How to Take a Long Working Vacation

Stumbled across an interesting article, "How to Take a Long Working Vacation" on PC World. While I'd rather slip onto a beach and take a total mental break, sometimes that's just not possible as a consultant. And the idea of intentionally planning to get awhile without turning work off is an option I have often considered. Because so much of my work is online now, this is becoming a more viable option. This article has good tips.

Also led me to:
Iomega storage online
Mobile Computing: Backup Strategies for the Road

Ah, "Space Tourist Plans Working Vacation", not quite my cup of tea, but intriguing....

Demo and slides on social networks

Good item included in this morning's elearning post:
ReferralWeb
This is not a new site, but well worth a visit if you are exploring social networks. The PPT slides are especially useful in understanding the theory and the need for social network analysis. "The ReferralWeb system lets you search and explore social networks - the networks of friends, colleagues, and co-workers - that exist on the WWW. It lets you find trusted information from trusted experts, who are likely to help because they are friends of your friends!"
http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/kautz/referralweb/

Webinar on "onboarding" on March 25

Learned today about this free webinar on March 25, "On-Boarding: It's Not Just Orientation Anymore". The speaker is Joyce L. Gioia, co-author of: Lean and Meaningful: A New Culture for Corporate America. Sounds interesting, I've signed up.

Macromedia Declares March "Free Web Conferencing Month"

I thought this was pretty cool, and have just signed up:

San Francisco—March 1, 2004—Macromedia (Nasdaq: MACR) today announced that Macromedia will offer free Breeze web conferencing for the month of March. Starting on March 1, users in North America can sign up for free web conferencing via Breeze that will be available for the duration of the month. The account will allow a user to host free online meetings with up to five participants on the Macromedia hosted system. The offer is limited to the first 500 customers to sign up for an account. To sign up for a free account for the month of March, visit www.macromedia.com/go/meetfree.

Join me for a free presentation and online forum in March on online orientation

The University in Calgary here in Canada runs an ongoing best practices in e-learning series, with a few presentations every month. These are free to view and to participate in the discussion forums.

For the month of March, I am hosting one of the presentations, "Online Orientation: Trends, Blends and Design Strategies". I invite you to view the presentation and participate in the discussions:
http://elearn.ucalgary.ca/showcase/presentations_monthly/pres_westwood.html

TechLearn 2004 Handouts are available

The handouts from the 2004 ASTD TechLearn Conference are now available, free online to all. Almost the next best thing to being there.

Have only poked around a bit so far, but was pleased to see Allison Rosset's handouts, I've seen her speak before, this is a good update. I like her "chills and thrills".

Refreshing tips for getting the most out of conference breakouts

Jay Cross has done a nice piece in one of his blogs on getting the most out of conference breakouts; as usual, from Jay, it's refreshing. I love how he always says what he's thinking. His thoughts start out with some interesting observations being on the receiving end of level 1 evaluations (hmm... why is some of this familiar?), and concludes with some good thoughts for future consideration. Should be required reading for all conference delegates, LOL...

Somewhere I have an article that I wrote on getting the most out of a conference, I don't think I've ever posted it somewhere, will have to get it up on my articles website soon - and I'll be sure to add a link to this bit from Jay's blog.

CSS and learner control

I was pleasantly surprised to see a new article in Learning Circuits called CSS Your Way to Learner Control . This is a cool article, as it contains a link to a course page that you can modify the appearance of, by using the radio controls at the top. Waaayyyy cool!

I had not even fathomed CSS in the realm of using it to give the learner control over their learning space. What a paradigm shift.

Via this article, I also discovered the W3C Core Styles, 8 free CSS style sheets that are free and designed for non-developers to customize look and feel. Again, it's kind of cool, as you can try them all out.

Man oh man, this idea of CSS and learner controls is going to have my brain going now... I gotta learn more about how this is used....

NASAGA's first online conference

NASAGA - the North American Simulation and Gaming Association is doing it's first NASAGA Online Conference March 10-12, 2004. You don't have to go anywhere, it's conducted entirely online. Speakers include Thiagi, Clark Aldrich, Mark Prensky and Jennifer Hofmann, all of whose work I follow. Two new folks to me are Marie Jasinski and Bernie Dekovan. Should be a good event.

One great thing is that NASAGA is using iCohere - my favourite tool for this type of event. I've attended a number of iCohere online conferences and they are great (click for article). And I am delighted to be able to finally attend a NASAGA event!

Great Chevalier session

Back to my blog again, off and on, up and down, it's like a stream of consciousness that periodically fades in and out...

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a full-day workshop with Roger Chevalier of ISPI International. The session was here in Vancouver, which was a rare opportunity. There are some great post-workshop resources here.

One of my biggest learnings / ah ha's was that Level 1 (Reaction) evaluation can provide misleading information; I've always known and believed that it was not enough, but by way of example, Roger shared that it can provide some invalid data - a definite ah ha moment. The example he used was of an instructor who got the lowest Level 1 evaluations from learners, but the highest Level 4 (Results) results... He was keeping his class late for application activities (hence, the better results), so the class didn't really like it - but they did learn. And, with reframing of how he set up the evening session, his Level 1 ratings did increase. This was a brilliant example.

Other ah ha's:
- more of a reminder than an ah ha for me was an example of how classroom time was cut by 1/3 through the addition of job aids (complicated task, only occassionally done, provide a job aid rather than training); I'll put that lens on again
- a reinforcement of how valuable role playing is -- I got caught in my own comfort of understanding theory and - like most people in the workshop - saw where I went wrong only when we applied our questioning in a large role play (gee, it's always good to be sitting in the learner's seat!)
- the process (and sequence) of behaviour engineering questioning: information, resources, incentives, motives, capacity, knowledge and skills -- and if you don't pay attention to one it will bite you
- plus the accompanying performance improvement leverage model (things earliest on this list have high impact + low cost; things at the end of the list have low impact + high cost); again, great reinforcement and good examples to deepen my learning
- the Hawthorne effect reminder as it relates to evaluation of learning and performance improvement

I also liked how Roger applied force field analysis to performance analysis. I first learned about force field analysis in a marketing context, and haven't reallly seen it applied well in a performance context before today. I'll use this for sure.

A favourite quote from Roger: "training is our drug of choice"

Also learned that the famous "if you can't measure it, you can't manage it" that has been attributed to many people was actually first said way back in in 1902 (though not sure by who).

Recycle that ol' computer

There are tons of old computers sitting in cupboards and basements around the world... and tons of non-profits desparately needing technology. More often than not, those old computers are perfectly good, they just aren't the latest and greatest.

Today TechSoup has posted some great resources in response to the new-age-old question of, "What do I do with my old computer?". Good stuff.

Webinar on doing online surveys on Feb. 4

Interesting webinar in a couple weeks, on Feb. 4th. The host organization is Training Magazine. The session is part of its Excellence in Practice series, and the title is Conducting Effective Employee Surveys. Here's the info sign up details.

I do quite a bit of work on online surveys, so I am always interested in learning more. I've also written a bit on this, here's an article I did, it's got a few interesting resources in it.

Maybe I'll see you there.

Great online conference on e-learning starts tomorrow

The Collaborative Learning 2004 online conference - Putting the Energy into E-learning! - starts tomorrow and goes for the balance of the week. I'll be participating (wouldn't miss it!). This will be a great event, I can't recommend it enough. IYou can read my review of a past iCohere conference here. This time, I'll actually be hosting a live chat on Wednesday evening, January 14th, at 7pm Pacific.

Back to my blog

More than a month since my last entry? Didn't think I'd be "that kind" of blogger! But, here I am... I have read about the style of blogging that many people have of ...blog lots for awhile, then get quiet... guess I understand that now. Doesn't change my interest in, and commitment to blogging. What I do find interesting is that I am beginning to see a co-relation between my blogging and where my head is at work-wise, and online-wise. I do cycle through things a lot, so it makes sense that I may cyclical in my blogging.

Blogtalk

Hmmm.... this is interesting, just discovered: Blogtalk: ETUG Discussion on the Uses of Blogs in Education - October 6-14, 2003. The About page describes this as:

Welcome to the site - this will be the base for the discussions on the uses of blogs in education over the next two weeks. Your guides for the discussion are 4 educators from around the province who each in their own way have been exploring blogs both in and out of the online classroom.

This comes from c2t2, which means it's right in my backyard here in BC, Canada.

This is also an interesting twist on the concept of online conferences that I have been participating in and writing about of late.

2003 orientation survey results available

In early fall, I conducted a survey of new employee orientation practices in North America - the results are now available.

My e-line on blogs

My continuing research on blogs is taking one form of output, a 2-part series in my e-Line column for PeopleTalk magazine. The first part, Blogged for Business: Do you blog in public?, has already been published. I am continuing to seek examples for blogs in corporate learning and development, which I'll focus the 2nd part of the series on. It's slim pickin's so far.

Creating employee guidelines on blogs

I stumbled across this page of employee guidelines on blogs on the Groove Networks site. Groove is interesting in that a number of its executives and other key players publish publicly available blogs - check out the Groove blog listing page.

Recording of September 22nd Learning Objects Event

In my blog on September 22nd I talked about a particularly good webinar I attended on Learning Objects. I just tried to update that entry to add the link, but it's not showing up when I refresh, I don't know whay....

Anyways, here is a link to a recording of the September 22nd learning objects webinar

To read my original post after I participated, in which I posted a whole bunch of learning object resources, click here

We are the Problem: We are selling Snake Oil

There is a great dialogue unfolding in the Comments of the Learning Circuits Blog. It's under the post called We are the Problem: We are selling Snake Oil.

PS - This is really worth visiting, as the dialogue really grew, and quite a few people have commented on it. Much of that on the phenomenum of the blog dialogue itself. I think it's an interesting example of how interactive blogs can build community. (note added Feb. 21/04)

Info on eHelp / Macromedia merger -- and the average developer uses 4 tools

I'm finding some answers to what I have been wondering, as to what the impact may be of Macromedia acquiring eHelp. Veerry interesting....

From a Bersin & Associates e-newsletter:

Macromedia - eHelp Acquisition: What Does it Mean?
On October 22, Macromedia announced the intent to acquire eHelp Corporation, makers of RoboDemo and RoboHelp. RoboHelp is one of the leading help authoring tools and RoboDemo, originally designed as a tool to develop application demonstrations, is now a leading product for developing e-learning application simulations.

This acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of this year, is a major move in the e-learning market. Until recently, Macromedia's primary focus was on the creative web developer. This strategy is shifting. With nearly 30% of its revenue now coming from e-learning, Macromedia sees the e-learning market as a fast- growing and highly strategic secondary market.

What does this mean to the e-learning professional? For one, it should be easier and less costly to equip yourself with the tools you need to build e-learning programs by having Macromedia and eHelp tools available from one supplier. No single tool fits all needs. Our research earlier this year (E-Learning DevelopmentTools: What Works) found that the average e-learning developer uses four different tools to build a course - and we expect this to continue.

If Macromedia chooses to further integrate eHelp's products into Breeze (a product obtained by Macromedia through its Presedia acquisition earlier this year), we will see the bar raised on "Rapid E-Learning." This acquisition could ignite a powderkeg to dramatically expand the "Rapid E-Learning" market.

Lego learning online

Ever wonder how Lego is made? Go here and soon you'll know all.

I think this is great example of how orienting new employees to how the business works can be made interesting and kinda fun.

Blog behavior

Check out the Nov 6, 2003 entry on the Learning Circuits Blog, entitled "blog behavior". The posting and ensuing comments explore Peter Jackson's experience with having his comment to a blog entry by Clark Quinn blocked by the interface, "This comment could not be posted due to questionable content." What follows is an interesting dialogue on the impact of the automated so-called-intelligence behind the technology, and the impact on learners. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this one.

EdBlogger Conference in San Fran

There's a conference on blogging very soon, and not too far away, but alas I can't make it. EdBlogger will be held Nov. 22-23 in San Francisco. And it's actually FREE to educators.

While I can't go, I shall certainly spend some time exploring the conference site, there's gotta be some good blogs from the conference floor....

Cool feature on the website: Check out this link to the blogs of the conference attendees.

TechLearn 2003 archives disappoint

Made my way to the TechLearn 2003 Archives tonight.... TechLearn has traditionally made full conference archives available for free, including some audio/video recordings (see the TechLearn 2000 Archives), but it looks like the evolving partnership with Advantstar is resulting in just the common links to PowerPoint slides... still good, but a big disappointment.

Other useful TechLearn stuff:
Jay Cross's review of TechLearn 2003 - start at this link and click forward for the full picture
There's also usually a TechLearn-sponsored Trip Report posted, it's apparently coming soon, watch for it here.
Starved for a video clip? You can still watch this pre-conference welcome video of Elliott: http://www.masie.com/stream/tl2003/

From the Jay Blog

Just as I put my head up from a couple weeks in which busy-ness had me largely offline, and thinking I need to catch up, I get today's issue of Jay Cross' periodic e-newsletter, pointing to some recent highlights from his world, and from his blog. How timely! Of note:

Jay's blogged his review of TechLearn 2003, great perspectives as always. Lots of good stuff, as usual. Almost feel like I was there. I particularly enjoyed this:

"Elliott stressed the importance of context, saying that if content is king, context is queen. His analogy is off. The age of kings is over; kings are mere figureheads. Also, kings can exist without queens, and vice-versa, but content cannot exist without context. In fact, content + context = learning. Jay's metaphor: Content is inside; context is outside; they are inseparable." Well sed Jay!

Plus enjoyed this bite from my general catch up on Jay's blog:
News? - a fascinating ah ha from the providers of Online Learning Reviews

UPDATE: my post upon learning of Jay's passing in 2015

Blogging in the classroom... for me!

I add this blog entry from the classroom myself, living in the student seat for a few days. I am taking eHelp's RoboHelp course, fabulous. And delighted that they brought it to my neck of the woods here in Vancouver. I am also delighted that my instructor is Kevin Seigel of IconLogic, the author of many books on eHelp products.

I bought the full suite a few months back, mainly to get RoboDemo for a project - but was so impressed during my research process that I bought the whole suite from eHelp, which also includes RoboHelp. It was quite an investment for me, but this process is confirming that my decision was a good one. I am very impressed with how powerful this tool is, and I am looking forward to using it for several projects.

Blogging books

By way of the wonder of this online world, today I received two more books on blogging:
"We Blog: Publishing Online with Weblogs", by Paul Bausch, Matthew Haughhey and Meg Haurihan
"Blog On: The Essential Guide to Building Dynamic Weblogs", by Todd Stauffer

I am adding these two to the one title I already had, "Essential Blogging", by Cory Doctorow, et al.

I don't actually think you need a book to create a blog, it's so darn easy. But I've got an interest (ok, an insatiable curiousity!) about how blogs are being used, and what's possible, that I want to learn more. I think deepening my knowledge will be important to how I move forward with blogs in learning.

BTW, I did a bit of digging, and there are half-a-dozen or so books on blogging. I found some great reviews that really helped me figure out which to buy (I seem to recall the reviews were on Amazon).

vancouverlearning.net is emerging

So far, so good on vancouverlearning.net.... I am delighted to be receiving event postings from several new sources, several of which are new to me. I'm pleased that there were over 20 events listed for November when the month kicked off. When I've been out and about in the real world (versus the virtual one!), I'm getting positive verbal comments from people. Starting to get some responses to the feedback survey, also good. Seems I've found a need here. The bonus? So far, made a couple new interesting connections in my personal network.

vancouverlearning.net is born

Today I launched a new service: vancouverlearning.net
This is a little brainchild that I've created, I hope it has legs, I suspect it will. Will see.....