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My ‘Man on the Moon’ Project

20 July 2021 by Clark 8 Comments

There have been a variety of proposals for the next ‘man on the moon’ project since JFK first inspired us. This includes going to Mars, infrastructure revitalization, and more. And I’m sympathetic to them. I’d like us to commit to manufacturing and installing solar panels over all parking lots, both to stimulate jobs and the economy, and transform our energy infrastructure, for instance. However, with my focus on learning and technology, there’s another ‘man on the moon’ project I’d like to see.

I’d like to see an entire K12 curriculum online (in English, but open, so that anyone can translate it). However, there are nuances here. I’m not oblivious to the fact that there are folks pushing in this direction. I don’t know them all, but I certainly have some reservations. So let me document three important criteria that I think are critical to make this work (queue my claim “only two things wrong with education in this country, the curriculum and the pedagogy, other than that it’s fine”).

First, as presaged, it can’t be the existing curriculum.  Common Core isn’t evil, but it’s still focused on a set of elements that are out of touch. As an example, I’ll channel Roger Schank on the quadratic equation: everyone’s learned (and forgotten) it, almost no one actually uses it. Why? Making every kid learn it is just silly. Our curriculum is a holdover from what was stipulated at the founding of this country. Let’s get a curriculum that’s looking forward, not back. Let’s include the ability to balance a bankbook, to project manage, to critically evaluate claims, to communicate visually, and the like.

Second, as suggested, it can’t be the existing pedagogy. Lecture and test don’t lead to retaining and transferring the ability to  do. Instead, learning science tells us that we need to be given challenging problems, and resources and guidance to solve them. Quite simply, we need to practice as we want to be able to perform. Instruction is designed action and  guided reflection.  Ideally, we’d layer on learning on top of learner interests. Which leads to the third component.

We need to develop teachers who can facilitate learning in this new pedagogy. We can’t assume teachers can do this. There are many dedicated teachers, but the system is aligned against effective outcomes. (Just look at the lack of success of educational reform initiatives.) David Preston, with his Open Source Learning has a wonderful idea, but it takes a different sort of teacher. We also can’t assume learners sitting at computers. So, having a teacher support component along with every element is important.

Are there initiatives that are working on all this? I have yet to see any one that’s gotten it  all right.  The ones I’ve seen lack on one or another element. I’m happy to be wrong!

I also recognize that agreeing on all the elements, each of which is controversial, is problematic. (What’s the  right curricula? Direct instruction or constructivist? How do we value teachers in society?) We’d have major challenges in assembling folks to address any of these, let alone all and achieving convergence.

However, think of the upside. What could we accomplish if we had an effective education system preparing youth for the success of our future? What  is the best investment in our future?  I realize it’s a big dream; and I’m not in a position to make it happen. Yet I did want to drop the spark, and see if it fire any imaginations. I’m happy to help. So, this is my ‘man on the moon’ project; what am I missing?

Overworked IDs

25 May 2021 by Clark 2 Comments

I was asked a somewhat challenging question the other day, and it led me to reflect. As usual, I‘m sharing that with you. The question was “How can IDs keep up with everything, feel competent and confident in our work” It‘s not a trivial question! So I‘ll share my response to overworked IDs.

There was considerable context behind the question. My interlocutor weighed in with her tasks:  

“sometimes I wonder how to best juggle everything that my role requires: project management, design and ux/ui skills, basic coding, dealing with timelines and SMEs and managers. Don‘t forget task analysis and needs assessment skills, making content accessible and engaging. And staying on top of a variety of software.”  

I recognize that this is the life of overworked IDs, particularly if you‘re the lone ID (which isn‘t infrequent), or expected to handle course development on your own. Yet it is a lot of different competencies. In work with IBSTPI, where we‘re defining competencies, we‘re recognizing that different folks cut up roles differently. Regardless, many folks wear different competency requirements that in other orgs are handled by different teams. So what‘s a person to do?

My response focused on a couple of things. First, there‘re the expectations that have emerged. After 9/11, when we were avoiding travel, there was a push for elearning. And, with the usual push for efficiency, rapid elearning became the vogue. That is, tools that made it easy to take PDFs and PPTs and put it up online with a quiz. It looked like lectures, so it must be learning, right?

One of the responses, then, is to manage expectations. In fact, a recent post addressed the gap between what we know and what orgs should know. We need to reset expectations.

As part of that, we need to create better expectations about what learning is. That was what drove the Serious eLearning Manifesto [elearningmanifesto.org], where we tried to distinguish between typical elearning and serious elearning. Our focus should shift to where our first response isn‘t a course!  

As to what is needed to feel competent and confident, I‘ve been arguing there are three strands. For one (not surprisingly ;), I think IDs need to know learning science. This includes being able to fill in the gaps in and update on instructional design prescriptions, and also to be able to push back against bad recommendations. (Besides the book, this has been the subject of the course I run for HR.com via Allen Academy, will be the focus of my presentation at ATD ICE this summer, and also my asynchronous course for the LDC conference.)  

Second, I believe a concomitant element is understanding true engagement. Here I mean going beyond trivial approaches like tarting-up drill-and-kill, and gamification, and getting into making it meaningful. (I‘ve run a workshop on that through the LDA, and it will be the topic of my workshop at DevLearn this fall.)

The final element is a performance ecosystem mindset. That is, thinking beyond the course: first to performance support, still on the optimal execution side of the equation. Then we move to informal learning, facilitating learning. Read: continual innovation! This may seem like more competencies to add on, but the goal is to reduce the emphasis (and workload) on courses, and build an organization that continues to learn. I address this in the  Revolutionize L&D book, and also my mobile course for Allen Interactions (a mobile mindset is, really, a performance ecosystem mindset!).

If you‘re on top of these you should prepared to do your job with competence and confidence. Yes, you still have to navigate organizational expectations, but you‘re better equipped to do so. I‘ll also suggest you stay tuned for further efforts to make these frameworks accessible.  

So, there‘re my responses to overworked IDs. Sorry, no magic bullets, I‘m afraid (because ‘magic‘ isn‘t a thing, sad as that may be). Hopefully, however, a basis upon which to build. That‘s my take, at any rate, I welcome hearing how you‘d respond.

A message to CxOs: about L&D myths

4 May 2021 by Clark 3 Comments

If you’re a CEO, COO, CFO, and the like, are you holding L&D to account? Because much of what I see coming out of L&D doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. As I’ve cited in books and presentations, there’s evidence that L&D isn’t up to scratch. And I think you should know a few things that may be of interest to you. So here’re some L&D myths you might want to watch out for.

  1. If it looks like school, it must be learning. We’ve all been to school, so we know what learning looks like, right? Except, do you remember how effective school actually was? Did it give you many of the skills you apply in your job now?  Maybe reading and writing, but beyond that, what did you learn about business, leadership, etc? And how  did you learn those things? I’ll bet not by sitting and listening to lectures presented via bulletpoints. If it looks like schooling, it’s probably a waste of time and money. It should look more like lab, or studio.
  2. If we’re keeping our  efficiency in line with others, we’re doing good. This is a common belief amongst L&D: well, our [fill in the blank: employees served per L&D staff member | costs per hour of training | courses run per year | etc.] is the same or better than the industry average, so we’re doing good. No, this is all about efficiency, not effectiveness. If they’re not reporting on measurable changes in the improvement of business metrics, like sales, customer service, operations,e tc, they’re not demonstrating their worth. It’s a waste of money.
  3. We produce the courses our customers need. Can they justify that? It’s a frequent symptom that the courses that are asked for have little relation to the actual problem. There are many reasons for performance problems, and a reliable solution is to throw a course at it. Without knowing whether it’s truly a function of lack of skill. Courses can’t address problems like the wrong incentives, or a lack of resources. If you’re not ensuring that you’re only using courses when they make sense, you’re throwing away money.
  4. Job aids aren’t our job.  Performance should be the job, not just courses. As Joe Harless famously said: “Inside every fat course there‘s a thin job aid crying to get out.” There are many times when a job aid is a better solution than a course. To believe otherwise is one of the classic L&D myths. If they’re avoiding taking that on, they’re avoiding a cheaper and more effective solution.
  5. Informal learning isn’t our job. Well, it might not be if L&D truly doesn’t understand learning, but they should. When you’re doing trouble-shooting, research, design, etc., you don’t know the answer when you start. That’s learning too, and there is a role for active facilitation of best principles. Assuming people know how to do it isn’t justifiable. Informal learning is the key to innovation, and innovation is a necessary differentiation.
  6. Our LMS is all we need. Learning management systems (which is a misnomer, they’re course management systems) manage courses well. However, if they’re trying to also be resource portals, and social media systems, and collaboration tools, they’re unlikely to be good at all that. Yet those are also functions that affect optimal performance and continual innovation (the two things I argue  should be the remit of L&D). Further, you want the right tool for the job. One all-singing, all-dancing solution isn’t the way to bet for IT in general, and that holds true for L&D as well.
  7. Our investment in evaluation instruments is valuable. If you’re using some proprietary tools that purport to help you identify and characterize individuals, you’re probably being had. If you’re using it for hiring and promotion, you’re also probably violating ethical guidelines. Whether personality, or behavior, or any other criteria, most of these are methodologically and psychometrically flawed. You’re throwing away money. We have a natural instinct to categorize, but do it on individual performance, not on some flawed instrument.
  8. We have to jump on this latest concept.  There’re a slew of myths and misconceptions running around that are appealing and yet flawed. Generations, learning styles, attention spans, neuro-<whatever> and more are all appealing, and also misguided. Don’t spend resources on investing in them without knowing the real tradeoffs and outcomes.These are classic L&D myths.
  9. We  have to have this latest technology. Hopefully you’re resistant to new technologies unless you know what they truly will do for your organization. This holds true for L&D as well. They’re as prone to lust after VR and AR and AI as the rest of the organization. They’re also as likely to spend the money without knowing the real costs and consequences. Make sure they’re coming from a place where they know the unique value the technology brings!

There’s more, but that’s enough for now. Please, dig in. Ask the hard questions. Get L&D to be scrutable for real results, not platitudes. Ensure that you’re not succumbing to L&D myths. Your organization needs it, and it’s time to hold them to account as you do the rest of your organization. Thanks, and wishing you all the best.

Something that emerged from a walk, and, well, I had to get it off my chest. I welcome your thoughts.

Update on my webinars

19 January 2021 by Clark Leave a Comment

I know, I know, I’ve been doing a lot of updates: books, workshops, and now webinars. I promise I’ll get back to my regular posting on learning things, but the benefit of these, unlike books or courses, is that they’re free. And several are coming up! So I thought I’d at least let you have a chance. So, here’s an update on my webinars.

First, I’ll be talking for eLearning Learning on the 27th of January at 11AM PT (2PM ET). They were interested in discussing about the impact on Covid, and of course I’m taking it in an aspirational direction. I’m presenting about how we’re not well aligned with how we think, work, and learn, and what that looks like in general, and in particular online.

Then, I’m doing a ‘make it meaningful’ presentation for iSpring on 25 Feb at 9AM PT (noon ET). The coordinates to sign up are here.   It aligns with their theme and I’ll get into some top-level issues.

Then, on 18 March, at 10AM, I’ll talk with Barbara Covarrubias Venegas on facilitating innovation. Since here topic is on virtual space, I suspect we’ll focus there. It’s a LinkedIn Live event, you can see it as one of her list of interviews.

Finally, at 10 AM PT (1PM ET) on Thursday the 13th (not Friday), I’ll be talking learning science for ATD.  That, as yet, doesn’t have a page AFAIK. More info as it emerges.

(BTW, there’s a recording of my webinar last week on learning science.)

This actually presents a pretty fair coverage of my areas of focus, so if any one (or more) is of interest, here’s a chance to see my thoughts. My general focus, as I like to quip, is on those things L&D isn’t doing, and what they’re doing badly. Which is most everything! 😁  I’m sure more webinars will eventuate, but that’s it for now. So there you go, an update on my webinars. Hope to see you there!

Update on my workshops

13 January 2021 by Clark Leave a Comment

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!)

 

The Future of L&D? A pitch

17 November 2020 by Clark 1 Comment

I was talking with a colleague the other day, and got a wee bit dramatic. I also thought it was an important point. So here, for your dining enjoyment, I’ve roughly recreated the pitch (in 3 mins and 30 secs):

I hope this makes sense. I welcome your thoughts and feedback.


The Script:

Hi, I‘m Clark Quinn, of Quinnovation, and I‘ve been around the elearning for well-nigh forever, and around L&D for the past couple of decades.  So…I joke that:

L&D isn‘t doing near what it could and should, and what it is doing, it‘s doing badly.  Other than that, it‘s fine.  

Seriously, I think there‘s the obviously important role for L&D,  but also a really important opportunity.  

Things aren’t getting any simpler.    We‘re facing increasing complexity and uncertainty.  And, going forward, I suggest, optimal execution is only the cost of entry.  Continual innovation will be the necessary differentiator.  That is, we will have to do well what we know we have to do,  but we also have to become agile, nimble, and able to pivot in the face of change.  So that means doing courses right, when courses are the answer.  That‘s the optimizing role, going beyond being efficient to being effective.

And it also means that organizations will have to get good at problem-solving, research, design, and more.The thing is with those things, when you start you don‘t know the answer.  That is: They. Are. Learning!  And that is the important opportunity.

Going back to being effective, that means that when we design courses, we need to effectively integrate learning science with true engagement.  Deep LXD,  not tarted up quiz shows and ‘click to see more‘. And, we should only do that when it‘s the right answer!  It‘s not ‘we need a course on this‘, but instead  “we can identify that we have a skills gap and we need to improve our performance”.

And then, it‘s about facilitating social and informal learning:  tapping into the power of our people, creating a learning culture, assisting the organization in systematic in good practices.  

How do we get there?  I argue there are two major steps.  First, we need to measure,  and here I mean more than just efficiency.  It‘s not how much it costs to have a bum in a seat for an hour,  but instead whether that bum in that seat for that hour does the organization any good.  Right now, we don‘t know whether our efforts are really moving any needles.  It‘s a matter of faith that if it look like school, it must be learning.

Second, it means we have to start practicing those principles within L&D: smart experimentation; collaborating; and learning continually and out loud.  We can‘t have credibility if we haven‘t walked the walk.It won‘t happen overnight.  We‘ll have to build back our reputation as scrutable practitioners.  We‘ll have to continually educate.  And likely have to do the ‘better to seek forgiveness than permission‘.

Here‘s the vision I see.  When we‘re not only ensuring good execution on what we know we have to do,  but are responsible for the ongoing success of the organization,  we‘ve moved to an indispensable position.  We‘re key to success in the toughest times!  As key as IT and Finance.  Other groups can and will take it on if we don‘t  but we‘re supposed to be the ones who understand how we learn.  And learning, going forward, is the key to not just surviving, but thriving.  Our orgs need it, the employees need it, and our professional standards demand it.  So let‘s do it.    Let‘s reengineer our status in, and value to, the organization.

Thanks for listening.

The case for learning science

19 August 2020 by Clark 1 Comment

In a perfect world, we’d spend all the time we want on learning. However, we don’t live in that world, we live in the real world. Which means our decisions are about tradeoffs. Which means we have to evaluate the case for paying attention to research. So here’s a stab at the case for learning science.

Learning is a probabilistic game. That is, there’s a probability that anything we’ve invested in learning will arise at the appropriate time. I’ll suggest that our brains have some randomness built into them, so there’s always a chance we’ll do things differently. Thus, in a sense, learning design is about increasing the probability that the right thing will occur.

And there are consequences. Say, for instance, that we want people to wash hands sufficiently. Then we might rightly work to increase awareness (along with making sure there’s soap, water, sinks, towels, etc) and the proper procedure. To do that sufficiently, say, takes X minutes of instruction.

Yet we may not have X minutes. Given the drain on resources, allocating that much time means the cost of the washing may be more than the cost of not. People not on the job for that time are an expensive resource. What’s a manager to do?

What we do all the time is make a probabilistic decision. We provide the rules in places where people might get their hands dirty, and we provide support materials (e.g. signs on the walls) in the places you wash your hands.

Most importantly, however, we make a determination of what’s a level of time that is going to likely do ‘good enough’. We’ll spend X-Y minutes, and make essentially a gamble that we’ll get 80% there, and the support materials will do the rest.

What this means is that since we’re not allocating sufficient time, we should be optimizing the quality of the learning design we apply. If they’re only getting X-Y minutes, that time should be as effective as possible. Which means we practice serious learning design, reflecting the best practices.

Quite simply, if you do less than use the best learning design principles derived from research, you’re decreasing the value of your investment in design time and learner time. And there are lots of ways we go wrong, whether it’s myths or just underinformed design. It’s a matter of professionalism as well. So let’s be smart and design smart. That’s the case for learning science. We owe it to our learners and our organizations.

Talking meaningful learning

9 June 2020 by Clark Leave a Comment

So, I’ve previously mentioned the Learning & Development conference I’ll be participating in that starts late this month. And, their main sessions are not webinars, but basically mini-courses (with lots of variation). But they’ll also be having live sessions. Given that I’ve ‘asked and answered’ the question about where things go wrong, it’s time for me to get real. So I’ll be talking meaningful learning. Let me talk about each more.

First, of course, meaningful learning is about getting the learning science right. I’ve argued (and continue to do so) that we’ve got to fix the core of our learning designs before we worry about fancy new hardware like AR and VR. If the core’s wrong, we’re just gilding bad design (and gilded bad design is still bad design). If we don’t focus on the right objectives, manage attention, set challenge appropriately, provide the right models and examples, and most of all have the  right practice, we’re wasting our time. As I’ve also said, once we’ve got that right, we’ve got lots of ways to implement it.

So, the asynchronous course I’ll be offering are the basics of learning science. Our information processing cycle, and the artifacts of our cognitive architecture. We’ll talk those things above, and have fun doing it!   You’ll get to experience several of the phenomena we’re talking about. And process the takehome messages.

For the live session (at two different times, we’re spanning the globe!), yes, I’ll talking meaningful learning. It  is still based upon the contents of Engaging Learning (and previous posts), but a) pulled out of games into specifications for regular learning, b) expanded with all I’ve learned since then (and I’ve been continuing to explore what’s known and what that implies), and of course c) it’s, well, live!

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.

Adapting to change

28 April 2020 by Clark Leave a Comment

We live in interesting times. And, of course, that means many things have changed. Some for the worse, some for the better. I thought I’d just overview some of ways I’m adapting to change, so you can keep track and take advantage.

I was scheduled to do a number of things. One that wasn’t on the list was a trip to Brazil in May, also to give a talk (at least). And, of course, Boston, Brazil,  and Belgium have all been postponed. Understandably. And, sadly, my Quinnsights column had to cease. That might seem, then, to take away all opportunities for me to educate, but in the meantime, in addition to my ongoing Litmos blog (at least for now!), other things have surfaced.

For one, I’ll be doing a course for the Allen Academy.   I’ll be talking about mobile learning, a topic I’ve had  some experience with ;). It starts soon, 6 May. I’ll be clear: it’s about ‘thinking’ mobile, which means getting your mind around much much more than ‘courses on a phone’. And it’s about design and strategy, not development. No bit spinning. After all, I’ve quipped about the importance of getting the design right.

Another is the upcoming L&D conference. I’ll be talking “Learning Science 101”, which I think is much needed and also doable. This is a new online event conjured up by some colleagues to meet a need. And, I’m happy to say, there’s a lot to like: thinking really hard about how to take advantage of online for conference-style learning, a great lineup of speakers. This starts June 22, and last 6 weeks, so already you can see it’s different.

Two other non-event things to note. My first two books,  Engaging Learning  and  Designing mLearning, were out of print. Fortunately, when that happens, publishing contracts say the rights can revert to the author if they request it. And…they did!   I’ve taken them with minimal modification (had to remove one case study from the latter; some minor tweaks), and made them available through Kindle. At a greatly reduced price!

And, of course, I’m still working in a variety of ways. Including being available to help you with moving courses or working online. And scheming up more things. I’m tentatively scheduled for another tome, and one was already underway. Somewhat under wraps still, but…

So those are the things I’m doing adapting to change. Not to worry, there’ll be more, in this volatile age. I’m trying to practice what I preach about experimentation, so there’ll likely be other new things percolating. Stay tuned!

Interesting times

17 March 2020 by Clark Leave a Comment

It was when I was living in Australia that I first heard the apocryphal Chinese curse “may you live in interesting times.” And, I have to say, the going’s gotten weird. A few reflections on the situation, all of course related to COVID-19.

I wrote some months ago about my spring schedule. And, well, as you might’ve guessed, things have changed. My trip to Boston has been postponed for a year (I’ll be giving a webinar for ATD NE).   I had added a trip to Brazil in May, which I’d yet to tell you about since they hadn’t gotten a page up, but…it’s been postponed.   And my trip to Belgium in June? Not feeling optimistic. (And this isn’t good, personally. As an independent, it’s gigs that pay the way. Need some remote work?)

Remote, because the entire SF Bay Area, where I live, is now on ‘stay home’ mode as of midnight last night.   Only essential services and travel are on. Of course work-based travel is acceptable, but right now, no one wants to meet in person. And there’s actually a good reason for this…

Curve below health system capacity if we take precautionsThis is a really wonderful diagram (ok, my poor rendition of it). It is the clearest depiction of the argument to take extraordinary measures. Simple, elegant. Our health system aims to cope with average levels of problems. We’re talking considerably more than that. This diagram, and the associated label “flattening the curve” really conveys the need for action. But this has really helped convey the necessity. I am using an adaptation to make the case for Community Emergency Response Team, a training initiative I’m engaged in. Which is also postponed.

I worry about much more, of course. We’ve seen weird behaviors (stockpiling toilet paper, an unsymptomatic response), as well as good ones (elbow bumps for greeting). Everyone,  and I mean everyone, is weighing in on how to design learning online and how to work remotely. I wasn’t going to, but an editor for one of my columns asked. I at least got agreement to not just talk the basics, but about using the opportunity to rethink.

My biggest concern is the impact on people’s lives! Folks’ livelihoods are at risk. There’s a lot of financial activity that’s not going to be happening (dining, for instance). The implications for many people – diminished income, mortgages or rent unpaid – are a concern. One interesting aside that a colleague noticed: there’s likely to be many more people who know what good hand-washing means now.   Please do learn it!

The main thing is to stay safe, for your sake and others. There’s a segment of the population that’s at higher risk, and that’s who we’re needing to help. And keep the need within capacity. We’re not only not equipped, but not supplied, to meet the possible demand when we don’t do enough.

I hope to see you at the other end of this, but stay tuned for all sorts of interim initiatives. We’re living in interesting times, and it’s an opportunity to be innovative, resilient, and humane. Here’s hoping that we become better as a consequence.

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