Learning Solutions 2013 - Virtual Attendance

Despite a hectic week at work, I was able to participate virtualy in the eLearning Guild's Learning Solutions Conference this week. Their new app is amazing with functions similar to what I'm already used to in other mobile social apps.  I think this is the first eLearning Guild event that I've not attended in 6 years.  It was a very strange feeling NOT being there.  But I got a first hand look at what it's like to be a virtual attendee.  It was a good experience, but for those who say the face-to-face conference is dead, I MUST insist you are wrong.

There is nothing like connecting with people in person and technology will NEVER make that go away.  Technology can enhance our lives but never take away our need for connecting with others in real life.  I don't want to have this argument with anyone, so don't even start.  I've had enough experiences in my life now to just know this is true.  Inevitably this may be why MOOCs will someday require connecting with local attendees in smaller groups, but I digress...

Hashcaster was a great resource for tracking images, videos, and other event content however, I kept wishing more attendees would post more media using the #LSCon hashtag so that more content was there.  I think creating digital content is still not as common an activitiy as we might think...or wish. Yes, many of you are comfortable with it and create/share content readily, but I'm just saying that it's not the widespread practice that we think it is.

Despite wanting more content as a virtual participant, I do know that those on site had WAY MORE content than they ever thought possible.  The eLearning Guild has mastered the art of the conference and is always innovating and improving the experience for attendees, speakers, vendors, and virtual attendees. 

Recruiting the master of the conference backchannel David Kelly was a brilliant idea.  He is a passionate elearning professional with many years of experience in the trenchs of "real world" learning solutions.  And if you haven't heard, they also have Reubenn Tozman and Kevin Thorn chairing the 2 main Guild events.  Awesome!  I'm REALLY looking forward to attending events again very soon.  I probably won't make it too mLearnCon but I'm hoping for DevLearn 2013.

I'm still looking forward to reviewing the rest of the content that I missed. I know there is a lot in the form of handouts, twitter stream, etc. Being a virtual attendee was fun but I would prefer to be there. I hope to see y'all soon...in person.


 

BOOK: The Little Book of Talent

I really like @danielpink and his books.  I wasn't sure about To Sell is Human because I don't like reading about selling.  But that's the beauty of his book.  I have not finished it yet because I got side-tracked with a recommendation that he made.  He gave high marks to @danielcoyles's book, The Little Book of Talent: 52 Tips for Improving Your Skills...and that's where this blog post begins...

If you are new to Instructional Design, or eLearning, or EdTech or whatever we call ourselves these days, then maybe this won't seem like much of a find.  But I've consumed my share of business, education, instructional design, pop-psychology, and management books, and it's always nice to find a NON-academic book that touches on learning and/or training.

I've seen athletes and other professionals talk about how they "train", and then the natural follow up in our industry is to apply that knowledge to the world of corporate training.  I know, because I've done it.  It's a fun little exercise and would recommend you try it...and get over it.

The Little Book of Talent is different in it's simplicity and how it effortlessly applies the phylosophies of skill improvement to both hard and soft skills, and in both business and non-business settings.  The short bits of information are applicable and practical, but not prescriptive.  The author is well aware that not all 52 tips are perfect for every situation.

After only one reading so far, I already have favorites.  Tip #33 rings true: "To learn from a book: close the book."  The more important nugget in this tip however is expanding on the idea of "deep practice", "...one of deep practice's most fundamental rules: Learning is reaching."  Think about that for a while.

2013 Reality - NOT Predictions!

Performance = Our Goal

Learning = Process

Training = Event

 

This is not a new concept.  This is not new to 2013.  But this SHOULD be the way you approach everything you do from now on if you already don't. 

 

Let me point out some of the obvious parts of this stack...

 

1. TRAINING is at the BOTTOM!

2. Impacting the performance of your companies employees is your ONLY goal. Relentlessly focus on measuring this!

3. LEARNING is not something you create. It is not something you do once.  True learning takes time...and lots of it. 

4. Predictions are bullshit! Go make the future happen!



Autodesk 123D - Simple 3D creation has arrived FINALLY!

I just downloaded Autodesk 123D.  I had high hopes and so far Autodesk has not let me down.
Sketchup was a great start in the area of simple 3D development, but 123D really steps up to the next level.
It's actually 4 little apps: Design, Catch, Sculpt, and Make
Check it out and tell me what you think. http://www.123dapp.com/
 

It's DEVLEARN Week!!! Embracing Technologies for Training and Development

 

It's monday and it's DEVLEARN week! I'm probably looking forward to this DevLearn more than any other.  Of course, it's bitter sweet since it will be my last as the program manager for the event. 
I'll be posting more on that later.

DevLearn 2012 is about Embracing Technologies for Training & Development.  Part of that also includes the fact that Technology is embracing US! The Training & Develpment industry has no choice but to change and adapt with emergence of such wonderful technologies like the iPad (and now the mini iPad), the cloud, better and smaller cameras, and video cameras, and the list goes on.

With such a massive wave of technology hitting us all, it's ALSO important that we do not forget the human elements of training and development.  It's very easy to get excited about new technologies and to see the many educational uses they provide.  And for a high tech conference like DevLearn you'd think we would fall into that trap as well.  But as the pendulum begins to swing too far towards the technology side of learning, I begin to see our responsibility as one of bringing it back to center by talking ALSO remembering the human side of learning. 

My hope for DevLearn 2012 is that we can begin to bring the communities of instructor-led learning and the communities of tech-based learning together and bridge the gap.  There is no one right answer.  We are all in this business for the same reasons.  Let's enjoy this week and celebrate the unique human elements we all bring to Training & Development.