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November 29, 2006
Leadership Development & Technology Talk
I've uploaded audio of my speech from yesterday Leadership Development and Technology where I discussed mobile, web 2.0, mobile 2.0 and Virtual World based approaches. I'll upload the slides tonight when I have a chance.
Click here to get your own player.
Posted by Ron Edwards at 08:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 20, 2006
Blogging for Learning Professionals Article
The article I wrote for Learning Magazine on the value of blogging for learning managers was published last week and distributed at the World of Learning Conference. I've had some nice feedback on the article so thought I'd share it with the world here as the magazine doesn't have an online version. Printable version
Blogging is Good for You
Learning professionals are increasingly joining the Blogosphere and benefiting from a global community of kindred minds as they explore new approaches to engage with their colleagues, learners and each other. While bloggers are writing about a variety of topics including learning trends and tools and the use of blogging itself as a development approach, their readership is growing with more people subscribing to and commenting on blogs than ever before.
Technorati, a web-based service which tracks and helps users organise over 57 million weblogs (blogs) defines blogs simply as a personal journal on the web. With over 75,000 new blogs created a day and more than 1 million posts daily, it is likely that one can find breaking news and valuable commentary on subjects of interest. Searching Technorati for the terms 'learning', 'education', and 'eLearning' returns 1,000, 4,400, and 300 blogs respectively, with rankings of 'authority' (most linked-to), links to and from the blogs, traffic, etc. While this method of finding learning related blogs works, it can be more efficient to explore the links on a few blogs of interest to see who the authors are linking to or if the comment authors have blogs.
The Learning Circuits blog posed the question in October, 2006 'Should all Learning professionals be blogging?' and encouraged readers to post their answers on their own blogs and link back to the original question. There were dozens of responses which contained a range of opinions, of course - many of which were thoroughly written with compelling points backed up with references and links to more information. More than 50 comments were added to viewpoints which gave a sense of community and conversation as well as revealing previously unknown bloggers. It seems like there are more people commenting on learning related blogs than just a few months ago which suggests momentum towards openly participative online dialogue benefiting the ecosystem of readers and writers, a much different model from the read-only web of yesterday. As Dick Davies states when describing this Web 2.0 trend, 'the web is shifting from Take to Make'.
Blogging has benefits beyond being just a simple and inexpensive publishing mechanism. While educational uses directed at supporting training administration (course information publishing) and learning processes (students using blogs to complete coursework) are growing rapidly with an increase in 'buzz' as well as tools (have a look at Elgg.net for examples and practitioners), blogging benefits for learning professionals themselves are under-realised. Bloggers often find themselves considering how they will articulate what they are learning from other blogs, media, experiences and events while synthesizing what they already know or have heard, making new connections in real time. This process encourages active reflection whether or not the insight actually gets blogged. Learning professionals benefit this way too, of course, and also benefit from experiencing first hand what they are promoting for others.
The summary of responses from the Learning Circuits blog question articulates, 'it seems most everyone agrees that blogs are great tool for achieving some of the vital professional development characteristics that every learning professional should have: being self-reflective, being collaborative, being rigorous in supporting our positions, open to feedback, understanding our point of view and learning to share it, having working knowledge of new technologies'. It is clear that blogging (and commenting on blogs) has benefits. It might even be good for you.
About the Author:
Ron Edwards is the Managing Director of Ambient Performance, Ltd., specialists in helping organisations apply emerging technologies for better results. Ron blogs at ambientperformance.com/connection and runs blogging workshops.
Posted by Ron Edwards at 09:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 15, 2006
World of Learning Keynote
Hi! We enjoyed presenting ideas and actions today at the World of Learning Conference! Here is my presentation, and
here is Guy's and David's from NTL.
Posted by Ron Edwards at 12:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 10, 2006
November Places to Be
14 November, World of Learning, Birmingham. I'm delivering the Lunchtime Keynote Speech 'How are New Technologies Changing the Face of Learning' with clients Guy Wilkins and David Perring of NTL:Telewest.
22 November, Ambient Performance Seriously Mobile Series Workshop, London. Blogging, Wikis and Podcasting in the Enterprise
I am looking forward to faciliating both the morning (Wikis, Blogs & RSS) and the afternoon sessions (Podcasting)
You can reserve a place now. I bet you'll find it valuable AND fun, too!
28, 29 November Leadership and Performance Futures, London. Two one-day workshops featuring thought leaders and rich discussion. I'm faciliating a session on the first day exploring how mobile technologies enable higher performance. Check it out, the day has been masterfully crafted by colleagues Debbie Carlton, Gordon Bull and Eilif Trondsen.
You can stay informed of our workshops and speaking engagements by subscribing to the Ambient Calendar on Google. You can view it on our website here, or subscribe to the RSS feed here, or search and add on Google Calendar.
Posted by Ron Edwards at 11:43 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 07, 2006
Be Where the Eyeballs Are...
I have been saying Be Where the Eyeballs Are for a few years now when describing the need to embrace mobile and game technologies to better support education and performance solutions. I'm in good company, as the head of Internet Times, one of Indias largest media groups recently said nearly the same thing:
Dinesh Wadhawan, MD & CEO of Times Internet said the competition now is for eyeballs and thumbs. TV, Newspapers, Magazines, Radio and Music are on their way down, while movies, videogames, web, sharing and cellphones are on the way up. Screenagers will give continuous partial attention to different media.
Found on the Wonderland blog.
I like the name Screenagers, too. What would we call pre-screenagers?
Posted by Ron Edwards at 12:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
22 November Wiki Blog Podcasting Workshop Update
Seriously Mobile Series Update:
We have rearranged our 22 November workshop to replace the Serious Games Primer in the afternoon with our Podcasting Workshop, based on demand.
Here's the new agenda:
Blogging and Wikis in the Enterprise: 09:00-12:00
* Important trends: Web 2.0 - the read/write web, social networking
* Tour of the Blogosphere
* Enterprise benefits of blogging and wikis
* Types of enterprise blogging & implementation considerations
* Hands on Workshop: Setting up personal blogs, finding blogs of value, using feed readers
* Overview of enterprise RSS
* Wikis: What are they and how are they being used in organisations
* How to edit and organise a Wiki
* Project ideas discussion
Podcasting Workshop 13:00-16:00
* How to Podcast - hands on workshop
* Getting Started with Podcasting - Approaches, Examples & Gear
* Quality Podcasting - tips
* Implementing Podcasting - planning for success
* Marketing Podcasts
* Discussing Project Ideas
The cost is GBP 99.00 + VAT for either session, or 160.00 + VAT for both
Our workshops are held at 7 City Learning in London, near Moorgate.
Reserve your place by sending an email to seriouslymobile@ambientperformance.com
Posted by Ron Edwards at 11:37 AM | Comments (0)