’tis the season of generosity, gift exchanges and to spend down those remaining departmental budget dollars. If you happen to have a special L&D person in your life – maybe a spouse, a co-worker, a direct report (or perhaps you oversee an L&D team) – the following is your ultimate guide to spreading a little holiday cheer:
Gifts under $20:
Reusable Dry Erase Name Tents – $3.50/each
A pack of Mr. Sketch Markers – $6.48
Portable Charger (because who wants to fight over the seat next to the outlet in the airport or at the conference center?) – $9.99
A pack of Mr. Sketch Ice Cream-scented Markers – $11.85
An icebreaker ball – $14.99
Cling-on Static Easel Pad (especially handy if you’re not allowed to stick tape or flipchart on the wall, it’s a sort of portable white board!) – $18.74
Gifts under $60:
Compact Wireless Bluetooth Speakers (because it’s nice to play loud music as participants enter the room, and sometimes these come in handy when you need to show a video clip during your session) – $24.99
Mini Dry Erase Boards (instead of throwing out a question to the audience and getting one response… why not have everyone respond at the same time?) – $34.50 for a set of 10
Remote to advance PowerPoint Slides (my remote of choice is the Logitech Professional Presenter R800 with Green Laser Pointer) – $58.06
Price is No Obstacle because I Really Like this L&D Professional:
Fitbit Flex (because it’s fun to track how many steps you take when you’re presenting… and it provides some incentive to exercise when on the road!) – $99.95
Lighting & Backdrop (if you’re making some videos and want to make it look a bit more professional) – $129.90
Camcorder Kit (if microlearning is on your to-do list for 2016, a decent camcorder with tripod, case and some other accoutrements could be in order) – $158.00
Mini Projector (for road warriors who need to project information onto a wall or screen but who don’t want to lug around a big projector) – $229.99
Software:
SnagIt for Screen Capturing – $49.95
Camtasia (+ SnagIt bundle) to create videos and tutorials – $324.00
PowToon (for Business) – $708.00/year (yes, there is a free version, but if you’re going to use this tool to create promotional videos, explainer videos or other sorts of animated shorts for learning purposes, the extra money is worth it for additional features and capabilities)
PollEverywhere (to allow your audience to engage with your presentations using SMS or smart phones) – $948.00/year (again, there is a free version… and there are more expensive options, too; for $79/month you can run polls for up to 100 people and enjoy most of the other premium features)
Articulate Storyline 2 (elearning rapid authoring tool) – $1,846.00
Professional Association Memberships:
Association for Talent Development (for the all-around learning professional) – $229.00
Premium eLearning Guide Membership (for technology-focused L&D professionals, this membership level includes registration to one major conference during the year) – $1,695.00
Is there something on your wish list that’s missing? Add your thoughts to the comment section.
