Chapter Connections

On November 6, the ATD learning and development community lost an important leader and innovator. Sue Gabriele was a beloved long-time member of the ATD - Los Angeles Chapter. She will be remembered most as the founder of the GEMS RoundTable meeting method and leader of the RoundTable SIG. You can learn more about Sue's great works at www.gemslearning.net

Below are details on how to celebrate Sue on Friday, December 8 with members of several other organizations with which Sue was involved.

A LETTER FROM THE FAMILY & INVITATION TO HONOR SUE ON 12/8

Dear friends, family, and colleagues.

Our beloved mother Susan Farr Gabriele passed away on November 6th.

Our family misses her and loves her more than words can describe. If you are one of the nice people who miss her also, please feel free to leave messages here on her remembrance site:

https://everloved.com/life-of/susan-gabriele/

We use this site to announce her Celebration of Life too, which will be Jan 8th for the 1:30pm Funeral and Reception at American Martyrs Church (1431 Deegan Place, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266)

On Friday, December 8th, we honor our Mom's academic achievements on-line from 8am to 9am, to be sponsored by the International Society of Professional Improvement. Please REGISTER FREE at this SITE (to get the meeting link).

On Jan 9th, at 10am will be the Interment at Inglewood Park Cemetery (720 E Florence Ave, Inglewood, CA 90301).

Thank you dearly, and you are all welcome to each event. 

Tony and Sylvie Gabriele

Invest in your professional development with discounts on

bestselling ATD products!

This week only! August 7th - 11th, you can save on ATD favorites with discounts sitewide, including discounts on National and Chapter Membership when purchased on td.org.

From July 24 to August 18, all certificate and master programs, on-demand courses, APTD and CPTD prep courses, and the TDBoK are 20% off.

ATD national membership provides exclusive members-only content and trusted resources to support your work. From August 7th - August 11th, you will save 10% on your ATD National membership in addition to the $30 discount you receive as a Power Member. Plus, our chapter is also offering a 10% discount.

Our chapter receives a portion of purchases through the Chapter Incentive Program(ChIP). Be sure to select our name from the dropdown menu on the final page of checkout to send a portion of your purchase to our chapter.

Sale on Membership ends on August 11th, so you won't want to wait!

Company Member Spotlight Opportunity

We are always looking for innovative ways to show our appreciation for our Company Group Members. This year the ATD-OC BizSIG Special Interest Group, which just delivered a resoundingly successful program on AI and Chat GPT, will host interviews with directors or executives of two of our Company Group Members.

It’s a first come first serve opportunity for a senior level representative of your organization to promote your learning and development efforts and your L&D team!

These one-hour programs will be aired in October and November on the second Thursday of each month. The recordings will be made available to all members and to the Company Group Members for their promotion.

Based on schedules, availability, and your preference, we may do these events live versus pre-recorded.

Our main purpose of these interviews is showcasing your organization and providing a forum to share your knowledge, thoughts, and the great things about your L&D staff and organization.

Jeffrey Hansler, current BizSIG leader and past ATD-OC President, and his www.Biz-Souls.com  podcast partner, Rona Lewis, will be conducting the interview whether it is live, or pre-recorded in person or over Zoom.

We work from a general outline:

1)      Background on interviewee(s) and how and why you joined this organization
2)      Introduce staff, initiatives, accomplishments, and goals
3)     What is changing in L&D and the value you receive from ATD / ATD-OC

We do a little research and put together some more specific questions which we send to you in advance. We are open to recommendations on everything – including title, opening statements, and content.

Best Practices for Ultimate Guest Experience

Short sentences and succinct answers make powerful impacts, as well as having conversations, not giving explanations. Many podcast guests feel the need to “teach,” proving they deserve to be interviewed. You know what? If we didn’t think you are worth interviewing, you wouldn’t be here! Let’s make this a conversation about your business experience doing what you do. Oh, we’ll chat about what you do, be sure about that and we’ll ask a bunch of questions, if you let us….which leads to great conversations. 

Please reach out to ATD-OC Administrator, Denise Ross, at ocoffice@atdoc.org or 714.527.4785 by June 1.

Thank you.

*For ATD-Orange County membership,  the !0% discount applies to ATD-Orange County member levels of Individual or Students only.

The next time you register for an ATD-Orange County Event, you may notice something new.  If the event provides a learning opportunity related to the Talent Development Capability Model, the number of Professional Development Points will be listed.  These points can be earned by attending the event.

The Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD) and Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) certifications are awarded by the ATD Certification Institute.  One of the requirements of these certifications is that the holders need to remain current in the field and must earn continuing education points toward recertification.  People preparing to test for either certification also need to earn a specified number of professional development hours. 

Our ATD-Orange County programs have always supported the development of the capabilities in the Talent Development Capability Model. Getting the pre-approval to offer these points is one new way that we can support APTD and CPTD certification holders and those working to earn their certifications.

Whether you are a Talent Development professional in the larger Talent Development community or in our very own chapter, we hope to see you at one of our Pre-Approved events soon!

If you are interested in learning more about APTD and CPTD certification, click here to go to the TD.org information page about the certifications.

If you’re an ATD Orange County Member, visit our certifications web page.

I’ve got a confession to make.

I’ve never liked the term: “Virtual Training.”

According to Merriam Webster, the “essential definition” of “virtual” is: “very close to something without actually being it.”*  Synonyms include: “near,” “near enough,” “for all practical purposes.”

I’ve disliked that implication. That what we were doing was, for all practical purposes, “near enough” to training, but not really.

Because what we do, of course, when we facilitate classes over WebEx, or MS Teams, or Zoom, is really training.  It’s the classroom that’s virtual, its boundaries suddenly expanding from the four walls of the trainer’s room all the way across the nation, even the world, to the outer walls of the learners’ rooms (or cubicles).

The training? That’s still real.  Its results are still measurable.  They have to be.

This is what ATD-Orange County’s “Total Trainer University: Creating the Virtual Classroom” is about.  We’re not content to create something that’s very close to training without actually being training.  The courses we design will occur on computers and the internet, but they will not stop there. We will apply technology to deliver a lesson plan, but our objectives will still be met within a physical environment.  We will sit in front of cameras and monitors while we work through a Leader’s Guide, but we will still engage with our participants, identifying learning opportunities and achievements.

Yes, because the training is delivered over fiber optic cables, we’re not able to facilitate learning conversations the same way as we would if we were all in the same space.  So we’ll adopt different practices, develop different skills, facilitate online activities that are very close to what we would have led were everyone in the same physical space, and accomplish, for all practical purposes, the same learning objective(s).

Total Trainer University: Creating the Virtual Classroom will cover polls, breakout rooms, and online chat, but it won’t be about those webinar resources.  What it will be about is how we can apply online tools to push the boundaries of our virtual classroom beyond the four sides of our computer monitors, how we can tap into available learning resources in such a way that ignites our learners and help them achieve their objectives, and how we can make the overall experience as good as being there.

If something like this intrigues you, make sure you're getting our Chapter eNewsletter, and watch for the post announcing Creating The Virtual Classroom's start date.  It'll be soon (Q2 2022).

*From Merriam-Webster’s “full definition”: “being such in essence or effect though not formally recognized or admitted.”  In other words, the first definition was a “virtual” definition.

Congratulations to Jessica Del Rosario, our ATD-OC Secretary and multi-hatted volunteer, on being profiled as an "Up & Comer" in td: New Learning Daily.

We're so proud of you Jess and very lucky to have you as part of our leadership team!

(Do you work with an outstanding young professional? Nominate them for an interview in ATD's TD magazine’s "Up & Coming" column, which highlights the accomplishments of talent development newcomers like Jessica Del Rosario, the most recent Up & Comer. To nominate the rising star you love working with, please complete this form.)

Dear Members,

It is with pleasure that I share the 2020 and 2021 (to November 2021) ATD-OC Annual Reports. Thank you to not only our membership, but also to a committed board and dedicated volunteers. Given the challenging times, we still had good, strong years. I look forward to your continued participation in the chapter in 2022 and beyond.

Happy Holidays!

Gillian Wilson
ATD-OC President 2021 and 2022

This is a new era of learning, where we can take learning to the next level. Good virtual instructor led training combines collaborative meeting technology with instructional design to offer learners a convenient and interactive way of learning.

This technology also helps organizations train their employees in a more cost-effective manner as they can hire just one or two instructors for an entire company, instead of sending each employee across the world for training.

The advantages of virtual instructor led training are:

1. Training takes place at the organization's office premises.
2. Trainees are able to learn in a collaborative environment with other trainees dispersed around the nation, or globe.
3. The equipment is cheaper than travelling for distant trainings and presentations require less space for video projection

However, this type of training is not without its traps and pitfalls. The design for virtual instructor led training cannot be the same as an in-person instructor led training, yet many is the course that is little more than a slide deck with a talking head to one side. How do you avoid these pitfalls and create an engaging VILT that enhances learning retention? Here are a few tips to explore:

1. Give Participants a Reason to Care About Your Course

As the motivation legend Zig Ziglar says, "Everyone listens to the radio station WIIFM, 'What's In It For Me.'" This is true for all training, and is exceptionally important for virtual instructor led training. Why? People are on a device that has within its circuitry the distractions of a world around them. If not the email with the latest problem to be solved, then the innocuous social media post that leads them into a daisy chain of cat videos.

Should you start the course by clearly stating what you believe is a strong WIIFM? No. Virtual Instructor Led Training exists in a more collaborative environment. Ask questions to elicit what your learners believe their WIIFM is, then tie the WIIFM you uncovered in your needs analysis to their contributions as a means of reinforcing and reaffirming their reasons for joining.

2. Build in Interactivity With the Learning Content

Interactive content can help learners retain more information, and be more engaged in the learning process.

Many virtual instructor led platforms provide a variety of tools to prompt audience response. Commonly found are polls, chat, screen sharing, and whiteboards. Many platforms offer annotation tools for participants to mark on the screen. Most also offer breakout rooms, opportunities to split the students into multiple, smaller, web conferences for more focused discussions.

Each of these tools provides an opportunity for learners to interact — either with you, or each other.

Using a variety of those tools throughout the course will undoubtedly keep learners active, but will they keep them engaged?

3. Ask "why" when implementing interactive content & technology.

As with any instructional design, asking “why” when implementing a webinar tool is critical to ensuring the activity engages the learners.

Why does a poll support a learning objective?

Why will a learner benefit from sharing a screen? Or typing something in the chat box?

The answers will help you understand the purpose of each interaction. In reality, you’re looking for the “WIIFM” again.

4. Think holistically.

Don’t let your virtual interactions stand alone. Use the poll you created at the beginning of a training session as a jumping off point for a brainstorming session. That brainstorming session can lead to the creation of an action plan, so learners have something to walk away with.

As each online interaction builds upon the other, they create reasons for learners to engage more fully in the process.

Gather More Tips With The Total Virtual Trainer

This year, ATD-Orange County is adding to their Total Trainer Curricula with a program on focusing on the design and facilitation of Virtual Instructor Led Training. Participants will improve their ability to design and lead engaging and interactive virtual training sessions that provide a deeper processing experience for their learners than standard webinars which mostly consist of a talking head and PowerPoint slides.

• If you’ve never led a webinar or VILT and would like to learn to do so.

• If you lead webinars that are basically informational and would like to learn to lead more engaging and interactive training sessions

• If you’re already leading VILT sessions and want to “sharpen the saw"

You’ll want to join us!