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HIF Logic – The Six Sigma of Talent Development

May 9, 2024May 9, 2024 by dream2career, posted in Mavens, Naturalists, Opinion, Processors, Protectors, Solving the Work-Learn Problem, Specialists, Trending, Visionaries

The best way to create connections between workforce and education is to get the work-learn communities moving in the same direction. For this reason, Dream2Career developed HIF Logic. HIF stands for the Horizontal Industry Framework which crosses talent interests with all the job functions using only six areas. HIF Logic – is defined as the “Six-Sigma of Workforce Development”. HIF Logic provides a standardized workforce infrastructure that improves business productivity and decreases costs by increasing worker access to general education. This system is designed to improve employee motivation, minimize variation, increase quality, and improve efficiency.

The educational system, in all of its forms, is complicated and disjointed. For this reason we developed a standard communication / media delivery system that uses HIF Logic to simplify this complicated, but necessary, form of human development. The HIF Logic media schedule allows, learning providers, businesses, workforce groups, and government initiatives (HEMPEngine, MASH, DoD Skillbridge, etc) all to exist in the same communication system and thought stream, at predictable times, pertaining to educational initiatives. As communities and institutions, “celebrate” learning events, programs, experiences using HIF Logic, it creates opportunities for close collaboration and innovation. Dream2Career recently developed a Work-Learn communications platform that is setup using HIF Logic to organize the educational system so that it works for everyone. Think how businesses plan communications around seasons and holidays. Imagine how much more effective workforce communications could be when streamlined using HIF Logic.

In addition to helping communities promote educational content, the HIF Logic framework was designed to help our student/workers to focus on personal and professional development, so that they could find passion and purpose through learning. Mental health is a huge issue for many and education, through shared learning experiences, helps to combat loneliness and depression and studies have shown education staves off dementia.

Dream2Career provides a 15-Min daily, shared learning diet through our Micro-Drip Learning platform, which consequently uses HIF Logic to provide useful educational content in a predictable, gamified way. This new learning style helps to stop the mindless media scroll and it provides career signals and confidence building mechanisms, so employees and career seekers can see hope for a better tomorrow.

If you are interested consuming your educational diet, click here to join the Micro-Drip. Our courses are developed by subject matter experts and have been used in over 70K businesses. Micro-Drip Learning helps users to understand strengths, weakness, and the strength of differences, so our users live the life they always wanted and they succeed in learning and in life.

About Dream2Career:

Dream2Career (D2C) uses education to attract, retain, and inspire the workforce of tomorrow.

Time to Grow: Start A New Educational Fitness Routine

May 7, 2024May 7, 2024 by dream2career, posted in Mavens, Naturalists, Opinion, Processors, Protectors, Specialists, Trending, Uncategorized, Visionaries

Starting a new learning lifestyle is exciting! You’re energized by the potential for a mental healthier you. Unfortunately, staying motivated can be tough. Life gets busy, boredom hits, and the social media scroll suddenly seems very appealing.

Here’s where psychology comes in. By understanding how our brains work and what triggers behavior change, we can use these insights to our advantage.

Building on Classical Conditioning

John B. Watson, a pioneer of behaviorism, famously demonstrated classical conditioning through his (now ethically questionable) experiment with Little Albert. While we wouldn’t want to use fear conditioning for education, the principle applies. Pair your learning with something you enjoy, like teaming up with a friend or playing music, SOFTLY, in the background. Over time, the positive association with learning can make you crave that feel-good state of mind.

Operant Conditioning: Rewarding Yourself

B.F. Skinner, another behaviorist, championed operant conditioning, where behaviors are reinforced or punished by their consequences. This is all about rewarding yourself for sticking to your goals. After a microcourse, treat yourself to a trip to store or cappuccino. Completing a week of Micro-Drip Learning? Celebrate with a relaxing bath or a tickets to your favorite performer.

The Power of Goals

Setting clear, SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) is crucial for success according to Edwin Locke and Gary Latham’s goal-setting theory. Instead of a vague desire to “start learning,” aim to “connect the learning to ways to upskill into your dream career” or “to find your passion so you can live your best life.” Track your progress and celebrate milestones to stay motivated.

Social Influence: Partner Up or Find a Support Group

We are social creatures, heavily influenced by those around us. Find a learning buddy or join the Micro-Drip Learning classes. Social support and a little friendly competition can go a long way in keeping you accountable and keep your interest level high.

Beyond Behaviorism: The Role of Mindset

While behaviorism provides powerful tools, psychology is multifaceted. Carol Dweck’s work on mindsets highlights the importance of believing in your ability to change. Instead of viewing setbacks as failures, view them as actual learning experiences. This growth mindset fosters resilience and keeps you going when things get tough.

Remember, creating sustainable change takes time and effort. By using these psychological principles, you can develop a routine that feels good and fits seamlessly into your life. So, put on your glasses, and get ready to achieve your goals in learning and in life!

References

Baron, R. A., & Branscombe, N. R. (2016). Social Psychology (13th ed.). Pearson.
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House.
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a critical mass of evidence to make contingent reward effective for motivating employee performance. Organizational Dynamics, 31(2), 38-58.
Rosenthal, M. (2004). Little Albert and the beginnings of behaviorism. American Psychologist, 59(3), 205.
Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2016). A theory of controlled and automatic mental processes applied to learning.Psychological Bulletin, 93(1), 139.

From Ignorance to Bliss: The (Honest) Struggle of a Healthy Mind

May 7, 2024May 7, 2024 by dream2career, posted in Mavens, Naturalists, Opinion, Processors, Protectors, Specialists, Trending, Visionaries

Let’s be real: the image of happiness from a life of dedication often glosses over the messy reality of getting started. Education, the holy grail of mental fitness transformations, can feel as intimidating as scaling Mount Everest in your pajamas.

Here’s the truth: Getting Started is HARD. Here’s why:

The Intimidation Factor: Libraries and schools are filled with seemingly effortless regulars. You might feel like a lost puppy wandering into a dog show. Don’t worry, everyone started somewhere, even Albert Einstein; who, by the way, was dyslexic.
Learning the Lingo: Visionary, Maven, Processor, Protector, Specialists, Naturalist –– a whole new vocabulary bombards you. It’s okay to ask for help! Teachers are there to guide you, not judge you.
The Soreness Struggle: Mental fatigue after you fail a quiz isn’t a badge of honor, it’s a reminder that your mind is protesting this new activity. Start slow, listen to your body, and embrace the fact that frustration with learning is temporary (but oh-so-real).
Media Dilemma: Forget quick fixes like listening to news and social media. Creating a healthy education diet takes courage and effort. Saying goodbye to the scroll and hello to Micro-Dripping can feel like a major life shift.
Motivation Meltdown: Life gets busy. Work, family, social commitments –– suddenly that 15-minute micro-course seems impossible. Don’t beat yourself up. Focus on consistency, not perfection. Aim for 2-3 micro-drip courses a week and build from there.

Tips to Tame the Transformation:

Baby Steps: Don’t jump into a hardcore advanced calculus class. Start with Micro-Drip Learning and discover what inspires you and identify content weaknesses requiring the most improvement.
Find Your Tribe: Shared learning experiences provide opportunities to join group discussions that boost motivation and make learning fun and engaging.
Embrace the Apps: There are tons of free courses with foundational and advanced knowledge about anything and everything. Check out MOOCs.
Celebrate Non-Scale Victories: Focus on how you feel, not just your grades. More confidence? happiness? connections to others? These are wins too!
Reward Yourself: Hitting your goals deserves a celebration. With learning, there is no overindulgence. Treat yourself with a dream vacation and you can learn about history and culture as part of the trip.

Remember: This is a journey, not a sprint. There will be setbacks, missed classes, and cheating (asking your friend for the answers to the Trivia Quizzes). The key is to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back on track. You’ve got this!

Bonus Tip: Take screen shots of your first grades. Not to shame yourself, but to track your progress. Seeing how smart you become and tracking your rankings on the leaderboards. These stats will become a huge motivator as you start to define your skills and passions for life.

The most important thing? Start. It takes just one click to embark on an amazing journey towards a healthier, happier, stronger you. So, sharpen your pencils, grab some healthy snacks, and get ready to conquer those challenges and embark on the journey of a lifetime! You won’t regret it!

Build a Motivated Workforce

December 7, 2023December 7, 2023 by dream2career, posted in HR Professionals, Trending, Workforce Development

Stop looking beyond your town and use local resources to grow the workforce that meets your employment needs. Invest in workers, pay them well, but also help them develop personally and professionally. The best way to do this is to develop and USE an educational reimbursement program (ERPs).

Many companies have ERPs, however, less than 7% of employees use the benefit. Consequently, those that do use the benefit are 80% more likely to stay with the company and to feel valued by the organization. These worker-learners are also more likely to refer a friend to the company which can help to alleviate the employee shortage problem that most organizations are facing.

Fully online learning programs should not be the mission of businesses or learning providers. Businesses should fight the urge to simplify their training portfolio and institute guardrails around the usage of online learning that includes, at a minimum, a hybrid approach. Students who attend face-to-face classes gain access to networks and experiences that they do not effectively get online.

The online learner has no allegiance to the online learning provider, and, in many cases, the student is simply going through the motions to complete the course, not because they are curious or engaged, but because they feel the need to just get through the course. We’ve made a world of exceptional test takers who lack humility, collaboration, critical thinking, or a passion for learning. They know how to check boxes, but they have zero understanding of the who, what, why, or how, which are vital to the brain’s ability to understand and recall information when needed.

Local colleges and technical schools are struggling, and this is tragic, because they can be businesses’ greatest asset when it comes to attracting, retaining, and motivating workers. Online job boards and large employment agencies may be able to offer businesses access to 10 million resumes, but, small-town America, guess what? You’re lucky if these services have 3 prospects, from your location, that will be useful to your search.

Site-based learning providers offer work-learn options like apprenticeships and internships that are effective at upskilling workers. However, the motivation problem often still exists because most students have no idea what they want to do for a career. They don’t have enough input or experience to know what is available to them and when they enroll in work-based learning they are, again, just going through the motions to get the job and they rarely consider if it matches who they are or what they like to do. These work-learn solutions, use education to grow employees, may still lead to disengagement and high dropout rates because the employees miss the purpose and understanding of how they are valued within the organization.

To reimagine the work-learn problem, Dream2Career developed what is called Micro-Drip Learning to help employees understand their value to the organization, so they know who they are and what they bring to their employer. Through the consumption of daily 15-min microcourses, users gain confidence, interest, and hope through learning and gamification.

These courses are designed to help users to understand their strengths, and weaknesses, and the strengths of our differences. Through these shared experiences, users find like-minded people, engage in local events, and they learn about educational opportunities that help them develop personally and professionally.

Imagine having employees that love to come to work every day because they are working in or towards their dream career. They become inspired to participate and contribute because you are helping them to learn and grow and you’re giving them access to opportunities that make life worth living.

If you’d like to learn more about Micro-Drip Learning and how to integrated it in with your current Educational Reimbursement Program, or if you’d like to design a new ERP and use education as a benefit, with significant tax breaks, contact Dream2Career.

Contact Kathy Houlihan at khoulihan@dream2career.org

Gratitude: One Nation Under God

November 3, 2023November 20, 2023 by dream2career, posted in Advice for Workers and Career Seekers, Processors, Protectors, Solving the Work-Learn Problem, Trending, Work-Learn Solutions for Businesses, Workforce Development

Our country is divided it is true, but we must know how lucky we are to live in a country that is not at war with anyone but ourselves. We have hours to spend doing what we wish. It is unfortunate that so many choose to waste their time streaming social media instead of living and learning.

There are so many beautiful places to visit, even in your hometown. Open your eyes, put down your devices and start looking for the answers outside your doors. If you walk through your neighborhood and there is trash on the ground, pick it up. Make your world, with a small “w” a better place first. This will make you feel happier and in control of your life.

If someone is hurting someone else with words or actions, try to deescalate the situation or if it’s dangerous, call the police. In fact, get trained and become a police officer. We need good people focusing our our personal safety online and in our communities. Learn how to protect your community and how to defuse hate and violence in your town.

No matter what your political views are, we all want to live in peace. That means being the bigger person and biting your tongue when someone has a different opinion. No one has all the facts and there is truth in what both sides are saying, and most people agree with what is rational. Somewhere in the middle is the truth. It is these loudmouth pundits, on both sides, who are fighting for your attention and destroying civility in America.

Let’s bring back civility, that family member, “friend,” or neighbor may have a different point of view on the situation, it’s not your responsibility to educate them. It’s your responsibility to live in peace and respect our collective differences. Right now, what is happening in Congress is gridlock and it’s because we are supporting these fools with our words and deeds instead of understanding that they are the people responsible for this mess.

Stop watching their outbursts. This behavior is called “Shockvertising” The term has been used in marketing for years. Shockvertising is when you say or do something that over the top to get people’s attention in advertising. It was always very effective for businesses and now politicians have learned to use it to push radical agendas.

Remember: Politicians are here to serve their constituents, the people who vote for them. They are servant leaders which means they are supposed to help us fulfill our goals, not the other way around. They are not professors or teachers; they should be fighting for you and you don’t need to listen to their nonsense which they are using to get your votes. Their radical behavior helps them get free airtime to push or “shock” their narratives directly down our throats until everyone is enraged and we are not thinking clearly. When we fight amongst ourselves, they have total control over the messages that we hear and they can be TV celebrities instead of creating laws that protect us, which is what we hired them to do.

My advice, turn off social media, 15-minutes per day is enough. Go play catch with your child, take a class, go for a walk, call a friend, eat an ice cream. Do something that makes you happy and disconnect from the nonsense. Nothing is as bad as the politicians want you to believe, especially in America. You were born under some lucky stars in the United States, enjoy what we have by showing gratitude, not online, but in your hometown, with your families and the ones you love.

National Challenge: 90 Days to a Career-Ready America

March 18, 2020 by Edu-Advisor, posted in Admissions Professionals, Advice for Workers and Career Seekers, Businesses Work-Learn Insights, HR Professionals, Marketing Professionals, Trending, Work-Learn Solutions for Businesses, Workforce Development

Dream2Career challenges educational leaders to participate in 90 Days to a Career-Ready America. Schools and businesses that offer online experiences like webinars, courses, certificates, badges, degree programs, activities, virtual tours, educational games, learning communities, presentations, camps, educational kits, internships, mentorships, scholarships, incubators, or events for students of any age or ability, can post these experiences in a new way. Dream2Career quickly connects learning experiences with the appropriate types of students based on their individual interest profiles.

Access to information has become a challenge because there is so much of it. Many organizations are posting lists of online learning resources for students. This is helpful, yet it takes too long for students and parents read through and check each website regarding all the of opportunities on the list, most of which do not apply to each unique circumstance. These lists are all encompassing and consequently, poorly match to what each specific the learner is trying to achieve. Dream2Career filters learning experiences based on the user’s interests so students can quickly find the relevant information to immediately begin the learning process that matches their interests and aspirations.

Dream2Career is a women-led tech startup that developed a platform for schools and businesses to post online learning experiences in a student-focused way. Students, parents, educators, and career seekers need a resource that quickly matches needs and interests to the appropriate learning on-ramps. Using a unique algorithm, the platform integrates users interests and filters them through the Department of Education’s career clusters making it easy for users to receive only relevant learning experiences.

Some of the Best Planning Occurs in “Captivation”

Because of “shelter in place” rules, families are going to want to find tools that are useful in finding quality experiences to do at home. This unusual form of confinement offers individuals time to plan for their dream life and the best free tool to help families with this process is Dream2Career. NPR followed a group of inmates who completed degrees in prison and found that the learning experiences were able to inspire hope by making the time in confinement easier and more productive. It is important to be able to see beyond our “incarceration” to life after this horrible pandemic. Using this newly found time to learn and to grow will inspire new ideas and it will create opportunities for a more promising future.

When we learn about things that interest us, innovation and prosperity await us on other side of this national disaster. Students, parents, mentors, and educators can register for free and we will email learning experiences that match the completed interest profile.

If you are a business or a school post learning experiences and help communities to find and prepare for dream careers.

Rudy Ruiz: Leading K-20 Visionary

March 6, 2020March 6, 2020 by Edu-Advisor, posted in Businesses Work-Learn Insights, Solving the Work-Learn Problem, Trending, Visionaries

It is an exciting time to be working in the education industry because solutions are emerging that are bringing opportunity to schools across the nation. One of the reasons for this innovation boom is because of great educational leaders, like Rudy Ruiz. By spearheading these efforts, Ruiz is making a difference in his home state of Maryland and these visionary solutions are being replicated in other states, which is positively impacting a growing number of student success stories.

Visionary Leader in Education, Rudy Ruiz

Rudy Ruiz is a Partner at FourPoint Education Partners and the former Chief Education Officer of the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education. He and his team developed an amazing student-focused mobile app called Way to Be. This innovative solution helps students learn from experts about high demand and emerging industries and it helps them to find on-ramps that match their interests to aspirational careers. This app is being adopted by the Maryland School Districts and is currently being upgraded to include relevant information that applies to other states. This project is one of many that Ruiz has on his agenda for bringing access and opportunity to students across that nation.

Because of his experiences and his background, Rudy is on a mission to make the world a better place. He is particularly interested in helping to inspire disadvantaged youth because he personally experienced opportunities and challenges that shaped his beliefs, while growing up in a poor minority neighborhood in Milwaukee. He was fortunate to have a strong family full of love that supported him, even during the most difficult times. He says, “I have spent the past 18 years in the classroom, in school leadership, in district leadership, in state leadership, and now supporting communities nationally, to close these equity gaps in access and opportunity to high-quality educational experiences and outcomes.” His experiences and personal understanding of their struggles, gives him the strength and tenacity to continue pushing forward. His ability to endure, while continuing to reaffirm his beliefs, are what bring about innovation and progress.

One can’t help but to be inspired by his passion and get-it-done attitude. Rudy Ruiz is a true visionary who continues to enhance the world of education for the next generation.

Finding Your Career Signal In the Noise

February 21, 2020February 21, 2020 by Edu-Advisor, posted in Advice for Workers and Career Seekers, Mavens, Naturalists, Opinion, Protectors, Specialists, Trending, Visionaries

Before technology we were better at putting information in its place. When you went to the library, you could find books by author, title, or subject. This made finding information organized but limited to content you could obtain within your traveling distance. I remember going to the University of Scranton’s Library, a 20-minute drive, because they had a book share program with my high school. At that time, you had to be motivated to find content for your research papers, some of my classmates even traveled to Philadelphia.

Today, information is everywhere. We are overwhelmed by messages about everything which makes us very stressed. It is impossible to find the signal in the noise. You can read more about this concept in a book called The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail–but Some Don’t by Nate Silver. He’s a math genius but writes in a way that anyone can read and understand.

Search engines use keywords or subjects similar to card catalogs of the past. However, search engines include information found on over 1.7 Billion websites, not to mention linkages to all of the social media content that exists on the internet. Search engines are helpful if you need a specific piece of information like an address or office hours for a company. Other than that, the only information that can effectively be found through search engines are ads trying to sell the “deal of the century”. Search engines might seem similar to the card catalogs of the past, but after closer observation they are quite different. No one is getting smarter, feeling more connected, or being inspired by quality researched information found using search engines.

Some technologies have helped to organize information in useful ways, two of these are Amazon and ride-sharing platforms like Uber and Lyft. These platforms work because you are going to them, like the card catalog of the past, for a specific purpose. If you want to purchase an item you consult the Amazon website and quickly find the information you seek. If you need a ride, ride share transactions take place, in a functional way, because everyone knows where to find the specific transportation information needed.

Unfortunately, this matching of need with solution does not happen for education. There are so many different types of programs and learning opportunities, traditional and non-traditional pathways, certificates, badges, camps, hackathons, apprenticeships, internships, incubators, scholarships, etc. that students can’t easily find the best learning program for them. This results in students wasting hours of time researching, using dreaded search engines, to find work and career learning information on the web. Educational institutions are forced to spend too much money buying keywords that result in no additional prospective student views of their educational programs. If only there was a specific card catalog for education that organized information, in a specific way, where learning experiences could be found based on location and career aspirations.

Imagine a world where learning experiences were organized based on interests and made recommendations of similar learning opportunities. How cool would this solution be? Enter the keywords or searchable fields organized into six mega clusters, and have access to local events and programs that put students, parents, educators and career-seekers on pathways to success. No longer would there be a need to find the company and then hope they have a learning program for you to get your foot in the door. No longer would there be a need to pick a school and then hope they have your major or program of interest. No longer would families struggle to find fun and educational places to go and things to do together. Communities would begin to work on discovering, growing, and thriving as they work towards a common goal–Prosperity through education and connection!

Dream2Career is developing this type of solution, where you can find categories of interest and quickly locate learning on-ramps and experiences. Visit our developing website at Edu-Advisor.org or sign up today to receive updates about learning experiences matching your interests. We are hard at work designing Edu-Advisor the app, until then, subscribe here to learn more about this project and start living your dream life.

Should We Unplug or Iterate?

September 30, 2019September 30, 2019 by Edu-Advisor, posted in Opinion, Trending

In a world where “if it’s on the internet, it must be true” there seems to be little hope of unification. We are so entrenched in our positions that all reason goes out the window. I am worried about the next generation. How do we help communities thrive when we are attached to our devices only to prove a point to ourselves? I’ve begun to unplug from my device and I already feel more focused. I am beginning to remember all of the good times that I had with my friends before my addiction. I am remembering life before I had to know all the political “facts” and before I obsessed about finding support for my perspective.

It is very unlikely that we, as a society, will officially unplug from our devices. Technology continues to provide major conveniences and benefits that save us time and make us more efficient at completing tasks. Digital devices also keep our minds busy when we are waiting in line or if we just need a break from work or our studies.

Instead of advocating for device removal for our society, I suggest that we use the idle time on our mobile phones for good deeds. Just like giving to the food bank or supporting a local cause, we can support a community of learning. You can participate by sharing your knowledge and your expertise about industry-specific careers and learning pathways. You know a lot about these things and you likely share this information antidotally in conversation. We are suggesting that instead of sharing your political views on social media, share great career-related insights. We promise that it will get you more likes and more readership with fewer bouts of depression or fights with your mates.

Dream2Career developed the first social media platform where you can share organized, relevant information with your local community about jobs and education. Your readers can participate and learn from your experiences and advice. Imagine a digital community built with hope and understanding about the future world of work. You can show the next generation how communities operated in the past when we made connections that were meaningful with a handshake and a smile. Working together, we can unite and connect in the virtual and the physical world. It will be great when, despite our differences, we can help communities thrive.

Dream2Career is interested in hearing your thoughts as Edu-Advisor is developed. Contact Us with insights and ideas on our new platform and about how we can make your community a better place to live, learn, and work.

National Job Shadowing Week | Inspire Student Success | March 22-28, 2020

September 26, 2019September 26, 2019 by Edu-Advisor, posted in Businesses Work-Learn Insights, HR Professionals, Trending, Work-Learn Solutions for Businesses, Workforce Development

Join the Local Community of Learning and Help Students Succeed

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