elearnspace

I recently participated in a product development focus group for Blackboard. Our experience and opinions on blogs and wikis they wanted to know about. The discussion serpentined past the roadsign I don't think they quite get. Blogs and wikis are about ownership --personal, collaborative--out there and not in here. Do-up your discussion board; I like what it has to offer if I have to use it.

never really thought about this

I like this thought but what if my process is quite chaotic?
Sometimes I like to just surf and follow interesting links!!!
I am interested in inserting pathways through the LMS that represent the best way for particular types of learner, e.g. novice, expert, ESOL, visual, sequential etc...
Different Gender??Can you elaborate on that idea??

What about the unspoken truth that its not what we want that matters? Its what corporate purchasers want (and believe they want) that matters. That's not a bad or an evil thing, its just truth. Until you can demonstrate how having an LMS that allows for dynamic generation of user-unique pathways and so on is relevant or has a positive impact on the bottom line or creates a demonstrable increase in performance - it won't happen. So you either have to find a pioneer willing to take this risk or continue our educational efforts along the lines that LMSs can (and should) do and be so much more.

Hi Mark, thanks for your comment (I've received more criticism from this simple off the cuff post that I receive on the more thought out responses :)). I agree that the needs of the end user are what ultimately count (the end user being defined as the person paying the bill...but there are many other stakeholders in the process - the learner, the instructor, the division/department, etc.

You've been blogging for quite a while - how do you place value on that conversation? Why do you continue to do it if you can't create a clear evaluation metric? To a degree, I think the answer lies in the difference between learning as a "doing" concept (i.e. I learn in order to do something - which is important in more skill-based economies) and learning as a "becoming" concept (i.e. I learn to become a particular type of person - which is an important skill for knowledge workers). How do we place a metric on creativity? on innovation? Is it possible that we are still using the evaluation mindset that served us in skill-based economies? In my conversations with businesses, I find that a growing group actually "get it" in terms of moving beyond a hard ROI view and the soft ROI that understands the growing value of culture and the networks and ecologies that foster continual learning. Google, as an example, has a certain feel (the "cool geek attitude", the "we can do anything", and free buffets all contribute to the company's value)...but how do we determine how individual elements impact the whole? Metrics, when dealing beyond skills requires a different, more conversational model.

George,

First understand this - we are in violent agreement. I want what you want. I also agree that our metrics are out of whack with the major means of economic production (knowledge work - which has its own blurred edges). I mean if you look at the balance sheet for Microsoft, you see assets like desks and chairs - things that matter not a whit - but things that do matter - the retention rate among top engineers - the job satisfaction index of top managers - the nimbleness of product groups - the ability of the organization to learn - are not reflected at all.

Second, I am heartened when you say that you are meeting a growing group of people who "get it" in terms of changing the parameters of ROI - this is right in line with my last comment that we need pioneers here who will engage these alternate sets of ROI and show they can keep paying the rent and the rest of the market can be brought along. I also think the educational piece is a large part of why I blog.

There is some subtle advocacy at work in what I post - helping people see some larger context to our 'learning' world. You are also exactly correct when you point out that while I have a slew of metrics as to how my blog is doing in terms of numbers of visitors, these in no way reflect on my willingness to blog. My metric is much more conversational (of course, I only have to have that conversation with myself :-)).

So believe me - my comment was more lament that critique. We fight on the same side my friend!