Category: Reviews

Website:  https://www.mindtools.com/

Operating Systems:  iOS, Android and Windows

Category:  Instructive, knowledge and skill building

Type of Learning:  Formal

Learner Needs:  Cognitive, affective

Cost:  Free access to 120+ tools, member login to access 1,800+ tools for a fee

What it is:  Mind Tools provides a catalog of courses on a variety of topics to build skills.

Review: The free version of the app includes everything from career, communication, creativity, decision making, leadership, problem solving and project management skills.  The courses are formatted in an article-like layout and many include text and multimedia content to communicate the topic. The content that Mind Tools offers is very focused and concise.  The format makes it feel like you are browsing the web rather than learning something.  This would be a great resource to use for self-direct learning in which learners can explore their own path and focus on skills that they are aware they need to work on.  However, I do not see an assessment or ability to customize a learning track.  The app does identify a list of new content.  I also do not see a way to contribute information to the platform.  There may be advanced features included with the membership platform that allow for contribution.

Why use it? The app offers a nice catalog of content that supports learners who wish to be in control and are motivated to explore the information.  It is easily accessed on a mobile device and would be a good complement to more formal employee development programs.  Mind Tools draws on adult learning theory including being self-directed and a readiness to learn.

Risks:  Limited as there is no user interaction.

 

 

Website:  https://www.linkedin.com/learning/

Operating Systems:  iOS, Android and Windows

Category:  Instructive, knowledge and skill building

Type of Learning:  Formal

Learner Needs:  Cognitive, affective

Cost:  $29.99/month per user or $299.88/year with enterprise discounts available

What it is:  LinkedIn Learning offers skill-building courses hosted by experts.

Review:  As a Penn State student, we have complementary access to Linked In Learning.  I downloaded the app and logged in easily with my PSU credentials.  The interface is simple and I can easily search for a topic or software that I want to learn about.  The courses are multipart with many containing video demonstrations and transcripts.  On my phone, I can even download the course for offline access.  The course has a table of content to navigate and the question and answer section in which course attendees can ask questions and answer questions that others have posted.  I can set a learning goal, save courses for later access and take a curriculum of courses called a “collection” to achieve advanced training much like a certification.

Why use it? LinkedIn Learning is a robust addition to workplace course offerings.  It is expensive, however, when considering the alternative of attending other vendor training on software, it is an extremely cost effective choice.  For example, I recently purchased Articulate Storyline.  A course through an industry organization like ATD may run me near $1,400.  And, LinkedIn Learning would be less than a quarter of that for an entire year’s access.  The course variety fills a gap that many organizations have and it allows learners to be self-directed, creating a path to develop themselves over time.  The courses are not short, but the topics are broken down into digestible chunks so that I may choose to access a topic or learn about an entire software program.  On the app, I’m able to plug in and access my learning at anytime and anywhere.  There is limited collaboration between learners in the LinkedIn Learning environment.  But, many of the topics are beneficial to people in organizations who are individual contributors in specialized roles that may otherwise not be supported by traditional workplace training offerings.  The app supports adult learners needs to be self-directed, internally motivated and ready to learn.  It also would contribute to identity development, specifically due to the course paths that may be taken to develop skills related to a career the learner would like to move into.

Risks:  Limited as user interaction is specific to discussion boards.

 

Website:  www.yammer.com

Operating Systems:  iOS, Android and Windows

Category:  Constructive, collaborative, communication and learning support

Type of Learning:  Informal and implicit

Learner Needs:  Cognitive, social, affective

Cost:  Free version with limited features or starting at $3.00 per month per user.

What it is:  Yammer is an organization-based social network platform that allows employees to connect through posts, videos, documents and links.  Groups can be based on job related categories such as location, department, or task focus and interest-driven groups maybe created as well.   Yammer is often compared to other social platforms like Facebook; however, Yammer is internally based.  Yammer is offered as part of the Office 365 Suite.  Yammer can also be used to offer live training and meetings.

Review:  Installation of the Yammer app was smooth and I was able to access Yammer sites for Penn State using my PSU email and my work email.  For this review, I’ll focus on uses in my workplace.  The app displayed the content that I have viewed on the desktop version well.  I could easily access my feed, groups, inbox and notifications.  In addition, I can easily make a new post including a link or image.  My colleague’s photos show with their comments and that is a nice way to stay connected to people that I do not see on a regular basis—I work remote a lot and it is valuable to me to stay connect so that I feel like I am contributing to the engagement and culture.  Some of the posts that I viewed relate to knowledge items and topics.

Why use it?  Although my organization does not currently use the live training features, I think that it would be a really great option for communications and webinars.  And, even more so because these could be accessed from the palm of one’s hand.  It would be interesting to start creating new hire cohort groups in Yammer so that new hires could stay connected closely with the network of people that they started working with.  Maybe a trainer could monitor the group and help with any questions or resources they might need.  As the new hires use the app to communicate with their cohort, they could post photos of resources, videos of them doing tasks, etc. to help each other learn with and from one another.  While the focus of the app is communication, the tool can help support post-class retention by reminding learners of information through facilitator postings and polling.  This will help recall and knowledge sharing throughout the organization.  The app supports adult learners who are self-directed and have experience to share with others.

Risks:  Privacy due to the organization’s intellectual property possibly being posted as content.  Bullying would be possible due to the social networking features of the app.

 

Website:  https://skyprep.com/boosthq/

Operating Systems:  iOS, Android and Windows

Category:  Customizable, collaboration, learning support and reference

Type of Learning:  Informal, formal and implicit

Learner Needs:  Cognitive, social, affective

Cost:  $239/month for up to 100 users and up

What it is: Boost HQ is knowledge sharing platform for organizations that allows users to access the knowledge base from a desktop or mobile app.  Users can add, view and update content.

Review:  To test out Boost HQ, I accessed a free trial and set up a team.  I downloaded the app and explored the features.  The user interface is clean and modern.  The homepage of the app shows me the groups I am assigned to and allows me to add content which can be a file, photo, video, direct YouTube link or even to ask a question.  When I tap the discussion tab, I am taken to a second tab that shows group discussions on content.  The app allows users to have resources in the palm of their hands and also contribute to the knowledge base on the go.

Why use it?  In workplace education, post-training support is a huge key to successful retention of new knowledge and sustained behavior change.  Often, resources are in paper form or on a company’s intranet portal.  Many times, only certain employees have access to contribute to the knowledge base content.  Tools like Boost HQ increase collaboration by allowing multiple contributors to supply information to the knowledge base.  Also, as employees use the information, they are able to update it if needed to help improve the accuracy of the information.  Supporting employees learning with tools like Boost HQ will increase engagement and integrate a culture of knowledge sharing and support.  This type of culture will support and improve learning transfer.  The app appeals to a few adult learning principles including:  self-directedness, problem-oriented and experienced.  Allowing more experienced employees to help support those learning brings a level of authenticity to the knowledge items.  The app would also support education using authentic settings and collaboration as Boost HQ is a repository for organizational knowledge.

Risks:  Privacy due to the organization’s intellectual property possibly being posted as knowledge base content.

Website:  www.talentcards.com

Operating Systems:  iOS, Android and Windows

Cost:  Free for up to 5 users, $49/month for 50 users and up

Category:  Instructive, knowledge and skill building

Type of Learning:  Formal

Learner Needs:  Cognitive, affective

What it is:  Learners use their device to access learning cards.  These cards are like micro learning lessons that can be enhanced with links, video or audio.  Quizzes can be added and have game elements to motivate and engage learners.  Learning cards can be organized in paths and sets to create a curriculum and the program is fully administrable with learner management, branding, and integrations.

 

 

Review:  Installation of the app was a breeze and after downloading the app on my iPhone, I was prompted to enter a code to tie my access to my organization.  The program offers a demonstration mode loaded with a variety of learning card sets.  For this review, I accessed the demo to experience a fully equipped site.  The course I accessed was on communication skills and was built of 29 learning cards and a quiz.  The cards appeared on my screen and to advance through the content I swiped left.  Each card had a point to make regarding communication skills with a graphic to communicate the point.  At the end of the cards, a quiz appeared with a simple interface that provided immediate feedback.  After finishing the set of cards, I can go back to review them or select a new set to explore.

The interface is extremely simple to use and responsive.  Talent cards would be a good compliment to a more robust learning management system by providing on-the-go reinforcement tools.  Completion records are retained in the system so it would be valuable for topics that may require proof of completion.

Why use it?  Talent cards provides bite-sized chunks of information that are digestible.  It is right-sized and right-timed for on-the-go learning and to support post-class retention through continued engagement.  It meets the need of adult learners to be self-directed in their learning and allows for a seamless learning experience as the curriculums can be designed to support in class work.  The app would allow a learner to select topics that appeal to their desire to become something and support identity development.

Risks:  Limited as there is no user interaction.