2008 March Training News and Notes
Liz Wheeler
Foiling Airline Upcharges
Airlines are beginning a new round of nickel-and-diming with a new fee for travelers with more than one bag. United Airlines recently began charging $25 for a second bag and $100 for a third bag. Spirit Airlines began that practice last May. Most other airlines have joined in. If you’re looking for ways to pack more efficiently, and perhaps avoid checking baggage altogether, Sound Money Tips has some ideas such as find out what amenities the hotel has (i.e. hair dryer, shampoo) and don’t pack those items; create a packing list, and then edit that list; and pack toiletries in smaller containers. Few people need a 24 ounce shampoo for a two-day jaunt. For the whole article, link to:
http://soundmoneytips.com/article/39228-pack-efficiently.
Mixing How-to with Webcasting
Howcast.com has just launched. It has 25 different categories from travel (notice a theme this month?) to hobbies and kids & crafts. Looking for how to find cheap airfare or avoid jetlag? What about fixing a wet cell phone (been there, done that) or getting your training video noticed on YouTube? Other relevant categories include business and finance; careers and education; and language and reference. There are also a several not-so-relevant categories with fun stuff.
How to Deal with Camp O’Hare and other Horror Stories
Peter Greenberg took 110 flights in 12 months—and 11 arrived on time. He offers 10 tips for dealing with airline difficulties. Some suggestions are travel during the first three weeks of the month to avoid getting crews who “time out” or have too many hours in the air and can’t fly per federal regulations; fly only non-stop flights—forget “direct” flights, a euphemism for delays; schedule the flight first thing in the morning to avoid camping out overnight; and call-ahead. To get a human for any airline, go to gethuman.com. Greenberg also cites a few creative stories on how other folks have dealt with delays. The full article can be found at: http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/publish/travel-leisure/Delayed_Confused_printer.shtml.
ASTD Enters Brave New World of Second Life
If you have yet to create an avatar as a trainer, now is your chance.
To capture the growing audience of learning professionals who are seeking new methods to interact with a larger, more dispersed population, American Society for Training and Development is creating an island on Second Life.
The island will be a completely branded ASTD experience. Initially, the ASTD island will be exclusive to members with possible expansion in the future. It was officially launched at the ASTD TechKnowledge 2008 conference in February.
“ASTD believes that 3D communications tools offer the potential for a richer learning experience than 2D tools, such as email, instant messaging, and blogs,” said Tony Bingham, president and CEO of ASTD. “It’s so much more than a virtual classroom,” says Anthony Allen, director of digital media for ASTD. “Second Life is not just a 3D version of real life or a 2D activity. The best thing about it is the ability to role play. If you have a sales force of 20,000, you can reach out to all of those people. Everybody can practice their pitch.”
To counter concerns about the program’s speed and complexity in navigating the site, Allen advises visitors to enter Second Life with hardware that is suitable for high-resolution games that kids play and not on an old laptop. “Many users have gone there, tried it once, and left,” Allen says, acknowledging the difficulty users have with the platform. “We want to flatten the learning curve. We’ll make the process as seamless as possible so users will always know the next task. We want people to understand it and not get frustrated.”
