Collective Learning - By Lindsay Benitez

Do you enjoy reading and writing, learning new languages, or even tongue twisters? If you do, you may have a strong verbal learning style. This style encompasses both written and spoken words. Someone with a verbal learning style may feel more comfortable putting information in writing and may also have a need to talk about ideas or issues.
 
Speaking and writing techniques can be used to improve your verbal learning style. For instance, when remembering information, you can put dramatic emphasis on certain words, and act out words or an idea in a theatrical manner. Try using mnemonic devices to recall information. The verbal learning style can be extremely advantageous in regards to online learning because verbal learners gather new information through seeing and hearing words.
 
In business, you can utilize role-playing techniques to practice internal and external customer relations, sales, and negotiations. You can also try taking long statements or phrases and make them easier to remember by making an acronym out of the first letter of each word in the phrase. Finally, transferring knowledge is helpful in any organization, and verbal learners have the ability to learn new information and teach others what they have learned.
 
Remember that we all use multiple learning styles, and the key is to identify which one is most natural for us as individuals. Observe which techniques help you learn and retain information the most effectively.

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What We’re Reading - By Stephanie Wharton
 

If you have studied Paul Cummings’ K.A.S.H. material, you know habits either serve or slay us. In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey shares the seven habits he believes have the power to move individuals from dependence to interdependence. He says, “Dependent people need others to get what they want. Independent people can get what they want through their own effort. Interdependent people combine their own efforts with the efforts of others to achieve their greatest success.”

Habit #1: Be Proactive.

Stephen Covey defines proactivity as the responsibility humans have for their own lives because “our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions.” Essentially, being proactive is about taking control of our situations and circumstances rather than letting them take control of us. We have the power to choose our response.

To further illustrate what proactive people look like, he describes the opposite: reactive people are the people who live based on their physical and social environment. If the weather is nice and people have been kind that day, it will be a good day. However, if it is raining and people around them are in a bad mood, they will most likely withdraw and be down and defensive. Proactive people, on the other hand, live based on their values regardless of whether or not the weather is nice or people have been helpful or spiteful.

What does being proactive look like? How can someone who is reactive become proactive? Covey explains it simply, “Act, or be acted upon.” Rather than waiting for a solution to a problem, take steps to solve it. Taking initiative is all about making things happen rather than waiting for things to happen. He provides the following chart to reveal the difference in the language reactive and proactive people use: 

Choose to be proactive by controlling your responses to circumstances, taking action, and making things happen!

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Collective Learning - By Lindsay Benitez

If you prefer to learn by hearing and listening to information, you may display the characteristics of an aural learner. The aural learning style is a style in which individuals learn best through hearing directions and speaking answers. It is common for aural learners to be proficient at speaking and acting. Typically, aural learners prefer to listen to lectures rather than take notes. They may also read things out loud to help better understand the material. If you are an aural learner, remembering songs and other auditory sounds tends to be easier for you. 

There are a few strategies you can use to enhance your aural learning skills:  

• Try taping lessons and listening to records as a study method.
• Translate math into oral problems.
• Memorize words and phrases by speaking them out loud.
• Use rhymes, music, or a jingle you’ve created to help learn lengthy material.

To make the most out of aural learning, you can easily follow an input-output pathway. The input stage describes all the information you take in as an individual. In accordance with aural learning, you should engage in a lecture or tutorial and then discuss these topics with your peers and instructor. Next, attempt to explain what you have initially learned to other people. Focus your explanations around interesting examples, stories, pictures, and other visuals. To finish the process, you must produce an output. This output reflects your performance or mastery of the information you learned during the input stage. To maximize your performance on an assessment or examination, attempt to recall ideas in a quiet place, practice writing your answers, and speak your answers either out loud or inside your head.
 
It is important to remember that most people likely utilize multiple learning styles rather than just one. Try identifying when you personally use a combination of styles to learn new material or content. Take note of what aspects of each style and what combinations best enhance your ability to retain the new information. 

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Collective Learning - By Lindsay Benitez 

Visual learners use a combination of pictures, colors, maps, and images to communicate with others, organize, and retain information. Approximately 65% of the population is made up of visual learners. They incorporate visual media and imagery to help in the learning process. A visual learner will understand information more thoroughly when it is presented with a picture or chart.
 
Drawing, making outlines, and color-coding will significantly help visual learners as they process and learn new information. They are great at seeing the big picture in both complex and simple systems. Visual learners often perform best on assessments that include diagramming, outlining essays, interpreting maps, and showing a process.
 
Some characteristics of a visual learner include: remembering where information was located on a page, preferring a quiet place to study, benefitting from recopying notes, detail-oriented, organized and tidy, and preferring written instructions to oral ones.
 
The following are examples of techniques to consider when utilizing the visual learning style:
 
Visual words: Use color, various layouts, and spatial organization with your word associations.
 
Mind maps: Use vivid colors and pictures in the place of text; draw a map of events or processes to represent words.
 
System diagrams: Create links between different parts of a system; replace words with images and color-code significant links.
 
Visual journey: This story technique aids in visualizing content that is not easily pictured in your head.

Using these visual techniques as you learn and teach others will help with the learning process.

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Elements of eLearning - By Lindsay Benitez 
 
Learning styles describe the way in which people take in and process information. You may already know your preferred learning style, which is considered your dominant style of learning. Oftentimes, individuals use a combination of styles to learn new material. Styles can be combined together to enhance your learning experience and assist in retention. Remember, there is not just one way to educate and learn. However, there are ways people can enhance the less dominant styles in their learning practices.
 
Below are some common learning styles that individuals can utilize:
 
Visual (spatial): uses pictures, images, and spatial understanding
 
Aural (auditory-musical): uses sound and music
 
Verbal (linguistic): uses words, both in speech and writing
 
Physical (kinesthetic): uses body, hands, and sense of touch
 
Logical (mathematical): uses logic, reasoning, and systems
 
Social (interpersonal): uses groups or other people to assist learning
 
Solitary (intrapersonal): uses working alone and use self-study to assist learning 

 
These styles have significant impact on your learning experience and success in retaining new information. They each activate different areas of the brain; the more the brain is engaged, the more a learner increases his or her retention. To optimize retention and enhance education, you must practice and rehearse what you have originally learned. As Paul Cummings says, “Don’t practice until you get it right. Practice until you never get it wrong.”  
 
Try to understand and recognize your personal learning styles. This will enable you to use techniques that are more aligned with your learning preferences and improve the quality of your learning.

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Woople users have been looking for more flexibility and mobility in their Woople experience, and now they have it with Woople Mobile! We are excited to announce that users can now access Woople on their iPhone! 

All you have to do is open Safari, enter in the address of your Woople account, and type in your email and password – that is it! There is nothing to download or install. You can now access and watch all of your favorite Woople channels. It is that easy!

Once you log in, we recommend you add Woople to your home screen so that you can access it quickly in the future. This can be done by tapping the icon with the arrow at the bottom of your screen and selecting Add to Home Screen.

Whether during the morning commute, lunch break, or in a few moments of downtime, now you can truly use Woople anytime, anywhere!  Stay tuned for more updates throughout the year.

We hope you enjoy, and would love to hear from you. The next time you log in from your computer, click on the Community link and let us know what you think!

Sincerely,

The Woople Team 

(photo copyright of Kevin Bate)

What started out as indistinct black patches on a neutral ground has, layer by layer, come into focus as the confident, alert face of Nikola Tesla. To his left is a stern Charles Babbage, complete in sepia. These are two of the six founding fathers of technology, the latest mural by Chattanooga artist Kevin Bate. Kevin begins each painting with the darkest areas, forming shapes that anchor the rest of the painting to come. He then builds up the rest of the detail one shade at a time, and finishes a piece by adding the lightest, brightest touches. At first it isn’t clear how all the layers will add up, but as Kevin’s other work has proven, the results are always beautiful.

Kevin’s method is similar to the way a business is built. At first it starts with an idea, and the pieces put in place seem miles away from anything that could add up. But slowly you add more employees, more customers, and define more elements of the brand. The details fall into place, and the finished product takes on a life of its own. The momentum builds, and others begin to see your vision as a cohesive whole. Customers and clients take something away from the business, and it contributes to their own professional and personal experiences.

When Woople first started, there were a lot of pieces to put into place. Our team of software engineers developed the platform. Woople Studios in Wildwood, Georgia filmed the first videos. Together with our Customer Care team in Kansas City, Missouri we all networked with our earliest clients and introduced them to the great system we’ve built. The Woople founders had to trust their inner vision would guide them from those first brushstrokes to the ever-growing body of work we have today. In just a few short years, we’ve grown enough that we needed more room in each of the cities we call home.

We are very excited for our company to take its next step by moving to our new location on Frazier Avenue. We know we will be right at home in downtown Chattanooga; the city itself has experienced a cycle of growth akin to Kevin’s work. Since the 1980s, Chattanooga has grown from an ill-defined city darkened by pollution and crime to a brilliant highlight of the Southern technology corridor focused on the environment and the arts. As we renovate the new building this winter, we are so happy that Kevin’s beautiful art is serving as our initial introduction to our new neighbors. We can think of few artists whose style so perfectly parallels our vision as a company, and whose artistic process so beautifully matches our business process. Both are simple, bold, and fun. We can’t wait to see the completed mural, and to show you what Woople is all about!