May 2009
58 posts
We are witnessing the passing of working-class... →
An editorial on the change in society as entire industries fade (or are rendered unrecognizable) overnight: We are witnessing the passing of working-class masculinity: “No matter what you think of…
The transition to networked accountability →
At the expense of being repetitive, I keep seeing this same pattern that Tom Haskins got me started on and which he summarized in reading situational responses:
Then I read Charles…
Learning and Working in Complexity Workshop →
Over several online and on-site presentations this past year, I’ve noticed a need for organizations to develop practical tools and contextual processes to manage information, knowledge and learning….
How much information? →
In 2003, UC at Berkeley released a report titled How Much Information. This was just at the beginning of blog’s popularity, and prior to YouTube and podcasting. Nice to hear that an updated report…
Modernizing corporate training →
I generally resist linking to organizations that monitor and use the ideas generated in the social/learning/tech space, and then produce reports that fail to acknowledge sources of inspiration….
Friday’s finds #2 →
I am continuing to learn from Twitter. A real potpourri this past week:
The 140 character limitation of Twitter forced me reduce the essence of this post to:
When faced with complexity:…
Rapid Internet Justice →
An interesting thread about Rapid Internet Justice. Short version: someone uses online forums to target people to steal auto parts. The community serves as detective and solves the case. In this…
Technology for teaching and learning... →
If you’ve been following my twitter feeds (and personal tag for travelling - #whine09), you’re aware that I’m in Senegal (minus luggage). I conducted - with Kathleen Matheos - a two-day workshop on…
Will Higher Education Be the Next Bubble to Burst? →
Will Higher Education Be the Next Bubble to Burst? asks:
According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, over the past 25 years, average college tuition and fees have…
Integrating work support systems →
Here’s a good article in TrainingZone (behind a free registration firewall) on OD in the 21st Century that describes many of the issues discussed in Training for the 21st Century, but from an…
Working Together →
Tom Haskins has presented an excellent series of posts on complexity, work and collaboration, comparing aspects of the Cynefin and TIMN frameworks. As I thought about what Tom has written I…
Challenges faced by African Universities in... →
I’ve captured a few thoughts/comments from a workshop and discussion session with leaders in education and ICT from African universities: Challenges faced by African Universities in technology…
African Elections →
Ideologies are embedded into technology. Ideologies, of course, are about power, control, and ways of looking at the world. As such, it’s fair to say that technology is about power - who can create?…
ATMC - Providing Excellent Training in a Tough... →
The Automotive Training Managers Council (ATMC) annual conference is online and open to members and guests this year. ATMC is focused on the “exchange of training ideas and strategies helpful to…
CCK08: Socialization as information object →
I finally got around to capturing a few thoughts on CCK08. I’ve posted an overview of the course (as well as an earlier rudimentary attempt from 2002) on my connectivism blog: Socialization as…
Friday’s Finds #1 →
In an attempt to make my finds on Twitter more explicit, this may be the start of regular posts on some of the things I learned this past week (weekly seems better than monthly).
Numbers &…
On curriculum →
I noticed today something that reinfornced my opinion of education curriculum. As you can see from my last post, there’s a production of My Fair Lady at the high school for the next three nights,…
Public Engagement. Public Empowerment →
Talk of technology quickly turns into talk of power. Who has it (power)? By what means did they attain it? By what means do they hold it? What are they attempting to do with it? Technology embodies…
Social media in the enterprise →
I have a few weeks of travel coming up (first to Senegal for workshops as part of a Soros Foundation grant & elearning Africa, back to Winnipeg for a library conference, and then to Italy for the
Course to Dis/Course recordings →
Last week, Martin Weller and I hosted an online conference to discuss the future of courses: From Courses to Dis/Course. The recordings are now available. At this stage, they are long, unedited…
Technology Trends →
Techcrunch reviews conference discussions of technologies trends for 2009. Trends presented are fairly obvious (which is to be expected when the analysis cycle is as short as a year): next…
The Social Data Revolution(s) →
The Social Data Revolution(s): “In 2009, more data will be generated by individuals than in the entire history of mankind through 2008…The second data revolution brought about a new dimension to…
Videos of recent presentations →
Videos of two presentations I recently delivered in Iowa and New York:
Iowa State University’s ComETS symposium: The impact of connectivism and networked learning
Empire State College’s CDL…
News and content →
Education’s sibling - the news industry - continues to suffer under the impact of freely available content and increased end user control permitted by the web. But it is not a field that is going…
Managing emergent practice →
What would happen if you called for closing your training department in favor of a new function? Imagine telling senior management that you were shuttering the classrooms in favor of peer-to-peer…
My Fair Lady in Sackville →
The production will feature student actors ranging from Grades 9 to 12, lavish costumes and a spectacular set. This year’s production is being directed by a student sister duo, Charlotte and…
A landscape of influences →
More exciting pattern and sense-making from Ross Dawson, this time with the Influence Landscape Framework Beta v. 1:
This adds to other conceptual frameworks to inform us on how we can…
The Learning Age →
This isn’t the Information Age, it’s the Learning Age; and the quicker people get their heads around that, the better - Prof Stephen Heppell
This is a quote from a short video on the future of…
The psychology of attention →
The psychology of attention lists numerous views (and research projects) on how attention works. Some contradictory information - see the “cocktail party effect” and “reading and writing…
ED-MEDIA 2009 →
I’m looking forward to ED-MEDIA 2009 in Hawaii in about six weeks - a great line up of speakers (disclaimer - I’m on the ED-MEDIA steering committee and co-chair for this year’s conference). A
Courses to Dis/course →
About a month ago, I announced a two day online conference I’ve been planning with Martin Weller: From courses to dis/course. The event (no charge) runs May 14 & 15. The speaker schedule is now…
Growth of Universities →
I’ll happily admit my bias: higher needs to be rethought and restructured. But it’s important to take an accurate look at where we are and where we might end up (a subject for futures thinking, as…
All information is suspect →
The big lesson of our wikipedia-era is not that amateur information is potentially false, but rather that all information must be questioned. The last week as produced one of those lessons that…
Emergent meaning or prescription? →
Dave Snowden’s recent post on emergent meaning or prescription reflects what many of us have been saying about education: “new approaches that have become possible since technology matured from…
Adding value to information →
Once again, I have to thank Dave Pollard for an insightful post and another model I can use for online community development. Dave looks at the processes that could enable mainstream media to…
CNIE, uOttawa, and Mohawk College presentation →
I had the pleasure last week of presenting to Mohawk College (they recently switched to D2L and the conference was focused on transitioning to online and blended learning). Then, a short hop…
Mapping metrics →
Beth Kanter shares her presentation on Mapping metrics to strategy (with slide show) focused on non-profits using social media:
The session will share an overview of why the sequence listen,…
This thing called the future →
It’s ironic that in times of rapid change knowing what the future holds is simultaneously more important and more inaccessible. Which trends are “real”? Which concepts/ideas/philosophies are of…
Journalism →
I frequently cite developments in journalism and news media because this field has been dealing with changes in information interaction (and associated power shifts) by end users for a longer period…
WIAOC - You can’t collaborate alone: an invitation →
So. On May 24th at 1700 GMT I’ll be doing my Webheads in Action Online Conversion Keynote presentation and you’re all invited. You’re all invited, that is, to be PART of the presentation. The…
e-books →
Ebooks are growing in popularity. Some suggest we are at a turning point because “new modes of communication are starting to transform the legacy media such as books in ways that we are still in…
Obligatory post: Blackboard and Angel →
University of Manitoba, during a recent LMS review, selected Angel as its new learning management system. In talking with faculty and others attending presentations by various LMS vendors, a clear…
State of Google →
It’s probably a good idea to have a bit of an understanding on what’s happening with Google. The 2008 Founder’s Letter is worth a quick read:
New and amazing computational capabilities will be…
Should Computer Scientists Make Social-Networking... →
Should Computer Scientists Make Social-Networking Research a Higher Priority?: “Facebook and Wikipedia are just the beginning. The real power of social networks will be showcased by projects that…
Learning as a Network →
Mohamed Amine Chatti extends the framework on personal knowledge networks with his post on Learning as a Network (follow link for graphic):
The Learning as a Network (LaaN) perspective draws…
What is content worth these days? →
In early 2000’s, I was in a meeting with a group of senior academics, exploring knowledge management solutions for higher education (doesn’t that sound like fun?). One individual - a VP I believe -…
Wanted: School Chief Learning Officer →
So here’s a question I was discussing a couple of weeks ago with a superintendent at a gathering of educational leaders: What percentage of the teachers at your school do a good job of preparing…
New Realities in Higher Education →
Ray Schroeder is an active blogger that I have followed for about eight years. He covers a range of technology, pedagogy, and other trends on his numerous blogs. Last month, I started following a…
How complex is our work? →
On my recent post, Emergent practices need practice, I looked at how complexity could not be easily addressed through traditional training methods:
But many of the problems we face today are…
New technology supporting informal learning →
On his Half an Hour blog, Stephen Downes explores new technology and informal learning (in a paper for an upcoming conference in Portugal). He makes a statement that is important for instructional…
