Twitter Conversation Types and Learning

I've often wondered how much learning really occurs via twitter conversations and can the learning be measured. Twitter is fabulous for supporting your loosely joined networks.  And many in the eLearning community list Twitter as one of their favorite "Learning Tools".  But can we really say its Twitter that's truly responsible for the learning, or is it the ongoing conversations and connections to content that matter more?

I saw a tweet from @eGeeking (Bianca Woods) today with a link to the new Pew Research report (Mapping Twitter Topic Networks) that identifies The Six Structures of Conversation Networks. Of course my first thought was, how does learning fit into these structures.  And then I started wondering if learning even SHOULD fit into these structures.

It's a very interesting read and will no doubt spark conversations for a while, and supply information for many social media conversations to come.

Steve Martin - From Solo Act to Group Act and How it Relates to Corporate Training

Steve Martin is one of my all time favorite performers.  I remember growing up watching him on Saturday Night Live.  I even had his album Let's Get Small on 8-track tape. And yes, I've been known to throw out an old Steve Martin joke from time to time.  My personal favorite I use when sharing advice I've received, "Always!...wait...Never!" Gets a laugh every time.  Thanks Steve!

Anyways! I was excited to hear that he was going to be on one of the TWiT network shows and so I added Triangulation to my podcast feed list.  And the main reason I am sharing this segment with my colleagues in Corporate eLearning is that Steve shares some great insite into understanding Twitter. I think his experience is interesting and appropriate for our industry and the times we currently live in.

"...from a solo act too a group act."

I think most people, that are new to Twitter, go through a similar process. But I don't believe many people end up making the deeper connection.  I still don't think many "stars" have truly engaged their audience.  Many see it as a one direction promotional channel for "fans" to simply watch them...not necessarily connect.  I like that Steve is humble enough to recognize the value of his followers and that they can funny too.

In the world of Corporate Learning we will slowly begin to see social media enter the walls of work, if you haven't already.  We may be responsible for bringing it in or we may not.  It doesn't really matter.  Social Business is here to stay and is changing how we work, play, and learn.  This is not the time to hold on to the past.  It's time to embrace the change and move forward from an industry supporting the solo act of teaching to the group act of collaborating and learning.

Learn more about social media and it's impact on Corporate Training at The eLearning Guild's Learning Solutions Conference and Expo.  Orlando, FL March 21-23, 2012.

Curatr 2.0 Launches Today

What the heck is Curatr? Isn't a curator someone that works in a museum?

Yes.  Museums and libraries needed the first curators to create an experience for attendees.  Today, the internet gives us limitless access to so much information that we are truly overwhelmed.  The most successful web sites have mostly done a good job of helping us wade through the epic piles of content either by helping us search, or automatically sorting content into categories, or by giving us the ability to ask our friends and others to help us find what we need.

Unlimited access to content is a wonderful thing for learning, and there is a growing need for more, and better, curated or aggregated content by those we trust.

"Curatr encourages designers and developers of eLearning to take a different approach to the normal “click next to continue” world of eLearning. We went back to the drawing board, to imagine eLearning in a world which is already vastly rich in content,” said Ben Betts from Curatr. “This approach means you don’t have to invest huge amounts of time and money in the development of new content; you can re-use content from the Web or from within your organization to create an experience in which the learner becomes the curator of their own knowledge”.

Curatr is a very interesting approach to eLearning development.  I'm excited to see it take hold in an enterprise and watch how learning and training begins to change.

In 2011 a Curatr course won "Best Academic Course" at the DevLearn DemoFest.  It obviously had a strong impact on the eLearning community, and now version 2.0 adds even more functionality.  It's an exciting time to be in the eLearning field.

RIP @TerrenceWing - eLearning Community Loses a Thought Leader

I was up early this morning (4am MTN time).  I couldn't sleep and so I grabbed my phone and checked on what my east coast peeps might already to up too.   And to my shock and disbelief I saw a tweet from @lilybiri ...

@trishuhl Shocked and sad about the news that @TerrenceWing passed away - met him IRL on #DevLearn #ASTD

I immediately sent her a DM asking for clarification.  I thought perhaps it was a misunderstanding.  She immediately replied saying she heard it from Rick Zanotti.  And that's when I knew it was real.  A quick double check of twitter revealed this post from @RickZanotti ...

I just received word that my good friend, our good friend, @TerrenceWing, passed away earlier today. Still in shock. Will say more later.

I've been following the twitter stream and just checked out his Facebook page.  Terrence was a big, hands on, supporter of social media.  Amidst the sadness of losing him, I'm discovering a new found hope in the new technologies that are so often blamed for ill will.  I see the number of lives touched by one man in an endless stream of twitter commets and Facebook postings.    And we will always have his podcast interviews with Rick.

Terrence, Rick, and Me

Rick and Terrence hosted a great podcast called eLearnChat.  I was honored on 2 occasions to be a guest.  They had the opportunity to talk with so many people in our industry as well as those on the edges.  I would highly encourage you to watch a few.

Social media can teach us a lot.  But when someone dies there is an intense moment of reflection...at least for me.  I am a firm believer in people, NOT technology.  The technology simply enhances and amplifies our ability to reach other people.  Soon, the wonder of this new technology will disappear and we'll be left with just the amazing social enhancements it provides.  But its the ability to connect with many more people, more closely, that makes this technology special.

I dare you to walk in the footsteps of Terrence Wing and embrace social media with the same passion and enthusiasm.  Do it!  And share your skills with a friend or colleague.  It would be a fitting tribute to Terrence.  And honestly, if you can do nothing else today just try sharing a smile with someone... anyone.  I will never forget that big smile he shared so freely with everyone he met.

We miss you Terrence!  Rest in Peace.

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

WWII Action LIVE via TWITTER - Uber Cool Educational Use of Twitter

Yes.  I know that there have been lots of historic figures twittering, but something about the use of authentic WWII messages being transmitted via twitter just engages me in a big way.  Why?  I don't know.  And the fact that it is the @ukwarcabinet might be part of it.  I'd like to think I'm going to "see" a very different side of war.

People ask me all the time how twitter could be used in education...oh, I don't know...this seems to be a pretty creative use to me.  Of course with all eLearning tools, your learners MUST already be there.  If you have an audience already utilizing twitter then this makes perfect sense.  It might also make sense if your goal is to combine a history lesson with a technology lesson.  This could get twitter haters to see the technology in a whole new way as well.

Its all about being creative and seeing things differently.  Stop trying to use twitter as a replacement for your chalkboard.  That won't work...if you haven't already found out.

You've got to engage with new media and just use it for a while before you can start to see creative learning solutions like this.  I'm looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds.

DevLearn 2010 Conference and Expo - November - San Francisco, CA