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Product Roadmap
How learning supports flexible, hybrid work
Many organizations have written about flexible, hybrid models for work over the last year, but...
Why you should create a mental health course, like, yesterday
Simone Biles withdrew from the Olympics because she wasn’t in the right mental state. If the...
3 Effective Ways to Help Your Employees Learn on the Job
The workplace is going hybrid. How can learning help?
There’s no doubt about it: After more than a year of working remotely, the future of work is...
The new world of work needs new learning
Growth is surging in 2021 — and The Wall Street Journal predicts employers may struggle to hire...
The coming college collapse and how L&D can help
Real uses for virtual reality are already here
Virtual reality (VR) technology has been around for a few decades, but only in recent years has it...
How learning supports talent development in 2021
Social Learning: Found Wanting, Until Now
Learning and development isn’t just sitting through content anymore. “Social and collaborative” is...
3 Needs to Reskill Your Team With Speed
The landscape of needed skills is changing dramatically, and fast. While it’s no surprise that...
Add “Social Distance” to your conferences and education!
I hope this finds you healthy and connected with people that are important to you. It won’t be easy...
NextThought: Tomorrow's Learning Solutions Today
NextThought is an online learning solutions company. We offer our partners a combination of...
Top 7 Traits of a Great Corporate Educational Video
Did you know 76% of top executives watch business videos at least once a week, and 40% watch them...
NextThought Announces The Family Network
(In the initial version of this post back in February, we introduced our vision with the title,...
5 Steps to Creating Association E-Learning Strategies
One of the most important roles today's leaders fulfill is managing their organization's learning...
4 Association Trends You Need to Be Watching
Many of the association strategies that worked 20 years ago don’t work today. Old methods simply...
Social Learning: The Next Big Wave for Associations
Revolutionize the way your association members interact and learn by implementing collaborative...
Associations Can Structure Online Learning for Millennials
How Do Corporations, Organizations & Associations Train & Teach? Traditional education methods,...
How Associations Can Generate Non-Dues Revenue with Online Learning
Change is inevitable. The era of associations relying on member dues to support revenue is all but...
The Benefits of a Mobile Friendly LMS
Thinking beyond “send only” learning will put your business above the rest. We often design...
Your Association's LMS Needs a Social Component
Your association or organization should have a social component to your online training because it...
How Associations Create Engaging Continuing Education
Associations tend to view continuing education courses in a very mechanical way. Information is...
Global Internet Trends and Association Learning: Part 2
This is the second in a three-part series that deals with opportunities for association learning...
Content without Real Context: Setting Personal Learning Benchmarks
We’ve all sat in this lesson beginning. Heck, we’ve all designed this lesson beginning. It’s the...
10 Feedback Tips
In today’s business world, professionals are responsible for providing feedback on a regular basis...
Board Covenants
Is it time to update your board covenant?
Introducing Generation Z
You may still feel like you’re getting used to millennials, but Gen Zers are already entering the...
Utilizing Data Analytics to Promote Learner Engagement
Increasingly, organizations are realizing the value of using data analytics to create highly...
Dealing with Difficult Board Members
Establishing a great relationship with your board members is paramount for any CEO, but how do you...
CEO Leadership Focus: What are your priorities?
As CEO, many priorities and organizational needs compete for your attention.
Engaging Learners through Content Variety
One of the most challenging parts of e-learning design is delivering content that both satisfies...
Re-engaging Learners in the Online Learning Community
It’s safe to say that most online learners are busy. Especially for those earning certifications...
Certify Today for a Better Tomorrow
In today's progressively complex and highly-specialized economy, credentials are becoming more and...
Online Learning Communities: A Pathway to Learner Engagement
eLearning experts agree that creating online learning communities can directly and positively...
Online Learning Activities That Engage and Inspire Learners
For many online course creators, the tendency is to provide the learner with static content.
Accelerating Your eLearning Strategy – Part 2
In part I of this two part series, we highlighted the need for associations to have a clear and...
Career Ready - Job Ready
What does this mean in the real world? In today’s workforce, employers face a considerable...
Practical Tips for Using Social Media in the Virtual Classroom
As discussed in our previous article, integrating social media into the online classroom is a great...
The Value of Certification
In today’s fast-paced and continuously evolving world of technology and industry standards, you’ll...
Why Engaged Learners Learn Better
Have you ever attended a training session or completed an online course and left the experience...
5 Ways Social Media Can Benefit Online Learning
Educators can change the way we use social media. Since their inception, social media platforms...
Engaging Millennial Learners in Online Education
Millennials continue to be a hot topic around the online learning space, and the biggest question...
Engaging Learners: Why it Matters
Now, more than ever, association professionals understand the importance of delivering meaningful...
Implementing Your Online Learning Vision
Previously in this series, I have discussed how to develop a winning vision for online learning. In...
Navigating the Credentialing Maze: Certifications and Certificates
The practice of issuing certifications, certificates and other forms of credentialing is not...
Online Learning: Friend or Foe of Traditional Learning?
Education is a hot topic in the association space and in recent years discussion has been heavy...
Instructional Design: Getting the Content Right
When designing an online course, whether you are starting from scratch, or updating a pre-existing...
Creating Effective Learning Environments: A Road Map for Success
When you begin to develop an online learning environment two factors are in play: 1) You have...
Social Learning Trends in the Association Space
Strategically implementing collaborative learning can revolutionize the way your association...
Three Learning Innovations Association Leaders Need to Know
Have you ever been overwhelmed by choices?
A Winning Vision for Online Learning
This is the third post in our series on developing a vision and implementation strategy for online...
Developing a Vision for Association Online Learning
This is the second post in a series on developing a vision and implementation strategy for online...
Should Associations Move Learning Online?
There has been a lot of hype concerning the need for associations to take learning online. ...
Boost Association Education Products with Learner-Centered Experiences
The Gallup-Purdue Index provides an interesting look at the relationship between a person’s college...
New Workshop Series to Build Capacity for Great Learning Experiences
The Institute for Learning Environment Design (ILED), a partnership between NextThought and the...
Unknown Professional Futures and Opportunities for Associations
In their recent white paper, “The Association Role in the New Education Paradigm,” Shelly Alcorn...
Six Tips for Creating Great Digital Learning Content
Last week, Dan Meyer shared the Desmos guidelines for building great digital math activities. Not...
Finding the Right Blend of Analog and Digital
The trends pointed out by the Pew Research Center in its recent report on Book Reading 2016 are a...
Moving Beyond Traditional Self-Paced Learning Models in Professional Education
Ambient Insight has just released a report that predicts a sharp decline worldwide in the...
Employing Learning Design to Avoid the The Awkward Translator Syndrome
The Awkward Translator A key to designing and creating effective learning solutions is to remove...
Good Learning Design Begins with the "What"
Beginning with What vs. How Often, learning technology companies focus their product messaging on...
Building Organizational Capacity through Great Learning Design
It’s not uncommon we encounter an organization with a strong desire to deliver an innovative...
Effective Networked Learning Environments for Professional Development
Three questions for an effective networked learning environments for professional development. ...
Designing Innovative Learning Experiences
Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of sitting with both NextThought and ILED colleagues at the...
Improving Learning by Adding Inquiry
One of the most common learning design questions I’m asked is, “How can I get learners more engaged...
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes (In Revenue)
The era of associations relying on member dues to support revenue is all but gone. The challenge...
Using Synchronous Communication Tools to Enhance Learning Environment Design
For today’s learning environment architect, synchronous communication tools are an important and...
Millennials, Listicles, and Learning
Listicles have quickly become one of the more popular online writing styles. What is the...
The Simplicity and Power of Learning Environment Design
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending Virginia Tech’s Conference on Teaching Large Classes,...
Designing NextThought’s Learning Video Playbook
One of the great things about being Chief Learning Officer at a company like NextThought is that it...
Pinterest As A Learning Environment
We all participate in some form of online content curation whether we realize it or not. From...
Meetings and Meeting Agendas as Learning Environments
Most people who work in organizations are familiar with and are, sometimes, resigned to the reality...
5 Tips for Designing Learning Video for Mobile Contexts
I’m a big fan of professional cycling and, over the years, July has become a special time for me,...
Millennials: Digital or Paperback Learners?
My mom is a former teacher, and as soon as I could crawl she had a baby-proof book in my hands. She...
Your Video As A Learning Environment
When creating video for learning, it’s easy to forget that the video itself is a complete,...
What’s Workplace Development Anyway?
A Gallup poll shows that 87% of Millennials find development to be important in a job. So in the...
5 Questions to Ask When Designing Informational Videos
In an earlier post, we discussed the growing importance of video as part of the online learning...
The Value of a Shared Language for Learning Environment Design
Beginning last fall, NextThought began integrating Learning Environment Modeling (LEM) and the LEM...
5 Suggestions for Improving Learning with Video
There is little doubt about the effectiveness of video as a tool for improving learning. As...
Build A Community Through Associations
Millennials are used to surrounding themselves with a community that stems from shared experiences...
NextThought Announces Exciting Association Research Partnership
As part of our partnership with the University of Central Oklahoma and its Institute for Learning...
4 Considerations for Better Training Video
There’s no doubt that video is an important part of the online learning toolkit. Ideally, video...
How To Make Association Members Out of Millennials
There is a lot of discussion about the role millennials have to play in association membership...
Global Internet Trends and Association Learning: Part 3
This is the third in a three-part series that deals with opportunities for association learning...
Design Thinking Projects in Online Learning Environments
I do a good bit of design thinking research related to learning design and and I’ve found design...
Personalization in Online Learning Environments
Today’s learning environment design challenge was prompted by a discussion I read in the online...
Design Studio Session #1: Open Content In Project Based Learning Environments
Next Thursday, on May 26, ILED will host its first Design Studio Session: Open Content in...
5 Steps for Creating Successful E-learning Solutions
All too often our discussion about e-learning becomes a constraint exercise that begins with the...
A New Course: Introduction to Learning Environment Design
We’re a week away from the launch of the first course in The Institute for Learning Design’s...
A Partnership for Learning Environment Design
Early last August, I attended a workshop on Learning Environment Modeling (LEM) and was inspired to...
Learning Design Is Truly Global with LEML
Yesterday I had the pleasure of sitting down to chat with Ratul Dev, our visiting Fellow from the...
A Bright Future for Faculty Development Training in Oklahoma
I have enjoyed teaching and have celebrated good teachers as long as I can remember. Not...
Learning Design Solutions for Increasing Student Engagement in Math
Dan Meyer gave yet another thought provoking presentation about math education at the recent 2016...
Connected Learning as a Solution for Occupational Shifts
Still fresh off a great learning experience at last week’s digitalNow conference for associations,...
Parable #11: The Invisible Lesson
The Prime Minister for a certain country had just returned home from the most important event in...
When Content Is No Longer the Product: Part 3
This is the third article in a three-part series on shifting product models in Higher Education....
Parable #10: The Two Dresses
The Queen of a certain kingdom, needing a new evening gown by the end of the month, decided to hold...
Weekly Update: It's an Open and Closed Future
When I write a weekly update like this, I always begin by looking for a theme in the articles and...
Learning Design for Visual Transcripts
A couple of weeks ago, I had a chance to sit down and chat about a wide range of topics with Jon...
Open, Closed, Or...?
There are times when I think all the tactical talk about Open and Closed learning environments and...
Parable # 9: The Story of the Beautiful Meal
The beautiful meal A wise woman was making her way through a distant land and she came upon a...
When Content Is No Longer the Product: Part 2
(This is the second article in a three-part series on shifting product models in Higher Education. ...
Learning Environment Models for Creating T-Shaped Individuals
I'm presenting today at the T-Summit 2016 in Washington D.C. This is a conference focused on...
When Content Is No Longer the Product: Part 1
What do publishers – whose stock and trade has always been content – do when content is no longer...
One Key to Ubiquitous Affordable Content: Metadata Designed for Distribution
Much of our current work with Oklahoma universities and colleges on behalf of the Oklahoma State...
LEM, LEML and PEACE at Southern Nazarene University
On Friday, I had the good fortune to spend the afternoon discussing learning design with our...
Connecting the Dots for Affordable Content in Oklahoma
Over the past week, there have been a string of intersecting articles on OER and digital content...
Making Online Learning Personalized and Engaging
When it comes to creating engaging and personalized learning experiences, one of the constraints we...
Ten Reasons to be Excited about Open and Affordable Content in Oklahoma
We’re starting our #Open TeachingOU / #OpenOK Twitter chat series for the semester this Friday at...
Santa Fe South — A Vision for Eliminating Math Remediation in Higher Ed
It takes a village, or better yet, a community. Chris Brewster, the Superintendent at Santa Fe...
Repurposing Existing Video Content for Collaboration
Here’s some good news – content is not the problem. The difference between online courses that are...
Making Learning Content Affordable in Oklahoma
(Note: Within the context of this post, affordable content is defined as “free, at-no-additional...
From Cohort Learning to Alumnification at Oklahoma Christian University
Recently, I’ve started sharing concrete examples of how we at NextThought are using a...
Making Information Engaging in Online Courses
A frequent question I hear from our partners is, “How can we make our online course content more...
The Power of Collaboration for Advancing Online Education in Oklahoma
For almost six months, NextThought has been working with the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher...
The Elemental Particles of Connected Learning
Much of our current work at NextThought with our partners focuses on designing learning environment...
Adding a Personal Touch to Online Learning Design
Companies and academic institutions have turned increasingly to online learning models in order to...
Are Our Content Models Worthy of Binge-Learning?
A recent New York Times article talked about the new streaming entertainment channels created by...
Oklahoma State's Farm to Fork: A Modest MOOC Proposal
Oklahoma State University is gearing up to offer, for the second time, its Farm to Fork course – a...
Designing Lesson Openings for Connected Learning
One of the biggest opportunities for effective course re-design, when it comes to learner...
Learning Efficacy through #Growthmindset and Connections
Last Friday I was flying back from the Online Learning Consortium in Orlando and – hooray! – my...
Selected Resources for Promoting Student Engagement
My recent work on student engagement – including our NextThought Power of Connections course and a...
Creating Powerful Learning Experiences: Big XII TLC Keynote
[The following is the script from my keynote address delivered at the Big XII Teaching and...
Connecting Learners to the Real World
Dan Myer wrote a nice post this week on modeling with mathematics. In his post, he designed a...
NextThought Begins Consulting Engagement with Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
NORMAN, OK (September 16, 2015) – NextThought, LLC. is excited to announce that it has been engaged...
Six Important Tips for Designing Student Engagement Activities
Currently, there are a number of effective models circulating that show how easy it is to offer...
Connected Learning Is Mobile Learning
Connected learning is about placing learners at the center of their learning networks and helping...
Reinforcing Collaborative and Connected Learning with Social Media
Join us for our #NTPoC Twitter chat this Thursday at 10:00 AM CDT. We'll discuss re-imagining our...
Weekly Briefing: Interesting Back-to-School Trends
My wife recently went to the law school bookstore to purchase a book she'd studied while in law...
Designing Collaborative Learning with LEML
While attending the Big XII Teaching and Learning Conference last week, I had the opportunity to...
NextThought Launches Power of Connections Course on Student Engagement
NextThought announced the launch of a new online learning experience today called The Power of...
Connected Learning Through Community
The participants in our Power of Connections learning experience are exploring student engagement...
Opening up Our Conversations for Student Engagement
I wrote a post yesterday on our Power of Connections course blog about how we're exploring...
Teaching Engagement by Teaching out Loud
This week marks the kickoff of our Power of Connections open course on student engagement.
Branching Narratives, Interactive Learning, and Open Storytelling
Reading about the new full-motion video (FMV) gameHer Story this week, definitely set me on a...
What Do We Talk About When We Talk About Student Engagement?
This is an honest question because, listening to people in education circles discuss the topic, I'm...
Custodians of Connections
Two weeks ago I interviewed the inimitable Kerry Magruder for our upcoming interview series, The...
Creating Communities Beyond the Class Cohort
In the first part of my career as an educator, I was preoccupied almost exclusively with a single...
e-PD Episode 11: Time Management 1
Easy tips to follow to help you manage the time you spend on your online course well!
Parable #8: The Man with Two Sons
A certain father wanted to provide his son wise counsel for choosing a profession in life. With...
Designing for Connection: Helping Students Get Lost
For anyone with a smartphone or a smart watch or smart glasses, or anyone who is attached in some...
The Serendipity of Connection
Learning. The serendipity of connection. Like the kind that happens when you head to New York to...
e-PD Episode 10: Color Choices
This video will assist you in making color choices that will make your video more visually...
Weekly Briefing: Is the Future About Technology or Learning?
In January, 2003, I was sitting in a hotel lobby in New Orleans talking to Jon Stowe (now President...
The Promise of Connected Learning
Rob Reynolds, Ph.D. Chief Product Officer, NextThought
Gary England Leads New Severe Weather Series on OU's Janux Platform
Trusted Oklahoma meteorologist Gary England joins OU in creating an exciting online video series...
Dark Matter and the Uncertain Future of EdTech
My experience at the 2015 ASU+GSV Summit last week reminded me of this great post on Dark Matter by...
e-PD Episode 9: Imagery and Animation
This video helps you with using imagery and animation to make your video great!
Weekly Briefing: Mapping the Future of Higher Education
Wouldn't it be great if we had a complete map that shows the future of Higher Education? Instead,...
A Textbook, What Is It Good For?
On Friday, we'll have our next #OpenTeachingOU Twitter Chat. The topic for this session will be...
What Is Connected Learning?
As a company focused on Connected Learning solutions, it's not surprising that the most common...
Parable #7: The Best Bread in the World
A certain young woman lived at the foot of the Pyrenees in a small village in Southern France....
Making Learning Content Affordable (Part 2)
In Part 1 of this series, I identified what I believe to be the primary obstacle to reducing or...
Requirements for Making Great Connections
Last Friday, I participated in a panel on "Creativity and the University" as part of an event tied...
e-PD Episode 8: Video Styles
Weekly Briefing: The Price of Learning Materials
Evidently content is still king when it comes to education. But what does or should it cost? For...
Parable #6: The Little Stream
There was a certain man who owned a large farm and, in one section of that farm, ran a sizable...
Making Learning Content Affordable (Part 1)
Affordable content is a choice. It's a choice that many students have made in recent years as...
How Learning Connections Extend the Traditional Boundaries of a Course
This power of learning connections was re-emphasized for me this weekend when I read Phil Hill's...
e-PD Episode 7: Quality Video and Sound
In this episode we share a number of helpful tips and tricks to help make your educational videos...
Parable #5: The Woman and the New Bicycle
A certain woman decided one day that she would begin competing in triathlons. She had been a...
Three Priorities for Sustainable OER in Higher Education
Last week's inaugural OpenTeachingOU conversation was a big success, and we're looking forward to...
Unlocking the Potential of Connected Content
Nick Shackleton-Jones references this image to talk about the future of learning. In it, we move...
Join Us Today for #OpenTeachingOU
Open is a celebration of choice, and a triumph of community. It's about the freedom to create,...
e-PD Episode 6: Struggling Students and Creating Mentors
This video is designed to provide useful tips to help struggling students become successful in your...
New Land Academy: Connecting Learners to Personal Freedom
When I was a child, I loved it when my mother sang to me, and one of my favorite songs was, " I...
Retouching Education
We live in a world of retouching. We boost and smooth photos. We enhance audio with sonic zones. We...
e-PD Episode 5: Meaningful Interaction and Rewards
This video will help you create and maintain meaningful relationships with your online students, as...
Weekly Briefing: What do We Keep and When do We Innovate?
I like new, shiny objects as much as anyone, and the current object of my eye is the Hemmingwrite...
Parable #4: Your Time is Now
The Starship Intrepid has just left dock for open space. The captain stands on the bridge. An...
The UnTextbook as a Path to Open Pedagogy
Some days, "open" means that someone left the cover off the rabbit hole and you go tumbling down it.
Making Great Connections through Production
One of the key learning and design principles of connected pedagogy is "production" — learners...
Welcome to AssociationsNext
AssociationsNext is a service provided to the association community by NextThought. It offers free...
Know Thyself, EdTech Product!
We dream. We design. We code. We market. We innovate. We project. We tweak. We hire. We evolve. We...
e-PD Episode 4: Availability and Feedback
Being available and providing meaningful feedback are two key elements in creating a successful...
Parable #3: Knowing Your Store
It's a beautiful day. On the corner sits a candy shop. Outside the shop is a neatly-painted...
Eight Qualities of Open Pedagogy
A week ago, I got into one of those spontaneous Twitter discussions with two of my good friends...
The First Connection
Great connections happen when people are willing to share honestly and truthfully, when they have...
e-PD Episode 3: Student Relationships Part 2
This video presents useful strategies for developing positive relationships with students in an...
Parable #2: Rearranging the Furniture
A certain woman received a letter saying that she had inherited a house from a distant relative. ...
Important Themes and Dreams for Open Content
There are strong indications that the various components of open education will continue to gain...
The Unbearable Messiness of Learning Connections
"When the heart speaks, the mind finds it indecent to object." ― Milan Kundera, The Unbearable...
e-PD Episode 2: Student Relationships Part 1
This episode will provide you with strategies to develop positive relationships with your students.
Weekly Briefing: Pivots, MOOCs and the Difficulties of Change
Watching companies pivot or change their business models can be fascinating.
Parable #1: Getting out of the Way
Imagine a man driving a rented moving van down a major highway that leads toward the downtown area...
What I Got Wrong (and Right) about Digital Learning Materials Back in 2012
Back in 2012, I released a book with the auspicious title, The Future of Learning Content ( free...
Farm to Fork: Food news you can use
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (January 17, 2015) -- Farm to Fork: A Panoramic View of Agriculture is a free...
Inside OSU with Burns Hargis: Farm to Fork
New Open Online Course STILLWATER, OK (December 19, 2014) -- In this interview, Oklahoma State...
HISTORY Channel Teams Up with OU for Janux Course
NEW YORK, NY (October 28, 2014) – A+E Network®'s HISTORY® Channel will partner with the University...
Weekly Briefing: Is This Change Real or Just Another Prediction?
It's that time again. Everyone is squeezing in their predictions about the three, or five, or...
Weekly Briefing: Interesting Futures for Education
It seems that Chegg has decided to ditch the textbook rental business in favor of its...
10 Keys to an Effective Video for Subject Matter Experts
Have you ever wanted to create a video course? Record a lecture? Subject Matter Experts have a...
Welcome to AssociationsNext Tracy King, MA, CAE
These micro-learning modules range from 20 to 60 minutes in length and feature some of the leading...
e-PD Episode 1: Overview
In this first episode, trainers Meleah Meadows and Chris Kalinski provide a brief overview of e-PD,...
Five Assumptions about Why Learning Connections Matter
Certain aspects of the human journey are universal enough that we generally place them in the...
At NextThought, Learning is about Connections
Welcome to the NextThought blog. My name is Rob Reynolds and I want to welcome you to our...
Outsell Briefing: NextThought and Connected Learning
Building scale in education has previously been challenging because of things like curriculum...
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