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Selling Learning Communities – Not Everyone Will or Wants a Group Hug

Compressed Picture of Jack M for email Jack Merklein from Xerox Global Services did a really great presentation at LearnTrends 2009 entitled - Common tools for Diverse Communities at Xerox Global Services.  You can find the LearnTrends 2009 Recording including Jack’s presentation.  A few follow-up thoughts.

Jack is responsible for the development, care and tools for learning communities and knowledge sharing initiatives.  In practice this means a lot of different things and across many different learning communities.  A few of the different communities he discussed:

  • New Hire
  • Sustainability
  • CxO

While the title centered on tools for communities and knowledge sharing and he provided a list of tools …

Existing Tools:

  • Outlook email distribution lists
  • Live Meeting with Brain Shark
  • DocuShare
  • Calendars
  • Wiki
  • Instant messaging
  • Links to training catalog

Emerging Tools:

  • Podcasts
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn (Intra-community)
  • Training videos on YouTube
  • A Second Life Island available

Most of the discussion didn’t focus on tools.  Instead, it focused on Jack’s no nonsense ability to make communities an effect part of learning.  And particularly, I got to spend time with Jack on how he sells learning communities in the organization.

Jack does an amazing job of finding out what people in the community really care about and need.  For one community, they meet every two weeks and a lot of times the topic comes a week before and he pulls in subject matter experts to present.  He ensures that the facilitation then focuses on the key issue that the people in the room cares about.  I’ve seen exactly this kind of thing work really well before.  But I’ve not seen it done as systematically as how Jack has designed it.

Jack was a quote machine during the session, here are some of the phrases he used:

  • "Publication warden"
  • "Billable always wins"
  • “CoP Warden”
  • “not everyone will or wants a group hug”
  • "young and stupid"
  • “Training is a resignation”
  • "Capture it damn it - put on community site" (responsibility of all members of a community to make knowledge explicit)
  • “Amenable to bribing everyone”

Part of the beauty of Jack and his style is that the language he uses is plain, business oriented.  Everything sounds obvious when he says it.  In a way, he didn’t feel like he was ever “selling learning communities”.  That was my language.  Instead, he asked people if they wanted help with a particular problem.  If he could bring together experts and expertise and facilitate a conversation on X and then help capture that – is that something you’d want.  Absolutely!  In fact, we all want that all the time! 

In a later session, we discussed the fact that one of the big barriers in many organizations is that they don’t “have a Jack.”  Selling learning communities or social learning or anything other than formal learning / training is hard because we find ourselves using the language of learning or learning community. 

As an example of needing a Jack, the question - How do you avoid the issue … “I’m too busy” … Jack’s answer is basically, if the value is high enough, you are focused on problems they are faced with right now, they will come.  His example is a community that meets on Friday afternoons.  Yikes.  I’d never plan something then.  But he gets amazing participation because the topics focus on hard hitting topics where people need help right now.  Senior leaders participate because they see the value.  And participation is rewarded through recognition … and sometimes bribed.

Now let’s all be a Jack!





10 Teacher Development Task for Web 2.0 Tools

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Over the last couple of months I've been busy travelling round a bit and doing some face to face training and workshops. As part of the materials for these workshops I created a number of tasks for teachers which I hope will help develop their ability to use technology and to evaluate and create materials using web based tools. I've decide now to share those tasks so anyone who wants to use them to train other teachers or to develop their own skills can take advantage of and make good use of them.


There are ten tasks and they can be done in any order, except for the tenth one which should be last. Please feel free to use and share these tasks and by all means leave any comments or suggestions for improvement. I will also be hosting a teacher development week using and discussing these tasks and the related tools from 7th to 15th December 2009 on the SEETA Moodle site: http://www.seeta.eu/ so by all means come along for that if you want to share ideas and learn a bit more together.

10 Tasks to help teachers develop their use of learning technology

  • Task 1
    This task explores the use of TokBox, a synchronous and asynchronous video conferencing and communication tool. In this task you will look at and evaluate some teaching materials I have created using the tool and see how you can use it to create your own materials.
    Go to task

  • Task 2
    This task explores the use of Voxopop, a tool for the creation of web based audio discussion threads. In this task you will see how other teachers have used the tool and have the opportunity to participate and contribute to an online audio thread.
    Go to task

  • Task 3
    This task explores how Forvo, the web based pronunciation dictionary, works and what it can offer teachers and learners. In this task you will explore some of the entries and have a chance to add your own example pronunciations to the dictionary.
    Go to task

  • Task 4
    This tasks explores the design of Listen and Write, a tool for the creation of web based dictation activities. In this task you will be able to try a dictation exercise and see how autonomous learning is supported through the design of the tool. You will also have the chance to create your own activity.
    Go to task

  • Task 5
    This task explores the use of ESL Video, the web based video activity creation tool . In this task you will be able to examine and compare three different video activities to see how the tool can be exploited. You can then attempt to create your own activity based around a video clip of a bank robbery.
    Go to task

  • Task 6
    This task explores the use of 280 Slides, a web based tool for creating online presentations. In this task you will see how you can use the tool to add video or images to presentations and so create video based learning activities or multi media presentations.
    Go to task

  • Task 7
    This task explores the use of Dvolver, a very simple tool for creating animated movies. In this task you will be able to watch a video created using the tool and then evaluate its potential and limitations whilst creating your own animated video.
    Go to task

  • Task 8
    This task explores the use of Wallwisher, a web based 'sticky notes' notice-board. In this task you will be able to look at how the notice board has been used to share a range of web 2.0 tools and also have the opportunity to contribute your own favourite site to a notice-board to see how it works.
    Go to task

  • Task 9
    This task examines the use of Wordle, a web based tool for creating graphic representation of texts based on word frequency. In this task you will learn how to create your own graphic image based on a news article and explore some potential uses for the tool.
    Go to task

  • Task 10
    This final task looks at Penzu, a simple tool for keeping a web based journal. In this task you explore how to create your own journal and then create your own reflective journal entry based on the work you have done in the previous task.
    Go to task
I hope you find these tasks useful. Please do leave a comment or suggestion for improvement or any recommendations for links or other examples of materials created using these tools.

Related links:
Best

Nik Peachey



Learning from Others in the Room

After LearnTrends 2009, I received a note from a person I know and highly respect that said, “I dropped in on several sessions over the last three days and wanted to thank you for your good facilitation skills …”

It’s great to get that positive feedback, but this was actually a bit of a surprise.  I often felt during the conference that I was not doing a good job of taking advantage of the expertise that was often in the room.

This was amplified when George Siemens did a highly participatory session where he had the audience list out design considerations for several things like formal vs. informal, etc.  Some tweets during the session:

  • “opens the whiteboard up to let participants create the agenda…whoa! crazy fun! ” @chambo_online
  • “Very intrigued to have 130 people writing on a whiteboard all at once at #learntrends … and amazingly, it didn’t suck” @cynan_sez
  • “130+ people writing on same Elluminate whiteboard and GWave also being completed. Online learning has arrived” @GillianP

That session flew by and was a great use of the power in the room.  A masterful job by George.  Great stuff.  And something that I believe he and I will be doing together in the future in some way.

Other than George’s session, most of the rest of the conference had active chat, but it was limited in many ways.  The time we had for open discussion didn’t seem to achieve that much discussion.  It rambled. 

My gut tells me that if I had designed things in a particular way, we could have had some truly amazing sessions.

So, please help me so that in a month when I’m designing future online sessions, I can come back here and design something great.

What are some ways that I can facilitate meaningful learning from others in the room during online sessions?

Have you seen examples of something that was powerful?

What conversation would you have wanted to have or see?

Please comment or post with ideas.  And if you don’t have an ideas, please just retweet to ask someone else for ideas?  And maybe come back in a day and see if some of the ideas help spark other ideas for you.





eLearning Conferences 2010

You can find other posts about eLearning Conferences in eLearning Conferences 2011, eLearning Conferences 2010, and eLearning Conferences 2009.

Clayton R Wright just sent me his incredible annual list of eLearning Conferences. Clayton publishes this as a Word document but does not publish it as a web page and so we’ve somewhat established a pattern of published in here. You can contact him at: crwr77@gmail.com.

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December 2009

January 2010

February 2010

March 2010

Information for the 2010 versions of the two conferences listed below was not available.

April 2010

Information for the 2010 versions of the two conferences listed below was not available.

May 2010

Information for the 2010 versions of the seven conferences listed below was not available.

June 2010

Information for the 2010 versions of the ten conferences listed below was not available.

  • June 1-3 2009 Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference: Designing New Learning Contexts for a Globalising World, 3rd, National Institute of Education, Singapore http://conference.nie.edu.sg/2009/index.php
  • June 3-5, 2009 International Conference on Interactive Design and Children, 8th, Milano, Como, Italy. http://www.idc09.polimi.it/
  • June 5-7, 2009 Japan Association for Language Teaching Computer Assisted Language Learning (JALTCALL 2009): Expanding Learner Potential – It’s Your Call!, Hongo Campus, Toyo Gakuen University, Japan. http://jaltcall.org/news/
  • June 8-10, 2009 Communicating Change: Weaving the Web into the Future, 7th annual, Arts and Humanities Graduate School, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, the United Kingdom. http://www.gla.ac.uk/faculties/arts/graduateschool/graduateschoolconference2009
  • June 10-12, 2009 International Problem-based Learning Symposium: What Are We Learning about Learning?, 2nd, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore http://www.rp.sg/symposium/2009/
  • June 13-19, 2009 InfoComm09: Information Communications Marketplace, Orlando, Florida, USA. www.infocomm.org
  • June 16-17, 2009 Innovations in e-Information: the UKeIG 2009 State of the Art Conference, Manchester Conference Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom. http://www.ukeig.org.uk/conf2009/index.html
  • June 17-19, 2009 Sloan-C International Symposium on Emerging Technology Applications for Online Learning and Moodle Moot 2009, Hyatt Regency San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA. http://www.emergingonlinelearningtechnology.org/
  • June 23-25, 2009 m-Libraries Conference, 2nd, hosted by the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. May be held again in 2010 or 2011. www.library.open.ac.uk/mLibraries/
  • June 28-July 3, 2009 IEEE International Conference on Multimedia and Expo, Cancun Mexico. http://www.icme09.org/

July 2010

August 2010

September 2010

October 2010

November 2010

December 2010

January 2011

  • January 4-7, 2011 Presidents Institute, sponsored by the Council of Independent Colleges, Palm Springs, California, USA. http://www.cic.edu/conferences_events/index.asp
  • January 7-12, 2011 American Library Association Midwinter Meeting, San Diego, California, USA. http://www.ala.org/
  • January 9-12, 2011 Association for Information Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education (ACUTA) Winter Seminar, Pointe Hilton Resort at Tapatio Cliffs, Phoenix, Arizona, USA. http://www.acuta.org/home.cfm
  • January 30-February 1, 2011 American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) Transfer Conference, annual, New Orleans Marriott at the Convention Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. http://www.aacrao.org/
  • January 30-February 2, 2011 National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., USA. http://www.naicu.edu/events/

February 2011

March 2011

April 2011

  • April 2-6, 2011 National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST), Caribe Royal, Orlando, Florida, USA. http://www.narst.org/
  • April 3-6, 2011 Association for Information Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education (ACUTA) Annual Conference and Exhibition, 40th, Hilton Bonnet Creek Resort, Orlando, Florida, USA.

May 2011

June 2011

July 2011

August 2011

  • August 8-12, 2011 Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, SIGGRAPH 2011: International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, 38th, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. http://www.siggraph.org/s2011
  • August ?, 2011 National Association for Media Literacy Education, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. http://www.namle.net/

September 2011

  • September 6-9, 2011 British Educational Research Association Conference, Institute of Education, London, United Kingdom. http://www.bera.ac.uk/
  • September 13-15, 2011 International Conference on Education and Development, 11th, sponsored by British Department of International Development, Cambridge International, Aga Kahn Foundation, and Jeremy Greenland Bursary Trust, Oxford, the United Kingdom, http://www.cfbt.com/UKFIET/

October 2011

  • October 2-5, 2011 International Council for Distance Education (ICDE) World Conference, 24th, hosted by Universitas Terbuka, Bali, Indonesia. http://icde.org/
  • October 30-November 2, 2011 American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers Conference, 21st annual, Sheraton San Diego Hotel, San Diego, California, USA. http://www.aacrao.org/

November 2011