Believe it or not, there are a lot of examples of really cool learning and design things going on out there.
A lot.
Playing with, reading up on, and sharing cool things has always been part of our DNA at LearnJam. It’s where we find our mojo. Much of it, somehow – even if just through mere inspiration – filters into how we continue to develop our Learning Design practice. It all kind of … cooks down.
We thought we’d share a few examples of learning and design gems that have caught our eye of late. A few choice cuts that lit us up.
🤔 4 things to check out
1. Learn anything with Learn Anything
Learn Anything helps you understand any topic through the most efficient paths, as voted by the community. Each topic has a mind map with nodes to other subtopics, external links and resources.
We like it because …
Learning is most effective when it’s intrinsically motivated – curiosity being a powerful driver. We love how that curiosity is met with a visual map of different resources, rather than a “course” that has been predetermined. Being able to plot a self-directed journey through relevant, related content (that has been vouched for by the community) is really powerful.
2. Write fluently in any language with Fluently
Fluently is an online text editor with a multilingual translator, dictionary, and thesaurus built-in. This means you can use it to create a document in a foreign language while writing in your mother tongue / first language (L1).
It’s positioning itself as a solution to the hassle of copy/pasting from Google Translate into your own docs, and the side-by-side editing view does feel way more comfortable. Currently in Beta.
We like it because …
Fluently saw a suboptimal situation and decided to improve upon it, which speaks to the designer in us. It also feels like a step forwards in terms of bringing translation directly into one’s workflow.
3. Discover new thinking tools and how to use them with Untools
Untools is a collection of thinking tools and frameworks to help you solve problems, make decisions and understand systems.
We like it because …
I mean, where to start? It’s simple, thoughtfully put together and is genuinely useful. We see this “playbook light” model as format on the ascent.
4. Check out how Opus is up-skilling workers with text-based training
Opus is a mobile-first training solution being used to upskill workers where there are. They recently closed a $2 Million seed round in a time when accessible training for the frontline workforce is more critical than ever.
We like it because …
It’s use of text messaging / WhatsApp to get relevant content in the hands of workers when they need it is very cool. It also manages to provide learners with a great deal of agency – helping them define when it’s a good time to learn, based on their shifts.
📖 Something to read
5. Don’t sell a product, sell a whole new way of thinking – Harvard Business Review
From 2014, but still a great read for teams, people, businesses looking to make a difference.
This piece looks at how, to effectively sell your idea or product, you need to recalibrate people’s existing mental models.
Innovators change the lens through which we see the world. Companies that successfully market and sell innovation are able to shift how people think not only about their product, but about themselves, the market, and the world.
Mark Bonchek
