spell it, when you are using a search engine. The name of your system, or solution, should be easy to spell and remember. That’s marketing 101. Especially if it is one word – or two max. (on the consumer side – Nike, Coors, Budweiser, Macy’s, Walmart, and the list goes on). It is funny that so many solutions/systems push the repetition reinforcement angle, to recall, yet seem to have forgotten that, when it comes to naming themselves.

Surprises on Clients

Learning System vendors, and okay, the majority of e-learning solutions, love to provide either publicly via their web site or privately thru their pitches to prospects, a list of “clients”. Big names are definitely shown. Sometimes they appear by vertical/industry, other times, just tossed around. Personally, I am totally fine with that. However, transparency is a whole other issue, and despite vendors’ salespeople and c-level execs telling me they are very transparent, they only become that if you ask them about said client or that client. Even then, I find that there are salespeople who don’t know the answer to such basics as, “are you the only learning system with that client?” “If not, what department/division are you in?” Did any of these clients, purchase X number of seats (similar to what you are seeking, so let’s say 500).”

I love it when a vendor will either say, “you need to sign an NDA” for that information, even though they are publicly showing it – especially at a trade show. Another is, “we will need to get back to you on that,” and then, you will never see that information. I wrote on LinkedIn, that you should give them 48 hrs during a business day to find out. Honestly, though it should take them about 30 minutes, if they use a CRM, that collects such basic data – and I haven’t seen one that doesn’t.

I would ask if that client were a current or past client. I continue to find vendors, who post on their web site, “clients” list a few, and then fail to state whether that is a current or past client. When you see “clients” you would think, “current”, and yet, time and time again, I will find out that client seen on a pitch view isn’t a current client.

It’s just clarity here, which is why I strongly recommend you ask a vendor when they show you that list, whether the client is current or past. It is true that large companies, heck even mid-size ones may have multiple learning systems. So, it is possible, that both vendors are in one company, or that the company purchased the learning system, and never installed it (it happens), and thus the vendor doesn’t know – supposedly if they have launched it (of course, they would know, but that is another story).

Other surprises include

  • Continuance of learning system vendors who think L&D is it. I just dealt with this, on two calls this week. Each only said L&D, yet each were available to companies who targeted customers. Plus, even a large company, may have multiple departments for learning, one being L&D, and the other being “Training”. What is the solution here? I thought what if people who are in training started to boycott vendors who only said L&D when they spoke with them? Perhaps that would change the cycle of L&D only. Nothing against L&D here, but think this way – if you were L&D, and way too many learning system vendors only said “Training” as the only learning in town, would you be a bit irked?
  • Ditto on the LMS. There are other types of learning systems out there, and yet, I see this with PE/Growth Equity, individual investors, and even other learning system vendors. They mention only LMS. Ignoring learning platforms – which is a large segment, what is left of LXP, and other learning systems that have coined names that nobody searches for or says in a room, “let’s buy an employee engagement platform.”
  • Long Presentation Decks. Oh, this is getting awful. Every vendor who makes a pitch to tell you more about their learning system (regardless of the type, and learning ops is the latest, for those curious), love to provide a slide deck. So, you have a 60-minute window to see the solution, which is the key reason you are on the call. 15 minutes is the presentation deck or 20 minutes. Now, you have 45 or 40 minutes. And that is assuming you say nothing, while the demo is being shown. Since people tend to ask questions, the time dwindles. Which results in Speed Racer the demo version, and areas that are missed or lightly covered. In an age where time is pressed as limited, vendor decks are getting worse. Here is an idea. Since you – the salesperson or whomever is reading the slide deck, that I and others can see, just send the deck ahead of time. That’s right, a day before the presentation. Then if I have questions, from the deck I have viewed, I can ask them, while you are showing me the demo. I know, it is a new concept here, but it works. In this scenario, you can still find out if the client is current or not, just by e-mailing the salesperson, so all those client questions can be answered, by said salesperson. A time saver. For those CEOs, CROs and so on, who say, “we created this marketing piece, to benefit our customers (prospects) and to tell a story, “Ask yourself, do you enjoy it when you attend a seminar, and the presenter just reads off the slide deck? Again, I am not buying a system based on the slide deck. It is the system or the content or the e-learning solution that I want to see, that is the reason for the call.

Bottom Line

Some people love to be surprised. To be caught off guard, to enjoy the thrill of it. They are the same people who probably love surprise birthday parties.

However, even those folks never like the drive-thru surprise, when your meal isn’t in there, the drink is wrong, or some other faux-pas has occurred. Nor do they like, the additional charges of mystery at the bottom of a bill, that some restaurants take-on, and which requires you to ask.

That’s something we all have in common.

Yet I still look, and hope that this system, or this e-learning solution, or this content or this whatever for online learning will surprise me.

Most of the time, it ends up underwhelming, despite the hype,

But every once in a while,

The X really surprises me.

And when that happens,

I know that this surprise,

Could be a difference maker,

Perhaps even a

Game changer.

E-Learning 24/7

The Winners of Our Eighth Annual Student Review Contest

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Read critical commentary by teenagers on a high school cafeteria, Breath of the Wild, Balenciaga’s new line and more.

Black Engineers on the Need for Mentorship & Community in Tech

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Black Engineers on the Need for Mentorship & Community in Tech

A good mentor can open the door to many opportunities, especially for Black (and other minority) professionals who navigate homogenous work environments, microaggressions, and harmful stereotypes throughout their careers. Many Black developers and engineers have spoken on being “the only one in the room” — a sentiment backed by data that shows that Black people only make up 7% of the tech workforce in the U.S. And the number dwindles even further as you look toward leadership positions.

That’s why having a mentor can be so helpful. They can offer a source of support and empathy as they provide professional guidance and help accelerate your career growth. So, for Black History Month, let’s explore how mentorship and community-building have helped many Black engineers and other tech professionals accelerate their personal careers and make tech more equitable and inclusive.

Learn something new for free

Finding a mentor

When Codecademy Senior Software Engineer Voniel Brown moved from a rural town in Jamaica to the U.S. as a child, he quickly became fascinated with tech. He nurtured his interest for years, and even took a C++ course in college — but ultimately majored in finance instead because he thought the field was more stable. (Plus, computer science programs at the time were cost-prohibitive.)

Through the National Association of Black Accounts (NABA), a nonprofit networking organization for Black professionals in finance, Voniel met a recruiter who introduced him to a Software Engineer at his dream company. The two met for coffee, and the engineer explained how he launched his career through a bootcamp, which inspired Voniel to think about pursuing a career in tech. 

The connection was a game-changer: “It was amazing because I actually wanted to go into tech but it didn’t seem feasible at a time when I was looking at college majors,” Voniel said. “So to hear his journey from going through a non-traditional route and ending up at the place where I wanted to work reignited my interest in tech.” So Voniel enrolled in a bootcamp, learned to code, and today, he works for Codecademy! 

Along with identifying career opportunities, a mentor can also offer empathy and insight into shared experiences — especially if they come from a similar background. “For people of color to be mentored by someone who looks like them allows these leaders to have a truly vulnerable and safe environment,” said AWS General Manager Daryl Hammett in an interview with CIO.

Grateful for the mentors that helped him find his way, Voniel sought to pay it forward and helped other developers at his bootcamp – and now, he plans to look for even more mentoring opportunities now that he’s at a senior level.

While mentors can help establish your career and find your place in an industry, these lasting relationships can evolve over time. “[You get to a point where] you’re on the same level, and the dynamic isn’t the same as before,” he said. “[Whereas] before it was like a Padawan and a Jedi Knight, now you’re a Jedi Knight, and you can have your own Padawan.” In other words: You’ll eventually transition from mentor-mentee to peers, and be ready to start mentoring new developers yourself.

Building community

No two mentors are exactly the same. For example, you might have one mentor who provides hands-on code reviews and teaches you valuable new skills, while another might recommend you for jobs or provide big-picture guidance for your career. 

Having multiple mentors who you can turn to for different needs is important, Amina Adewusi, a self-taught Software Engineer said during a You Got This conference. This way, you can crowdsource insights from multiple perspectives (and avoid being overly reliant on any one person). 

“I’m often taken aback by how advice can differ so much from person to person,” Amina said. “And I found that, by speaking to several people, I get a richer experience.”

In addition to having mentors, it’s also helpful to have a “sponsor,” which is someone who actively advocates for you at work — basically a level up from what a mentor does. A sponsor creates opportunities for your work to be acknowledged, amplified, and appreciated by other people in the organization, and is “personally invested” in your professional success, according to the Harvard Business Review. 

Recent research from McKinsey suggests that sponsorship among Black tech professionals is more impactful than mentorship alone. Sponsorship enables Black tech professionals to take their roles to the next level, advance to management positions, and ultimately stay at companies longer. In the McKinsey survey, more than one-third of Black tech professionals said advancement opportunities were the most important factor to career growth.  

Making tech accessible

The lack of diversity in tech is partially due to the many and varied systemic barriers to entry. For many minority groups, tech still seems inaccessible due to degree requirements and unfamiliarity with potential career paths. 

Degree requirements for jobs exacerbate the racial gap, as many Black people (and other minorities) aren’t in a position to pursue higher education. Surveys show that 65% of Black workers in the U.S. developed their skills through alternative routes, like bootcamps, partial college completion, on-the-job training, and platforms like Codecademy. On top of that, mentors often turn to their social networks or school alumni associations when finding a mentee, which puts people from nontraditional educational backgrounds at a disadvantage once they get in the door. 

Tech companies have been dropping degree requirements over the last few years, which has helped make tech hiring more equitable for the vast talent pool of self-taught programmers. But there’s still plenty of work to be done at every level. Companies, for example, have a responsibility to address unconscious biases and prioritize hiring (and nurturing) more diverse candidates. “If you only go to MIT or Ivy Leagues to get your talent, you’re missing out on the non-traditional routes that a lot of the more diverse talent comes from,” Voniel said. “You can’t have this push at the top to diversify if the entryway isn’t diverse.”

Get involved

Ready to get out there and start making connections? Check out these organizations that help Black tech professionals find support, mentorship, community, and opportunities:

  • Sista Circle: Black Women in Tech (BWIT): An organization that provides a supportive community for Black women in tech and helps members find networking events and other professional opportunities.
  • Blacks in Technology (BiT): A media company that promotes Black success in tech and provides community-building activities with groups on Slack and LinkedIn.
  • /dev /color: An accelerator that was designed to help elevate Black engineers and technologists to leadership positions and offers a mentorship program.
  • Black Code Collective: A safe space for Black tech professionals as they navigate the sensitivities of being a minority in largely homogenous work environments.
  • Black Tech Pipeline: A job board created by Pariss Chandler, who launched the #BlackTechTwitter hashtag in 2018, that helps Black professionals find employment with hundreds of companies that are transparent around their diversity practices.

There are also tons of tech groups on Slack and Discord (including our own Discord channel) where you can meet other developers and engineers. Or you can try contributing to open source projects and networking on LinkedIn and other social media platforms. Any of these options can lead to mentorship opportunities, which is helpful if you’re brand new to tech and are looking for ways to establish relationships. Be sure to check out the Codecademy blog for more advice about how to find a mentor and uplifting stories about Black technologists with inspiring careers.

What Video Games Would You Like to See Adapted for Film or TV?

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“The Last of Us,” based on the popular video game series about the survivors of a devastating pandemic, is a big hit on HBO. Are you watching?

Ruminating

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What do you think this image is communicating?

Word of the Day: indictment

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This word has appeared in 570 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year. Can you use it in a sentence?

Industry Corner Spotlight: Accounting

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Industry Corner Spotlight: Accounting

Each of us is accountable to something. Or someone. Organisations carry the same responsibility. In companies, accounting is the language of all business. Every business needs to be honest about its numbers. No fledging. No inflating. No exaggerating. Good accounting helps a business make decisions and plays a critical role in the planning and controlling processes. To get a better understanding of how companies balance books, and don’t go into the red, we sat down with a qualified CA, Nhyira, to learn more. 

Meet Nhyira (CA)SA

Tell us a bit about your background.

My name is Nhyira Asante (p.s. you don’t say it, the way it’s spelt) and I’m a CA(SA) currently working as an investment analyst.

What made you decide to go into accounting?

The age-old question – well I’m in this specific field via my mom’s direction. She always wanted to be an accountant but didn’t get to be one until later on in life, so she encouraged me to pursue it. When I saw the stars aligning in terms of academics, I gave it a full hearted “go” and I’ve often looked back since then (I jest, it’s a pretty fulfilling career).

Understanding accountancy

For those who don’t know, what does an accountant do?

An accountant essentially works at making sure the financial side of a business is kept in check by recording transactional information and then provides insight into what all the numbers mean.

What courses did you take to become an accountant?

I went to Wits and studied a Bachelor of Accounting Sciences in my undergrad and then a year of postgrad for my CTA (Certificate in the Theory of Accounting).

What additional certifications, exams, and memberships have you had to complete as part of your career journey?

As soon as CTA was done, I wrote my first Board exam which is a technical exam, and thereafter my second and final Board exam which is a more “practical” exam.

Are there different types of accountants?

Yes, we can break it down by qualification (there are professional accountants, chartered accounts, chartered certified accountants, management accountants etc.) but all with a similar focus on providing accurate financial information to assess a business’s performance / forecast future performance. Then there are the roles that accountants perform as well – they can be bookkeepers, financial managers, CFOs, investment analysts, entrepreneurs – any number of things.

What essential skills should every accountant have for success?

Key would having a good handle on the organisation and paying attention to detail.

Do aspiring accountants need to be good at math to succeed? 

Fortunately, yes otherwise people would sue us consistently and constantly.

What qualities and traits do you need to succeed?

The traits that help me in my current role in a more personal sense a very strong prayer life for strength (the job is immensely challenging) and the ability to persevere no matter the challenges.

What are the daily challenges you face as an accountant?

Usual stress of meeting near term deadlines in the most efficient and accurate manner.

In what sectors can accountants work and where are they most sought after?

Luckily, we can work across sector – as long as there is a need for someone to understand financial information there will be a need for an accountant.

What are some misconceptions about being an accountant?

That we are boring, stingy, penny pushers that people should ignore.

The life of an accountant

What does a typical day in your life look like?

My journey is a little different from a typical accountant’s – I work in an investment bank so my day to day involves covering admin and transactional points that may arise on one of the deals (selling and buying corporate businesses and providing other strategic advice to company leaders) I handle – this includes preparing materials, taking notes, valuing companies etc.

When you started on this journey, what was your vision and mission?

  • My vision was to help people with their businesses and financing so entrepreneurs would be able to execute on their dreams and visions.
  • My mission also slowly became about debunking the information barrier that exists between people who are well versed in how to work in a corporate, investing etc. and those that don’t have access to that information.

What are some of the daily habits you do that contribute to your success?

  • I try to take notes of everything I need to do, to help me keep track (I’ve always heard that a short pencil is better than a long memory)
  • Motivating and challenging team members towards a greater common goal
  • I exercise integrity and try to be reliable which results in more trust in the system for a more conducive work environment. 

What’s the biggest sacrifice you’ve had to make, and would you make it again if necessary?

The biggest sacrifice is an ongoing motif in my current role – my job is quite intense, as a result, I’ve had to sacrifice quality time with family to cater to my job.

Challenges of being an accountant

Have you experienced any failures or setbacks as an accountant and what lessons did you learn from that experience?

  • Definitely, in the words of Donnie McClurkin – “we don’t fall, we get up” (paraphrased).
  • I had quite the challenge in my post grad year but managed to pass what is a dreaded year for most accounting students.

What do you know now about being an accountant that you didn’t know before you started your career?

Accountant roles post qualification are so wide and varied – it enables you to do anything you would want to do.

Who inspires you and pushes you to keep going?

I want to build a more beautiful life for my parents – the idea that I will be able to make that happen day one day keeps me going.

Is work-life balance something you can achieve in your job as an accountant?

In general – it is within reach however in my current role, its rare.

What are some non-negotiable things you practice in your role?

  • Preparing for meetings
  • Having a post debrief session with yourself to understand what was discussed in a meeting (Especially when there’s new information you’ve been exposed to)
  • Being diligent and excellent in the work I submit to the team (to the best of my ability)

Do you have any apps or tools you use to stay organised?

I use Microsoft Outlook.

What words of encouragement or advice would you give someone looking to become an accountant?

  1. Know your why (purpose for pursuing this career) – once that is established and unlikely to change, you’ll be able to contextualise what you’re giving up getting your dream and decide whether it’s worth it or not.
  2. Always practise gratitude for any opportunity that is presented to you – it opens countless other doors and opportunities.

Accounting for something

When working with clients, what are the easiest and most challenging things you must deal with?

  • Clients are easy to engage with generally, and it’s fun to win them over.
  • They can also be quite slow in providing responses that you would need to action your own work which is challenging.

How important is teamwork in this field and how do you ensure you build a strong team?

Teamwork as in most fields is important – building a strong team takes intentionality in building trust and a safe space for team members to share their knowledge and ask questions.

What are the possible career paths for someone who has completed (or is about to complete) their accounting qualification?

Moving overseas using your qualification, financial manager, investment analyst, entrepreneur etc. 

Your proudest moment in your career so far?

Qualifying as a chartered accountant.

Think you have what it takes to help companies keep account? Take our free workplace personality assessment below and find out who you are and why you do the things you do. Discover your skills, strengths and weaknesses and receive course recommendations to get your accounting career started.

Color Love | Romantic Pastels

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Color Love | Romantic Pastels

Romantic Pastels Color Palette

There is no better color palette to feature in February than one with baby pink & blue in it. Cold blue shades remind us of a chilly winter morning, while soft pastel pink adds a little bit of warmth. Such Romantic Pastels’ color palette screams that love is in the air.

Romantic Pastels Color Palette

We love pastel blue and pink shades paired together. This color combination can be great for children’s decor or romantic designs.

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.

Romantic Pastels Color Palette - Baby pink, blue and grey

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

What do you think about this romantic pastels color palette? Where would you use it? There are really no limits here. We would love to hear your thoughts. Share them in the comments below.

Lastly, learn about the power of color in blog design in our blog post to see how important colors are in all the projects you create.

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!

Picture Prompt: A ChatGPT Valentine

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Play with The Times’s A. I. valentine generator and see what you think of the results.

Rihanna at the Super Bowl

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Were you watching last night? Are you a fan? What did you think?

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