Employee Learning Moment

Building Inclusive Workspaces

We all have a role to play in supporting workplace culture and strengthening inclusive spaces. However, it isn’t always easy to understand where to start! Review this 2:02 min video clip to understand your Role in Building Inclusive Workplaces and consider if your interpersonal skills and interactions with teammates are consistently respectful , kind, considerate and inclusive. Speaking of inclusion: a new opportunity for practicing your allyship skills, building new relationships and getting involved in strengthening our Culture of inclusion at the College is forthcoming! Introducing:

Affinity Group Conversation Communities

After the successful pilot launch of Affinity Group Conversation circles in 2023, we are excited to take this initiative to the next level and launch Affinity Group Conversation Communities.

Enter the Affinity Group Co-Leadership Lottery!

Are you passionate about creating inclusive spaces for AC employees? We’re looking for 10 Co-Leads (two per group) to guide the development of 5 affinity groups being formed (Racialized Identities, Persons with Disabilities, 2SLGBTQ+ Identities, Women , Interest in Allyship).

Please fill out the application form here if you are interested in entering the co-lead lottery for an AC Affinity Group Conversation Community. Or sign up here as a participant

To learn more, view the video on the affinity group Sharepoint site, where you will find more details about the program and your place in it.

If you have any questions on this topic or want to learn more about Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility, please take note of the following AC resources.

Contact: If you have questions about this topic, please reach out to the I.D.E.A team by emailing diversity@algonquincollege.com

IDEA Blueprint: To find out more about the strategy the college has undertaken to improve belonging, check out the IDEA Blueprint document.

Stay Connected: If you are looking for ways to get involved and stay up to date on I.D.E.A initiatives for employees, consider subscribing to the I.D.E.A. email list.

Have questions? Suggestions for employee learning? Contact the Centre for Organizational Learning.

Stacking your Habits for Better Routines

Welcome to your Employee Learning Moment (ELM)! This is the place to learn about just the right tool (that will help do the trick), just-in-time (to help you through the rest of your week) and just for you (as an employee at AC)!

Building and stacking better routines is essential for good habits to thrive, and most importantly, to ‘stick.’ Watch this 3:38 min video clip on Stacking your habits to learn about 3 strategies to building efficient routines.

Interested in learning more? Continue watching the rest of the series, Building Better Routines or check out the resources below to help you maintain and sustain your stacked routines.

Visit the website, My Morning Routine , check out the book, Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey or check out the Vanity Fair “In a Day” video series on You Tube.

Have questions? Suggestions for employee learning? Contact the Centre for Organizational Learning.

 

Use the Copilot AI Assistant in Windows 11

This 5m 03s LinkedIn Learning video shares a preview of Copilot for Windows, an AI-powered assistant that you can use to interact with webpages and settings and applications in your own PC.

And there’s more! Are you interested in the best practices for using Microsoft Copilot at Algonquin College? Our Microsoft Copilot Essentials course, part of the Microsoft 365 Essentials Collection, is a comprehensive resource for all things Copilot at Algonquin. And better yet, it’s available to peruse and revisit at your leisure 24/7.

Have questions? Suggestions for future Employee Learning Moments? Contact the Centre for Organizational Learning.

Windows 11 Quick Tips-Snaps Layouts, Minimize Windows

If you are new at using Windows 11, or may not be aware of some quick tips, here are 2 short videos to help you get started with window placement. These tips are especially helpful when you don’t have multiple screens.

  1. If you sometimes need to have 2 windows on your showing screen, side-by-side, but often have many windows open, this 1:05 min video clip will show you how to do that quickly.
  2. Alternatively, if you have many windows open but would like to close all but one, this 45s video clip will show you a quick trick.

If these short videos have helped you, check out the Windows 11 Quick Tips course for many more quick tips on a wide range of topics.

Available Training

Check out the Microsoft 365 Essentials Collection of self-paced micro-courses:

Microsoft 365 General Employee Support

Need help with a specific Microsoft 365 task/tool/feature/process for everyday work tasks? Book an appointment with the Centre for Organizational Learning’s Systems Training Specialist.

Have questions? Suggestions for employee learning? Contact the Centre for Organizational Learning.

Embracing Change

Change is all around us, and our professional life is no exception. If you are feeling anxious about upcoming change, check out this 1 min nano video clip, to learn a strategy to help you accept what you cannot change by refocusing your energy on what you can change.

This is just one tip from the short 9 min 11 s course Nano Tips to Thrive in Uncertainty and Embrace Change, feel free to check them all out.

Have questions? Suggestions for future Employee Learning Moments? Contact the Centre for Organizational Learning.

Relax your Brain

Our brains already have the built-in machinery to be wildly creative—some of us just need a bit of clarity on the process. This 5m 54s LinkedIn Learning video provides you with advice to help you get your creativity flowing by relaxing your brain. When our brains are relaxed, they function more creatively.

This is just one small sliver of advice from the Creativity Tips for All (7h 31m), check out the full course for even more tidbits to get (even more) creative.

Have questions? Suggestions for future Employee Learning Moments? Contact the Centre for Organizational Learning.

Understanding ‘Work Time’ vs. ‘You Time’

How much time do you really spend working each week? This brief 2m 17s LinkedIn Learning video from the Time Management Fundamentals course shares insight into what differentiates work and you time and strategies to better balance each.

If you’ve been looking for strategies to help you manage your time more efficiently, the full course, Time Management Fundamentals (1h 47m) may be well worth your time.

Have any questions? Suggestions for future Employee Learning Moments? Contact the Centre for Organizational Learning.

How to Use LinkedIn Learning AI-powered Coaching

LinkedIn Learning bridges the gap between the career you want and the skills you need. LinkedIn Learning has made it even easier to find relevant videos with its new AI-powered coaching search assistant. The 3m 17s LinkedIn Learning video Use AI-powered coaching is just one of many informative videos that can help you get the most of LinkedIn Learning in the How to Use LinkedIn Learning (1h) course.

Have questions? Suggestions for future Employee Learning Moments? Contact the Centre for Organizational Learning.

Reduce Stress & Anxiety by Managing your Nervous System

In this 1:10 min introductory video, you will become familiar with the importance of why regulating your nervous system matters. Stress, anxiety, burnout, overwhelm, and disengagement are all connected to the function of your nervous system. Learning how to work at the level of your nervous system can help you bring your best self to the daily challenges you face. In this course, somatic expert and coach, Jay Fields teaches simple practices for regulating the autonomic nervous system, which unconsciously controls your mind and body’s response to stress. Participate in activity exercises to apply some basic concepts to your personal experiences and to help you to regulate your nervous system. While this course won’t magically make the world a less stressful place, by participating in the exercises and applying the lessons Jay imparts, you will have a nervous system that is wired to help you meet challenges with more calmness and clarity.

Have questions? Suggestions for future Employee Learning Moments? Contact the Centre for Organizational Learning.

The Power of Validation

Great listeners do three critical things: listen, seek to understand, and then validate the emotions of the speaker. In this introductory 5:01 audio course, Pete Mockaitis sits down with best-selling author, Michael Sorensen and takes a deep dive into communication skills to help you build and sustain better relationships. You can improve your everyday conversations using a proposed four-step validation method.

Find out what to do if you unintentionally invalidate others or miss the mark in how you respond, developing your capacities, along the way, to facilitate difficult emotional conversations. By the end of this course, you’ll be ready to reestablish your boundaries and listen more closely than ever before.

Have questions? Suggestions for future Employee Learning Moments? Contact the Centre for Organizational Learning.