Learning Solutions 2013 - Virtual Attendance

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

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

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

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

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

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


 

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

 

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

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

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

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

Saying Good-bye to The eLearning Guild (but not leaving the Guild family)

On August 27th I begin the next chapter of my eLearning career.  I am leaving the Training and Development industry's most important professional association, The eLearning Guild, to be part of a startup in the data center industry.  I will be the Director of Product Training for IO Data Centers.  The opportunity was far too exciting to pass up. Okay, stop laughing.  Data centers are not quite as boring as you might think.  But before I go into more about the new gig I want to use this blog post as opportunity to reflect on my time with The eLearning Guild, and why DevLearn 2012 is going to be AWESOME!

Some History

I still have the program for the first event I ever spoke at for David and Heidi.  My session was titled Creative Web-Based Virtual Reality Training (on a Budget).  It was based on my work for Intel Corp. creating warehouse process simulations.  That event was in 2000 and I was very VERY new to speaking.  But I can very easily look at that year as a turning point in my career.

In the following years I discovered that, if I was a speaker, Intel didn't mind letting me go to events. So I submitted for everything that was out there at the time.  And in 2006 I was speaking at another eLearning Guild event, between sessions, when I took the call that finalized my leaving Intel.  I remember talking with Heidi in the hotel deli right after that call.  But it wasn't until 2007 that I was brought on the Guild staff to work in the newly formed Research department and shortly there after asked if I would be interested in working with Heidi on programming events.

The 5 years that followed were without question the best years of my career.  I feel extremely blessed to have worked with EVERYONE there.  It's been an amazing learning experience.  The best part of being the Program Director for DevLearn has been meeting all of you.  I've met many of the greatest people in my life because of this job.  AND the greatest part about leaving the job is knowing that I WILL NOT be leaving the Guild family.  The community they have built is filled with the brightest minds in this industry and while my job may be changing I will always be part of the Guild community.  In all honesty, I will need y'all now more than ever :)

DevLearn 2012

I currently plan on hosting DevLearn one last time.  I'm not certain of the details, but I need to be there.  I am EXTREMELY proud of this year's program.  With each passing event I learned, and adapted, and tried to make the next event bigger and better for the community of professions that trusted me to do so.  

Early on when I was unsure if I could even DO the job, Heidi just said, "Brent, build the event that you would be excited to attend." That statement guided me in everything I did from that point on.  And knowing they trusted me enough to do so, was a blessing.  I can honestly say that I've been excited about every DevLearn I've built. And making them better and better each year has been harder and harder.  DevLearn 2012 has been the hardest to build yet, but only because it's EPIC!  And I don't say that because of what I've done, but because the eLearning industry is at a very unique place in it's history.

Technology is changing everything, and it has been for a long time now but this year feels like a tipping point for the impact on the eLearning industry.  Think about mobile, social, the improvements in authoring tools, new standards like TinCanAPI, and so on.  But that's the easy stuff you can see and touch and easily understand.  What I've always tried to do with DevLearn is to help attendees FEEL the cultural, and emotional, changes that impact our work as well.  It may sound counterintuitive, but our work is much less about the technology and more about people...and more so about how the technology impacts people.

And by people, I mean everybody! I mean classroom teachers at all levels: Elementary school teachers, higher ed teachers, corporate trainers, trade school trainers, language instructors, EVERYBODY.  eLearning is no longer reserved for the geeky types.  The e in eLearning is for EVERYBODY!  We all at some point TEACH!  And everyone is being influenced by the technology in their lives.  Developing eLearning is NOT just for the official eLearning developer or whomever has the job title and responsibility to do it.  Anyone who teaches has an opportunity to be BETTER at what they do using the awesome power of today's technologies.

This year's tag line, Embracing Technologies for Training and Development, is all about everyone being better at what they do using the strengths of technology.  I know there are trainers who do not consider themselves eLearning professionals and therefore skip events like DevLearn.  If you are one of those people then I would urge you to consider DevLearn this year.  Here's a little secret I'll tell you about that tag line.  It's not all about YOU embracing technology, it's also about the technology embracing you.  You can't make the technology go away.  It's not a fad.  So what are you going to do?  Do you run away? Tell students to leave their device at the door? NO!

I'm inviting you...the veterans of the eLearning industry are inviting you...PLEASE join us!

And if you've been scratching your head wondering what the heck I was thinking when I booked the keynote speakers, well that's your answer! No, they aren't Instructional Designers.  No, they aren't career eLearning developers, elearning gurus, or eLearning thought leaders.  And THAT'S the point! Each of them has an amazing story to tell.  Each of them embraces technology in one way or another.  They are all EXTREMELY different people with EXTREMELY unique backgrounds with one thing in common.  THEY. ALL. TEACH.  But you will need to see them for yourself to truly understand why they are important to DevLearn at this time more so than any other.

Anyways, this is it! DevLearn 2012 is my last as the Program Director.  I hope to see you all there for one last hand shake, hug, distant wave, or maybe even a beer or two...but no karaoke.

If you have any interest at all in playing a role in the next generation of DevLearn, you should contact David Holcombe and/or Heidi Fisk.  Check http://elearningguild.com for contact details.

Which Degree Helps You Get Ahead in eLearning?

The eLearning Guild's latest research report title Degrees for eLearning Professionals answers this question...and many more.

Here is a brief snippet from the executive summary:

"When asking managers what degree level they preferred, most preferred Bachelor’s degrees and some felt that Master’s degrees were very important. They all agreed that someone with the right mix of credentials and skills would be the perfect candidate. Many agreed that a Master’s would be extremely helpful to get the right kind of foundational skills. In fact, one of the most compelling arguments for Master’s degrees I heard from various people was the need for a core of foundational knowledge to inform decisions and actions. And many people, including Karl Kapp, Brent Wilson, J. Michael Spector, Alison A. Carr-Chellman, Keith Hopper, and Allison Rossett, all faculty in educational technology-related Master’s programs, explained the difficulties of getting an adequate foundation without a Master’s. Not everyone agrees that you need a degree, of course. Tom Kuhlmann, community leader at Articulate and writer of the well-known Rapid E-Learning Blog provided various ways to get degree-related knowledge without getting a degree."

You can meet the report author, Patti Shank, Ph.D. CPT, at next weeks Learning Solutions Conference & Expo.

DemoFest Winners Webinar - Nov. 30 10:30am Pacific

If you missed DevLearn 2011, then you also missed DemoFest and the amazing work of your eLearning colleagues.  The eLearning Guild has taken the projects selected by attendees as outstanding and asked them to participate in a Guild Online Forum. 

This DemoFest Highlights Webinar is scheduled for tomorrow. (Wednesday November 30th - 10:30 to Noon Pacific time)

Be sure to get registered NOW!

http://www.elearningguild.com/devlearn/surveys/index.cfm?sid=182&selection=doc.2128&utm_campaign=dl11demo&utm_medium=banner&utm_source=elg-180l

mLearnCon Speaker Prep: Insights on Presenting from Nancy Duarte

You might be getting yourself ready for mLearnCon this week.  For some of you that means getting presentations ready.  For others, preparation means picking out sessions to attend.  I would argue that BOTH of you should take a look at this interview on presenting.  Chris Brogan and Nancy Duarte talked about a few of the main points from  slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations and Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences.

Just because you aren't presenting THIS year doesn't mean you won't be presenting at some point in your career.  Watch the video, read the books, and evaluate the presentations you see.  This will help you understand WHY Nancy says what she says, and WHY its important.

And for you speakers, the bar has been set! Tell a great story! Engage your audience! Present a session that even you would be willing to sit through ;-)

I'm looking forward to seeing all of you at mLearnCon!

My iPhone Apps for Learning Solution 2010 -

Do you have an iPhone/iTouch?  

Are you going to Learning Solutions 2010 in Orlando this month?  

Then its time to start thinking about how you are going to be the most productive at the event.  And that means getting your Apps in order.

Mashable has a recent post titled 12 iPhone Apps for Surviving Conference Season -  - Its a good list but I just don’t use most of those apps.  So, I’ve organized page 1 of my iPhone with the apps I think will be my goto apps.  I’m not showing it here but page 2 will contain important apps but they just won’t be needed as much during the event.

Messages

This is a no-brainer.  Text messages are critical for connecting with others these days.  I probably text more than I actually talk.  But its not only good for connecting with people.  I mostly use SMS as my primary notification system for other applications.  I get a text every time someone sends me a DM (Direct Message) via twitter.  reQall sends me text message reminders to be at meetings, pick up the kids, buy milk, and just about every other little todo that needs to be tadone.  And let’s not forget MMS via the Message App.  This means images can be sent using the same texting system.  SMS is simply a fantastic technology you should be utilizing fully.

Calendar

My iPhone Calendar App is sync’d to many calendars.  I have a main calendar for Work, and one for Home.  I also subscribe to handy calendars like US Holidays, and favorite sports team calendars.  reQall also connects to my calendar.  Its truly awesome.  I just say, “Remember DevLearn meeting at 5pm today”.  Not only does it transcribe my voice into text it also adds it to my calendar and sends me a text reminder.  I can’t live without my calendar.

Maps

When I’m traveling to events in cities that I’m not otherwise at, I need help getting around.  Maps just works for me.  Sure there are alternatives, but I just need to know how to get from where I am to where I need to be.  Perfect.

Bento [iTunes Link]

This could certainly be a blog post all to itself.  I’ve found that Bento has replaced at least 10 apps that actually paid for.  Its the perfect little database that can be whatever I want it to be.  A contact list, a party planner, a todo list, a conference session scheduler, a timetracker, a general data organizer.  Basically, its like having an app that lets you make your own apps to serve a specific need that is unique to me.  

Evernote [iTunes Link] and reQall [iTunes Link]

These apps are synched very nicely together.  Any words that I use in a reQall note are searched for in Evernote making those evernotes part of the reQall item.  Very cool!  Evernote is awesome in the same sense as Bento.  Its the swiss army knife for collecting all your digital stuff and storing it in the cloud.  It also works like notebook...actually like a super-duper notebook.  I use Evernote to take notes during conference sessions.

Dragon Dictate [iTunes Link]

This one is new for me.  I didn’t think it would translate well enough for it to be useful, but I was very wrong.  Not only does it translate near perfectly, its damn fast at doing it.  This opens up a whole new set of possibilities.  I’ll try putting it to work at LearningSolutions and see what happens.

BC Reader [iTunes Link]

This one is interesting because Evernote translates text.  And I’ve heard if take a snap shot of a biz card and send it to evernote that evernote can search the text in the image.  That’s pretty cool, but I’ve found that I need all my contacts in my Contacts app.  This little app not only reads the text in the image, it creates the text, and it puts the data into the Contact app IN THE RIGHT FIELDS no less!  That’s worth it right there.  So don’t be surprised if you hand me your card, and I just take a picture of it.

Tweetie [iTunes Link]

This is my twitter app of choice.  I also have Tweetdeck on page 2 but I’ve gotten used to Tweetie so its the goto twitter app sitting on page 1.

USTREAM Broadcaster [iTunes Link]

The ultimate live broadcasting system.  Point the iPhone camera at the action and let others watch from home.  I use this at my kids sporting events for the parents that aren’t there.  It’s still like magic to most people and so its fun to see/hear their reaction...”You can DO THAT???”

LS2010 [iTunes Link]

You will start to see a lot of custom apps made specifically to support events.  The eLearning Guild was lucky enough to find the most talented iPhone development team around.  ATIV Software. They were able to put together an amazing app with a VERY short timeline. I’m extremely impressed with them and the tool they’ve created for LS2010 attendees.  The last few conferences I’ve been too I used Bento to create my own.  I’m so happy to be saying bye-bye to paper programs.

Google

Um...yea...enough said.

Box.net [iTunes Link]

This is a great cloud solution.  All my giant Keynote files and PDFs get put in the Box.  I can send links so others can access and I can access the files anywhere as long as I have a connection.  Beautiful solution.  After seeing a great presentation, if the presenter makes her slides available then I’ll just download and then send ‘em up to the Box.  Yea, its that easy.

TripIt [iTunes Link]

I like that I can send my confirmation email to my tripit acount and TripIt transcribes the email into My Trips.  I don’t pay for the premium plan because I just don’t travel that much.  But people I know that do travel more than me LOVE the premium features.  I’m very choosy about the apps I will pay a monthly fee for.  reQall is a daily use tool and well worth paying for premium. TripIt would end up being a 6 times a year thing...just not enough for me.  The basic free version rocks as it is.

Gowalla [iTunes Link]

Yea, I know its freaky that people know where I am.  But location based apps are very intriguing.  Foursquare is on page 2.  And I have an entire page devoted to nothing but location-based, and GPS, apps.  Gowalla also sends me updates via txt.  I see where my friends are and they see me.  I can also cross-post to twitter, and Facebook, but rarely do.

Quickmark [iTunes Link]

QR Codes are still interesting to me even though they haven’t really caught on.  Events are great places to put QR codes to use, so I want to make sure I have quick access to my QR decoder.

Well, that’s page one of my iPhone for Learning Solutions 2010.  Don’t be surprised if it changes a bit between now and the event.  For now, that’s what I’m going with.  

What are you packin’?  What’s on your page 1?  Am I missing something obvious?

Learning Solutions Conference and Expo - March - Orlando, FL
mLearnCon - Mobile Learning Conference and Expo- June - San Diego, CA
DevLearn 2010 Conference and Expo - November - San Francisco, CA

More PagePacker FUN - AG|08

Well, its a tradition now! Fun little Pocket Guides to help you plan your big eLearning Guild event. (update) Those of you attending the conference can use your materials to help populate your new pocketguide with info.

It all started with these posts in 2007.
I did one for AG07 and DevLearn07 and now its time for the AG08 version.

We printed them for you last year, but this year I'd like to try something different. Not only do you get to have this wonderful parting gift, but you also get to learn about ANOTHER nifty little Web2.0 app.

Check out DROP.IO to download the PDF of the AG|08 PocketGuide. There is also a link to the pagepacker creator with instructions on how to cut and fold your new handy dandy little pocketguide.

The eLearning Guild Annual Gathering 2008 Conference & Expo - April 14-17 - Orlando, FL

Strategies and Techniques for Implementing Social, Collaborative, and 3D Learning (Virtual Worlds)

December Online Forum: Dec 13 & 14 REGISTER HERE

This Online Forum explores different types of collaborative and social technology-based learning. It will examine the use of these technologies to support your current learning initiative or as stand-alone learning environments. You will see how to use different tools to build collaboration into learning, as well as new development techniques and processes. You will also see a wide variety of examples, and discuss their design and development aspects. Take this opportunity NOW to incorporate collaborative and social aspects into your e-Learning and...

• EXPLORE how to incorporate collaborative approaches into your current learning curricula
• EXAMINE how to use social learning to create business value
• DISCOVER how generational and cultural differences impact social learning design
• ENSURE that your learning programs draw upon the knowledge and experience of all learners

Yes, of course I'm biased. BUT, this is my favorite topic in all of elearning these days. Its not all of elearning but its a much bigger part than many want to believe.
I have a special interest in hearing my old Intel colleague Josh Bancroft talk about his experience implementing the internal corporate wiki that is known as Intelpedia. Its a GREAT case study in implementing a wiki using MediaWiki. His session is at 8:30am Friday. Josh is actually on sabbatical and so I extend an extra special thank you to him for giving us his time and sharing his experience.

Powered by ScribeFire.

DevLearn Day 1 - Travel and Setup

DevLearn is looking awesome this year! I really had no idea the amount of detail work that went into putting on a conference ...until today. The eLearning Guild staff makes it look easy. It was actually fun for me because I got to hang out with Guild staff. I work virtually from Phoenix and so (real)face time is rare.

The Fairmont San Jose is beautiful...pics coming tomorrow. I remember the San Jose downtown area from last years GDC where I co-presented with Mark Oehlert at the Serious Games Summit.

We presented on Games and Simulations in Corporations. Mark presented his work with Booz and I presented my interactive 3D warehouse training simulations that I did for Intel.



Check out my microblogging via Twitter HERE.

And don't forget to try out Mobile DevLearn aka devlearn.mobi
Dial it up on your phone's web browser or participate in the community via normal web browsing.

Tomorrow starts the preconference workshops and symposiums. I hope to get a lot of good pics and hoping for some good video as well.

If you are at DevLearn, look for me at the Serious Games Zone.


DevLearn - The eLearning Development Conference & Expo
Co-located with the Adobe Learning Summit
November 5-9, 2007
San Jose, CA

The eLearning Guild - NEW WEB SITE

The new eLearning Guild website went live over the weekend. Overall the site is a giant improvement over the old version. I could go on and on, but I'm biased. I'd rather hear from you. Let me know what you think.

Check it out at http://www.elearningguild.com

360 Report on Mobile Learning 2007

360 Report on Mobile Learning 2007
Originally uploaded by Brent Schlenker

Just another reminder that the Mobile Learning Report is available at The eLearning Guild.

Also, for an open discussion with the authors keep August 29th open for a Webinar.



Click HERE to register.

Guild Research used in Business Week - Sweet!

It was exciting to see Guild research as part of an article in Business Week.

From the Story

"...fledgling corporate games and virtual worlds are not nearly as sophisticated or visually stunning as some of the most popular consumer games involving millions of players, such as World of Warcraft, but they are precursors of what's in the pipeline. In a recent survey of nearly 1,500 people in large and small companies, the eLearning Guild—a group investigating the design and management of e-learning tools for business, government, and education—found that the number of people using games for work in the financial and banking industries alone had increased from 33% to nearly 40% in the past nine months."

From the Slideshow

"Even more traditionally conservative industries such as insurance and finance are now giving immersive games a whirl. According to a 2007 survey by the eLearning Guild, which polled nearly 1,500 of its members, from large and small companies throughout the U.S., 38% of insurance companies are investigating using games for work. In finance, accounting, and banking, that figure was above 50%."

I love this stuff! The data is rich and truly helps tell the story. The greatest thing is that as we track this data over time it never gets outdated. Its always getting better and better, and telling a better story over time.

If you haven't updated your profile or survey information in a while I would highly encourage it. The eLearning Guild

DevLearn and the Adobe Learning Summit!

DevLearn and the Adobe Learning Summit! This is quite possibly one of the coolest things I've seen in my eLearning career. And that's an industry leading software company focusing a major effort on the eLearning industry and the many elearning developers that have been using their tools to improve the learning process for so many.

I was a very early user of Authorware, Director, and of course, FLASH. I can't remember how it happened but I became mostly connected with Director. I truly loved the tool and used it whenever I could. I was involved with the Dir8.5 beta when Intel partnered with Macromedia to get 3D into Director. I had high hopes for that being a critical piece that kept Director in the game...but no such luck. To many of us developers it seemed like a tool destined to die a slow painful death.

At least it felt that way to me. But apparently there are users who have been hanging on all this time still creating cool stuff while waiting patiently for the next release. I recently discovered one of these devoted developers at the Director@Night blog when my Google Alert for eLearning Guild found his blog with this post, Director Pre-Marketing Ramps Up. So of course I checked out his archives and discovered some very cool stuff. He's now in the Google reader.

I seriously don't know any specifics, but its exciting to see the synergy between Adobe and The eLearning Guild. That alone tells me many things about how seriously Adobe is taking the eLearning market. And a new version of Director quite possibly could be positioned as a game changer in the spirit of the iPhone. Ya know everyone's complaining about Flash not being on the iPhone, but maybe Apple's waiting for the new Shockwave? Am I dreaming? Maybe. Maybe not.

FREE Webinar - Synchronous Learning - Hear from the experts

(Full Disclosure: I am a full time employee of The eLearning Guild)

Synchronous Learning is still HUGE. Sure, we may not be meeting in the same room synchronously, but we meet and learn in virtual rooms. Virtual, online, synchronous learning is powerful, cheap, and easier than ever before. But there are many facts, myths, and concerns swirling around the industry. Ask the experts yourself during this synchronous discussion of the report.

You don't want to miss the FREE Webinar on synchronous learning this Tuesday.
REGISTER HERE
There will be 2 webinars: 8:30am and 11:30am PDT

It's also never too late to complete the synchronous learning survey. The eLearning Guild encourages continuous updates of the surveys

Data, data, data...its raining data - FREE Webinar

In the spirit of full disclosure, and if you haven't already heard, I'm an employee of The eLearning Guild.
With that said, I'll use the kid in a candy store analogy...like you have no idea. The research data is beautiful and might I add VERY web2.0. (more on that later)

If you didn't get the email on the latest Direct Data Access tools then you should hit the web site and check it out.
Sure data isn't sexy like "Rapid eLearning Development" or "Learning2.0 tools" and the other topics out there. However, you ALL need data to support your initiatives. I know because I remember having great ideas shot down by management because, "you don't have enough data". You know, "bring me a rock!"

The Direct Data Access may seem overwhelming when you first look into it on your own. I didn't get it when I first looked at it myself. However, after a short bit of handholding, I was totally blown away by the current data set, and potential for the future.

So, I'm highly recommending that you attend 1 of 2 Webinars that will walk you through the Direct Data Access tool.
Register HERE.

Proton Media - Corporate Virtual Worlds

One of the big surprises at the eLearning Guild Conference was seeing the many improvements over at the Proton Media booth. Lots of buzz amongst my colleagues in this space. The integration of many Web2.0 tools directly into the virtual 3D environment is very slick, and compelling.

but I'm scanning my feed reader and notice this little company...UNISFAIR (via Read/Write web).

At first glance it does not look like UNISFAIR has the same integration of collaboration tools because its focused on the events market. But Training Events are big business. I just discovered Ron Burn's blog from ProtonMedia, so I'm hoping he can add some insight to this conversation. It looks like he was as the Virtual Worlds conferece recently prior to attending the eLearning Guild event. So I'm looking forward to his next posts.

I must say that I'm a big fan of opensource tools, but coming from a decade with Intel I do see the benefits and reasons why an integrated "enterprise" solution is preferred over a free consumer app (i.e. secondlife). It all depends on your needs, and what your trying to accomplish.

RSS Primer from the Read/Write Web

One of my 3 sessions at the upcoming eLearning Guild Conference in Boston is about RSS and eLearning. So, it was wonderful luck to find a great post from Alex Iskold on the Read/Write Web blog called The Future of RSS.

"In short, because of RSS ubiquity it is now a very attractive delivery medium for all kinds of content. However because the basic format is simple and primitive, there is no way to encode semantics without building an extension. So in this post, we look at RSS today and ask if RSS is evolving into a tool for delivering complex, semantically rich information."

Read the entire post if you want a brief primer into the background of why RSS is important to Learning professionals. Hopefully, our discussion next week can help fill in the gaps.

eLearning Guild 2007 - PocketGuide

If you are heading off to Boston in April for the eLearningGuild2007 Conference then you might want to download this little PocketGuide.

I discovered this little app for the Mac called PagePacker at Big Nerd Ranch. Its awesome! Most people use it for their GTD implementations.



Here is what is on the page:
Front Page logo
Agenda
Day 1 template - (this is blank like day planner)
Day 2 template
Day 3 template
Conference room map 1
Conference room map 2
Notes page



So, on the Day planner pages you can write which sessions you plan on attending and have it handy in your pocket. And if you don't know where you're going then just flip to the map pages for a quick reference map of the conference facilities. And if you bump into someone in the hall that you MUST remember (and they don't have a business card) then just make a quick note on the notes page.

If you want more info you can leave me a comment and I'll send you the pagepacker file.

Guild Gathering 2007 coming fast!

I hear Boston is beautiful in April. Better than that, the greatest collection of learning professionals will be at The eLearning Guild 2007 Annual Gathering.

If you haven't heard, the Guild recently released an absolutely amazing report titled:

Immersive Learning Simulations (ILS)
The demand for, and demands of, simulations, scenarios, and serious games

Don't forget the long list of other reports including Future Directions in eLearning and many, many more. The Guild is a community of practice putting incredible resources behind the members it serves. If you haven't look into The Guild...you should.

Maybe we can have a beer tasting at the Sam Adams brewery, since I wasn't able to make it to the highly blogged (via Clark, Tony, Jim)beer tasting at ASTDs recent event. I don't know Jim Javenkoski, but he must have the BEST eLearning gig around. He started blogging thanks to one of Tony Karrer's hands on sessions. Nice job, Tony.

I'm anticipating a GREAT event! I look forward to seeing many friends from the bloggosphere. A good time will be had by all.

Oh yeah! Don't forget to check out the podcast overviews that will be appearing soon about each session topic. I'm recording mine tomorrow.