Asking groups of people in your network or on social media for their suggestions.

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Social and professional networks

• Put your request for the information on social media. Say specifically what you want to learn and ask the “crowd” what resources are best.
• Say you are looking for experts, reading, courses, workshops, learning experiences, apps, and more .

People or services who assess, rate, and organize information on specific topics

• Publishers who organize their material by subject
• Topic curators in your own company or industry
• Curators in museums and galleries who collect and organize
• Services like Pinterest or Flipboard

• Curation is expanding as a way to help deal with information overload. Keep alert for curators focused on topics you are interested in.
• Check the credentials of the curator to be sure of objectivity or, if biased, that the biases are transparent.
• Design your own curation. Pick topics on services like Pinterest or Flipboard.

People who specialize in learning and training in your company or industry

• Human resources
• Training department
• Career or talent development department

• Share your future vision and learning needs.
• Find out about resources in your company.
• Know that this also may open career doors because others know your interests and capabilities.

People trained in asking search questions and finding information and resources wherever they are

• Librarians
• Online library search services (most universities have these services)

• Ask them to help you shape search questions.
• Use them as very highly trained experts in finding information and resources.
• Note: at the library, they are free!

Help you find online courses

• Coursera.com
• KhanAcademy.org
• LinkedInLearning.com
• Onlinecollegecourses.com
• Udacity.com
• Udemy.com

• Search in these aggregators to help you shape your view of what you may need.
• Make a list of several possible programs and compare them before you settle on one.
• Then pick what may be best for you.

These list articles from magazines that come out on a regular schedule – thus “periodicals.”

• Newspapers.com
• Wikipedia: List of Academic Data Bases and Search Engines
• Scholar.google.com (for access to journals that are fact-checked)

• Note that periodicals whose articles are written by trained journalists or researchers are required to follow standards of accurate reporting. So give these priority when you want factual information.
• Scan these data bases for information on topics you are interested in. If recent information is important, watch the publication date.

These are interfaces between you and information that are search engines in person-to-person format

• Siri
• Microsoft Cortana
• Alexa

• As always, it is the quality of the questions, so know broadly what help you are looking for.
• If you want to find an array of what is available, don’t be so specific that you miss information you don’t know to ask for. (e.g., “Find courses on conflict resolution” not “Find the Ury negotiation course”
• Keep refining your questions until you get what you need.
• Be sure to set your privacy settings.

Experts and people who are interested in your topic gather through associations and conferences

• Make a list of associations and conferences that relate to your work and interests.
• See the “Encyclopedia of Associations” for a comprehensive list

• Use any conference or association as a source of information about the most relevant and cutting edge ideas, experts and resources.
• See lists of conference speakers as a resource for following up on topics you care about.
• Plan to stay up to date so when you need experts or resources, you know where to go.

These exist both to provide access to information and to advertise

• Google
• Bing
• Yahoo
• YouTube
• Amazon

• Start your search with “I wonder….”
• Be careful about taking the first item on the search list. It may be a paid-for placement at the top of the list (few people scroll past the first page)
• Be intelligent in your search
  • Use and or + to narrow your search (e.g., “learning and adults”)
  • Use or for “either this or that”
  • Use not to narrow your search (education not childhood)
  • If and as well as or, put the or in parenthesis (technology and (AI or VR)
  • Use quotation marks if you are searching for exact phrases (“artificial intelligence”)
  • Skip using the and an unless it is part of the name of something
  • Don’t capitalize
  • Don’t use plurals (adult vs adults)
  • The search engine may complete your sentence, so watch what gets filled in the search box. This may open new doors.
  • Use ~ if you will accept similar words (e.g., ~school may also bring up college, university

People who have expertise, deep knowledge and insights about a topic

Signs of expertise:

• Experience
• Research
• Education
• References by credible sources
• Publications

• Share your vision and your general need and interest.
• Ask specific questions to discover the kinds of learning experiences that will be the best, most reliable, most current, highest impact.
• Ask for referrals to other resources, if relevant.
• Be prepared so you use time wisely.

• YouTube (has channels)
• Netflix
• Amazon Prime
• TV Channel guides

• Before you settle on a video, scan what else is available on the topic. It’s worth a few extra minutes.