President's
Corner
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This month is our annual Professional
Development Day. Each year, our chapter provides training and
performance improvement practitioners in the Hampton Roads community
this opportunity for personal and professional growth. This one-day
event provides meaningful professional development workshops,
presents an opportunity for networking, and allows local vendors a
forum to showcase their products and services. Please check out our
website at www.sevaastd.org for details and registration
opportunities.
The Chapter's new Board is coming together. This month, the slate
will be presented. Next month, the new board will be voted in, with
installation coming in December.
Your Chapter Board is also preparing to attend the 2000 ASTD
National Leadership Conference (NLC) to be held October 20 -- 22 in
Alexandria, Virginia. The NLC offers the opportunity for our board
to come together for learning and networking with leaders from other
chapters from throughout the US. The mission of these three days is
to discover how all of us can collectively move the profession
forward. The conference will explore the challenges of leadership,
provide professional development and tools for leaders that can be
implemented after the conference, and highlight partnering
opportunities between ASTD, leaders, and staff. This has always been
a great learning and team building opportunity for the new board.
As a reminder - If you have not received your membership renewal,
call us. If you have received it, please return the renewal form as
soon as possible.
I look forward to seeing you at the Professional Development Day.
You can get
the latest news and information from the Southeastern Virginia
Chapter delivered to your work or personal e-mailbox. Monthly,
(approximately one week prior to any of our programs) we will send
each of our members who have signed up for this service a reminder
and a short summary about the event. From time to time, we will also
include other information of interest to our membership.
All you have to do to receive the free SEVA E-News is send us your
e-mail address. You can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail
to
To subscribe, just send a message with "Subscribe SEVA
E-News" in the subject area and your name (nothing more) in the
body of the message. To unsubscribe, just send a blank message with
"Unsubscribe SEVA E-News" in the subject area.
As always, here
is the privacy statement: The e-mail addresses that make up the SEVA
E-News distribution list are confidential. SEVA ASTD does not
furnish these addresses to advertisers or sponsors, nor does it use
this distribution list for any purpose other than mailing the SEVA
E-News. SEVA ASTD directly distributes the SEVA E-News only to
members who have subscribed by e-mail. Once you remove your address
from the SEVA E-News distribution list, there is no record of your
address in the SEVA E-News distribution list.
Technology
Update
ASTD’s New E-Learning Initiative:
Helping Members Get Up to E-Speed
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ASTD’s New E-Learning Initiative: Helping Members Get Up to
E-Speed
Something big is happening-a revolution that will change the
fundamental nature of training, knowledge management, and
performance improvement. Coordinating ASTD’s e-learning initiative
is Patricia Galagan, the editor-in-chief of Training and Development
and Learning Circuits magazines. ASTD recently spoke with Galagan
about her vision of the future of e-learning.
ASTD: What exactly is e-earning?
PG: At ASTD, we define e-learning as being anything delivered,
enabled, or mediated by electronic technology for the explicit
purpose of learning. The term includes such technologies as online
learning, Web-based learning, and computer-based training. It
excludes things that might fit under the umbrella of "distance
learning" but are non-electronic, such as books. E-learning
also includes learner-to-learner interactions, such as might occur
in an online learning community.
ASTD: Why the emphasis on e-learning?
PG: E-learning is the most important development in the training
industry’s recent history and the one that is most likely to
change the field dramatically in the next 1,000 days. Many ASTD
members are struggling with e-learning, and ASTD wants to become
their primary source of information and tools for taking e-learning
into their organizations.
ASTD: What other e-learning resources does ASTD plan to provide?
PG: Our goal is to identify and create ASTD e-learning products and
services to help get membership to e-speed. Our early meetings have
been extremely productive, and a lot of great ideas have been
proposed. Some of the things we’re looking at include wired
workshops on e-learning, partnerships between ASTD and leading
e-learning organizations, and enhanced e-learning resources and
links on the Members Only portion of the ASTD Website.
ASTD: Is e-learning always the best training alternative?
PG: Frankly, no. Some training objectives are - and will continue to
be - best achieved through classroom-based training. However,
e-learning is clearly the best choice when you need to train
hundreds of people, your training budget is limited, or you need to
train a number of people in remote locations. Also, e-learning is
the preferred delivery when teaching certain subjects, such as
software applications. Any many people have discovered that
"hybrid" programs - which incorporate both classroom-based
training and e-learning - solve their training needs most
effectively.
ASTD: What developments are we likely to see in e-learning in the
next five years?
PG: Forecasts call for e-learning to balloon to 55% of the corporate
training market by 2003. That’s less than 1000 days away! Part of
the reason for that explosion is the pace of technological
development. Increases in bandwidth, faster Internet access, better
graphics, and more interactive features will make e-learning more
user-friendly. There’s no question in my mind: E-learning is here
to stay. And ASTD will help our members embrace it, learn all they
can about it, and use it as effectively as possible.
(From ASTD, July/August 2000
Learning
to Learn: How to Find Training and Classes that Work
Workforce, Aug 2000, by Jennifer Laabs
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There's an ancient saying: When
the student is ready, the teacher will come. Then there's the Bible
quote: Seek, and ye shall find. Combining ancient wisdom with modern
insight for human resources professionals looking for training
translates into this: Great HR training can be found just about
everywhere - if you look for it.
It's the flip side of HR professionals' usual role: learner instead
of
trainer. Most HR generalists already know how to plan training and
development programs for their employees. But what happens when it
comes to designing their own career development strategies? What if
you want to tap into a course on advanced online recruiting, global
HR management, mergers and acquisitions, or managing telecommuters?
Some HR pros are lucky enough to have a corporate university on-site
or nearby. Many of them have built these universities themselves.
Such companies as Sears, McDonald's, and Dell Computer provide
employees, including HR professionals, with access to all types of
training opportunities.
Other HR managers don't have access to on-site universities and must
find training outside their organizations. But it's no sweat. These
days, just about any type of human resources training you can
imagine-from online coursework in how to conduct performance reviews
to one-on-one training in executive leadership is available. Whether
you want to get continuing education units, professional
certification, an advanced degree, or simply want to beef up your HR
skills, there's an institution out there to help you. It just takes
a little research to find the right one for your needs.
Good first steps are to evaluate your career development needs and
discover how you learn best. "An individual's learning style is
more basic than personality itself," writes William E. Casner
in "Real-Time Learning for RealTime Teamwork," Technical
Training magazine (May/June 1998). "Each person gathers and
processes information in a unique way, and this process is reflected
in learning styles."
To figure out your preferred learning style, it's helpful to think
about how you prefer learning new information in other areas of your
life. For example, if you wanted to learn how to program a new VCR,
would you prefer to have someone show you how to use it, or would
you read the manual? Maybe you'd just start fiddling with the remote
and hope for the best. One way isn't better than another.
"I work for a nonprofit, and I'm a one-person department, so
it's hard to find the time to go to outside training," says
Linda Konstan, director of HR for the American Humane Association in
Englewood, Colorado and principal of LMK Associates based in Denver.
"I despise conferences with their (what I consider) silly
workshops. To me, HR conferences are purely for networking and not
for `learning.'"
Other human resources professionals obviously disagree. That's
evident in the numerous HR conferences available, such as the
American Management Association's annual human resources conference,
which registers thousands of attendees.
Sometimes, it's best to combine learning styles for the best
retention. "The challenge (and the art) lies in matching
content areas with the most appropriate training methods,"
advises The Center for Creative Leadership Handbook of Leadership
Development (Jossey-Bass, August 1998). "For greatest
effectiveness, multiple methods should be used. For example,
lectures are needed in most skill-based training because they are
the most efficient way to deliver large amounts of information and
theory. But no matter how well done, lectures alone are never
sufficient."
We're
looking for a few good.... Board Members!
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It's not just "national"
election season, it's "local" election time, too! And, you
don't have to worry about campaign financing or (much) scandal! We
are already planning for the exciting board year of 2001-The
Training Odyssey. And we'd like you to be part of our team!
If you have an interest in any
position and/or would like further information about what the
position responsibilities entail, please call any present Board
member or Debbie Christian at 361-4117 or email
before September 30th!
Being a board member provides you these opportunities (and more!):
Leadership - goal setting - process development - group dynamics -
strategic planning - effective communication - challenges - problem
solving -
responsibilities - resume building - learn more about HRD, OD and
performance improvement - making new friends - being part of a team
- networking - attending the National Leadership Conference - having
lots of laughs- and being all that you can be!!!!
Come on, "throw your hat" into the ring and contact a
current Board member by September 30th.
Conference
Speaker Presentation Tips
From "Tips from MIS Training" by Ken Cutler and Lois
Jacobson
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Arrive early enough to test your equipment
before your session.
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Be relevant for audience.
They are attending the conference specifically to learn
up-to-the minute tactics, strategies, and techniques they need
to thrive in the industry, and will expect you to impart
practical, technical, "how-to" information.
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Don't try to cover too much material.
DON'T suggest that you are squeezing two or three days of
material into one and a half hours. If you have tailored your
presentation for your allotted time, your material will be
focused and relevant.
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Never apologize.
Don't throw a damper on the audience by making them feel they
are not getting your best.
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Get right into your subject matter.
Avoid long introductory comments. Spend no time on jokes,
amenities, or platitudes about how important the topic is. If
they didn't already agree, they wouldn't be there.
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Start off with a bang.
Start off with a promise. Start off with a pledge. Start off
with the "meat" so attendees are immediately taking
notes and thinking of how they will apply what you are about to
tell them.
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Don't make remarks about "Running Out of
Time."
When you suggest things didn't get covered, people feel cheated.
They think the conference and your session were poorly planned.
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Be specific.
Example: You are making a statement about lawn mowers - which
one do you think is the most valuable to attendees:
"Lawn mowers are a boon to mankind."
"Some lawn mowers are better than others."
"People with large lawns should use mowers with bags to
collect the cuttings."
"The following lawn mowers are most effective in the
following situations for the following reasons, etc."
Example: You are providing a list of techniques, advantages,
disadvantages, etc. Enumerate them. "Here are 18 quick
ideas of how to . . . one, two, etc."
Attendees will know where you are at any point.
Instead of "These are hundreds of ways . . ." say
"There are 483 ways to . . ."
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Don't tell self-congratulatory war stories.
Your personal experience is valuable, as long as you stick with
brief, relevant illustrations.
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Don't advertise your consulting practice.
Let your presentation do it for you.
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Support the program and other speakers.
Don't be negative. Your success, the program's success and the
participant's reactions are intimately tied to one another.
Support every speaker, the hotel, etc. If you have problems or
concern, discuss them after the program. In other words, be
positive, productive and flexible.
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Always repeat any question asked by attendees.
You will maintain the interest of all the attendees if they hear
and understand the issue you're addressing.
Training
and Development Professional Opportunities
(From CareeRx,
http://www.CareeRx.com)
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Continuing
to add to its suite of online career management resources,
CareerPath.com - the Internet's largest career site - announced a
strategic partnership with the leading career counseling Web site,
CareeRx (http://www.CareeRx.com).
Job seekers now will have access to CareeRx's extensive personalized
career counseling and specialized skills assessment tests in addition to
CareerPath.com's largest and most current database of job listings.
Recruiters will benefit from the combination of CareeRx's valuable pre-
and post-employment assessment tests and corporate fit surveys, together
with CareerPath.com's most precise resume search engine on the Internet.
"CareerPath.com is far more than job listings - we are committed to
providing job seekers with a one-stop career hub for successfully
managing their career," said Stephen Ste. Marie, chief executive
officer, CareerPath.com.
"As a leader in the online recruiting industry, we are excited to
team up with the leader in online career counseling, CareeRx, to provide
the most in-depth career resources on the Internet," said Jonathan
Swerdlow, vice president, business development, CareerPath.com.
Maintaining a staff of highly trained, professional career counselors
and coaches, CareeRx offers an inexpensive method of assessing
career-development opportunities by examining education, employment
history and other work related motivations.
Helping job seekers find careers that best match their interests and
skills, CareeRx provides counsel on how to implement a career plan that
will lead to a satisfying profession. The CareerXpress 15-minute survey
provides a quick analysis of possible career opportunities based on the
skills described. CareeRx's coaching philosophy focuses on developing
strategies to deal with specific challenges and hurdles, such as
preparing for an interview, choosing between two appealing jobs,
securing a promotion and negotiating a raise.
"Self-knowledge is the foundation of successful career
decisions," said Dr. Micah Janus, president, CareeRx.com, LLC.
"This must be combined with knowledge of the universe of career
opportunities. Next, you need the means to connect the two. CareeRx is
the hyper link to your CareerPath."
CareeRx brings affordable professional career testing, counseling and
coaching to the Internet. Its staff of licensed career professionals
utilize state of the art assessment tools as well as one-on-one advice
to provide the perfect "career fit" for job seekers and
recruiters. CareeRx's syndicated Ask Dr. Janus column provides helpful
insights and tips about the career process while its "Career
911" hotline provides immediate access to a professional career
coach. The career store provides books, CDs and tapes that support the
career exploration process. CareeRx president and director of
professional services Dr. Micah Janus is best known for his significant
work with Delta Airlines. Since 1945, virtually every pilot and senior
manager at Delta has been screened -- while seated in the famous
"Janus Rocking Chair," which is now in the Delta museum in
Atlanta, Georgia -- by Janus or his father.
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Contact SEVA-ASTD
SEVA ASTD
Quality of WorkLife Center
752 Settlers Landing Road
Hampton, Virginia 23669
(757) 640-0045
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American Society for Training and Development
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