Digication - another entry into the open source Learning2.0 world

I may be late on this, but Inside the Net just featured a little learning2.0 app called Digication.
It sounds AWESOME!  Check it out and let me know what you think.  I have a back log of apps to review and I just can't get to them all.

Mathcasts by kids...do you really need a Masters in EdTech?

Jon Udell has a great interview with Tim Fahlberg today. Tim is changing the face of math education at Coolschooltools.com and Mathcasts.org.
This is a must listen. What strikes me is that KIDS are creating these mathcasts which makes their learning deeper and also helps those who come after them.
Corporate training departments all over the world are paying giant sums of money to create powerpoint and then even more money on tools that convert those to "online learning".
I don't know about you guys, but I find the 4th grade screencasts significantly more engaging than any corporate click2death training I've taken. What's up with that?

Listen to the interview and pay particular attention to the discussion on hiring teachers, or employees in the future that have Learning Portfolios. They also address the fear of teachers and trainers feeling irrelevant with the advent of these new tools. Are you going to be irrelevant?

Virtual Corporate University : Thomson Netg

If you are still wondering what Secondlife is all about and how it is being used in corporate universities, then you must check out this video from Thomson Netg.
The New Media Center held an inworld tour of the ThomsonNetg campus this morning.  I now remember why I've been a big advocate of interactive 3D learning for 10+ years.

My early 3D simulations were done in Superscape, then Visual BASIC, then Macromedia DirectorMX.  Secondlife and the other tools coming out in this space are absolutely the next step.  Jeremy Kemp and others have been using the term MUVE (multi user Virtual environment...I think).  I like that better than MMORPG.

SL inworld presentation: How People Learn

The following invite is from the LIFE Center blog - An NSF Science of Learning Center:

Dr. John Bransford, prominent education psychology researcher and editor of the book How People Learn, will be giving his first presentation in the popular virtual world of Second Life. Dr. Bransford is the director of The Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE) Center, a National Science Foundation (NSF) Science of Learning Center. He will present his latest thoughts on different ways that virtual environment can help people learn and possibly reorganize our educational system.

The presentation will take place in Second Life at Palladium/120/120 on Monday, October 2 from noon to 1:30pm Pacific Time. Please contact Drue Gawel at djgawel@u.washington.edu if you need help accessing the site or if you would like to request more information.

Access the meeting location on October 2nd here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Palladium/120/120

This should be an outstanding experience. I haven't experienced an inworld presentation yet, and so I'm very excited that this will be my first.

MiniMoo cards coming in 10 days

ME4MOO
Originally uploaded by Brent Schlenker.

The Moo.com website was just too cool to pass up. I immediately had the idea for capturing some of my "inworld" persona as part of my minicard image.
I used a photoshop tutorial to learn how to make a comic book version of my face. Something went wrong and I so I started making it up as I went along. Making the sunglasses fully transparent was an accident but I loved the effect.
The scary looking guy driving the flying lion-thing is Crotalusatrx, my level 23 Orc Warrior from World of Warcraft. BTW - my new Core2duo iMac is amazing for playing Wow!
The head on the far right is my avatar from Secondlife, RightBrain Musketeer. I'm still trying to find a look that I like, but for now that's what I look like in 2L.
Can anyone tell me what a Crotalus Atrox is?

Truespace7 steps into Game Creation

Looks like 2007 will be the year that we start to see many, many new players in this space.  With Croquet maturing, Multiverse, and now Caligari getting in the ring.  I think we are finally going to find ourselves with some really great training and simulation tools to choose from.

ThinkingWorlds - Authoring tool for MUVE

Another gem from Donald Clark.  I was not aware of ThinkingWorlds until today and now I can't wait to try it out.  

Thinking Worlds™ educational game
is an easy to use authoring engine that enables gamers and learners to
create, edit, play and share their own 3D learning based games, that
teach and entertain.

Ever since I started developing Interactive 3D simulations, some 10+ years ago, I've wondered how long it would be before someone created the MUVE (multi user virtual environment) equivalent of Authorware or Director.  Secondlife is a great step in the right direction but I can't purchase secondlife off the shelf and load it behind a firewall.  I haven't tried it yet but if its easy to use, this just might be what I've been looking for. 

Here's a great quote from Donald:

"The argument is simple, these games are strong on motivation, strong on visuals, strong on participation, strong on engagement and strong on reinforcement. They do everything that the duller side of e-learning does badly."

Donald also points out that, obviously, games are not the solution to all training problems.  But in most cases TRAINING isn't even the best solution for perceived training problems.

ThinkingWorlds might be a nice bridge between the stale page-turning WBT of old, and the new always-on, persistent, interactive, 3D social spaces of the future.

Heart Murmur Sim in SecondLife

I discovered Jeremy Kemp's Prosim Virtua blog from the NMC Campus Observer.  The Heart Murmur Sim is located at this SLURL within SecondLife. If you aren't familiar with SecondLife, I would highly recommend it.
This sim offers a great example of the type of training you can do "inworld". Listen to the podcast and you will hear about how Jeremy collects his data and what type of data he can collect.

I also discovered at the SimTeach wiki a discussion group  connecting these sims to LMSs. So far there is work being done creating a connection to Moodle and I'm looking forward to seeing that in action.

Forrester Research: Social Computing Reshapes eLearning

Forrester has done some great research in the Learning2.0 space, but I don't think they call it that.  I don't think I will pay the $250 for the full doc, but I love the title and I'm happy to see that people are taking notice.  Word is spreading slowly but surely and hopefully the days of converting ppts to Flash and calling it effective learning will soon be behind us.

Internet Timeline from the BBC

Jane's eLearning pick of the day points us to this great source for an Internet history timeline from the BBC.

Anything2.0 = Organized Chaos

A large part of my schtick on Learning2.0 revolves around the perception of CHAOS.  One of my favorite non-elearning blogs is Innovation Creators by Rod Boothby.   His post titled Organized Chaos has a great picture.  The big picture is starting to come together for me, and I was going to wait until I had it drawn before posting again but I felt moved to link up to Rod's image and comment.
Many are uncomfortable with the concept of organized chaos because the organization part is not centralized.  People worry that "we just sit back and let organization happen".  Well, sort of.  The effects of a Learning2.0 ecosystem only begin to payoff over the longhaul,  but in some instances you really do need to get a message, or knowledge nugget, out quickly to the masses.  So, do we use the ecosystem for that kind of message?  Well, No...wait...why not...maybe yes.  See how confusing this stuff is when you try to fit the old paradigm into the new?
The 2 systems will coexist.  One day it will be one system, but for the sake of calming nerves we'll let both coexist for the discussion.  The piece that drives the old system is trust...or a lack of trust really.  Of course legal, and certification requirements, needs documented proof that everyone endured training.  So those drivers will continue to fuel the old system.  And when someone actually wants to learn something to get a job done, that need will fuel the new system.   The trick is how and when do they meet?  Or do they even need too?

3 cheers for Donald Clark

No, really!  THIS POST is so fabulous that I'm cheering out loud.   This is similar to other calls for research questioning.   Mark Oehlert had a great post a while back that I failed to reply to.  It had to do with Learning pros sharpening their skills by questioning the very old theorys that we seem to blindly follow.
So, the bullets are starting to fly folks.  If this bothers you and you start to feel unsettled about your career then GOOD!  I can't think of any of the academic learning theory from my masters degree that actually applies to my 10+ years as a Learning Professional.  So let's have at it!  What other theories do we claim, but don't actually use?

Personalized Flickr mini cards

This is WAY off topic, but so cool that I had to share.  These little mini business cards are full color and so personalized.  I'm hoping to have a bunch ready for the DevLearn2006 conference.  Enjoy!
MOO We Love to Print

Introduction to RSS

I've got my brain tuned into RSS these days and so I'll point out several good RSS posts as i find them.
marshall kirkpatrick has a good post titled Introduction to RSS syndication.  This is a short simple read, but very insightful.

Grazr - organizing RSS just keeps getting better

I just found this on TechCrunch.  I haven't had much time to review it but from first glance it looks like something I've been thinking about for quite some time.  Before I get into that let's look at what Grazr is.
Definitely read the TechCrunch review.
But does anyone remember mind mapping?  Or information mapping? 
Well Grazr, to me, looks like reverse information, or mind, mapping.  The outline of the dynamic content is created based on the content on the page...I think.
Anyways, as I said, I need to take a closer look but this looks VERY promising to me.  RSS has the potential to become the next learning pipeline, and OPML is just a piece of that.
I will definitely be working this into my RSS presentation (session 411) at DevLearn2006.

In the Middle of the Curve: Corporate Moodle installation

I just discovered Wendy's blog In the Middle of the Curve. She is implementing Moodle in a corporate environment. All I can say is "You go GIRL!"
Anyone interested in learning from experience should check in with Wendy's site and learn from her experiences. The post Moodle from localhost to DNS has some excellent key learings.  All posts are insightful and filled with wonderful corporate elearning experieces. 
Nice job, Wendy!  Keep it up!

High fidelity WAY overrated these days

Rober Scoble has a great post today on Two Corporate Announcements..., but what he is really addressing is the shift that is happening in media today.
I believe content and context is more important than media production quality. You can spend millions on a Superbowl commercial with high production value, or you can be clever enough to get your product on YouTube.
In learning situations the content and the context is more important to learners than the production quality of the video. No, I have no research, just a hunch. If I am motivated to find some information, gain some knowledge, learn a skill, etc. I will easily endure a low quality video if the content is exactly what I need. No level of slick production helps.
The only time high quality production value helps is when you are trying to "sheepdip" your entire organization with some new content. Nobody is motivated about it, so we convince ourselves that if we spend money on a "high quality" production people will be entertained, and therefore learn. There's definitely a problem with this, but we do it so much, even I'm enticed to continue doing it. What's up with that?

Kids' Informal Learning with Digital Media

Joi Ito points us to his sister, Mimi Ito, who is doing some research on Kids' Informal Learning with Digital Media.

"Although computers are now fixtures in most schools and many homes, there is a growing recognition that kids' passion for digital media has been ignited more by peer group sociability and play than academic learning. This gap between in-school and out-of-school experience represents a gap in children's engagement in learning, a gap in our research and understandings, and a missed opportunity to reenergize public education. This project works to address this gap with a targeted set of ethnographic investigations into three emergent modes of informal learning that young people are practicing using new media technologies: communication, learning, and play.

1. Communication. The mobile phone and the Internet are changing the scale, scope and dynamics of kids' social worlds. Kids use these new social networks to build identity and reputation, to share ideas and solve problems. Might these tools and practices be adapted to promote learning?
2. Learning and Knowledge. New technologies for the expression of the imagination - such as blogs, wikis, web communities, multimedia films and fan fiction - are changing the way kids produce knowledge, publish their works, and build their own learning communities. What can we learn from kids about the future of learning and knowledge? How can we link kids' conceptions of learning and knowledge to those of education?
3. Play. While we are interested in the power of interactive games to capture kids' attention, our primary focus is upon play and gaming, the social activities in which kids teach each other how to play, gain prestige and build fan communities, learn how to interpret new media, and to design and build their own games. Might the social dimension of gaming and play be linked to learning experiences?"

What a fantastic find on a monday morning. Their findings will being interesting. I could quote the entire web site but just go there and check it out. The Research Areas is a good section.

Jay Cross - Informal Learning - How People Learn

Jay Cross has a few blogs and I just stumbled onto this one Ruminations via my Corporate eLearning Development Squidoo lens.   I have a Technorati module set to search for anything with eLearning on my lens.  Its way down at the bottom of the lens.  So I'm looking around down there and see How People Learn.  Looks good to me, so I click, and whatdoyaknow...its Jay.  I'm assuming this line of thought ended up in his book on Informal Learning, but if you want a preview of what we are ALL so passionate about, you must read this and then buy the book.  One of these days I'm going to get into one his UNworkshops. 

P.S.  Jay, how many times do I need to post about your book to get a free copy? ;)

Rapid eLearning: ISD's last ditch effort to stay in control

Tony Karrer sums up his thoughts on Rapid eLearning  - More Definition.   He points to Kineo's Rapid e-Learning Briefing.

Both post have the following list of seven key elements to rapid e-learning...

• Can be developed in 21 days or less
• Doesn't require specialist knowledge and skills or 3rd party support
• Can use SMEs to author directly
• Requires a low level of investment to create it
• May have only a short shelf-life
• May involve an element of virtual classroom delivery or be completely standalone
• Will be short

Here's my similar list of the coming Learning2.0 reality...

• Can be developed in 21 MINUTES (dare I say seconds?) or less
• Tools are transparent and part of the workspace
• Everyone's a SME:  no special person identified, everyone's an expert
  
• NO learning org investment:  the IT department has already implemented the tools
  
• The virtual classroom replaced by quick, as needed, human connections and conversations
• Will range in length from blink to how ever long it takes to get the job done.

Rapid e-Learning is a comfortable evolutionary step towards the inevitable demise of specialized learning content creation tools.  The vendors MUST come up with something to sell you, right?  Users armed with mobile media creation devices will begin to create their own content.  Why?  Because their experiences are worth sharing, and are more important and valuable than the limited experience of ONE identified SME. 

Apple didn't set out to create a Learning device...but that's what your iPod is.  Palm did not set out to create a Learning device...but that's exactly what your Treo is.  I don't think it was a learning vendor that created YouTube, wikis, or blogs either.

How we RIP, MIX, and FEED the chaotic overwhelming amounts of content is what interests me.  And it's not solved with more tools from the vendors.  I know the answer lies somewhere in XML, RSS, OPML, and TAGGING, but I just haven't quite nailed it down just yet.  I'll let you know when I figure it out.

Special Note:  I will purchase and use rapid e-learning tools because the end result is what the customers want at this point.  And I will continue too until the customers start to ask, "why do I need you, Brent, when my people are creating, organizing, and publishing some cool stuff that's working just fine?"  Ooops!

Social Context in Decision Making

This post caught my attention at elearningpost because we do a lot of training work around Decision Making.  This is good stuff.

"Social psychology… reveals a major lesson: often it is not so much
the kind of person a man is as the kind of situation in which he finds
himself that determines how he will act." —Stanley Milgram

Its a fabulous read.  Oh yeah, its well designed too.  PDFs are so cool!

Secondlife much like your first

This post from Alan Levine via the NMC Campus Observer...and of course The CogDogBlog. 

"Stanford researchers that suggest body language, eye contact, and physical space known in the real world are replicated with the same gender differences in Second Life"

I find this line of study to be fascinating.  Are you looking at secondlife for learning within your organization?  If you are, please contact me.

Global Presentation Skills Community

I would like to start extending some of the generic work that I do at my day job into the global arena. 

One of the generic topics that we develop "training" for is Presentation Skills.  I think there are probably a few people outside of Intel that have a pretty decent grasp of this topic.  So, I'm going to try an experiment...

Presentation Skills is one of those generic topics that everyone in business should be interested in, so let's find a spot to hang out and share methods, ideas, examples, etc.  There are a ton of systems to use, and we may link to many of them but for this project let's use Zimbio.  I'm sure there are pockets that already exist, and I don't want to reinvent the wheel, but I want to see what happens...

So, if you are interested in participating go HERE.   If you like the idea but have a different topic in mind then let me know and let's do that one too.
What do you think?

Great info overload today!

Wow!  Today has excellent posts from all of my feeds so instead of commenting on them all in detail, I'm going to list them with a short comment...if any.

Scott's Workblog Not ready for eLearning2.0?  Try 1.5 or 1.3
This is an excellent example of a quick blog post with perfect links around the topic.

For all of you Design folks, Don Norman does an Emotional Design interview podcast.

From Mark at e-clippings we begin to discover Trend-setting KM Products for 2006.
Haven't our two camps been stepping on each other's toes long enough.  Let's kiss and make up already.  eLearning1.0 was WRONG, and KM1.0 was VERY WRONG.  Learning2.0 brings us all together into a common framework...doesn't it?

Politicians jumping on the SecondLIfe bandwagon...from Mark also.  And another from Mark but actually from Jay:  Informal Learning:  The big picture.  Its really an ACTUAL picture...very cool!

And I will finish up with a great quote from Gabe, but not BY Gabe...

"Where there is much desire to learn, there of necessity will be much arguing,
much writing, many opinions; for opinion in good men is but knowledge in the
making."
- John Milton

That is my new favorite quote.

The Future of Learning in a Networked World...the conference

Thanks George for pointing us all to this one.  This falls under, "Wow! Why didn't we think of that?"
The Future of Learning in a Networked World

Off-topic: The site has a very Wordpress look and feel to it, but I noticed it's a blogger.com account. I may look into a new template...oh wait...could this be a new Blogger beta site? The kind that Blogger won't let me switch my account over too...yet. Come on Blogger! Help me out here.

2001: A year of key learning

Since '01,  9/11 has been a time to reflect on what I learned in 2001.  We bought the DVD "The Concert for New York" and watch it every year.  What did you learn?

I learned many things in 2001, but one thing stands out above them all...
2001:
July - My wife and kids vacation in N.Y. with family (without me)...visit the wold trade center.
August - Our house burns down
September - N.Y. World Trade Center attacks...sister-in-law watches from nearby rooftop.
October - My third child, Grace Ellen Schlenker, is born 10/4
November -  The Family went to Disneyland...(I highly recommend it after any major terrist attack!)

Actually 2 things:  The first, and most important, is that FIREMEN (and WOMEN) ROCK!  Never have I seen more proof of that than in those months of 2001...both personally (my house) and around the country (N.Y.).

The second and key theme of this post is this:
Life is about people!  That's  all.  You were probably waiting to hear something profound..."Yeah Brent, so? That's such a, duh?!"  Maybe it is, but think about how many times you may have relied on a "system" or a "process" to help you?  And how much you hated (yes, hated) the person behind the counter, or on the phone, because their system didn't match your need? 

People don't normally let people down, its the defined business processes, and systems that people attach themselves too so they don't have to face the realities of dealing with natural human emotion and conflict:  Systems create the easy out for people.  "I understand your situation, but there's nothing we can do."

For me, the effects of those months lasted LONG into the next year:  fighting the insurance company, caring for children and a new born, dealing with contractors,  and facing the fears of post-9/11 life.  The people of Intel poured our their hearts in giving to me and my family in our time of need, and to the people of NY in theirs.  But the Intel system, a slave to its processes, defined me as "below expectations"...I believe my wife would beg to differ.  The people of Intel were generous, giving, and forgiving (when I needed time), however, the system was not.  Friends and family were there for us when we needed them, however, the insurance system and the systems of those they contracted with were not.  During the attacks of 9/11 many of the systems did not work, but the people did.  The firemen kept going back.  Do you get the picture? 

Gut instinct, experience, and human nature prevail when the systems fail.  I guess we call that tacit knowledge.  The explicit knowledge we know of any system is useless when that system fails...or when a situation does not fit nicely into that system.

For some reason we like everthing to be very black and white, IF this, THEN do this(explicit knowledge, right!).  Life and Learning is not that clean.  It's messy.  Learning is messy.  Learning isn't about our perfect little instructionally sound systems, and our technologies.  eLearning1.0 took us down that path and it was wrong let's face it...WE, WERE, WRONG!  Web2.0 technologies bring us full circle...its back to being about the people.   People connecting, people communicating, people collaborating, people sharing, people being creative and publishing freely for the world.  It's what the internet was supposed to be. 

So stop thinking about Learning2.0 as a new toolset...It's so not about that!  Learning2.0 is about people.  The tools simply allow us to do what we do best...and that's connecting with other people to support, share, and learn with each other.

2001 taught me a lot.  Let's not forget.  But let's also move forward.

BTW - The precision with which the Phoenix Fire Department worked on that night was an amazing sight to behold.  The fundamentals of fire fighting were being executed flawlessly, and they still took the time to pull pictures off the walls and protect them with tarps while fighting the fire.  Even as more trucks arrived on the scene there was a seemless integration into the process.  It was an amazing experience...but quite a bummer too.

Harvard Law goes Learning2.0 with courses in SecondLife

Law in the Court of Public Opinion is Harvard's try at using SecondLife as a learning platform.  So cool!  Well, if its good enough for Harvard, I suspect its good enough for the rest of us...wouldn't you say?
I discovered this via Joho the Blog...thanks David!

What is Corporate eLearning Development all about?

The blog that is...this blog to be specific.  I recently had my 1 year blog birthday party (or was it aniversary?) and so now seemed like a good time to reflect on just what the heck this thing is all about.

I started Corporate eLearning Development in August of 2005.  We affectionately refer to it as the year we lost control.  That year in review post also was one of the first signs that I had hit the big time:  One of my favorite bloggers Kathy Sierra left a comment...go ahead and scroll down on that link...see, told ya so.  But I digress...

I started blogging because I wanted to know what it was about, and I wanted to know first hand how this might be applied in Learning.  I used blogger because it was just easy, and I figured that I probably wouldn't be keeping it very long.  I chose the name because it most accurately reflected my career, and my passion.  eLearning can mean so many different things that it leaves me wide open to comment on many different forms of media, design, edtech, edpsych, video, graphics, text, presentations, and on, and on.

While blogging, I discovered that the magic is not in blogging alone, but there was another technology beast that offered up much more potential in the learning world: RSS.  You can't be a good blogger if you aren't connected to tons of information.  After all, we need something to talk about.  Bookmarks don't cut it for continually surfing your favorite blogs/sites.  No, there needed to be a way to scan many, MANY blogs quickly to start connecting the dots around how topics apply to learning. 

What I quickly realized was that RSS is the new pipeline for learning (find my DevLearn2006 presentation on this topic here).  By blogging I discovered RSS and by discovering Wikipedia months earlier in this process I had discovered WIKIs.   The BIG learning picture had started to form.
It was very easy for me to see the incredibly powerful learning potential of what I had become engaged in.  It was the ultimate trifecta of learning technologies BLOGS, WIKIS, and RSS.  But that was, and is, only the beginning...

In the last year the blogosphere has named it (and fought about it) Learning2.0 based on Web2.0 technologies, and everything else 2.0.  But for me Learning2.0 has been a transformation.  Mostly, finely realizing that CBTs and WBTs (of which I have spent the last decade creating) are very bad, unfun, unengaging ways to learn.  Most of the Click2Death learning sucks!  And mostly its because we have applied ancient ISD principles to the design process.  We're shoving the square peg in the round hole.  What's happening on the internet with social networking, blogs, wikis, rss, podcasting, and vlogging is more about how we truly want to learn.  Learning is mostly a social act that requires trying and failing in most cases.  If the learning is just basic knowledge you still need to try that new knowledge out by applying it in conversation, or writing about it, or critiqueing someone, for it to become real and meaningful.  The new web offers up those channels of conversation for any and all topics.

Before this becomes a rant, let me list some things you should consider when pondering Learning2.0.  Each of the following technologies has merit in and of itself, but remember the POWER is in the ecosystem that is created when they are used together.  Oh yeah, I almost forgot, its chaos out there and the users are creating the content, not the ISDers and developers...oops.  Yea, I know, Learning2.0 changes everything!

1) As stated earlier; the learning trifecta: blogs, wikis, rss
2) gaming:  no, not jeapardy style flash games.  I'm talking MMO here.  What's MMO? Oh nothing, just the most incredible learning machine you might imagine in a dream.  Check out SecondLife (pictured above) or talk to your kids about World of Warcraft, or Millsberry, cyworld, or any other. (see this archive)
3) Social networks:  PeopleAggregator, ELGG, or my new personal favorite ZIMBIO.  Come hang out and join others in the Corporate eLearning Development social network experiment.

Introduce yourself to me at DevLearn in October if you are attending.  I'll be busy with a few session: my sessions listed here

Yeah! Why don't learning platform vendors open their platform?

I'm certain that in the near future they will have no choice but to do exactly that. (from e-clippings)

Mark, my friend, I'm scratching my head wondering the same thing.  Oh, and those numbers you mention in your question at the end...

"What is the value add in paying $100K for something that will takes weeks/months to stand up, when I could possibly pay 1/10th of that and have something turned on today?"

...Let's just say $100k is laughably low for one of those systems you listed.  Try 6 million!

Basically we return to the "snake oil" conversation within the blogosphere of learning a few months back.  They've become bloatware loaded with stuff you really don't need.  Nanolearning, and Nuvvo will quickly dominate for the small to midsize companies, so the big vendors can kiss those accounts bye-bye.  Shortly after, that those systems will, most likely, become platforms that can be implemented behind the firewall and hosted from within.  So, game over for Mr. big vendor. 
Maybe I'm just a sucker for the underdog, but if you knew the LMS drama I've lived for nearly 8 years you would completely understand.
And Mark, unfortunately, the other piece that clouds this conversation is that most people in corporate learning still haven't heard of Web2.0, learning2.0, elearning2.0, or anything2.0.  I know its hard to believe, but we still have much evangalizing to do.  Spreading the word is job one.
Refer to my last post.  Its a revolution, not an evolution.  And most people just can't handle big change, so people are treading very lightly around this subject. 
Dave Lee adds some great commentary about helping people in this space in his title Come on in, the web2.0 is just fine.

Evolution or Revolution...I'll take one revolution to go please

Another great find from elearnspace.  I'm all about the revolution.  The post he links to is an outstanding commentary on the change process.  Basically, when evolution does not occur then a revolution is required to ANY effective change to occur.  This is the current state of learning with corporations and the educational system.  Most people are still approaching web2.0 as new tools, and I'm even seeing it in my own company.  The change is SO much bigger than simply the tools and requires a revolution.
Join the revolution and start a blog, or add something to wikipedia...even create a myspace account.  And if that scares you then all the more reason to do it.  Just try it as an experiment to see what all the fuss is about.  That's what I did 12 months ago starting this blog and I've never looked back.

Another reason why Apple ROCKS!

With the cloud of layoffs hanging over Intel employee's heads, spirits are low to say the least.  But, in my case when the going gets tough, the tough go...well...shopping!

Okay, so not normally, but I thought it sounded funny.  Anyways...
Monday afternoon I ordered up a fully loaded 20" iMac.  Can you imagine my dissapointment when I saw the wednesday morning announcement of the NEW iMacs?  Just as I'm about ready to pick up the phone and raise some heck, I get this email...

To Our Valued Apple Customer:

  Apple is pleased to announce the new iMac with Intel Core 2 Duo processor.

  Because your order has not yet shipped, we will automatically send you a new

  iMac at no additional charge.

So for NO charge...I'm getting the amazing Core2Duo instead of the amazing CoreDuo...without needing to call and ask. Thanks APPLE! I love you guys!

The 19 Best eLearning Blogs

Gabe from articulate has posted his list of The 19 Best Elearning Blogs. Corporate eLearning Development landed the #17 spot. Thanks, Gabe. This is very cool!

I have 52 blog feeds in my Learning folder, so I can understand how difficult this task must have been. One glaring omission I see is e-clippings published by Mark Oehlert.

The intersection between Enterprise2.0 and Learning2.0

Rod Boothby at the innovation Creators blog has back to back awesome posts that help me answer questions about Learning2.0 in my corporate environment.

When to Use a Blog and When to use a wiki
This one is short and to the point.  Very good stuff.

Email is critical to Enterprise2.0 and Office2.0
Well I wouldn't say critical but it will be useful for many years to come but reduced significantly with each passing year.  I still hear the younger generations say things like, "I only use email to communicate with old people". 

School Crash...made me think

This accident slowed traffic to a crawl while on my 60min commute to my teaching gig at the Art Institute.

I pulled out the ol' Treo650 and snapped this shot. Okay, so its not great, but it got me thinking for the remainder of my drive. Is that us, the web2.0 crowd, driving that car into the web2.0 car into the back of the traditional school system bus? Are we blazing ahead with wikis, blogs, RSS, etc, to only smash into the system? Sure the teachers are starting to get it, slowly, and hurrah for them. But if the system doesn't fundamentaly change the way its structured are we doomed to continue down the path of "internet as just another tool to smash into the hours of classroom work".

I mean seriously! Programs like Teach to the Future are still teaching teachers how to use powerpoint in the classroom. There is no reason why companies like Intel shouldn't be leading the charge in educating our teachers around the world utilizing not only the latest hardware, but internet tools as well. Just ask Will Richardson what it's all about and he'll point you to a multitude of GREAT examples: Teachers going at it on their own with little or no money. And students collaborating, and learning with other students and teachers via blogs, wikis, RSS and social networks. I could go on a rant but I'd rather not.

I'd like to take a moment to applaud his work because I know what's happening out there, and its the work of folks like Will making a difference at the levels where it counts. For every teacher that "gets it" and applies it because of Will there will be more who learn and stay connected to that teacher, and so on, and so on. The network will grow. The value that Will adds grows exponentially because of the power of the tools. He starts the process and it will grow from there. He might not have a million dollar budget to spread the word but he will certainly have an untold impact on teachers around the world far greater than what has been accomplished with a few million tied up in bureaucracy. Nice work, Will. Keep it up.

The Internet: The ultimate learning machine

Jay Cross is on a roll and I would encourage everyone to read the following posts and the links within them:

The business environment of informal learning
LMS, we hardly knew ye

Remember folks, embrace the chaos!

Steve Irwin: "Education is all about...passion and enthusiasm"

I was awake at 1am (irrigating my property...its an Arizona thing) when I heard about the death of
Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter.  My kids call it Animal Chanimal, but Animal Planet is where my children have learned just about everything they know about animals.  But its more than that. Educators like Steve engage kids with a passion that contagious.  After a show, the first thing my kids ask is, "Dad, can we go to Animalplanet.com?"  They simply want to learn more.  They've become filled with a desire to learn more...they want to learn it now...and today they can.

Back in my day it was Marlin Perkins on Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.  My family would gather around the TV every sunday night...wiggle the rabbit ears a little...and watch amazing animal stories from the safety of our living room.  The closest we came to acting on our passion for more was hustling over to the encyclopedia brittanica to find a paragraph or two and a picture to fill our apetite for learning more.

Steve and other great educators focus entirely on Gagne's first event of instruction:  Motivation and gaining attention.   I can't imagine Steve Irwin ever saying "Upon completion of viewing this show you will be able to _________________".  No way!  The authenticity of Steve Irwin's passion and enthusiasm is what embraces us as we become participants, albeit passive but engaged nonetheless, in Steve's mission within any particular show. 
Today's technology allows us to engage and have conversations with passionate experts in any and all fields of study and interest.  Why simply read a text book when I can watch someone like Steve and immediately engage in an online conversation with other passionate animal enthusiasts via blogs, wikis, forums, flickr, or the hundreds of other online social networks capable of facilitating conversations and learning.  I'm guessing Steve Irwin was not an instructional designer but he definitely "gets it".
I've selected a few Irwin quotes:

"I believe that education is all about being excited about something. Seeing passion and enthusiasm helps push an educational message."

"My belief is that what comes across on the television is a capture of my enthusiasm and my passion for wildlife."

"When I talk to the camera, mate, it's not like I'm talking to the camera, I'm talking to you because I want to whip you around and plunk you right there with me. "
~Steve Irwin

When it comes to learning, passion and enthusiasm trumps all else, period. 

We lost another passionate educator today and our prayers go out to his family and friends.

Another learning professional discovers the learning reality of virtual reality

I'm trying not to blog during this long holiday weekend, but I couldn't help check the blogosphere just once.  I was moved to post by several posts that I saw, but none more so than the virtual worlds? post at Learnlets.  I love to read about the experiences others are having within virtual environments.  And I don't care which environments either, although most of the action these days is happening within SecondLife.  The video he links to is very well done and I've shown it many times over. 
The great part about Clark's post is his reaction to the creation tools, and capabilities...

"I saw something I hadn’t really thought about. Most of it was the standard “places to meet”, events, and some nooks and crannies to explore, but…
…that’s not what interested me. What’s interesting is that it is easy (apparently, I didn’t master it in my exploration) to create new things. So you can make models or representations and share them. THIS is a major benefit. Now we can share 3D representations and discuss them."

I've discovered that THIS, the creation piece, is what turns the light on for many of my colleagues.  Its the user-generated content capabilities that takes us from a fun place to hang out and chat, to a Learning Platform for serious constructivist activities.

I will be leading a session at Devlearn2006 in Oct to help everyone make that leap.  It's truly amazing, and I'm looking forward to it.

training simulations learning elearning secondlife virtual reality interactivity