e-lifeandwork: Learn New Skills Online | Online Courses & Real-World

AI Winter Is Coming: Preparing for the Next Tech Revolution The air is crisp, the leaves are falling, and a chill is settling over the tech landscape. No, it's not just the holiday season bringing on the goosebumps – it's the whispers of an approaching AI Winter. Just like the historical periods where advancements in artificial intelligence stagnated or regressed, experts are cautiously predicting a similar slowdown in the near future. But fear not, intrepid tech explorer! Instead of hunkering down and waiting for the storm to pass, let's prepare for the next wave of innovation with these key insights: 1. Rethinking Hype vs. Reality: Remember the breathless headlines promising sentient robots and flying cars by 2023? While AI has made undeniable strides, the reality is often less flashy and more incremental. This isn't a bad thing – it's a necessary recalibration of expectations. Let's shift our focus from sensational headlines to practi...

Over the past two years, we've focused our writing on the myriad of challenges and evolving realities facing the “modern workplace” due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's clear that no one anticipated not only the duration of the pandemic, but also the effects it would have on both the physical workplace environment itself, as well as — and more importantly — the ways we do work. For those of us involved in the hiring process, there isn’t a candidate who doesn't ask about remote and/or hybrid working situations. For those of us actively hiring, we're faced with the reality that employees are no longer interested in a traditional office environment. Now that companies are developing plans for a return to the office — at least in some capacity — there are new challenges that must be addressed.   Training and Mentoring   Many companies are facing the reality that they have a growing number of employees who have never been in the office. In their minds, they've been...

Online Learning The Future of Higher Education Is the Hybrid Campus Blending the best of face-to-face instruction with the flexibility of online learning can enhance the higher ed experience for all types of learners, lower the cost of a degree and better prepare students for the workforces + By Dr. Jeffrey R. Docking + 05/26/22 From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, temporary changes were made across industries to adjust to our new, isolated reality. However, as we emerge from the pandemic, it is clear that many of these temporary changes will inevitably be the reality of the future. For higher ed, the wholesale shift to remote learning dramatically changed many of our institutions, including my own, almost overnight. While our industry is thrilled to see many elements of the traditional campus experience return to normal, online learning is likely to remain a facet of our models for the long term. If anything, the pandemic was merely the ember needed to change a model ...

In response to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, many SME businesses in the UK have now set out their hybrid working policies, enabling employees the freedom to choose where they work best either all the time or at least some of it. According to research, 71% of SMEs plan to implement hybrid working long-term, though many of those may not have considered the new challenges that may arise for finance professionals – especially when tracking expenses. Clear hybrid working policies and investment in technology to manage budgets will be needed. What’s changed with expenses tracking? Global manufacturer, Barco, recently revealed in its latest survey that a third of UK employees felt their company has not prioritised investments needed for better hybrid working. While there is ‘no one size fits all’ approach, it’s crucial to consider what has changed during the pandemic and if working models are changing, how businesses need to adapt to ensure finance professionals feel suppo...

Eighteen months into the COVID-19 pandemic, just about everyone who works in front of a screen has experienced some degree of "Zoom fatigue." What's worse, all of those videoconferences don't always add up to true collaboration, a new study confirms.  According to Cisco's new Hybrid Work Index, more than 61 million meetings take place globally every month. Yet, in any one of them, only 48% of participants are likely to speak. The lack of participation speaks to the need for a broader range of collaboration tools, including the sort of asynchronous meeting products that vendors like Cisco, Slack and Zoom are rolling out.  The Hybrid Work Index, which Cisco plans to release quarterly, draws on millions of aggregated and anonymized customer data points from Cisco's collaboration (Webex), networking (Meraki), internet visibility (ThousandEyes) and security (Talos, Duo, Umbrella) platforms. The data is supplemented by third-party research surveying over 39,0...

SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- News Summary: + New Index from Cisco -- based on millions of aggregated and anonymous customer data points - provides global insights on people's preferences, habits, and technology usage in the era of hybrid work + Over 200% growth in the use of AI capabilities shows people's desire for improved meeting engagement + On-the-go mobile meetings increase by 300% during pandemic + Security remains paramount: hybrid workforce was targeted with more than 100 million email threats daily in September 2021 alone Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today unveiled its first Hybrid Work Index (HWI) based on millions of aggregated and anonymous customer data points. The Index, which will be updated quarterly, examines how people's habits and technology interactions have permanently reshaped work a year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings show hybrid workers expect greater flexibility, accessibility and security, while businesse...

As widespread vaccination continues to unfold, business leaders must begin planning for a post-pandemic workforce. It’s important to consider that 77% of employees said they would like to continue working remotely, and another survey even revealed that 30% would quit their jobs entirely if required to return to their desks. Still, many employees and employers do recognize the benefits of in-person work. This is especially true as all the time people have spent videoconferencing during the pandemic has made Zoom fatigue prevalent. What’s more, technology simply can’t replace the full experience of collaborating and engaging in person. A hybrid work approach could be the happy medium for many. This model offers employees more flexibility when it comes to where and how they work. A hybrid approach can bring greater work-life balance for employees, reduce office expenses for business leaders, and even attract more talent and increase retention. To reali...

May 29, 2021 7 min read Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. In today’s ever-evolving digital landscape, there are dozens — if not hundreds — of digital tools and platforms at your disposal to start growing your business and gain traction from the comfort of your own home.  One common misconception many budding entrepreneurs have is that scaling their business to seven figures requires encompassing a multitude of fancy tricks or expensive methods. However, this is far from the truth. The following seven strategies can help budding entrepreneurs understand the keys to their own future success. 1. Start with a service  The best way to reach seven figures from your new home business is to offer a service, rather than a product. Products require more upfront overhead due to the costs of manufacturing, distributing and shipping inventory. While services require human capital, the work can usually be done with a laptop and wifi connection f...