Just a brief note to say that my mobile devices document (PDF) has been adapted and is now available on Learning Circuits.   This is the companion piece to my mobile design piece in last year’s Guild Research Report on Mobile Learning.

I’m a fan of the wilderness, because I believe that the genetic source of diversity found in wildness is critical to a sustainable world.   And, as I’ve mentioned before, I believe it’s important to pass this on to my kids.   So, just like last year, we went up to Yosemite for a couple of days, backpacking up to May Lake High Sierra Camp (HSC).

A lot was the same, staying in Tuolomne Meadows lodge the night before, packing in a little over a mile with our tents and sleeping bags (letting the May Lake staff handle breakfast and dinner), and doing a day hike between the two nights.   This was because the (younger) girl’s backpack was a wee bit big last time, and we wanted to make sure this year that they both were capable before taking on something bigger next year (it jumps from 1.2 to 5.x miles for the next shortest hike to a HSC).

Again, the goal was to minimize the exertion for the kids, having them get a chance to appreciate nature in a fun way.   While it wasn’t any more difficult, really, they did experience it as a bit more challenging as our day hike had the uphill bit on the way back.   Amazing how that little change affects their perspective!

The real important learning about learning, however, is something my better half picked up on first.   We weren’t doing enough to ensure that their learning steps were at the appropriate stage!   We quickly did focus on ensuring that they were getting support and guidance in making everything easier.   For instance, mentioning that ‘little steps’, at a pace that was sustainable, was better than trying to charge up and then stopping for a long time.

They came back positive, and while a wee bit uncertain about a substantially longer hike, I reckon they’re actually ready to handle it.   So, again a success, and a learning experience for me about how better to make it a positive learning experience for them!

The point being that there are ways to help individuals see the bigger benefit picture, scaffold their expectations, and manage the experience to make learning fun and effective.   Which is the goal, after all!

As part of the eLearning Guild’s ongoing research, they’re now collecting data about organizational web 2.0 use.   Their survey is now live, and I highly encourage you to fill it out.   Web 2.0 uses in online learning are increasing, and are an increasingly important component of the performance ecosystem.

I suspect that preliminary results will be reported at the Summer Seminar on Collaborative Learning.   We’re needing to cover more than just courses, and these tools are part of the learning technology solution needed.   Having a real look at what people are doing is an important step in understanding where we are and what’s possible.

The eLearning Guild runs a great set of Online Forums (standard disclaimers about my involvement). They’re offering one tomorrow and Friday on Creating Innovative Instructional Content – Advanced Theory and Application, and for mysterious reasons needed a pinch-hitter.   So, my involvement continues, and I’ll be on Friday at 10:15-11:30 Pacific Time, talking about Deeper Instructional Design.

This is a topic that I continually see a need for, sad to say.   As I just wrote for the blurb: “The evidence is clear; it‘s too easy to find eLearning with a rote knowledge focus, verbose writing, boring introductions, fact recitation, useless examples, meaningless practice, and a consequent rapid atrophy of the experience.   What we want is meaningful outcomes, and what we get is a painful experience to be avoided.”

What I’ll be doing is working through the various components of instructional design: intro, concept, example, practice, and summary   (which don’t have to be used in this order, but there’s only so much a person can cover in one presentation), and talking about the cognitive and motivational underpinnings that make these elements work.   For each, I’ve specific ways to improve.   It’s not necessarily new, but too few folks seem to know about it!   Yet the research points to greater learning outcomes.

I’ll be in good company; the line-up of speakers has some known names, and some important topics.   Problem-Based Learning is definitely noteworthy, as are the Semantic Web and Competencies & Roles, and I’m personally intrigued by Video Interactive Learning Objects. The other sessions promise similarly interesting ways to rethink design.   Karen Hyder coordinates the presentations, and she is great at making sure that presenters are comfortable and presenting effectively.   So, if you’re looking for greater depth and quality in your elearning, I recommend the forum.   A great conference from your own browser in two half-day sessions!   Hope to see you there.

Well, this weekend was an interesting one.   On Saturday morning I not only resurrected my site, but got my Twitter experiment advanced by managing to insert a tweet feed into the blog sidebar. Of course, it formats strangely, and I haven’t been able to fix it yet.   I tried using the span command, but around the Javascript it didn’t seem to work.

Then it was changing the bathroom light fixtures.   Successfully, following on a recent toilet replacement exercise.   In between was an absolutely great block party our neighbors organized, with activities for the kids, food and drink for all.   Learnings from each exercise!

One of the things I tweaked to was that if we sit down and start using the right tool for the job, have patience and persistence, and be willing to stop and think, we can get more done that we thought, we just have to be brave (he stays, still in anxiety mode over making a deck on the slope in the backyard).   Of course, we’re benefited to the extent we see more standards in tools and equipment (I like that they’re standardizing on electrical hardware, which makes it pretty much plug-and-play, even if it took some creativity to end-run two different boxes in two different bathrooms, ahem).   Slowly but surely, the house is being transformed.

The second learning is on community.   By pulling together all the neighbors on our cul-de-sac, we’re building an awareness of each other, which supports us helping each other.   The usual suspects pitched in, and some new folks were invited to join.   It was a lovely evening though the breeze picked up to the point where people started heading out for sweaters before coming back.   I had to think: why can’t the whole world be getting together in their neighborhood and having a party?   Of course, it’s hard when they’re bullets flying by, bombs going off, etc.   Sigh.   Still, creating the right environment for getting together creates the right environment for sharing, and that’s where learning happens.

So, use the right tools, set the right context, and be willing to work and reflect and improve and continue on.   Hope you too had a good weekend!

I’m not quite sure how the eLearning Guild is publishing the forthcoming articles from their research reports, but I believe it is as part of the Learning Solutions magazine, and that’s certainly the case with this first piece. Ellen Wagner, a member of the mobile research team, has a major article, with a small piece by me that’s an expansion of my earlier thoughts on mobile web. You have to be a least an associate member to download it, but associate membership is free. I’ll add that I believe the Guild is probably the best way to keep up to date on practical applications of technology for learning.

Ellen’s article is a thoughtful look at mobile learning, covering the industry trends. She points out that people are equipped with mobile devices: “the mobile workers aren’t waiting”. She says that the classic top-down doesn’t make sense, and figuring out how to make a mobile learning module does; that is, just do it. On the other hand, she also says that “to have a shot at broad adoption, mobile learning applications must be an integrated part of a larger organizational vision for building capacity”. These aren’t as incommensurate as they may seem, as those in the trenches should begin experimenting with mLearning just as they did with eLearning, and at the same time managers and executives should be looking to the broader eLearning strategy incorporating mobile (as I regularly suggest).

She points out the barriers that still exist, so that even when we’re seeing essentially ubiquitous computational and network capability, we’re seeing incompatibility across providers and platforms. There are still technology barriers to cross, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t start thinking ‘mobile’. The reasons are many, including the increasingly mobile workforce. And she acknowledges the emerging consensus that mobile learning is really about performance support. That may not be the limit, but it’s certainly the low-hanging fruit.

I highly recommend her article, as Ellen’s been deeply involved in the world of content delivery through her recent stint as the eLearning guru at Adobe, and has experience and knowledge that puts her at the forefront of thinking in this space. It’s an honor to have my little piece in the same document as hers. (NB: mine is also available separately as well, PDF).   Check it out!