Learners Live

Artificial intelligence: Tools & Tips for Lighting Professionals by Mark Lien

Thursday, February 27, 12:00pm (ET) | Register here Speaker: Mark Lien  Sponsored by ALUZ  Artificial Intelligence (AI) is growing in its power over our lives and accelerating into the marketplace at unprecedented speed. It can suck us into endless YouTube videos and social media engagement, often with nothing of value to show for our time. The lighting community needs to use AI for good while minimizing its negative impact on us.  Hundreds of new tools are available to us for marketing, design, manufacturing, collaboration, developing AI agents, consumer education and more. Attend this session to identify the best of them, what is coming and how we can help to safeguard ourselves and our businesses while utilizing these helpful new tools.  Educational Webinars – Illuminating Engineering Society

 

Lessons Learned in Problem Solving, Historic Renovation, Office Design, and Neuroarchitecture by Jeanette Fitzgerald Pitts

Innovative materials, unique circumstances, new design approaches, and the demand for people-first workspaces are pushing architects into new frontiers. In many cases, completed projects can serve as excellent teaching tools for demonstrating what can be accomplished architecturally in a space and how to best accomplish it. This course explores some of the lessons learned during the recent completion of several different types of projects and includes tips for creating workspaces that boost wellbeing by applying the principles of neuroarchitecture through the use of art, color, lighting and design.  AIA CES Provider statement: Endeavor Business Media is a registered provider of AIA-approved continuing education under Provider Number 10084542.  Credits: 0 AIA LU/HSW

Lessons Learned in Problem Solving, Historic Renovation, Office Design, and Neuroarchitecture – Architecture & Design Master Continuing Education

University of Colorado Boulder – Professional Lighting Education

The University of Colorado Boulder is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2025 Rocky Mountain Lighting Academy (RMLA) Short Course. This four-day course will be held on the beautiful CU campus in Boulder from May 29 through June 1, 2025. General sessions cover lighting and design fundamentals along with the latest developments in technology, color, and health. Technical Track students dive deeper into photometry, optics, and luminaire design while Design Track students gain practical experience with the early stages of the design process, including developing design concepts and goals. The course emphasizes hands-on learning experiences, and the class size is limited to ensure a fun, interactive experience. Further details and registration information can be found on the program’s website. For more information, please contact Bob Davis, Scholar in Residence and Director of Professional Lighting Education, davisrg@colorado.edu

Effective Sales Presentation Skills Zoom Learning Sessions by Bill Attardi

All three recorded sessions below:

Effective Sales Presentation Skills by Bill Attardi – YouTube

Bill Attardi’s Effective Sales Presentations #2 

Effective Sales Presentations with Bill Attardi, #3 – YouTube

 

You owe your audience a good performance!  This is about giving an effective sales presentation to a group of customers and closing that sale.  Not as easy as it sounds.  Had the great pleasure to be a speaker at a recent Amerlux sales meeting here in New Jersey when I presented this topic. Went well and now we are offering it to the general public.

 

First 30-minute session covered:

Preparation Strategy – The Will to Prepare to Win

  • Selling is simply communicating effectively and it’s always a Selling Situation
  • The Platinum Rule…treat customers the way they want to be tyreated
  • Preparation is everything…internal & external research
  • Always start with knowing your audience / the customer
  • What is your Call to Action
  • Rationale to take that action

 

Second 30-minute session covered:

Presentation Strategy – Bring to the meeting something no one else knows…

  • What is Your Objective – TO SELL!
  • Connect with your audience – interactive questions
  • The Power of PowerPoint: Verbal & Visuals working together
  • Create closing slide first – all roads then lead to your destination

 

Third 30-minute session covered:

Organizing the Presentation – FFAB (Features / Functions / Advantages / Benefits)

  • Create clear / thought starter slides – six by six rule
  • Creative Opening – your first impression
  • Meaningful Content – relevant to your audience
  • Compelling Close – lasting impression
  • Create a climate for learning

 

Techniques in Presenting – When you stop getting better, you stop being good

  • Plan & Promote Interaction
  • Eye contact – you are talking to individuals that happen to be in a group
  • Confirm understanding on a continuing basis
  • Project Acceptance and Handle Resistance
  • Never close on someone else’s question – before I close are there any questions?

 

Personal Delivery – Mechanics of Communicating Effectively Orally

  • The Audience –Your Body – Your Voice – The Room set-up…..
  • Audience reads left to right – you stand on their left; slides on their right
  • Commit yourself to improve…

 

Commitment: you will confirm some of what you already know and you will learn something new about giving an effective sales presentation to close those sales that are so important that you are asked to address a group of customers. 

CLTC’s 2022 Title 24, Part 6 Lighting Standards Videos

The California Lighting Technology Center is pleased to announce the release of its updated video series covering the 2022 Title 24, Part 6 lighting requirements. These videos aim to provide practical insights for implementing code-compliant lighting in both nonresidential and residential buildings across California. The video series features five segments, each focusing on a specific aspect of the 2022 Energy Code, effective January 1, 2023:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Hire – While most of us have heard the term artificial intelligence, few could predict the explosion of GenAI technologies in the public sphere over the last two years. In the work setting alone, Microsoft and LinkedIn reported that “75% of knowledge workers use AI at work” and “66% of leaders say they wouldn’t hire someone without AI skills”.                 

So how did this all happen:

1956, August: At the Dartmouth Conference, researchers discuss creating machines capable of intelligent behavior and the term “Artificial Intelligence” is introduced.

2017, June: Google researchers introduce the Transformer architecture, the foundation for generative AI (GenAI) models. (GPT = Generative Pre-trained Transformer)

2022, November: OpenAI unveils ChatGPT, a conversational GenAI model, marking a tipping point in public access and accelerated adoption.

2024 NOW: Commercialization is accelerating. Globally, the GenAI solutions market is expected to exceed $50 billion by 2028 with over 60,000 GenAI companies already doing business (Horban, 2024).  The biggest tech/communications companies are all involved in a very big way to drive and influence our lives now and in the future with their GenAI models:

  • OpenAI’s ChatGPT
  • xAI’s Grok
  • Google’s Gemini
  • Microsoft’s Copilot
  • Anthropic’s Claude
  • Apple’s Apple Intelligence
  • Meta’s Llama
  • Coming: Orion by OpenAI 

Plan for your future, because that is where you are going to spend the rest of your life. Mark Twain