Your Policy Training Stinks! Try Something Better.

Holding his nose

This is the first article in our ongoing series focusing on real-world case study projects. Each month we’ll look at a project from 2 perspectives: an Instructional Designer / Developer and a Manager / Program Administrator. Each article will highlight what you can take away from the project, to use in your own work. This first…

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A Tale of Two Seminars: FUN Compliance Training and Virtually Real Conversations

Diagonally split image of two people with their backs facing the camera

For six years now, ThinkingKap has been speaking at the Chicago eLearning and Technology Showcase, and this year was no different. In addition to the TK booth we had set up, we presented two separate sessions: Fun Compliance Training – More Than Just Checking The Box and Maximize eLearning Engagement by Converting Narration Scripts into Interactive Dialog….

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10 Awesome Training Engagement Techniques from the Last Year

Learn Something New calendar note

Wow! As we mentioned yesterday, it’s been a LONG time since we blogged, so it feels good to stretch our typing fingers and re-enter the interweb once again. We may have taken a hiatus from blogging, but everything else has been full steam ahead here at ThinkingKap. So, to jump start our return, we thought…

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Positive Reinforcement in Instructional Design

positive reinforcement

When it comes to eLearning, you can either use positive or negative feedback to keep them on track. Both are useful, but in this post, we’ll focus on using positive reinforcement. Why? Because we like reinforcement that cheers the learner on—it says, “Hey, nice job—keep up the good work!” rather than, “That’s wrong dummy, try…

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First Principles of Instruction: An Instructional Design Philosophy

People holding large colored puzzle pieces

As we here at ThinkingKap continue on with the Designing for The Greater Good project-course we’re trying out, this week’s module focused on designing the instructional experience. This week, we focused on Dr. David Merrill and his philosophy, the First Principles of Instruction. The main objective for us was to create eLearning courses that follow…

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Top Resources for Learning Instructional Design

learning instructional design

If you’re just getting started with learning Instructional Design, your goal is probably to soak up as much information as you can. Knowledge is power—and in this instance, there’s a lot to learn. While it can be intimidating to approach such a large volume of educational resources, over time, you can begin to refine your…

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Medium is the Message in Retail Training

Warehouse interior

It is widely accepted that technology advances in recent years are shaping the future of retail. Retailers no longer have one brick and mortar connection point with customers. Rather retailers (large and small) are using both physical and multiple digital channels to stay engaged with customers.   The Medium is the Message in Retail Training…

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Show, Tell, Watch, Coach, Repeat: Retail Sales Floor Training

Grocery store workers

On-the-job training is not restricted to use on the retail floor. The principles described in this article are applicable to any industry or work environment to ensure consistent results from the use of on-the-job training. The Right Approach I sometimes refer to on-the-job training approaches as “Sit with Sam,” “Follow Fred,” or “Watch Wanda.” The…

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Smile, Take a Bath, and Tuck in Your Shirt: Retail Training Essentials?

Man and woman looking at piece of paper, taking notes on clipboard

I heard a conference speaker once say that their biggest training challenge was getting their theme park employees to tuck in their shirts and pull up their sagging pants. The host of the quirky Been My Pleasure YouTube channel (for food service professionals) recently shared with me his frustration in getting some servers to understand…

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Retail Training: Why Bother?

Retail checkout counter

I was recently having lunch with a former client contact and reminiscing about the project we had worked on together. In the course of the conversation, I asked how training is viewed at the retailer for whom he currently works who happens to have a rather large training department. You might imagine my surprise when…

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