Over a year ago I had set up two FeedYes feeds (see eLearning Technology: RSS Feeds from Static Magazines) for eLearn Magazine and LearningCircuits. Unfortunately, FeedYes has started sending lots of ads down the feed. The good news is that eLearn Magazine now has it's own feed at:
http://www.elearnmag.org/elearn.xml
LearningCircuits doesn't and I've not yet looked for a replacement tool. Any suggestions on a good replacement for FeedYes to automatically send RSS feeds based on updates to the LearningCircuits home page?
Sunday, 6 May 2007
Friday, 4 May 2007
Hot Topics in Training
Last year, I did Hot Topics in Training - A Crude (but mildly interesting) Analysis where I analyzed the topics at Training 2005 and Training 2006 to determine what topics were emerging and fading. As a speaker and someone expected to have a pulse on what's happening, I thought this was mildly interesting. So, I'm doing it again this time based on the topics in Training 2007.
One of the reasons I choose the Training conference is that it's not as leading edge as eLearningGuild events, but is a bit more mainstream, corporate than ASTD conferences. Although people may debate this.
Some of the mildly interesting results:
It's interesting that interactive / interactivity is dropping. Normally topics like "Adding Interactivity to your eLearning" are sure to pack the room. I wonder if the steady increase in rapid and the decrease of effective has anything to do with that?
One of the reasons I choose the Training conference is that it's not as leading edge as eLearningGuild events, but is a bit more mainstream, corporate than ASTD conferences. Although people may debate this.
Some of the mildly interesting results:
- blog still didn't appear in a topic line, nor did social - but were discussed in several sessions
- wiki finally appeared in two talks - about a year later than one would have thought
- strategy/strategic and performance are back as topics after dropping way down in 2006
- surprisingly trainer is also back, you would think in the age of eLearning 1.0, 1.3 and 2.0 this would be down
- notable dropping topics: games, simulations, knowledge, interactive and blended
It's interesting that interactive / interactivity is dropping. Normally topics like "Adding Interactivity to your eLearning" are sure to pack the room. I wonder if the steady increase in rapid and the decrease of effective has anything to do with that?
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | Change | %Chg | |
| results | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| wiki | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| assessment | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 200% |
| virtual classroom | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 200% |
| align/ment | 8 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 200% |
| strategy/ic | 10 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 167% |
| trainer | 6 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 100% |
| performance | 17 | 9 | 18 | 9 | 100% |
| lms | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 67% |
| rapid | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 25% |
| roi | 9 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 25% |
| shoestring | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0% |
| collaboration | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| accelerated | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| enterprise | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| metrics | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| blog | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% |
| training | 43 | 50 | 49 | -1 | -2% |
| learning | 102 | 73 | 71 | -2 | -3% |
| flash | 3 | 7 | 6 | -1 | -14% |
| leadership | 2 | 5 | 4 | -1 | -20% |
| authoring | 4 | 4 | 3 | -1 | -25% |
| development | 10 | 11 | 8 | -3 | -27% |
| design | 26 | 25 | 18 | -7 | -28% |
| project | 6 | 9 | 6 | -3 | -33% |
| powerpoint | 6 | 3 | 2 | -1 | -33% |
| effective | 5 | 5 | 3 | -2 | -40% |
| software | 6 | 4 | 2 | -2 | -50% |
| tools | 8 | 4 | 2 | -2 | -50% |
| delivering | 5 | 5 | 2 | -3 | -60% |
| evaluation | 1 | 3 | 1 | -2 | -67% |
| simulations | 16 | 19 | 6 | -13 | -68% |
| games | 0 | 23 | 7 | -16 | -70% |
| management | 15 | 20 | 5 | -15 | -75% |
| technology | 8 | 4 | 1 | -3 | -75% |
| knowledge | 9 | 9 | 2 | -7 | -78% |
| interactive | 5 | 13 | 2 | -11 | -85% |
| blended | 4 | 4 | 0 | -4 | -100% |
Thursday, 3 May 2007
eLearning 2.0 - I'm tring to DO IT
I just saw this post - eLearning 2.0 - I'm tring to DO IT - that's a response to my post eLearning 2.0 - Go DO IT.
And, I'm not the only one with this kind of mini-crisis - take a look back at Will Richardson's -Owning the Teaching…and the Learning:
I got back from the conference and started this blogging and not only that but I'm keeping it up. It because a little addictive though. The more I read and learn the more I want to express and share. But I'm starting to realize that is exactly what Tony and Brent Schlenker meant when they said that the best way to start learning how to use it and what you can get from blogging is to just start trying.Way to go Tracy! And thanks for citing me so I knew about your blog. I'll keep track of it for a while to see how things go. But most of all, as a presenter / teacher / blogger, you periodically start to feel like - "Does any of this matter?" Is anyone doing more than coming, asking questions, being polite? After Boston, it seems like there have been several signs that at least a handful of people are DOING IT. That's great.
And, I'm not the only one with this kind of mini-crisis - take a look back at Will Richardson's -Owning the Teaching…and the Learning:
I’ve been growing more frustrated lately and I’m feeling more pessimistic about the prospects for any serious change in how we as an education system see teaching and learning, and I think I’ve figured out why. I hate to generalize, but the thing that seems to be missing from most of my conversations with classroom teachers and administrators is a willingness to even try to re-envision their own learning, not just their students.So, thanks Tracy - you made my day.
Thanks Joan
Just a quick post to say thanks to Joan Vinall-Cox who was kind enough to take the time to point out a grammar/spelling error in my Blog Guide for First Time Visitors.
FYI - Joan has two very good blogs at:
http://eduspaces.net/vinall/weblog/
http://webtoolsforlearners.blogspot.com/
Thanks again Joan.
FYI - Joan has two very good blogs at:
http://eduspaces.net/vinall/weblog/
http://webtoolsforlearners.blogspot.com/
Thanks again Joan.
Wednesday, 2 May 2007
Good Job Angela and Technology is Not the Devil
After reading a post by Will Richardson this morning entitled -“Technology is the Devil” and Other Observations where Will recounts a recent experience:
Luckily I just saw a post by Angela White - who had already Jumped into My Blog Roll now I just saw this post - Conference Highlights Presentation Creates Network.
Go read it. I just did and it helped me feel that maybe technology is not the devil.
By the way, Angela is a fantastic example of great post-conference follow-up activities. See also: a Great Post Conference Practice.
Recently, in the middle of a presentation to about 500 teachers, one woman raised her hand and said something along the lines of “Look, I’m not the most technologically savvy, but I have to tell you that in a lot of ways I think all this technology is the devil. I mean my kids plagiarize stuff left and right, they don’t learn how to spell because of spell check, and I just think we’d be better off without it.” And a number of people applauded.My last post - eLearning 2.0 - Go Do It was partly out of my sense of concern that somehow people are missing the point and the opportunity.
Luckily I just saw a post by Angela White - who had already Jumped into My Blog Roll now I just saw this post - Conference Highlights Presentation Creates Network.
Go read it. I just did and it helped me feel that maybe technology is not the devil.
By the way, Angela is a fantastic example of great post-conference follow-up activities. See also: a Great Post Conference Practice.
eLearning 2.0 - Go Do It
Since my presentations last month at the Harvard Business School and at the eLearningGuild Annual Gathering, I've been getting several basic questions about what Web 2.0 and eLearning 2.0 really are. I've been trying to answer these questions by pointing people to various descriptions I've provided in the past such as:
But the BEST thing to do if you really want to learn about eLearning 2.0 is to simply:
NOW GO DO IT. No really! GO DO IT!
But here's the real answer and I'm going to call it Tony's eLearning 2.0 Law #1:
You will NOT really understand Web 2.0 and eLearning 2.0 until you begin to experience it yourself.and that brings me to Tony's eLearning 2.0 Law #2:
You WON'T be effective in helping others with eLearning 2.0 until you help yourself with eLearning 2.0.To that end, the real advice I have for people to understand the topic is to dive in. You can look at guides such as those mentioned in:
- Start a blog that you will use to journal your learning experience
- Sign-up for a few other tools talked about in the guides listed above
- Answer the question (in your blog):
- How can I use these tools to improve my personal learning?
- How can these tools be used to help other people learn?
NOW GO DO IT. No really! GO DO IT!
Tuesday, 1 May 2007
Learning from Sports Games
I just saw a post by Tom Crawford - The Rules of the Game. In it he discusses how a very bright person (graduated with a degree in psychology at age 19) from Nigeria who was just drafted by Houston first learned to play the game - playing Madden football.
I had a very similar experience with my son who didn't know the rules of baseball. I took him to a couple of games and tried to explain them - but it turns out that the rules are pretty crazy when you get down to it. Instead, I went to BestBuy and bought a copy of MVP Baseball. It took a couple of hours for him to learn the rules and a lot of the subtleties of the game.
It really made me appreciate the power of learning this way.
I had a very similar experience with my son who didn't know the rules of baseball. I took him to a couple of games and tried to explain them - but it turns out that the rules are pretty crazy when you get down to it. Instead, I went to BestBuy and bought a copy of MVP Baseball. It took a couple of hours for him to learn the rules and a lot of the subtleties of the game.
It really made me appreciate the power of learning this way.
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