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I'm excited to be back at Miami University with my son today, remembering all the great times I had. It's crazy to think how long ago that was, but I'm really proud to show him around and see how much has changed. Even if he decides not to go here, I can't wait to see what adventures he'll have in the next few years. There are so many amazing things ahead for him, and he doesn't even know it yet. Today is going to be a great day, and I hope you have one too!

Thanks for reading!

📰 News & Notes

BrightSlide: Supercharge Your PowerPoint Design Productivity

Ever feel like working in PowerPoint takes forever to do what you want? If so, you’ll want to watch this BrightSlide master class by Richard Goring. He shows you all the cool tricks BrightSlide can do. It's like having a presentation pro whisper secrets in your ear! BrightSlide is a free add-in that makes it super fast to design, fix up, and change your presentations. Want text and pictures to line up perfectly? Done! Need fancy animations in a snap? No problem!

🎯 Take away: BrightSlide turns PowerPoint struggles into effortless design magic, making you a presentation wizard with just a few clicks.

The 5 Latest Trends In Training For 2024 And How You Can Take Advantage

In 2024, the training and development landscape is being reshaped by five pivotal trends, with AI leading the charge as the most influential. This year, we're seeing a significant shift towards behavior change over mere content delivery, a surge in the creator educator phenomenon driven by social media platforms, an increased emphasis on learning science to ensure content authenticity and instructional soundness, and a stronger focus on accessibility and inclusivity in training design. Each trend underscores a move towards more personalized, effective, and inclusive learning experiences, with AI enhancing every aspect of training from development to delivery, promising a future where education is more accessible, engaging, and tailored to individual needs.

🎯 Take away: 2024 training trends spotlight AI's transformative role, emphasizing behavior change, learning science, and inclusivity, heralding a future of personalized and accessible learning experiences.

One Simple Tweak To Maximize Your Multiple-Choice Quizzes

Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) are not just a tool for assessment but a gateway to enhanced learning. This article from InnerDrive introduces a game-changing strategy: stepwise multiple-choice questions. This method involves a brief delay before answer options are presented, encouraging students to engage more deeply with the material by retrieving information from memory first. Research supports this approach, showing significant improvements in memory retention and understanding. By transforming passive recognition into active recall, stepwise MCQs offer a simple yet profound tweak to traditional quizzes, making them a powerful ally in the quest for deeper learning and better educational outcomes.

🎯 Take away: Introducing a short delay in multiple-choice quizzes can significantly boost students' learning and retention, turning a simple test into a powerful learning tool.

🧰 Tech Tools & Tips

If tools are your jam, check out my new Work Smarter newsletter.

🎧 Podcast

This is the conversation that caught my ear this week. Check out previous episodes in the Friday Finds podcast playlist.

🧳 Where’s Mike?

• World Learning Content Cleanup Day Webinar, April 9

• ATD ICE, New Orleans May 19-22

• Canadian eLearning Conference, Toronto, June 13-14

• Greater Cincinnati ATD, September 4

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Real-Life Examples of Bad eLearning Design

It’s true that we learn from mistakes. But do they have to be ours? This guide compiles the 15 most common pitfalls of eLearning developers that lead to low completion and engagement rates. Explore real-life examples of each of them, along with expert advice on how to fix them and avoid them in the future. And the best part? It’s free!

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