4 Great Resources to Help eLearning Presenters Prepare for DevLearn

With DevLearn 2011 only a few weeks away there are over 100 speakers preparing to tell their stories to their eLearning colleagues. While many of the presenters are seasoned professionals, some are not. I think that's a good thing. I believe everyone has something to say. Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone has an eLearning tip to share that someone will benefit from hearing. And DevLearn is the best place for those opportunities to come alive.

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Beginner and experienced speakers alike can benefit from these 4 great resources.
Guy Kawasaki - Guy is a fabulous presenter. He doesn't always talk about being a great presenter...in fact he does very little. But I REALLY like his 10/20/30 Rule. And while he created it for entrepreneurs presenting to venture capitalists, I truly believe the lessons apply.
Presentation Zen - Garr Reynold's has mastered the art of the slide. His philosophical approach to design is beautiful and I'm always inspired by his simplistic, elegant, slides that make very strong points.
http://www.duarte.com/ - I can't say enough nice things about Nancy Duarte. She presented at Learning Solutions 2011 and she wow'd the audience. Slide:ology and Resonate are both on my desk and available for instant refreshers when I need to get into the presentation mood. After seeing her presentation and understanding the pattern of a good speech, its fun to practice and work at getting better.
Communication nation - Dave Gray is a design thinker. He has a great post on how to present like Steve Jobs. The link will take you there. Your presentation should be like a work of art. It should be designed, not tossed together with the default template in PowerPoint. Improving your design thinking will help you in many ways.
Enjoy these links! And enjoy preparing your next presentation master piece! It should be a labor of love.

The Power of Peer Production

Serendipity is a wonderful word for how most blogging gets done. You discover something unexpectedly, begin to make some mental connections, and then reflect on it by writing about your new find in the hopes that someone will find it interesting as well and add something to the conversation.

Last night, while preparing presentations, I discovered Esko Kilpi from Finland. What a great name. Check out his article in Nokia People titled The Power of Peer Production. Its a big .jpg file but at full screen it's readable.

Affiliation through personal choice:

"Peer production is the most efficient method for creating value from a resource allocation point of view. The system is developed bottom-up instead of top-down. Instead of forcing people into predetermined groups like groupware does, social software facilitates the natural formation of groups based on spontaneous, contextual needs for interaction. In other words people affiliate through personal choice and actions. Understanding this difference in community formation is crucial for building self-sustaining communities that span the organization or organization and may act as a breeding ground for innovations."

The only company that I know of that actually has been doing this for years is Gore. There have been many articles on the success of Gore and its unique corporate structure. You should google it.

Esko nails the power of wikis in the article and it is a great read.

eLearning DevCon 2007 - Chance for a FREE iPhone

The eLearning DevCon 2007 is coming this summer. I know many of you need to plan your conference schedules early, and you also want to take advantage of the early registration discounts ($749 through April 9th).

Good news! Register with the code iPhone and you will be entered into an exclusive drawing for an iPhone.

What? You've never heard of the elearndevcon? Check out what people have said from previous years. For the eLearning Developer that's in the trenches every day designing, developing, and delivering eLearning, this is the best show...at the BEST price.

Oh yeah! I'll be keynoting this year as well. So if you've seen my presentation(s) before, don't worry about it. This will be VERY new and fresh.

I will also be at the April eLearningGuild Gathering in Boston. Check out my sessions, or just look for me and say hi!

Using Blog for Presentation - eLearning?

Dennis McDonald has a great post about Using a Blog for a "Web2.0" Presentation instead of PowerPoint.

I love his postscript:

"I debated whether or not to use the term "Web 2.0," which has fallen out of favor among the cognoscenti. I decided to use it, though, simply because it has to an extent emerged into popular usage and it takes less space to type than the words "social networking and social media." Here is how I defined "web 2.0" for the group:

The term "web 2.0" describes two dimensions of web based publishing:

1. Web 2.0 as Technology Infrastructure

When used this way, Web 2.0 refers to the ways hardware and software can be used to deliver sophisticated interactive processes over the World Wide Web to anyone with an Internet connection and a standard web browser.

Other hallmarks of Web 2.0 technology are (1) the rapidity with which sophisticated applications can be developed, (2) the ease with which data from different systems can be combined, and the (3) independence from specific types of computers or operating systems.

2. Web 2.0 as Communication and Business Process

When used this way, Web 2.0 refers to the ways people can use the web to easily publish information online, share that information with others, and develop relationships with people who share common interests. Frequently these behaviors are individualistic, spontaneous, and highly decentralized.

It is not unusual for more traditional or hierarchically structured organizations to approach Web 2.0 applications with some caution given the lack of centralized control. It is also believed that the more people who participate in Web 2.0 exchanges of information, the more powerful "network effects" become."

I really like this description of the term. I think we can use the same ideas in our continuing discussions of Learning2.0.

So how do we use blogs in eLearning? That's a big question. But I also think its the wrong question. I don't think we can push the use of blogs on our users in the same way that we push eLearning solutions. Blogging is only effective if the blogger is engaged and willing to partipate in the conversation, and express opinions. Perhaps a "blog-style" approach to a new tool could be used for smaller, more focused, functional groups/teams within organizations. The focused discussion amongst close peers with common goals and interests might encourage the participation. The jury is still out.