Yesterday, I had the opportunity to present with the ATD Central Florida Chapter and share one of my favorite sessions — Amazing Tools to Create, Collaborate & Inspire. It was an energizing hour exploring dozens of free and low-cost tools that help learning professionals brainstorm, design, and bring ideas to life faster. We looked at ways to boost creativity, simplify workflows, and enhance collaboration using next-generation technologies. I loved connecting with the participants and hearing how they’re reimagining their learning ecosystems. Huge thanks to the ATDCFL team for hosting and to everyone who joined live — your curiosity and questions made it such a fun and inspiring session!
We’re thrilled to announce that the Sealworks team will be attending the ATD 2025 International Conference & EXPO,taking place from May 18–21 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center .
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If you’re attending, we’d love to connect! Let’s discuss how we can collaborate to elevate learning experiences and drive impactful results. We’ll be presenting or stop by booth 1533 to learn, share and grow with us:
Sunday, May 18, 2025
Amazing Apps to Create, Imagine, and Collaborate 11am-12pm | Room 202B, Level 2
Some moments in life feel like they bring everything full circle. Meeting Guy Kawasaki was one of those for me.
I’ve been following Guy since the original Macintosh days—back when his evangelism at Apple was shaping the future of personal computing. As a teenager, I was completely immersed in the magic of the Mac, and later, working at an Apple VAR (Value-Added Reseller) in those early years only deepened my admiration for Apple’s vision. It wasn’t just about selling hardware; it was about empowering creativity, breaking barriers, and redefining how we think about technology. Guy embodied that spirit.
His work at Apple and beyond has been a guiding force in how I approach innovation, learning, and design. He didn’t just promote a product—he championed an idea, a mindset that technology should be intuitive, empowering, and, most importantly, delightful. His books, from The Art of the Startto Enchantment, have been constant sources of wisdom, reminding me that great products and experiences aren’t just about features—they’re about how they make people feel.
When I finally got the chance to meet him, it was one of those surreal, fanboy-meets-mentor moments. And true to form, he was engaging, insightful, and, of course, effortlessly cool.
But Guy wasn’t the only one from those early Apple days who shaped my journey. I was incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to visit Apple and work with the amazing teams at the Apple Market Centers in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and Reston, VA. These centers were hubs of innovation and collaboration, where I got to connect with some of the most passionate, knowledgeable people in the industry.
Holding monthly events at these Market Centers—where we shared knowledge, explored new technologies, and learned together—was a defining part of my career. It reinforced my belief that the best ideas come from open collaboration and a willingness to teach and be taught. That experience didn’t just make me better at what I do—it shaped who I am.
I’m grateful for the mentors, colleagues, and fellow Apple enthusiasts who instilled in me the love of sharing, teaching, and constantly pushing boundaries. Whether it was an engineer taking time to explain a new feature, a designer showcasing a breakthrough workflow, or a developer revealing the magic behind an app, those moments of learning and discovery were invaluable.
That spirit of sharing knowledge and inspiring others is something I carry with me every day. Whether it’s designing learning experiences, building new platforms, or mentoring others, the DNA of those early Apple experiences—the passion for making things insanely great—is always there.
Here’s to lifelong inspiration and the people who help shape our creative paths. Thanks, Guy, and thanks to all the Apple minds who helped me grow—not just in what I do, but in how I share it with others.
I’m so excited to announce that we’ll be attending, speaking, and sponsoring DevLearn this year, and I’d love for you to join me! The primary event takes place Nov 6-8 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. DevLearn is the premier event for learning and development professionals, and it’s the perfect opportunity to learn about the latest trends in e-learning, network with other professionals, and discover new tools and technologies. Whether you’re new to the field or a seasoned pro, there’s something for everyone at DevLearn. Plus, it’s always more fun to attend conferences with friends! So mark your calendars and register today
3 Great Keynote Events:
Kara Swisher Co-founder and Editor-at-LargeRecode
Erik Wahl Internationally Recognized Graffiti Artist
Dani Johnson Co-founder and Principal AnalystRedThread Research
The new ChatGPT app is here and is set to revolutionize how you interact with AI. It reminds me of the computer on Star Trek, where you can activate and interact just by using your voice. The app comes with a fresh, user-friendly design that makes chatting with ChatGPT smoother and more intuitive. With faster response times and an offline mode, you can get the answers you need, even without an internet connection. Plus, the app now supports rich media, so you can share images and videos directly in your conversations, making your interactions more dynamic and engaging.
The new app also brings a highly personalized experience to the table. You can customize the look and feel to match your style and integrate it seamlessly with your favorite tools and apps. Security has been beefed up, ensuring your data and conversations are well-protected. Whether you’re using it on your phone, tablet, or desktop, the multi-device sync keeps everything consistent across all your gadgets. Download the new ChatGPT app today and experience a whole new level of AI-powered communication!
Check out Luis Malbas’s video presentation on how he uses AI for his workflow. My takeaways:
Using ChatGPT free for generating, summarizing and accelerating the creation of content for the TLDC community
Importance of adapting to technological advancements and demonstrates how they use AI in their workflow, including subscribing to an AI newsletter and using ChatGPT for 80% of their tasks
Critical everyone learns, experiment and start to build skills to be more productive
Using SnackPrompt to help generate and learn about new prompts to improve ChatGPT results
AI is an essential part of our digital world and we need to stay on top of it.
The Best of Learning Solutions DemoFest webinar highlights projects from DemoFest at Learning Solutions 2023 Conference & Expo, where attendees shared information about learning projects they have worked on.
The Learning Leaders Winter Online Forum allows you to dive into valuable conversations, build new skills, and expand your leadership toolkit. Join us for two days from the comfort of your office or home, and leave feeling re-energized and equipped to implement new leadership strategies and practices at your organization.
David Kelly interviews several leaders to learn about their Journies into starting their own businesses and how they evolved.
In this web-based resource, you can learn about Artificial Intelligence and the key areas that make it up. It’s a great example of a resource, providing mini learning objects for us to consume. https://atozofai.withgoogle.com/intl/en-US/
I love the rollovers on the desktop:
Love the rollovers and motion on the desktop.
Review it on a mobile device to learn how the content shifts and moves.
If you haven’t checked out the #IDIODC podcast, Brent and Chris interview and dive into topics around learning and technology. Great way to keep up and connect with peers.
You can listen to my chat about technology and expanding your toolbox.
Check out the weekly episodes, every Wednesday and you can listen to the library at: https://www.dominknow.com/idiodc.
Whether you are new to design or looking to develop a strong foundation or just want to refresh your design skills check out this new website which provides a great experience to learn. https://start.uxdesign.cc
Over the past several weeks The Learning Guild has been alternating between their Friday 2 pm Twitter Chat and a Zoom based event where a guest explains, dives deeper and answers chat questions on topics that were presented during online events this year. I was a guest and this is a summary of several of the topics we covered and wanted to provide a summary along with links. A video will be shared on YouTube later this month so keep an eye out if you missed the session today.
providing feedback – be sure to allow the user to fail and learn from their mistakes.
don’t just say that’s incorrect.
look for ways to provide users a way to dive deeper, explore and share what they learn
provide tools for managers and leaders to utilize content to connect, blend and refresh on key elements they want to utilize in their toolbox
Keeping Up to Date
Growing up in a household of a teaching sparked a interest to always ask why, how, can I do it? So always be thinking about and breaking down what you do, why, how it works and what can you apply to your next learning experience? Tools that I use to keep up to date:
Feedly.com is my favorite tool to stay up to date with topics, I try to check in 1-3 times a day on my phone in-between meetings, tasks and typically will review on a tablet in the evening. You can organize contents, tags, keywords, you can even remove words that you do not want to be included which is handy when you want to focus on a particular top or area. With the paid version you unlock more functionality with team sharing, annotation. Check it out, free to download or try via the web site.
Sidebar.io is the second resource I use daily to keep inspired for creative ideas and to keep learning. You can sign up for a free email that delivers the 5 latest stories to your inbox which I love and will review weekly what I missed.
TechSmith Tools
We got a question about using Snagit and Camtasia for creating, capturing, and building media. We use Snagit just about every day and Camtasia as needed, one thing I wanted to make sure you check out is their community support, blog, education (for registered users) via TechSmith Academy and resources. Make sure to follow Matt Pierce @piercemr on Twitter.
During the last part of the session, we invited 30+ attendees to experiment and add their thoughts around what they learned, what they wanted to share, and access to the resources. You can view the board and a gif below which shows the magic of 30+ people adding what they learned.
Please reach out to twitter.com/learningguild or @learningguild on Twitter to share your thoughts if they should continue the series. I VOTE YES and would love to see more interactions to continue and dive deeper into the latest community challenges, sharing ideas, and looking at how we can continue to grow.
Emily Sheetz launched a new podcast L&D Forecast which is easy to listen to and provides a fresh perspective of what to consider and where to look in the world of learning. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and working with Emily for over 10 years now and have seen her grow into a master storyteller with a creative edge that helps an audience connect with her ideas.
Check out her podcasts and you can connect with Emily on LinkedIn. You can also view Emily’s writings on Medium. You can listen to Emily’s fun interview with me that went so fast I can’t wait to do it again.
