DIY inhouse photo studio - when you can't find that perfect stock photo

As I mentioned earlier, there are many photographers within the ranks of the elearning community.  I also get many questions about stock photography resources.  And while there are a few great resources out there, there are times when you absolutely must get the right shot yourself....a custom product, a unique item, etc.  There's more out there.  Let me know if you find a good one.

Here's a quick list of cool do-it-yourself pohtography studio how-tos and resources:
Building an in-house photo studio
Light Box/ Light Tent
Homedepot Lighting does the trick
Softlight panel with frame
Homemade muslin backdrop
Studio Lighting Podcast
Design in flight: DIY photography on the cheap

I,I,I,I,I,I,I - I'm #1

Because my blogging experience started as an experiment into what, if anything, we can use blogs for in corporate learning, I am very interested in other's experience's and ideas on the topic.  Tony has a great post today referencing a comment from Guy Kawasaki about newbie bloggers using "I" too much and not having anything to say.  I also read many marketing blogs and such that discuss becoming a better blogger, etc.
I hate to sound like such a purist but most of this stuff really starts to get under my skin.  As far as I know, and the last time I checked, blogs were supposed to be all about the author, whether you used the word "I" or not.  I like Tony's take on it, and I'll expand by saying that just because I use "I" a lot doesn't mean that I think everyone is hanging on my every word.  Blogging is a vehicle for communicating my thoughts on topics that I am passionate about.  All of the junk that's out there telling people "how to be a better blogger", and "writing the perfect blog title", and "how to make millions blogging" is all just junk.  I don't read them any more. 
The new web actually IS all about ME, and everyone else having the oportunity to share their own "I" statements.   According to Business2.0 magazine "I" holds the number #1 spot among the 50 people who matter.  Take that, Guy!  I can publish what ever I want, when ever I want, and I can consume anything I want whenever I want too.  And if I don't think someone has something to say because they use "I" too much, then I can turn them off.
So did I get enough "I"s in there?

Light animations - user-generated content that will blow you away!

So, when I was in college I took a course in photography...well before digital cameras.  The most interesting project we did was putting ourselves in completely dark room, opening the camera shutter and painting images with a flashlight on the wall.  Sure, that's old hat to most photographers, but it's really what got me excited about alternative possibilities in photography. 
So imagine my amazement when I viewed these little ditties.  Thanks, to the Strobist blog.



Is that amazing or what?

I know my readers are photography nuts because everytime I go to a learning conference like eLearnDevCon2006, the digital photography sessions are packed while the ISD sessions are near empty.  What's up with that?  I led a session on the subject at Learning2005 and the little room I was given was standing room only. 
At our core, learning professionals are creative folks.  We should be at the front of the new user-generated content revolution because that's exactly what we do...WE generate content.  Web2.0 and Learning2.0 is our playground.  It's what we've done well before the internet hit the mainstream.

Have you fed your hippo today?

Over the weekend I posted a link to Brainbasedbusiness about how researches had discovered a way actually see the effects of experience on the brain.  There was no mention of how learning played in all of this, however the BBB blog followed with this post about MIT research showing that Learning Changes Your Brain's Neuron Connections.

"It's quite a breakthrough because it reminds us that when we learn -- we rewire our brain. In other words, LTP is an example of plasticity -- the amazing ability of the brain to change in response to experience.

Your LTP builds up synapses, or the connections between neurons, while its counterpart, long-term depression, or LTD, strips away unused synapses.

While it's true that learning is complex and differs among people...and that synaptic changes occur in hippocampus-based learning are few and difficult to detect, they also found learning can be stored through LTD as well as LTP. That is good news for those who've chosen lifelong learning."

I love learning new things.  I'm actually quite unhappy if I'm not doing at least one thing in my life that is completely new for me.  Podcasting has made it possible for me to continue learning both Spanish and Chinese in small chunks.  I love ChinesePod, and the Spanish Phrase of the day. Its at blogger.com but No lo recuerdo exactamente (I don't remember exactly.).

Just kidding...I just had to use that phrase...here it is.  I also keep up with quite a few techie podcasts and video blogs.  Here's to TWIT, Inside the Net, and Geekbrief.tv.

It's never been easier to feed the ol' hippocampus than it is today with RSS feeds of everthing in all media sizes, shapes and flavors. 
Life is good!




Update: Steve from the Chinesepod sent me this in the comments- Wǒ jì bù qīng le. - Its, I don't remember exactly in mandarin. So there you have it. The absolute power of the new web. Thanks, Steve.

The Master of All Things Design - admits that the process is broken

Wow!  That Godin video I put in my previous post had some real impact!  Don Norman discovers that doing user observations first is wrong, or broken.  [Maish over at the elearningpost pointed it out.] I love Dr. Norman's book The Design of Everyday Things.  If you have not read it, you MUST do it today.  It's that good and will change how you look at the design of the world around you. 
But what Dr. Norman blogs about in this post makes me smile.  It's something I've been proposing for a long time and it's what drives me nuts about the learning profession's current project design/development processes.  So here we go...

#1  Who decides what the learners need to learn?

"Let’s face it: once a project is announced, it is too late to study what it should be – that’s what the announcement was about. If you want to do creative study, you have to do it before the launching of the project. You have to be on the team that decides what projects to do in the first place – which means you have to be part of the management team. (HCI bug one: not enough HCIers are executives.)"

Brent's thought:  Instructional Designers aren't sitting in executive seats either.  Come to think of it, not many in the middle management ranks either outside of HR orgs, but that doesn't count in this discussion.

#2  Should Needs assessment be part of the design process?

"Field studies, user observations, contextual analyses, and all procedures which aim at determining true human needs are still just as important as ever – but they should all be done outside of the product process. This is the information needed to determine what product to build, which projects to fund. Do not insist on doing them after the project has been initiated. Then it is too late, then you are holding everyone back."

Brent's thought:  Once someone has come to us, the training department (or corporate university), they already have training pegged as the solution.  In their eyes we simply provide the training development service that they demand.  Actually, they also know exactly what type of training solution they want too.

#3  So what do you propose?

"So let’s separate the field and observational studies, the conceptual design work, and the needs analyses from the actual product project. We need to discover what users need before the project starts, for once started, the direction has already been determined."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Experiences reshape the brain...see for yourself

We can design all of the online courses we want, but if our learners don't get to actually experience what we are trying to get them to learn then we all lose. 
From BrainBasedBusiness comes a post with great links to the research on the plasticity of the brain, and visually seeing a brain change itself with new experiences.  Pretty cool stuff.  No mention of learning, but the connection seemed fairly obvious to me.

Is your eLearning Broken? Seth Godin at Gel 2006

Seth Godin at Gel 2006 http://www.gelconference.com http://www.sethgodin.com Another great presentation by one of my favorites...Seth Godin - http://www.squidoo.com/learningDevelopment/ He is the founder of Squidoo which is where you can find the Corporate eLearning Development lens - http://www.squidoo.com/learningDevelopment/ and some awesome books. Watch this video and ask yourself if your elearing is broken. Is it? Do you really think people are going through your course and committing every last word to memory and applying to their daily work? Is ISD broken?

Learning 2.0 No! Patents

I missed this, but apparently friendster has patented social netwoks.
So then what has Blackboard patented? Perhaps only social learning
netwoks. So, if you are on friendster chillin' with yo homies and
they IM you somthing that you didn't previously know, who owes who the
money? Maybe there is special code approved by the really smart
people of Blackboard that prevents homies on friendster from actually
learning anything...hhhmmmmm.
I may need to ask ze frank to think so I don't have too on this one.

What the web was SUPPOSED to be?

Thanks Jay for the reminder of Tim Berners-Lee comments on Web2.0. I meant to comment on this earlier.
I don't know...maybe Tim's just bummed that HIS web didn't ORIGINALLY turn out to be what HE wanted it to be.  Sure the original intent of the web was collaborating and sharing information but the only people that could understand it as a  collaborative 2-way medium were computer scientists.  Even when the web became big, writing HTML was more than what the average person wanted to undertake.  Yes, many did, and got rich...oh yeah, and there was a bubble...POP!  But the larger population of internet users merely consumed information.  It was very one-way.
THEN...
Computers got cheaper, bandwidth increased, digital cameras appeared, videocams got cheap, recording audio got cheap.  The technologies to create and publish in a fun, creative way got cheap and EASY! 
So, sure it took some time before the masses could realize the vision of the original internet but now they are starting too.  And they are starting to run with and take control of their own lives around the consumption and creation of media content.  They have changed greatly...the web, only slightly
I'm sorry that WEB1.0 butchered the dream for the original creators and super-thinkers behind the internet, but the internet that was in 1995 is significantly better in 2005 for normal people.   It is completely different not in its structure, but in how people USE it.  And THAT is what is revolutionary.  That is why Web2.0 changes everything.  Infact the web actually changed only slightly, its the users that crushed Web1.0 and created Web2.0.  And that significance derserves a rev. number.
But that's just the $.02 from an edtech guy.

The notso perfect list of Firsts in Secondlife

I know, I know, enough with the secondlife stuff. It's just interesting to me that 2L is popping up all over the place. Its not me, its the blogosphere, man! This is worth a look from DigitalMediaWire.

The list of firsts:
Virtual Hotel
virtual Concert
Virtual Retailer
Virtual Sports Event
Virtual Ad network
Virtual Movie filmed on Location
Virtual Newspaper
virtual Nonprofit campaign
Virtual Automaker

So, check out the flaming this poor blogger receives because of the post in the comments. Someone is kind enough to refer the blogger to this link for a better list of Secondlife firsts. I'm not so much concerned about the accuracy of who was first as I am interested in how many big names/companies are jumping into the virtual worlds. I'm wondering when Intel will buy an island.

Snapshirt.com Tagcloud not so geeky...I kind of like mine.

George Siemens over at elearnspace points to this fun little tool.  Come on George, deep down inside I know you would love the shirt.    Sure it's "loser-ish" and geeky but isn't that something to be proud of these days?  Geek Chic is in!  Check out Me So Nerdy in this months WIRED.

Medical Simulations in SecondLife - Collaboration with iTunesU?

If you are still wondering what all the fuss is about with Second Life, and you're not the type of learner to simply get in and play around, then read this blog post and listen to the interview that is there as well.

"Doctors will get a small dose of content, but they will then have to address a patient scenario related to hypertension and diabetes."

Also, check out the 2L Educators Wiki for more information about other educational activities occuring "inworld".

I wonder if anyone is looking into a collaboration or partnership between iTunesU and SecondLife?  That would be very cool!  Perhaps in the Medical simulation some of the "small dose of content" could be delivered via podcast prior to the inworld event.  Just a thought.

Newest member of the blog

This is "curly". A 3 month old Shi*Poo. Its funny to hear our 4 year-old say that.
Now if I could only find an eLearning course that he will learn something from. Perhaps a potty training wikipedia entry?

Atom Feed is Out of Order at Blogger!

Blogger is in a state of transition and some how my ATOM.xml feed is out of order. I updated the Feedburner site so that should be working now, and I deleted the Atom feed link completely. We are now going with strictly RSS feeds, the feedburner links and the new xfruits links over there on the right.
If you like a post or series of posts you can view them in PDF format and print them as a well designed document. It's great for leaving info on a colleagues desk instead of simply sending a link. The other link is a mobile device friendly feed.
Thanks to Craig for pointing out the issue and helping me fix it.

How can Web2.0 exist in the Enterprise?

Another great find from the elearningpost blog. This one points us too Shiv Singh of the BoxesandArrows blog.  Shiv nails it with this assessment:

First, Web 2.0 can change the way you reach your customers, build relationships with them, and further your brand objectives. Successful companies are using Web 2.0 concepts to encourage their customers to build communities around their products, provide feedback on products, and, in some cases, even inform strategy. But Web 2.0 concepts are not effective unless you examine how you are connecting with your customers and relinquish the idea you can dictate to them. It takes courage to let go of control, through collaborative design with the customer, or through communication within the enterprise. Rather than “aligning supply chains, communications, marketing initiatives” what if you co-create new supply chain approaches with your suppliers, or what if marketing initiatives come from the customers? While pronouncements and offerings feel safer and more familiar than participation and collaboration, the rewards are higher when you open your processes up to more input.

It absolutely takes courage to let go of the wheel and let the (perceived) chaos take over. An Intel colleague of mine once stated at the Learning2005 conference with absolutely certainty that "2005 is the year I lost control!" For others it may be 2006, 2008, or beyond. But, it is coming. And it will impact us all.

Happy Anniversary Corporate eLearning Development

Well, I made it to 12 months. My first post was on this day in 2005. My original plan was to do it for 6 months just to see what all the fuss was about. By the time that 6 month mark hit I was fully engaged well beyond my original intent. I've had conversations with other Learning professionals via the blog, and met amazing people from around the world...Japan, China, Australia, England, and more.
So now what? Well, podcasting of course! It would have been cool to have episode #1 ready for today but that just didn't happen. But it's in the works and I look forward to sharing podcasting and vlogging with you in the near future.
Anything else, Brent? Why yes! Glad you asked. It's time to start REALLY digging into Secondlife. I truly believe 2L to be the learning space of the future without any hesitation. My inworld name is RightBrain Musketeer. I'm still a noob, so my avatar is wearing a tux with the sleeves to short and "floods" for pants, not to mention being barefoot. [So, I'm looking for a cool 3 musketeer outfit (no! not the candybar!) if anyone out there can point me in the right direction.] My good friend Mark Oehlert, better known inworld as ChuckNorris Mission, has mentored me well to this point. His avatar is very cool, swords and all! I will be presenting a session in Oct at the DevLearn conference (session 503) on using Secondlife as a learning tool. Mark and I presented at the Serious Games conference on this topic and I hope to expand our discussion. I'm working on a live simultaneous inworld event, so perhaps Mark...I mean chucknorris... can join us virtually. I hope to see many of my learning colleagues there in person and virtually.
The last 12months have been the most amazing learning experience for me...greater than ANY formal education I have ever recieved. Everything2.0 is significantly changing our lives and I'm just happy to be along for the ride.
Thanks to my fellow eLearning bloggers who have linked, and supported my comments and remarks. Its those conversations that have truly impacted me and kept me coming back for more.
Here's to another year! Cheers!

UPDATE: I share my blog birthday/anniversary (whatever) with the tool that I use...BLOGGER: Born on this day in 1999.

Why SecondLife is the best corporate training development tool

Ya know how you see something that just blows your mind, and you instantly have great ideas for what you could do with it. Well, I've been blown away by SecondLife for well over a year and instantly knew that this was the next big corporate training tool. So I was beyond excited to work see Mark Oehlert's work while at the Masie Center on an island (virtual island that is) called LearnLand. This was a fabulous experiment and took us closer to seeing what was possible.
Now they have improved the tools and increased support for the growing Machinima creators and the work is outstanding.
They, the second life folks, held a session recently on exactly that. So far it looks like the most active actual DOER amongst us training professionals is John Hartman aka Thought Plasma inwold. His blog under the same name is at thoughtplasma.com. In the blogosphere, when are Scobleized, you've done something right.

Some amazingly creative people are using SecondLife in amazing ways. Starwood Previews New Hotel Brand in Second Life. Or how about the New Media Center's SecondLife campus. Check out the SecondLife Creativity blog for more 2L goodness.

I can only answer the question in the title of this blog post with the following quote:

"Nobody can tell you what the Matrix is, you have to experience it for yourself." ~ Morpheus, The Matrix

UPDATE: Don't forget about the awesome wiki resource for Educators and Training Specialists.

PeopleAggregator: Corporate Learning Group growing

Wow! I was checking in at my PeopleAggregator page giving a colleague a demo and noticed that my Group, Corporate Learning, has 5 members. 

One member is from Amsterdam blogging at Quantum-Playshuns, and TrainUtopia (blog, website) has checked in as well.  There’s a couple others that look like they are just checking things out and that’s cool too.  Honestly, I didn’t think anyone would sign in and join the group.  5 is a great number.  Anyone else care to join the Corporate Learning conversation at PeopleAggregator.com?

 

TechCrunch said that Writely was open again and so I checked it out...yep! This blog post is generated care of Writely. So far so good.
The interface is simple and clean. I can invite others to collaborate on a doc. I can publish to the public as a writely document or to a blog. I can also view revisions and compare much like in mediawiki. This is going to change many things for me.

RSS: The Next Learning Pipeline = xFruits

I just read this post from Steve Rubel at Micro Persuasion. xFruits looks tasty.

This is exactly what I’ve been looking for. Now with one publishing location you can turn that RSS feed into any format for any device for any purpose. At least that’s what I want to do. Now I need to sign up and see if it works. Anyone else see the learning distribution potential here?

Corporate eLearning Development communities, groups, and lens

I've been absolutely sucked into the Web2.0 world and I will freely admit it.  I LOVE IT ALL!  I'm logged into just about every beta that comes out of TechCrunch.  So, you may have noticed a few "groups" being set up all over the social networking web around Corporate eLearning Development.  Here's my list of what I can remember.

ELGG.net Corporate eLearning Development Community
Squidoo Corporate eLearning Development Lens
PeopleAggregator Corporate Learning Group
Zimbio The People's Guide to Corporate eLearning Development
Flickr Corporate eLearning Development Group

If I was a professional blogger I would give you a little info about each one, but alas I don't have that kind of time.  Check them out and let me know what you think.

Also, the CramerSweeney Company has created a forum here with many large companies signed on and having discussions.   It's $50 for the year and certainly a bargain to be able to connect to others in the industry instantly.  I am not a member...yet.  But the list of member companies is quite impressive. 

Zimbio: putting Learning2.0 together...finally!

Many people ask me for examples of what a Learning Ecosystem looks like. There are several images that bloggers have created, but we want apps that people can get their hands on. Sure ELGG is awesome because I can download and install the framework onto my own server! But Zimbio takes user-created social networks to a completely new...well...complete...level. Thanks to Alan of CogDogBlog for the review/reminder.
I've used Netvibes.com recently to help people "get it", but this is by far more of what I would consider a Social Learning Ecosystem. Now if only I could download the framework and run it behind my corporate firewall. Now that would be awesome!  Oh yea, I'm a little frustrated trying to figure out how I JOIN other existing groups.  But I created my own group just fine.  Check out Corporate eLearning Development at Zimbio.

Why we're all "blogging ourselves out of a job"

I was just forwarded an article from the Online Learning News.  I couldn't find it when I googled "online learning news" so I googled DO NETWORKS TRUMP TRAINING? YEP, SOMETIMES and there it was, by Patti Shank.  Before I get to the article I will point out a blog that appeared in the same search, Living in a connected world.  They discuss this post as well, however the title of their post caught my attention:  blogging Myself out of a job?
Finally, someone else blogging my thoughts:

Where do we add value if our potential students can look up almost
anything in Wikipedia, watch a webcast from Webtorials, or gather free
information from myriad other online sources?  We've clearly
embraced blogging, podcasting and e-learning, so we're trying to change
these threats to our traditional revenue stream (top-notch instructor
led delivery) into opportunities, but there's no way they can by
themselves replace what we earn with bodies in the classroom.



Maybe I'm all washed up, but I think what we bring to the table is our
ability to synthesize the dizzying array of learning channels available
today.  We can also provide integrated solutions that help
learners take advantage of each of those channels when appropriate.

EXACTLY!  We need to start focusing more on this part of the conversation.

and now from the Patti Shank article:

Workers increasingly need ongoing, unlimited, current, and relevant streams of information and ways to find exactly what is needed and make sense of it quickly. Formal training approaches (including online learning) are still helpful -- but often, they don’t go far enough. Good resources and help that can be accessed immediately, as needed, often are more valuable than (a) no instruction and help, (b) inadequate instruction and help, and/or (c) waiting for instruction that will occur too early or late to be useful. When work is complex and information is constantly changing, there’s simply too much to know.
[clip]
Networks and the Internet are continually providing new ways of teaching and learning that expand the traditional constraints of time and place. The focus should be less about technology and more about methods that help people share, support and collaborate. Because these technologies are new and changing, it is sensible to watch them emerge, grow and consolidate, try them out to gain personal understanding of how they work and may be utilized, share these understandings with others, and consider how to help learners and other stakeholders live with the continual changes in information and skills needed to do their jobs.

The 2 examples in the article are excellent examples. I've thrown up a few on my blog as well in the past, but I love seeing more.  Maybe THIS experience is an example as well...hhhmmm.

I recently introduced a friend to RSS feeds and concept/tools for RSS aggregation, and THAT is what made the light go on for her. It seems to be different with everyone I talk too, however RSS is the link pin for most. Get people to understand RSS and we all WIN!
I'm very happy to be discussing RSS: The New Learning Pipeline at DevLearn2006 in Oct.

Testing moblog on blogger

This is a test. I'm not able to switch to the new beta so i'm testing other features of blogger.com

This message was sent using PIX-FLIX Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!
To learn how you can snap pictures with your wireless phone visit
www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getpix.

To learn how you can record videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/getflix.

To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required. Visit www.apple.com/quicktime/download to download the free player or upgrade your existing QuickTime� Player. Note: During the download
process when asked to choose an installation type (Minimum, Recommended or Custom), select Minimum for faster download.

Now you can create your own Xbox games

This news just out that Microsoft is allowing you to create your own xbox games.  The BBC has an article Xbox outlines 'YouTube for games'.
This should open the door for many more Serious Games being developed for the xbox, and perhaps open up the other platforms to opensource development.  This is going to be interesting to see how it all plays out.

79-year-old YouTube Superstar

Okay people!  Don't tell me this web2.0 stuff isn't changing the world!  And don't tell me that it isn't causing chaos in many, many ways.  When a 79-year-old can figure out his web cam and computer and post videos to YouTube, AND get 70,000 subscribers, 9,000 comments, and almost 1/2 a million unique views...SOMETHING is going on!!!
Geriatric1927 obviously breaks the stereotype of senior living, but if you read the comments from the post at Open (minds, finds, conversations), then you begin to see the power, application, and potential of these new tools for user-generated content.
Cheers to you Geriatric1927...you ROCK!

Web2.0 Starter Kit

The Web2.0 Starter Kit by Intel colleague and blogger Dawn Foster. 
This is some great stuff.  The Web2.0 idea and it's related brother Learning2.0 are huge concepts to swallow.  So following these steps and breaking it down into small workable chunks makes it less daunting. 
Step 3 is absolutely the most important step.  During my Learning2.0 presentation I use the following quote from the matrix to make the same point.

"nobody can tell you what the matrix is, you have to experience it for yourself." - Morpheus

Without a doubt, your world will change after engaging in Web2.0.  But you MUST engage.  Reading about it is great, but trust me when I say that DOING it is a completely different mind-blowing experience. 

If this Starter Kit doesn't get you going then contact me and I will help you...really!

eLearnDevCon2006 additions to the blogosphere

Just giving a shout out to new bloggers who attended my sessions at eLearnDevCon2006.

e-Learning Visions
I love the idea of eLearning Visions.  Nice work, Geradine!  I'm looking forward to reading more about your visions.
EvidenceSoup
Evidence-based ______________ (you fill in the blank) is all the rage these days.  I'm very glad that there are people out there driven enough to make the research happen.  I tend to go with my gut most of the time which has served me well over the years, however when making a sale, or convincing management, or investors to believe in me, that data sure does come in handy.

I am glad you both enjoyed the conference. Thanks for helping continue the conversation.

Taskonomies: Why beer and diapers go well together

Thanks eLearningPost for reminding me about Don Norman and the jnd.org, and specifically the post titled
Logic Versus Usage: The Case for Activity-Centered Design

Reading The Design of Everyday Things had strong impact on my career.  It's a must read for all instructional designers, heck everyone should read it...but I digress.

The concept of taskonomy REALLY rings true for me.  Especially in this new web2.0 world.  I also love the idea of Folksonomies instead of taxonomies.  I think the idea of user, or group generated tagging and organization is VERY closely related to taskonomy.  I can't take alot of time tonight to make the connection more clearly but I may return to the subject later.  Definitely read the article...here's a good piece:

"The hardware store organization is based upon a taxonomy: appropriate for libraries and for stores where the major problem is locating the desired item out of context. But note that some stores have learned to provide activity-centered organization in addition to their normal classification. Thus, smart food stores put potato chips and pretzels next to the beer. And some even put beer next to the diapers, so that when a shopper makes a late night, emergency trip to get more diapers, why there is the beer, temptingly convenient. Sensible, well-organized logical design would not support this real behavior."

This just made me giggle...I've done late night diaper runs.

eLearning2.0 from the Read/Write Web blog

I love it when those outside of the training/learning field bring their perspective to the Learning2.0 conversation. I'm a little late to pointing at this post from the Read/Write Web blog but better late than never on some things.
It's a 2 part blog post so we'll wait for part II.

eLearningGuild Session - 3D Simulations, DirectorMX

I just finished my first web session for the eLearningGuild. Breeze is very cool. My session was Interactive 3D Simulation Training Using Macromedia Director MX (session 401)

If you attended today, or view the video, I would love to get your feedback. Seriously...even if its negative.

If you want to see the video again click the link below:
The Simulation video (google video)

Also, If you want to see more, I am leading several sessions at DevLearn2006. I am leading sessions on 3D simulations, MMO Games & Environments, and RSS: The New Learning Pipeline. In addition to the sessions I will be sitting on the eLearning2.0 Panel discussion.
DevLearn2006 Sessions

Why Learning2.0 changes EVERYTHING! A real world example

Since Corporate universities and training systems have been devised based on the traditional educational system, its not that great of a leap to think that what this teacher is going through will be the same transformation of corporate universities.  His post on Progressive discourse is a must read for all training/learning professionals.  I will say no more to give you time to spend at his blog.  Its just that great!  Check it out!

Video Resumes - Corporate Web2.0

One major point that I only touched on in my presentations of late is that this web2.0 stuff is happening whether we like it or not. We, the training/learning community, can embrace it, or become obsolete. Here's more proof...

Video resume /communication with a colleague

Web2.0 and the enterprise

Engage with your IT department right now and find out what their plans are.

eLearnDevCon - continuing the Learning2.0 conversation

It originally looked like I was the only one blogging the eLearnDevCon, but I was very happy to find Matthew (no last name) over at m-learning world. Hi Matt!
Here's Matt's review of my session:

"Learning 2.0, The Revolution has begun! (Brent Schlenker)- Another conference shortened by technical difficulties, but still very informative. We all know Web2.0, well Learning 2.0 is basically what was coined as asynchronous learning last year. The possibility of using blogs and wikis to teach is interesting, but, even with my support of eduChaos, I still worry that at some point, chaos must have a level of control. One only has to look at how conspiracy theories have become 'common knowledge' (think of all the Halliburton/ War for Oil conspiracy bull shit). One can expect that the community would police itself and it would all balance itself out in the end, but we can simply look at John Conyers recent impeachment proposal to realize how the conspiracy fiction is a self feeding monster (OK, I'll shut up with the politic here and leave that for Abaraxas.)"

First of all I'd like to thank Matt for helping to continue the conversation. Looks like I really drove home the chaos theory. I've been blogging this stuff for a year (exactly...on Aug. 23) and attending conferences is such a great way to give myself a reality check. When asking the audience if they had heard of Learning2.0 I saw 2 hands go up within a packed conference room. So this stuff is still very new.
I'd love to hear from others especially on how "Learning2.0 was coined as asynchronous learning last year." Wow! I totally missed the mark on that one. I could write a huge response (and I will later), I want to hear what others think about it.
Join the conversation! Is Learning2.0 simply asynchronous training with new tools(i.e. blogs, wikis)?

Logic + Emotion - sounds like learning to me

For those of you who have been with the Corp. eLrn. Dev. blog for a while, you know that I also take quite an interest in design, creativity, innovation, leadership, and much more.  My most recent nugget found in the blogosphere is Logic+Emotion.  I highly recommend you add it to your feedreader.  Remember that training/learning is about effecting a change in behavior and you can't do that without influencing logic & emotions.  This is why I've discussed the similarities between marketing and elearning in the past(here, here).  The 2 are so closely related it's scary.  And its why DESIGN is critical to elearning...no...NOT instructional design, but all of the other fields of design. 
But L&E had one of my favorite quotes yesterday:

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how
the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done
better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives
valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there
is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great
enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy
cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high
achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails
while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold
and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."  - Teddy Roosevelt

Moosebutter - Monday night entertainment

Moosebutter - Monday night entertainment
Originally uploaded by Brent Schlenker.

Hilarious & talented moosebutter entertained at eLearnDevCon. I interupted one of their numbers for this shot. I'll get permission before I post some audio clips.

Learning2.0 session is SRO at eLearnDevCon2006

Learning2.0 session is SRO at eLearnDevCon2006
Originally uploaded by Brent Schlenker.

Despite some technical difficulties my session rcvd some great possitive feedback. Thanks to all who atteneded. Let's continue the conversation.

eLearnDevCon Tuesday update - Games, Corporate YouTube

After giving my Wikis and Learning presentation (coming soon to a podcast near you.) I floated around the sessions poking my head in and out.  I stopped off at the Games for learning session and was impressed with the content.  At least the content I was there for.  One thing I would like to add for those of you new to my blog and/or attending the conference is Raph Koster's book... A Theory of Fun.  This is a fabulous book with so much learning theory in it that it should required reading at all EdTech schools.  And I love sharing this quote from Marshal Mcluhan:

"Anyone who makes a distinction between games and learning doesn't know the first thing about either"

Then...I hustled over the session talking about video, MPEG4, Flash video, etc.  That is where I discovered the golden nugget I had been looking:  Corporate YouTube!  On2 Flix has a server engine product that allows you to create a web app for users to upload video clips...it then compresses the video to flash video...just like YouTube.  Hopefully this "YouTube" style compression and user-generated video content system will not bog down corporate bandwidth.

Wikimania at eLearnDevCon

My wiki session just ended. I rcv'd lots of possitive feedback. Thanks to all who attended. For those of you that missed it, I will be doing it again tomorrow afternoon. You should also consider attending my Learning2.0 session tomorrow morning.
Some items of interested that were discussed today:
Tiddlywiki
Mediawiki
OpenWiki
The Heavy Metal Umlat video by John Udell
List of opensource wiki engines
Some interesting points for me were that there are some IT departments that DON'T know what wikis are. Other companies have IT departments that are afraid to even implement a wiki on their intranet. The only thing I can think of is that there are other political/power struggles occuring within those companies. Here are the experts talking at Wikimania2006...
this from Andrew McAfee

Ross Mayfield said that in four years of building wikis for corporations Socialtext has seen precisely 0 trolls and 0 instances of vandalism. I was astonished by this and polled the entire room. No one reported even a single instance of counterproductive behavior on the wiki.

As I've written before, one of the advantages the Intranet has over the Internet is that people within companies share a culture and norms, and are usually quite reluctant to overturn them. In addition, vandals and trolls can usually be easily identified behind the firewall. So perhaps I shouldn't have been so suprised that employees aren't using corporate wikis to act out.

Check out the following blogs to hear more about the wikimania panel discussion on enterprise wikis:
Josh Bancroft, Ross Mayfield, Andrew McAfee, Ned Gulley, Michael Idinopulos

The Ze Frank Show - Design and User-generated content

Design and user-generated content are 2 major areas causing a shift in our industry. Regarding design, timeliness and content quality trump media quality...i.e. just get it out there because people want it right now. Example: if the answer to my problem is solved via a poorly written blog, then so be it. Regarding user-generated content, never in history has there been so many people utilizing their creative talents with cheap, easy to use tools...i.e. photography, video, cartooning, writing, etc. The publishing tools bring both design, production, and publishing to the masses. If you get nervous when gurus like Kevin Kruse say your job is in jeapardy look no further than those people you call your end users, or customers. Our users are the learning professionals biggest competition.

The Ze Frank Show, a popular vlog, has this post where he responds to a reader's comment. "S-s-s-somethin' from the comments" is one of the best segments of the show. Get past the "I knows me some ugly" song and then the design rant begins.

P.S. If you don't know who Ze Frank is then this little viral Flash animation titled How to Dance Properly might jog your memory.

Blogosphere 100 X bigger than 3 years ago

David Sifry (founder and CEO of Technorati) has posted is latest State of the Blogosphere report. As a blogger, I feel compelled to pass this info on to the elearning community. As the ONLY blogger blogging the eLearnDevCon I feel even more compelled to share. Let's start with the stats summary:

• Technorati is now tracking over 50 Million Blogs.
• The Blogosphere is over 100 times bigger than it was just 3 years ago.
• Today, the blogosphere is doubling in size every 200 days, or about once every 6 and a half months.
• From January 2004 until July 2006, the number of blogs that Technorati tracks has continued to double every 5-7 months.
• About 175,000 new weblogs were created each day, which means that on average, there are more than 2 blogs created each second of each day.
• About 8% of new blogs get past Technorati's filters, even if it is only for a few hours or days.
• About 70% of the pings Technorati receives are from known spam sources, but we drop them before we have to send out a spider to go and index the splog.
• Total posting volume of the blogosphere continues to rise, showing about 1.6 Million postings per day, or about 18.6 posts per second.
• This is about double the volume of about a year ago.
• The most prevalent times for English-language posting is between the hours of 10AM and 2PM Pacific time, with an additional spike at around 5PM Pacific time

I was going to start into why these numbers are important to the elearning community but I promised to start blogging about the 2 HOWs (How to use the new technologie, and How it effects our jobs). First of all these numbers should help as part of the data for pushing our cause. This data combined with evidence-based learning defining how blogs can be used for learning should also help the cause.
Hey, Kevin! Any studies for blogs and learning in the works?

eLearnDevCon2006 Keynote with Kevin Kruse

Kevin Kruse from e-LearningGuru.com.

Industry threatened:
1) Industry is threatened: lack of measurable results
2) Vendors are threatened: clients don't choose quality
3) You job is threatened: by those who can do it cheaper

Kevin is talking about the web2.0, social networking, or Learning2.0 and asks if anyone is blogging the keynote right now. So I raise my hand...I'm the ONLY one! So he calls me up in front to promote elearndev.blogspot.com.

Back to the keynote...Evidence-based Learning inspired by evidence-based medicine, but encouraged by evidence-based management.

Check out e-Learning and the Science of Instruction.
I'm thinking about the theories he is highlighting from the book and how they are supported in a complete learning ecosystem...a blend of formalized and informal learning methods/tools with just the right mix of user-generated content. Of course this is just what's going on in my head while he talks and demos some good interactive activities.

I love the points he is covering. Yet much of it is applied to what WE do today...create courses. My new task is to map this evidence-based ISD theory and apply it to the user-generated world of web2.0. Because my reaction to Kevin's msg is that some of this is what the "knowledge harvester" of the future will be doing. We will begin to monitor the social networks and pull out the nuggets that can benefit from applying the theories into more formalized activities, or learning nuggets.

Print design study: new learners should learn better from a magazine layout as apposed to a book style. Just a thought but they wanted data so they did a study...(cue drum role)...the answer is that the layout did not matter from a learning standpoint. Motivation still counts for more.

Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curves: This will be the future study that he will be undertaking this year.
I can't wait to see the results of applying evidence-based learning in this space.

Vlogger session at eLearnDevCon2006

Cool new tool from Serious Magic called Vlog it!
Vlogit looks like a stripped down version of Visual communicator which is a little more expensive.
$50!  You can't beat that!  As Garin points out the coolest part of the software is the integrated tele-prompter.  Yes, the other visual stuff is cool too. 
When the presentation is over I will post some shots of the setup Garin Hess created.  The lighting solution from Home Depot is a GREAT idea!  $50 bucks for the lighting rig too.  So, $100 gets you software and lighting.  $20 bucks gets you the cheap green screen, but Garin is using the $200 folding screen but its very cool. 
Then of course you need a video camera.  But even the cheapest camera will do.  You can even use a web cam when vlogging yourself.
Vlogit is just another example of how user-generated content is changing the landscape of learning. 

vlogger setup - elearndevcon2006

vlogger setup - elearndevcon2006
Originally uploaded by Brent Schlenker.

Vlogit: vlogger sessio

Vlogit: vlogger sessio
Originally uploaded by Brent Schlenker.

More voices on the future of training

Jim Belshaw posted a comment on the Learning Circuits blog today.  He was responding to the ongoing conversation around the end of courseware and the growth of informal learning.  He has a long,  but very well stated post on the topic.  Its nice to hear from others outside of the learning profession and I really appreciate Jim adding to the conversation. 
It's also another great example of how wonderful the new web is...Jim is in Australia. 
I sometimes just laugh at how cool it is that one day I get an email from a Harvard professor via the bloggosphere and the next I discover an Australian consultant interested in joining a conversation about something I'm interested in and have been blogging about.

Are you blogging this?

I just discovered this via Anne Davis.  My 1-year blogging anniversary is coming up and I wanted to do something cool too.  So much for my song idea.  David has a great one for his second blogging anniversary!  Dude, you rock!  Blog on!

Wikimania 2006 and Wikiversity

As it just so happens, the Wikimania 2006 conferense is in full swing at Harvard.  Fellow blogger and Intel colleague Josh Bancroft is blogging the event at tinyscreenfuls.com .  Check out his flickr stream here.  Sounds like lots of great conversations going on.

Also, Mark Oehlert over at e-clippings points me to the Wikiversity.  Tons of wiki goodness here.  Wikibooks is fabulous in and of itself but the addition of wikiversity makes me smile.  My daughter is a big fan of our solar system and she loves this.

Get ready for a lively discussion on wikis at the elearndevcon2006.  I'll be leading that discussion and look forward to your participation.

Silver lining around clouds of layoffs

Its nice to see that we are not alone in the tech industry dealing with massive staff reductions.  Creating passionate users discusses the Sun layoffs.  So in staying true to Kathy's message I will also highly recommend the following little flash video created by fellow Phoenician Blogger Pamela Sims.  Today just might be your independence day.  If you have been "pushed out", or have taken the bold move to jump out, put it on your calendar and celebrate. 
(I'm writing this as my own attempt at personal support if the axe falls my way...stay tuned)

Why Courses are Dead

From Jay Cross and the Internet Time Blog comes one of the best summaries of what we all know deep down inside.  Courses are Dead! 

Okay, maybe that title is for shock value, but the point is right on.  The point we all need to consider and come to grips with is that we (the instructional designers) are no longer in control.  We never really were in control of learning but the institutions and systems in place gave us the power to create and shape what was taught and how it was taught.  I won’t continue to duplicate the thoughts but instead paste some of the best stuff and encourage you to read the complete post (the gummi bear part is great!).

 

“Only 10 percent to 15 percent of what is taught in a course transfers to the job. Courses have a miserable track record when it comes to changing behavior. The most common way of learning one’s job comes not from taking a course but from asking someone.”

 

“Courses are the bedrock of compliance training (although I don’t consider much of that learning.) Certification depends on courses (although you always should have the option of testing out of prerequisites.) In some circumstances, utter novices benefit from courses because they otherwise lack a framework for learning. For most other corporate learning, courses are dead.”

 

“The next generation entering the workforce doesn’t learn like you and me. They work on assignments together. (What did you think all that instant messenger stuff while doing homework was for?) They have no patience for one subject at a time. They’re accustomed to learning by discovery. They have little tolerance for irrelevancies. Ask any recent graduate how they’d like a day-long corporate training class. You’ll get an ear-full of reasons why those courses are so bad.”

 

I think I pasted half of his post, but this is just darn good stuff.  Okay, so now what?  The blogosphere has been ranting about this stuff for a couple years now and we have many case studies proving most of it, so let’s get on with the HOW!  I’ve been working so hard at convincing people internally at Intel and externally at conferences for quite some time now, and think we have reached critical mass.  Most people have stopped laughing at me, and stopped rolling their eyes…phew that was driving me nuts.  Now people are finally getting it and even many executives believe and support a major shift in how training organizations support the business.  So, I’d like to shift much of my focus on this blog to the 2 HOWs:  1) How do we do this technically, and 2) How is the job, and skills, of the instructional designer changing (what you need to know in order to be a value add)

Blackboard Patent on LMS systems

I think everyone is commenting on this issue, but I want to just add my $.02 by adding George Siemens' $.02. I’m totally with him on this statement:

"What's the impact? I can't say I'm really worried. I have moved away from LMS' to a certain degree. In a perfect world, I would get a chunk of funding and create a tool that is much less like an LMS...and much more like a social network/portfolio/blog/wiki /tagging/user-generated/search tool (some call them personal learning environments). What we really need are new tools that do new things. Not tools that duplicate the classroom experience. Blackboard is, before this patent was awarded, not the future (at least based on its current tool-offerings). Bb (well, any LMS that structures content in "courses") sees knowledge as a product, not process. We need tools that enable us to navigate a river of knowledge...not a reservoir."

Many of us believe the educational model automated by Bb is outdated.  It will take many years for educational system to change and therefore as a business, its a good move on Bb's part.  This gives them strength in their market.  Does this forward the cause of learning, no.  But, I'm not sure that's part of their business model. 

They will continue on their path and we will continue on ours.  Maybe someday we will cross paths again.

1024x768 gets the stamp of approval

Okay folks we now have the official word from the guru of usability gurus, Jakob Nielsen: 

“Optimize Web pages for 1024x768, but use a liquid layout that stretches well for any resolution, from 800x600 to 1280x1024.”

60% of monitors are set at 1024x768 pixels, so cut 8x6 loose and add that extra pixel real estate to your web designs.

3D Simulations are better, faster, cheaper

Brent Schlenker…that’s me…will be doing an online presentation next week.

Caution – self promotion ahead!  Proceed at your own risk.

 

I am finally able to present one of my favorite subjects:  Interactive 3D training simulations.  A special thanks to the eLearningGuild for the opportunity. 

 

While the title of the talk specifically mentions Adobe’s DirectorMX as the tool, I will also touch on other options that have appeared over the years.  New tools like Secondlife and Activeworlds give us an entirely new and more powerful platform to support the incredible learning capabilities of interactive 3D.  My favorite is the ability to create the environment in a multi-user platform. 

 

I look forward to the conversation.