3 Classroom Innovations That Can Be Adapted To The Financial Profession

By JessBost

As we race toward the end of 2020, one thing remains pretty clear: Things aren’t going back to normal.

In the post-COVID19 society, to be successful is to press forward with innovation in the very fabric of our humanity -- relationships and communication. From classrooms to coffee shops to boardrooms, personal health is threatened by the combined impact of proximity and carelessness. Although some of us have yet to read it, reality is in the room: professionals whose value lies in advice and information must become students of technology.

Here are three teaching innovations that financial professionals (and their compliance departments) should consider as they seek to expand their practice into the new virtual frontier.

Prezi - If you think the future of communication lies in flipping back and forth between video grids and PowerPoint presentations, time to think again. The digital opportunities on the horizon are full of creative opportunity, and advisors will be expected to keep up with the demand for interesting content. Prezi certainly will not be the only contender in this space, but it’s a gorgeous option and one that will get you dreaming of tomorrow’s answer for creating more engaging content.

Rev - Three words: live closed captioning. As we progress toward the majority of our communication being online, the accuracy of the information we communicate is imperative, along with the privacy and security due of personal data. Embracing live closed captioning is as certain as the need for Social Security sustainability. Virtual assistance technology is pedaling hard to catch up to the need here, and Rev is stepping in as a major player for Zoom users.

Quizlet - Being a great communicator means capturing and keeping the attention of your audience. Being a great online communicator adds the complexity of doing so without the accountability of being physically in the room. Quizlet offers a brief reprieve to both the talker and the listener, and flips the style of engagement to a different medium. Presenters can pre-load content and take scheduled mini-breaks to give the audience an opportunity to test their knowledge via quick quizzes. The opportunities to capture helpful information here is limited to only the creative mind of the professional, and this mode of learning has the potential to significantly enhance the success of the web-based experience.

COVID19 forced an urgent migration of the classroom to an online homeschool environment, and the failures of that disorganized shift continue to spur new technology designed to increase the power of web-based learning. Financial professionals who anticipate expanding their practice into the next 10-20 years will inevitably collide with the students who mastered the incorporation of these new resources into their sense of community. To be relevant with the clients of tomorrow is to become a sophisticated learner of these classroom innovations now and into the post-COVID future.

Jess Bost, RICP, is a financial advisor who believes in educating and empowering women to become independently wealthy and influential. She may be contacted at [email protected].