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A new common tragedy?

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Recently, my kids (heh, in their 20s) let me know that they don’t use Yelp. That actually surprised and puzzled me. Not specifically because of Yelp, but instead because there’s a societal benefit that’s possibly being undermined or abandoned. I may be naive, but I think that we may be missing an opportunity. So here’s my exploration of a potential new common tragedy.

The idea of the commons is simple, though also somewhat controversial. There’s a shared resource. In the traditional economic model, it’s limited. Thus, everyone taking advantage of it ends up ruining the resource (the infamous ‘tragedy of the commons’). In this case, however, the potential tragedy is different.

Information, as has been said, wants to be free. With the internet, it’s almost that way, and there are almost zero limits on the information (for better or worse). We can take advantage of the information for little more than the cost of a browser-capable device and an internet connection (which can come just with a cup of coffee ;). We can also contribute. That’s social media.

That’s been the premise of some of the more powerful ideas of the internet. If we share information, we can all benefit. Thus, we should offer up information and in return get the benefit. We don’t have to offer it, but if we do we all benefit. It’s cooperation. Social media has led to many great wins. My colleague and friend, Paul Signorelli, has a new book just on that! In his Change the World Using Social Media, he says “social media platforms can…produce positive change”. Of course, there are also problematic uses. The ways in which certain platforms (*cough* Facebook *cough*) have been used to spread misinformation is a caution. Yet, I believe these are problems that are solvable.

Now, Yelp is a service where people can share reviews of almost any service: repairs, meals, … And it’s just an example, there are other ways people share information, such as Wikipedia, NextDoor, etc. Yelp got off to a somewhat idiosyncratic start, owing to claims of favoritism. However, it’s now relatively reliable, I believe. (Am I wrong?)

The possibility is that if everyone fairly uses such as service, that everyone benefits. You do have to offer your own input, but you gain from others. Of course, the service itself must be principled, including a way to self-repair any problems. There can be more than one, though one tends to end up being dominant.

What’s problematic, to me, is why people wouldn’t participate. For example, my kids. For one, there’s a belief that people only write negative reviews. Yet we do see businesses with ratings from 3 to 5, so clearly there are positive reviews (I’ve done both).  Yelp has helped me find good places to eat and get valuable services. I’ve likewise shared my experiences, to help others.

However, what may not be solvable is getting people on board with the idea of the benefit. If we turn away from this opportunity, we end up losing 0ut. Yes, I can be an idealist, but I’d hope that we can see the ultimate benefit that can be obtained. Across many platforms, ideally. I’d like to avoid a new common tragedy. I’m also willing to be wrong, so I welcome feedback.

 

Jay Cross Memorial Award 2021: Sahana Chattopadhyay

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Jay Cross was a deep thinker and a man of many talents, never resting on his past accomplishments. Following his death in November 2015, the partners of the Internet Time Alliance — Jane Hart, Charles Jennings, Harold Jarche, and myself — resolved to continue Jay’s work. The Internet Time Alliance Award, in memory of Jay Cross, is an annual presentation. We award it to a workplace learning professional who has contributed in positive ways to the field of Informal Learning. The Jay Cross Memorial Award is one way to keep pushing our professional fields and industries to find new and better ways to learn and work.

Recipients champion workplace and social learning practices inside their organization and/or on the wider stage. They share their work in public and often challenge conventional wisdom. We look for professionals who are convincing and effective advocates of a humanistic approach to workplace learning and performance. Recipients also continuously welcome challenges at the cutting edge of their expertise.

We announce the award on 5 July, Jay’s birthday. The Internet Time Alliance Jay Cross Memorial Award recipient for 2021 is Sahana Chattopadhyay.

Sahana is the founder of Proteeti — a Sanskrit word meaning learning that transforms — which describes the spirit of the award. She has written extensively about learning and development and has been active on social media for many years.

I first met Sahana through #lrnchat, and she maintained a steady support of Jay and the Internet Time Alliance’s work. She’s continued to be a voice for making sense of an uncertain world, which overlaps substantially with some of our own work. 

At her site, she talks about moving to “a world where many worlds fit” through acceptance of others, interconnection, and living with emergence. She applies these principles to organizations and leaders to facilitate shifting to more effective and humane ways of being.

As a vocal advocate for mindsets that unleash possibility, Sahana embodies the ideals Jay Cross worked towards. We’re honored to be able to recognize her work through the Jay Cross Memorial Award.

Doing Gamification Wrong

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roulette wheelAs I’ve said before, I’m not a fan of ‘gamification’. Certainly for formal learning, where I think intrinsic motivation is a better area to focus on than extrinsic. (Yes, there are times it makes sense, like tarting up rote memory development, but it’s under-considered and over-used.)  Outside of formal learning, it’s clear that it works in certain places. However, we need to be cautious in considering it a panacea. In a recent instance, I actually think it’s definitely misapplied. So here’s an example of doing gamification wrong.

This came to me via a LinkedIn message where the correspondent pointed me to their recent blog article. (BTW, I don’t usually respond to these, but if I do, you’re going to run the risk that I poke holes. 😈) In the article, they were talking about using gamification to build organizational engagement. Interestingly, even in their own article, they were pointing to other useful directions unknowingly!

The problem, as claimed, is that working remote can remove engagement. Which is plausible. The suggestion, however, was that gamification was the solution. Which I suggest is a patch upon a more fundamental problem. The issue was a daily huddle, and this quote summarizes the problem: “there is zero to little accountability of engagement and participation “.  Their solution: add points to these things. Let me suggest that’s wrong.

What facilitates engagement is a sense of purpose and belonging. That is, recognizing that what one does contributes to the unit, and the unit contributes to the organization, and the organization contributes to society. Getting those lined up and clear is a great way to build meaningful engagement. Interestingly, even in the article they quote: “to build true engagement, people often need to feel like they are contributing to something bigger than themselves.” Right! So how does gamification help? That seems to be trying to patch a lack of purpose. As I’ve argued before, the transformation is not digital first, it’s people first.

They segue off to microlearning, without (of course) defining it. They ended up meaning spaced learning (as opposed to performance support). Which, again, isn’t gamification but they push it into there. Again, wrongly. They do mention a successful instance, where Google got 100% compliance on travel expenses, but that’s very different than company engagement. It’s got to be the right application.

Overall, gamification by extrinsic motivation can work under the right circumstances, but it’s not a solution to all that ails an organization. There are ways and times, but it’s all too easy to be doing gamification wrong. ‘Tis better to fix a broken culture than to patch it. Patching is, at best, a temporary solution. This is certainly an example.

 

How to be an elearning expert

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I was asked (and have been a time or two before): “What’s the one most important thing you’d like to tell to be successful Ed Tech industry leader?” Of course there wasn’t just one ;). Still, looking at colleagues who I think fit that characterization, I find some commonalities that are worth sharing. So here’s one take on how to be an elearning expert.

Let’s start with that ‘one thing’.  Which is challenging, since it’s more than one thing! Still, I boiled it down into two components: know your stuff, and let people know.  That really is the core. So let’s unpack that some more.  The first thing is to establish credibility. Which means demonstrating that you track and promote the right stuff. 

Some folks have created a model that they tout. Cathy Moore has Action Mapping, Harold Jarche has PKM, Con Gottfredson has the 5 moments of need, and so on.  It’s good having a model, if it’s a good, useful one (there are people who push models that are hype or ill-conceived at best). Note that it’s not necessarily the case that these folks are just known for this model, and most of these folks can talk knowledgeably about much more, but ‘owning’ a model that is useful is a great place to be. (I occasionally regret that I haven’t done a good job of branding my models.) They understand their model and its contribution, it’s a useful one, and therefore they contribute validly that way and are rightly recognized.

Another approach like this is owning a particular domain. Whether gaming (e.g. Karl Kapp), visuals (Connie Malamed), design (Michael Allen), mixed realities (Ann Rollins), AI (Donald Clark), informal (Jane Hart), evaluation (Will Thalheimer), management (Matt Richter), and so on, they have deep experience and a great conceptual grasp in a particular area. Again, they can and do speak outside this area, but when they talk about these topics in particular, what they say is worthy of your attention!

Then there are other folks who don’t necessarily have a single model, but instead reliably represent good science. Julie Dirksen, Patti Shank, Jane Bozarth, Mirjam Neelen, and others have established a reputation for knowing the learning science and interpreting it in accurate, comprehensible, and useful ways. 

The second point is that these folks write and talk about their models and/or approaches. They’re out there, communicating. It’s about reliably saying the important things again and again (always with a new twist). A reputation doesn’t just emerge whole-cloth, it’s built step by step. They also practice what they preach, and have done the work so they can talk about it. They talk the talk and walk the walk. Further, you can check what they say. 

So how to start? There are two clear implications. Obviously, you have to Know. Your. Stuff! Know learning, know design, know engagement, know tech. Further, know what it means in practice!  You can focus deeply in one area, or generate one useful and new model, or have a broad background, but it can’t just be in one thing. It’s not just all your health content for one provider. What you’re presenting needs to be representative and transferable.  Further, you need to keep up to date, so that means continually learning: reading, watching, listening.

Second, it’s about sharing. Writing and speaking are the two obvious ways. Sure, you can host a channel: podcast, vlog, blog, but if you’re hosting other folks, you’re seen as well connected but not necessarily as the expert. Further, I reckon you have to be able to write and speak (and pretty much all of these folks do both well).  So, start by speaking at small events, and get feedback to improve. Study good presentation style. Then start submitting for events like the Learning Guild, ATD, or LDA (caveats on all of these owing to various relationships, but I think they’re all scrutable). I once wrote about how to read and write proposals, and I think my guidance is still valid.

Similarly, write. Learning Solutions or eLearn Mag are two places to put stuff that’s sensibly rigorous but written for practitioners.  Take feedback to heart, and deliberately improve. Make sure you’re presenting value, not pitching anything. What conferences and magazines say about not selling, that your clear approach is what sells, is absolutely true. 

Also, make sure that you have a unique ‘voice’. No one needs the same things others are saying, at least in the same way. Have a perspective, your own take. Your brand is not only what you say, but how you say it.

A related comment: track some related fields. Most of the folks I think of as experts have some other area they draw inspiration from. UX/UI, anthropology, software engineering, there are many fields and finding useful insight from a related one is useful to the field and keeps you fresh.

Oh, one other thing. You have to have integrity. People have to be able to trust what you say. If you push something for which you have a private benefit, or something that’s trendy but not real, you will lose whatever careful credibility you’ve built up. Don’t squander it! 

So that’s my take on how to be an elearning expert. So, what have I missed?

When do you team?

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Ideally, we’d have teams doing all our design and development. There are benefits to working together, not just for the innovation and creativity, but also for process. We can watch out for other’s mistakes and limitations just as they can look for ours. However, it can be costly to run teams when an individual will do. So, the question becomes, when do you team? And, for learning experience design I’ll suggest there are a couple of key places.

DivergeConvergeProblemSolutionNow, we want to team when we want diversity for creativity, for sure. As ‘design thinking‘ tells us, we want to diverge before we converge. Further, on both identifying the problem, and when designing a solution. The typical representation is the ‘double diamond’ that graphically represents divergence and convergence at both stages.

Who you use in each phase may differ, of course. When doing analysis, you’re likely going to want to pull in subject matter experts (SMEs) as well as potential audiences. That can include not only experts in the theory, but also those who observe the actual performers, e.g. managers or supervisors. You want to triangulate not only on the principle, but the practice, because they don’t always agree(!).

Then, you’re likely to want to pull in team members to review what’s been seen or known before you proceed. We brainstorm, come up with some ideas, and they get taken away to be developed to the next level. Depending on the scope of your team and what you’re working on, that might be still with a smaller team, or an individual. However, if we iterate (and we should) we should converge again to check on the interim stages before moving on.

This includes for development as well. So, when you’ve got something to test, you’re going to want to bring in individuals with greater and greater representativeness to the final audience as you get closer to a final design. (BTW, there’s a lot packed into that sentence.)

We also want to minimize disruptions to our process. The goal is to find the minimal points that offer the greatest benefits to the outcome.  It’s painful to totally redo a process, and typically is unnecessary. In general, most processes try to follow a sensible process. Thus, only small tweaks can lead to large improvements in quality.

So, the answer to “when do you team” is when the benefits of the collaboration outweigh the costs of the coordination. And that’s typically where you want diversity to improve the outcome. Creating ways to ‘show your work‘ is a shortcut to some of this input, but actively generating times to coordinate into design processes ensures that you’re getting the benefits.

Update on my workshops

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Just as I did an update on my books, it’s time to also let you know about some workshop opportunities. Together, I think they create a coherent whole. They’re scattered around a bit, so here I lay out how they fit together, how they’re run, what they cover, and how you can find them. They’re not free, but they’re reasonably priced, with reputable organizations. So here’s an update on my workshops.

First, they’re three pieces of the picture. I talk about two things, generally. It comes from my cheeky quip that L&D isn’t doing near what it could and should, and what it is doing, it’s doing badly. So, that first part is about the larger performance ecosystem, and the second part is about learning experience design (LXD). And, that latter part actually pulls apart into two pieces.

I see LXD as the elegant integration of learning science with engagement. Thus, you need to understand learning science (and the associated elements). Then, you also need to understand what makes an engaging experience. So, two workshops address each of these.

The learning science workshop is being run under the auspices of HR.com (brokered through the Allen Academy). It’s under their professional education series, called Effective Learning Strategies. It’s a five week course (with a delayed sixth week). There are readings, a weekly session, and assignments. You can earn a certificate. In it I cover the basics of cognitive science, the learning outcomes, social/cultural/emotional elements, and the implications for design. It’s just what you need to know, and very much aligned with my forthcoming book!

The second part of the story is about the engagement side. While I’ve tried to boil down learning science into the necessary core, there are other resources. This isn’t well covered. And note, I’m not talking about tarted-up drill-and-kill, gamification, ‘click to see more’, etc. Instead, I’m going deep into building, and maintaining: motivation, reducing anxiety, and more. Formally, it’s the Make It Meaningful workshop. This is a four week course, with videos to present the information, then live sessions to practice application, and takeaway assignments from the Learning Development Accelerator. It’s based upon the learnings from my book on designing learning games, Engaging Learning, but I’ve spent months this past summer making it more general, going deeper, validating the newest information, and making it accessible and comprehensible.

The final story is the performance ecosystem workshop. In what may seem a silly approach, it manifests as a course on mobile! However, once you recognize that mobile is about pretty much everything but courses (and can do contextual, which is an important new direction). It makes sense. When I was writing the mobile book, the intent was that it be a stealth approach to shift the L&D mindset away from just courses. Which, of course, was made more clear with my Revolutionize L&D book. So I hope you can see that this course, too, has a solid foundation. It’s about courses, performance support, informal and social learning, contextual opportunities, and strategy, in six weeks of online sessions, with a tiny bit of reading, and interim assignments. It’s by the Allen Academy directly.

Together, I think these three workshops provide the knowledge foundations you need to run a L&D operation. Two talk about what makes courses that are optimally engaging and effective, and one looks at the rest of the picture. Evidence suggests there’s a need. And I’ve worked hard to ensure that they’ve got the right stuff. So that’s an update on my workshops. I welcome your thoughts and feedback.  (And, yes, I’d like to pull them all together in one place, but I haven’t found a platform I like yet; stay tuned!)

 

ITA Jay Cross Award 2020

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The Internet Time Alliance Award, in memory of Jay Cross, is presented to a workplace learning professional who has contributed in positive ways to the field of Informal Learning and is reflective of Jay’s lifetime of work.
Recipients champion workplace and social learning practices inside their organization and/or on the wider stage. They share their work in public and often challenge conventional wisdom. The Award is given to professionals who continuously welcome challenges at the cutting edge of their expertise and are convincing and effective advocates of a humanistic approach to workplace learning and performance.
We announce the award on 5 July, Jay’s birthday.
Following his death in November 2015, the partners of the Internet Time Alliance (Jane Hart, Harold Jarche, Charles Jennings, and Clark Quinn) resolved to continue Jay’s work. Jay Cross was a deep thinker and a man of many talents, never resting on his past accomplishments, and this award is one way to keep pushing our professional fields and industries to find new and better ways to learn and work.
The Internet Time Alliance Jay Cross Memorial Award for 2020 is presented to Andrew Jacobs.
Andrew is determined that learning and development should be an integral part of business activity. He is currently employed in a challenging position inside the UK government. But Andrew continues to blog at ‘Lost & Desperate’ [ https://lostanddesperate.com/ ] In 2013 his blog  was one the 50 most socially-shared learning and development blogs. In spite of his work demands, Andrew continues to share through his blog and on Twitter. He also speaks at industry events and shares what he has learned. In his previous work, Andrew became an expert at improving workplace learning with almost no budget.
Much in the spirit of Jay Cross, Andrew is constantly questioning the status quo. In his own words —
“If LnD help them learn, they won’t need learning.
 
If they don’t need learning, LnD aren’t required.
 
Therefore, to be required, LnD shouldn’t help them learn.
 
Why do LnD still market a once and done approach to learning?
 
Can’t sell? Learn this.
 
Can’t comply? Learn this.
 
Can’t coach? Learn this.
 
Can’t manage? Learn this.
 
Can’t lead? Learn this.”
It is with great pleasure that we present the fifth annual Internet Time Alliance Jay Cross Memorial Award to Andrew Jacobs. Andrew will be presented with the award later this year in the city of London.

Wanna talk meaning, learning science, and more…?

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The L&D conference, starting today, has a wide variety of things going on. I’m actually impressed, because in addition to the asynchronous and synchronous sessions I knew about, there are a number of other things going on. Including things I’m in. So, do you wanna talk meaning, learning science, and more…? Here’s when and how.

In addition to the presenters who have prepared asynchronous learning experiences, and the live presentations by the same and others, there are other things going on. There are panels on, for instance, on diversity & inclusion, state of learning, learning technology, women in learning, as just a few. There are also debates on games, evaluation, to e- or not to e-, at least. Lots of interesting topics. But wait, there’s more!

There are also networking sessions, a quiz show, roundtable breakouts, breakfast/cocktail (depending on timezone) networking, … There are also some interviews with prominent folks, both specifically for the conference and some legacy ones courtesy of Guy Wallace (HPT guru). And there’s either or both of more I don’t know about, and more to come.

A special mention for the CrowdThinking project, in collaboration with IBSTPI. My colleague, Fernando Senior, will be leading an event to understand the current and anticipated requirements for L&D roles. And there’s a survey you’re requested to fill out regardless of whether you’re attending the conference. Please help!

As for me, first, my asynchronous session is on Learning Science 101. I’ve created some short videos that talk about, and illustrate, a number of things our cognitive architecture has to account for. And, hint hint, it presages something hopefully to be announced soon.

My synchronous sessions (two different times; they’re making a serious effort to reach out globally) are 3PM ET (noon PT) Wed July 1, and 11AM ET (8AM PT) on July 8. Here, I’ll be talking about what I think is a huge missed opportunity and addressable (tho’ not simple) element of our learning design. I’ll also be part of the panel on learning science (The State of Learning) 8AM PT July 9 and 11 AM PT July 17. And, a reprise of the great debate on evaluating learning or impact (4PM PT 25 June).

And, importantly, I’ll be holding some office hours where we can truly talk about learning science, meaningfulness, and more! So will the other presenters. (They’re still to be set; I’ll update here when I know!)

Of course, there is a host of other really great speakers. Have a look at this lineup! Also, guests for a variety of things will include people like Charles Jennings & Jos Arets, Paul Kirschner, and many many more. Most of the live sessions have two times, so there’s a good chance you can catch them sometime. And there’s no overlap (so far ;), but things going on every day.

If, by the way, you are thinking about attending the conference, but have some struggles with cost, get in touch with me. I may have a way to help out ;).  I hope to see you there, whether you want to be talking meaningful learning, or for any of the other myriad reasons.

As you can probably infer, I’m interested in this. It’s not surprising, but most online events have mimicked face-to-face events. Webinars, basically. Here there’s more going on. I don’t expect all of it to work (though it all sounds good), but I love that they’re experimenting to find ways to go beyond. We’ll all learn from this initiative. Hope to see you there if you wanna talk meaning, learning science, and more…

 

Experimenting with conference design

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As part of coping in this time of upheaval, I’m trying different things. Which isn’t new, but there seem to be more innovations to tap into. In addition to teaching a course on mobile learning, I’m one of the speakers at a new online event. And, what’s nice, is that they’re experimenting with conference design, not just moving straight online.

To be fair, the Learning Guild has had a continual practice of trying different things at their conferences, and it’s been good. And, so too, was the most recent TK by ATD.  But this is different. Two of my colleagues organized it as a response to our ‘new normal’, Will Thalheimer and Matt Richter. And their stated goal is changing the way we conference.

The key, of course, is to leverage what’s different, and possible, online. It’s running from June 22 – July 31. That’s not a typo, it’s all of July and the tail end of June. That’s a long time!  They’ve recruited a suite of experts from around the world (they’re really trying to do this across boundaries include time and geography). And, to let you know, I’m one (so take my comments with the appropriate caveats ;).

They’re also tossing out traditional ideas and open to new ones. Speakers are expected to build an experience that’s spread out over the time. Yet also designed so that you can come in late, or early, and drill into what you want when you want. They’re also planing on having synchronous events – debates, panels, socializing – again using technology.

Note that it’s not free. There are some free conferences being put on, mostly webinars. And those are good. This is different. It’s deeper. It’s a stab at looking afresh. And I’m not sure it could even have come from any existing framework.

And, we won’t know if it all will work. We’re designing this in the time between now and launch. There’re bound to be hiccups. Which, of course, means there’re bound to be learnings. I know I want to talk about Learning Science 101. And something else. Lots I could (I welcome suggestions). I’m inclined to think it might be Emotion and Learning. But it could also be LXD. (There are all linked, of course.)

But it’s a high quality group (er, mostly…they did let me in). AND, importantly, it’s focused on evidence-based content. There may be sponsors, or even an exhibit hall, but every presenter is honor-bound not to push anything that’s not legit. Most importantly, there’s enough quality that overall it’s bound to be worth it.

I’m excited, frankly. I have to come up with some different ideas. And I like that. I’m glad that they’re experimenting with conference design. We all win, regardless! It’s part of learning, challenging yourself. So, do yourself a favor. Check it out. It may not be for you, but keep an open mind!

 

 

Will we still need L&D?

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In a document shared with me recently, there was this statement: “The assumption that there will always be a managed learning function”. I find that interesting to contemplate. If we ever get better about developing self-learning skills in school or university (ideally the former), could we eliminate the need for organizational courses?  E.g. will we still need L&D?

The notion is that once folks are better at self-learning, the reason for organized courses could fade. If schools start developing learn-to-learn skills, wouldn’t everyone be able to take responsibility for their own learning? Alternatively, could the role of L&D ramp down?

David Geary has been identified as a proponent of a distinction between evolutionarily different levels of learning. The idea as I comprehend it is that we’ve evolved to learn certain types of things. The flip side is those don’t include man-made constructs like mathematics, economics, and such. Thus, our learning to learn first has to develop abilities in these new domains. But that could happen.

And then there’s the notion of bootstrapping in a new domain. We start as novices in new domains, and those may be some organizational proprietary material. The domain’s likely built upon some predecessor concepts that may be familiar, but can a motivated and self-effective learner get this in a reasonable amount of time, or will they benefit from a learning experience?

If, of course, we extend L&D to support informal learning (and I suggest we should), there’s another opportunity. Until schools also develop effective communication and collaboration skills, L&D would be useful. There’s the further issue of creating a learning culture, too, where people share and cooperate. The predisposition could and should again be developed in schools, but until then…

And one final opportunity is facilitating communities of practice to become responsible for development paths, resource curation and creation, and documenting and developing ongoing domain expertise. There’s the facilitation role here for L&D until that time, but it could become part and parcel of community practice.

So, conceivably, there’s a future without L&D. That is, individuals, teams, and communities are effective self-learners. That day, I fear, is a long way off. Moving in that direction isn’t a bad move for L&D, because worries about performing oneself out of existence are premature. Schools haven’t been effective in uptake of learning science, and pressures have reduced the curricula to a limited (and misguided) core. Until then, asking “will we still need L&D” is a far-fetched question.

So I think the demise of L&D is up to L&D. What I mean is that L&D can be just about (ineffective) courses, or it can move into a more valuable position to the organization. And, if we’re clever, we’ll have found our own continuing value proposition to the org before the demise of our existing role.

Ultimately, I believe that a unit in the organization responsible for maintaining alignment with how we think, work, and learn will always have a role. We just have to put ourselves in that position. Viva la revolution!