incidental learning

Never met a survey I didn't try . . . Dave Lee made me do this

2007-01-12T20:24:00.000-05:00

Your results:
You are Superman

Superman		80%
Supergirl		55%
Spider-Man		55%
Robin		54%
Green Lantern		50%
Iron Man		50%
Batman		50%
Hulk		45%
Wonder Woman		40%
The Flash		25%
Catwoman		20%

You are mild-mannered, good,
strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

CLO Fantasy Camp

2006-11-06T09:53:00.000-05:00

Peter Jones, Bristol-Meyers Squibb Fantasy Camp - experience something you may not ordinarily do; usually takes a week F2F - such as baseball, rock & roll, covert spy Today: Experience highs and lows of CLO role Responsibilites:

Manages and owns the business of learning: budgets, P & L
Ensures employees have access to pertinent business information and knowledge
Often drives corproate, cultural and change initiative
Manages finacials for maintaqining learning organization and securing goods and services

Expertise:

Aligning learning initiatives to business goals
Building a learning governance strategy and structure
Managing financials
Measuring overall business impact of the learning function - Learning Scorecard
Selecting Learning Technolgies
"Right" sourcing Learning

TASK: Prepare a 5 minute elevator speech to CEO on the business case and rationale for a CLO positon for the company.

RESPONSES: Business professional with learning expertise.

Grant Ricketts, Saba: Learning Governance. Includes coordination of processes abd standards. Adopt a stakeholder view of the learning organization and reach across its members to reach a shared governance model.

Content

Operations

Adoption

Tracking & Support

Flipping the Switch: Habits of Mind to Habits of Bloggers

2006-11-01T13:21:00.000-05:00

Early in the summer I had a brainstorm . . . Blogging on my own was only partially successful since I wasn't answerable (production wise) to anybody but me. In the world of this ENTP (accent on the "P" character of my personality preference), having a CoP (community of practice, that is) drives me into action. And so I enlisted the help of some consulting colleagues . . . Sandy Wells, Roz Kay, Roberta Pierick, Tony Silbert, Susan Dannon and Loretta Randolph. We lauched Appreciative Inquiry Annotations on October 6. Three members of the blog team (besides me) have contributed. Some great traffic has been generated (1,131 visitors to date) and 5 blogs link to us. Getting into the flow of blogging requires two shifts as I see it: 1. A Shift of Mind - sort of a correspondent's view of the world that integrates and incorporates facts, observations, opinions and the larger world that can inform and expand a seemingly shallow topic into a rich, deep posting. 2.A Shift of Habits - from just noticing things on the web and moving on to bookmarking and categorzing, referring to them in postings,creating links, and then adding the blogs and sites that continually register on the radar screen into a blogroll. And that is why I now, more than ever, value the thoughts of blogger, Vicki Davis, at Ten habits of bloggers that win! These useful tips are just what my novice blogging team will find helpful. Thanks Vicki!

25 Things You May Find Interesting About Me

2006-09-23T22:19:00.000-04:00

About 10 years ago I was flying from the West Coast to New York and in the seat next to me was a guy from Disney who had spent his career in the visual arts. He started to ask me questions about my life and work. At the end of an hour, he handed me the sketch on the left of this posting. Whenever I come across it in my office, I have to smile as I think about the things that seemed significant at the time and the dreams I envisioned fulfilled by now. Nearly 5 years after that experience, I was going to be interviewed. For some unforgotten reason, it was important that the person get a more personal and eclectic view of who I was. So I created the "25 Things" list that follows: Loves college basketball and waits all year for March Madness. Is a kinesthetic learner – who is not afraid of making mistakes. Can make 6 kinds of biscotti – and bakes them for *special* people. Holds the world record at Shea Stadium for the largest single block of tickets sold for one Mets game -- 7023. Has experience with Reusable Learning Objects. Was introduced to experiential learning by Sister Ethel Rita in the 4th grade. Can tell you what she wore for every significant experience in her life. Thinks multitasking is a required skill set for all human beings. Listens to Car Talk on NPR every Saturday. Was hooked on science as a result of an 8th grade report on Sputnik. Has met an FBI spy (really!). Has trained and coached over 200 trainers. Can name the 3 islands in the Bay of Naples – one of which where her grandparents were born. Is certified to administer the MBTI and CCL’s Benchmarks. Knows why Stephen Brookfield gave up guitar playing. Considers a Blackberry a fashion necessity. Is not afraid of bugs. Was responsible for running 3 after school centers serving 300 girls in Harlem, East Harlem and the South Bronx. Owns over 300 books related to learning, OD and management – at last count. Thinks ice cream is one of the basic food groups. Is a world-class sailing passenger. Has had Joseph Luft to dinner. Had her car broken into at Columbia University when she was picking up a paper she had written about crime on campus. Teaches grad school courses online for the joy of it. Intends to learn how to play the piano and use woodworking tools when she retires.
Many things on that list are still true; some are not. So, what's the point? People are composites of their life history, experiences and aspirations. They continue to change dynamically, to grow and outgrow, to learn and unlearn . . . Scratch the surface of my today and you'll find my yesterday and my tomorrow. What's yours?

2006-06-20T23:08:00.000-04:00

Boston was hot and hazy as the CTC conference kicked off today. Saying "so far, so good" would be down playing one heck of a conference with super sessions, terrific attendees and a great venue at the Seaport Hotel. Day 1 began with a key note from John Seeley Brown, titled Globalization, Innovation and Collaboration in the Networked World. The business case for collaborative technologies and networks is clear, intelligent and compelling as JSB explains how firms, such as the Asian manufacturer Li & Fung uses process networks to build a loosely coupled relationship with suppliers and customers that yields collaborative learning for all the players. One example that he cites is the retailer, Ann Taylor, that stays on the competitive edge as it brings to market the latest fashions by tapping the best sources for fabric and construction from that L&F relationship. (And hearing this as I sat in the 2nd row in my Ann Taylor pant suit was a nice bonus!) As I see it, too many of the young gurus on the morning agenda ( Matthew Glotzbach, Head of Products, Google and Jason Fried, CEO, 37Signals) are smitten with the term "self-directed " in regards to innovation or collaboration. I'm the first person to get out of the way of the person who can self-direct -- at the same time, I know that only about 10% of adults at last count had the capabilties to kick-start their own work and to stay with it (Guglielmino did some research on this). Doing your own thing is a far cry from being self-directed, guys. The bottom line is being able take initiative without the help or direction from other people *and* producing something of value.

Syncronicity

2006-03-24T22:18:00.000-05:00

With fledgling blogging skills, I've bravely raised my hand to help with an online public dialogue for the Citizens' Health Care Working Group . This landmark project sponsored by the President and Congress is providing a unique opportunity to the American public:

To become a part of an historic discussion taking place right now across America – where citizens like you get to tell the policymakers in Washington what you like and don’t like about our nation’s health care system, and what tough choices our country should make to turn it into one that works for all Americans. In the process of being a moderator for the project, I'll facilitate the forum discussion and share my perspectives in the blogs -- my own and others. I've been honing my skills in leading and supporting digital collaboration and idea sharing for seven years . . . as ever, I stand on the shoulders of some wise and wonderful folks, like Gilly Salmon and eModerators Zane Berge and Mauri Collins and the late Guy Bensusan, who gave my thinking a kick start and pushed my skills uphill as the horizon of virtual communities has broaded from classroom to community of practice to global forum.

Now all of this would be interesting to a point, but there's more to the story than that. Also attending orientation to the Citizens' Health Care Working Group via conference call from Hong Kong was Nick Noakes. It took only a few minutes for us to uncover our shared experiences with Appreciative Inquiry, online conferencing and faculty development. What a great conversation as Nick pressed America Speaks staff for better ways to manage the RSS from all the blogs and messages the initiative would produce. My marketing mindset triggered a stream of consciousness for getting the word out to the general public so their opinions and alternative solutions would be added to the collective intelligence being gathered. More on this next week . . . As for now, I'm smiling as I think of how near we all are in this internet cloud when we are seekers of meaning making.

Two Peas in a Pod

2006-03-11T19:47:00.000-05:00

In an article headlined Podcasting Technology Promotes Convenience, Infotainment Learning and dated March 8, 2006 Kellye Whitney of CLO Magazine reports: "Research conducted in August of 2005 by mobile market intelligence company CLX showed that 15 percent of U.S. respondents listen to podcasts. While the technology is fairly new and seemingly perfect for a younger audience, apparently podcasting also has great appeal for the mid-40s and older crowd. Research data indicated that the two groups most likely to listen to podcasts are 45- to 55-year-olds and 55-year-olds and over, which indicates that there might be some real value in using this new technology to create learning programs that appeal to all ages." "Mid-forties and older crowd" sure includes me . . . and I guess Peter Adamson (my fellow learner in the unworkshop) is part of that demographic too. Thursday morning we compared notes in a Skype call across the Atlantic. We are auditory drop-outs. Tapes of conference sessions are purchased, placed in the player and started again, and again . . . We are engaged by the world we can see and touch. Listening is our least effective means of learning. Added to this life experience is the annecdotal information that instructional designers have used for at least a generation as the basis of reducing lectures and increasing experiential learning. Until these researchers invite Peter and me to be subjects of podcasting research, I'll remain a little doubtful that the Boomers and Pre-boomers will be sporting iPods. Remember what Confucious said:

“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”

Missing Stephen Downes

2006-03-10T21:42:00.000-05:00

Back in the mid 90's I started subscribing to listservs. I've been irritated, engaged, delighted, puzzled, bored, thoughful, curious, entranced and otherwise impacted by the ideas of people who exist only in my *internet cloud*. A few years ago one of the people who gave me great insights about being an online faculty member, Guy BenSusan, died suddenly. That night people from around the country mourned his passing in dialogue on the Internet. It was a moving and compelling experience that I will not soon forget. There's a significant loss right now in the blogosphere . . . fortunately one of silence, rather than irreversible loss. Nevertheless, Stephen Downe's hiatus is a notable gap in my life. Only once have I heard his voice, though I've read thousands of his daily messages and browsed to so many wonderful sites that he suggested. (My friends wonder how I know about so many things and its largely due to him.) A year ago I made subscribing to Stephen's OLDaily a course requirement for my NYU grad students. Some balked. I smiled when 6 months after the course was over, one of the students emailed me the following: * I just wanted to thank you for having us subscribe to OLDaily. It has been very useful, and I never would have subscribed if you hadn't required it.* I wonder if that student finds this silence is hard to fill too?

Getting a project on my radar screen . . .

2006-03-07T17:51:00.000-05:00

This is not quite like asking the question "what do you want to be when you grow up?" but more than "where do you want to go on vacation?" . . . you know, not just a simple destination, more of an experience. One idea for a project seems to fit the bill . . . two consultants have been open to the idea of a blog on nonprofit management. They want to share editorial responsibilities with me -- a good idea since there's a lot of ground we could cover. Still, an interesting blog has a purpose, a slant on life, a personality of its own. So, here's my plan: I'll check out some of the blogs from the nonprofit gurus. Several benefits in that . . . to gauge what's out there, to see what niche we could fill, and to pick up some good ones for my RSS. Here goes . . .

First stop, OmidyarNetwork -- what a goldmine of sources where I find a list of nonprofit blogs and browse them to find some nice examples.

PS If you're wondering what the relevance is to the car, it was something I always wanted "when I grew up". So last summer my son and I bought it 50/50.

Interesting blogs . . .

2006-03-01T21:24:00.000-05:00

Here are some of the blogs I keep an eye on: Keith Ferrazzi's Never Eat Alone: http://nevereatalone.typepad.com/blog/ Dr. Vino: http://www.drvino.com/index.php Blogs for Orgs: http://www.blogsfororgs.org/ Blogsavvy: http://blogsavvy.net/ and from my daughter, Ann, atelier 918: http://atelier918.typepad.com/

Good intentions

2006-02-28T21:31:00.000-05:00

I track quite a few blogs and have wanted to start one of my own for a while. I actually signed up with Blogger about 1 1/2 years ago . . . created a shell for a blog nine months later . . . then got another blog listed on another site six months ago . . . and here I am now fully committed to getting one blog fully operational. My expectation is that in the unworkshop I will experiment and gain confidence with the set of tools for creating and maintaining blogs, and will keep one blog running with regularity. I also have a wikki in development . . . so want to get that functioning. And I'll start to think about how I might use podcasting.

Will you sign in please . . .

2006-02-28T20:50:00.000-05:00

Many, many years ago . . . there was a TV program called What's My Line? The panelists would ask questions of the guest to determine what she/he did for a living. If you asked me some of those questions, there are numerous versions of my career and interests -- so here are some snapshots:

2005 - 2006 worksmarts is my consulting practice. I work at the convergence of learning/work/technology to increase the capacity and productivity of client organizations
1987- 2005 director to CLO level roles in software, nonprofits and higher education
2001 published chapter on implementation in AMA Handbook of e-Learning
2000 recruited to an Answer Geek by ASTD
1999 taught my first online course (Staff Development & Training) to grad students using Blackboard
1997 lead CD-ROM based learning project
1993 took an online course at UC Santa Cruz (DOS environment bulletin board) just to see how it worked
1991 started doctoral program in Adult Learning & Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University
1983 purchased Apple IIe computer "for the kids" (never fooled them)
A long time ago . . . earned BS in Chemistry and worked in pharmaceutical industry