elearnspace

Introduction to Social Network Analysis

Excellent resource: Introduction to Social Network Analysis (via Maish)

Rethinking ROI: Managing Risk and Rewards in KM Initiatives

Rethinking ROI: Managing Risk and Rewards in KM Initiatives: "Knowledge management projects undertaken based on good intentions alone can succeed only by accident. Success is far more likely if projects are undertaken with specific, measurable goals in mind. Predicting and then monitoring return on investment is a classic means of increasing the likelihood of success in IT projects. However, rather than using abstract ROI calculations that are too easily manipulated by project proponents, it is preferable to use measures that closely track a firm’s business and the interests of clients. Leverage, effective rate and profit component are such measures. Knowledge management projects should not be undertaken until the business intelligence tools necessary to measure results are in place. It is preferable to undertake knowledge management projects incrementally, both to mitigate risk and to permit managing such projects (using business intelligence tools) toward a higher net benefit to the firm and to clients."

Wicked (Good) Wikis

Wicked (Good) Wikis: "Faster than a speeding blog, more collaborative than a powerful intranet — they can't quite leap tall buildings in a single bound, but Wikis can enable bottom-up socialization."

What Is This RSS, XML, RDF, and Atom Business?

What Is This RSS, XML, RDF, and Atom Business?: "RSS, XML, RDF, and Atom are the food delivery guy of the Internet. The content they deliver is mixed and cooked elsewhere on the Internet just like the meal isn't made on your door step and the acronym fellows bring the content to you via software or an online application. Instead of trying to remember all the places where you like to go to get the latest news, it all comes to you once you order your food." (via Lockergnome)

Personal Knowledge Management

Dave Pollard's on going discussion of howpersonal knowledge management should work...by duplicating much of how we shuffle papers and interact with our physical environment. I've come to view blogging as a personal knowledge management tool...and I prefer the opposite - less like my physical workspace, and more reliance on software tools to organize and search information. I frequently search my blog for links and resources. Better structure, filing, and cross-platform (i.e. functionality independent of opening a particular software tool as Dave proposes) are great for "right now" work...but most of my content is "back then". I need a better "now" work environment...but more importantly, greater direct (not hierarchical) access to previous content.

How RSS Can Succeed

How RSS Can Succeed: "RSS is, today, the transport mechanism of choice. There is nothing magical about RSS, except for the fact that it just is an autonomous agent system providing a high degree of connectivity."

Complete Guide to Google

The Complete Guide to Google. I enjoyed reading this collection of articles. Fascinating to see the world of IPOs unfolding...and the organizational impact.

Learning Object Repository Software

Scott posts a good list of learning object repository software. I had a conversation with a colleague yesterday on the subject of repositories...the focus/conclusion was that repositories will probably not remain in their present form for long. A repository is essentially a database that organizes data. Not much different from data organization models used for managing content or other organizational data. LO repositories should develop on the back of that infrastructure...otherwise, we end up with separate systems developing at different a different pace.

Broadband - power lines

In about two weeks, I will (hopefully) be moving into a house I've been building since October. It's "in the country", so I'll be giving up my high speed connection until I can find a replacement. I've been exploring several options...satellite is too expensive...so my only hope rests the construction of (rumored) a new wireless Internet tower. Something like this would be welcomed: Is broadband set to make power lines sing?

Fewer professors spend a full day on campus

I've lamented before that traditional education institutions are slow to respond to the fundamental shift that has occured in our needs as learners. Perhaps one group is responding even slower to the changes than institutions: The Professors: "The full-time tenured professor is becoming an endangered species. The reason: money. As universities drift away from the traditional model of the full-time professor, a cheaper alternative is taking their place - part-timers who often teach at several institutions."
Right or wrong, this is a trend. Fighting it won't work. Reshaping our role as educators will.

Knowledge is paralyzing

For Calvin and Hobbes fans: Knowledge is paralyzing: ""Calvin says the more you know, the harder it is to take decisive action. When you are informed, you see complexities and shades of gray. You realize nothing is as clear as it first appears. Ultimately, knowledge is paralyzing. Calvin tosses his book. He says as a man of action, he can't afford to take that risk. Hobbes says Calvin is ignorant, but at least he acts on it." (via elearningpost)

E-Learning's Burden on Work-Life Balance.

E-Learning's Burden on Work-Life Balance. What should we do?: "One worry I have is that e-learning may push learning out of work time and into personal time. There are already some indications that this is happening."
Comment: If you're one of those people who still has a distinction between work and personal time...:), this article presents an important concept - will our work learning needs become so great that they are completed within personal time? In many cases, however, I find that learning is not an activity confined to only one domain. In some cases, personal learning seems to impact on work time!

Theory and Practice of Online Learning

There is still much debate about the financial viability of releasing content under open source models. Opponents feel that it reduces the viability of an author/researcher to make a living from published work. Those in favour, argue that the author(s) will earn revenue from people who purchased the published work after reviewing the material (and of course, the increase in exposure by providing freely viewable/shareable material).

Here's an important experiment in the value of open source content (a quick skim of the book reveals a high-quality, well-researched resource): Theory and Practice of Online Learning"...is concerned with assisting providers of online education with useful tools to carry out the teaching and learning transactions online. It presents, in an easily readable form, the theory, administration, tools, and methods of designing and delivering learning online."

Knowledge management and elearning

Both elearning and knowledge management feed off the same root: learning, improved capacity to perform work tasks, ability to make effective decisions, and positively impact the world around us. The difference between KM and elearning is a function of time.. Knowledge management is dynamic. Elearning is static.

As a medium, elearning allows for the sharing of knowledge that has been tested, researched and organized. For example, an instructional designer relies on subject matter experts to provide an understanding/best practices/knowledge of a certain field. The information used to create an elearning course has typically been tested and is generally accepted by practitioners of the field. As such, elearning is delayed (but tested), organized knowledge.

Knowledge management, however, is much livelier. Conversations and sharing understanding happens in real time. Through KM, tacit understanding can be communicated, problems can be jointly solved, and serendipitous connections are formed. KM is chaotic, current (but structurally weak) knowledge.

Unfortunately, KM is overwhelming to many because it sometimes lacks the structure of an organized course. KM is an ecology...elearning an architecture.

Many people who first approach blogs and wikis as learning environments are confused by the lack of structure...and soon "drop out" as a result of the overwhelming information (participating in high activity knowledge ecologies requires a mindset of suspended judgment about incoming information (i.e. don't over-evaluate each item of information as an end) - and focuses instead on synthesizing and pattern searching the entire domain).

Elearning courses become outdated, while KM environments are continually fresh and reflective of current activity in a field. Somehow, the strengths of the two fields need to be brought together. KM should feed into elearning (in order for the content of the "course" to remain fresh and to tap learners into a sustained knowledge environment after the course is done). Elearning should feed into the KM environment and provide easy mechanisms for organizing information in the manner that 80% of people function (not the current 20% who are in love with blogs, wikis, and all things new).

Personal Content Management: An Exploration

Personal Content Management: An Exploration "I believe any schema for personal content management needs to reflect and honour our most established 'information behaviour' -- the shuffling of paper."
Comment: Recently, I've noticed an increase of articles lamenting the increase in amont of information. Our information acquiring and disseminating tasks consume an increasingly larger part of our day. A better tool and a better process is needed. I've found some value in blogs, wikis and RSS, but I'm still searching for the perfect tool/process. This article suggests increased use of annotation tools and alludes to capturing conversations (both add additional information, however).

Learning is a master skill in nurturing innovation

Learning is a master skill in nurturing innovation: "Learning is the master skill. When we fully engage in learning — when we throw ourselves whole-heartedly into experimenting, reflecting, reading, or getting coaching – we’re going to experience the thrill of improvement and the taste of success."

Google and Yahoo

Google and Yahoo are entering stage one of the promised search wars (just waiting for Microsoft to get involved). Google announced the addition of 1 billion extra pages to its search index...and Yahoo unveiled it's own search engine (Google had previously been supplying search services for Yahoo). I tried the Yahoo service today...nice, clean...but I'm comfortable with Google, no need to change at this point (even though Yahoo has added a nice feature of searching for a site's RSS page)

The Semantic Social Network

The Semantic Social Network: "Two types of technologies are about to merge. The technologies are content syndication, used by blogging websites around the world, and social networking, employed by sites such as Friendster [http://www.friendster.com] and Orkut [http://www.orkut.com]. They will merge to create a new type of internet, a network within a network, and in so doing reshape the internet as we know it." Comment: This article is written ahead of its time. What is expressed here will probably only develop more explicitly in the next several years. However, that doesn't detract from the valuable insight it provides. The essential message: blogging provides content, social networks provide community. When separated, their value is diminished. When combined, weaknesses of each are minimized.

Monoculture

Apply this same concern to enterprise level systems (particularly relating to learning management systems): Monoculture: "In biology, species with little genetic variation -- or "monocultures" -- are the most vulnerable to catastrophic epidemics. Species that share a single fatal flaw could be wiped out by a virus that can exploit that flaw. Genetic diversity increases the chances that at least some of the species will survive every attack." Alright, maybe it's a bit dramatic...but the point remains, to do things ONLY one way requires that many other options have to be ignored. This results in reduced innovation and creativity. Learning is too rich a process to be confined to the structure laid out by most learning management systems today.

TrackBack: Where Blogs Learn Their Places

TrackBack: Where Blogs Learn Their Places. Trackback is the currently very underutlized twin of RSS. It's the push back part of blogging. But it suffers for the same reasons as any type of network-creating tool: too difficult to grasp how it works and what the benefits are. The process in doing it is easy. However, so much of our dialogue is generally one to one. I call you. You call me. I email you. You email me. Trackback allows for the development of peripheral conversations (almost as if we could be party to office gossip about our own thoughts). We still don't understand the value or role of that in communication and knowledge sharing. Our physical history of dialogue is too different. Still, trackback, or some similar concept, will eventually become an important concept in learning online.

Why employees don't share what they know

Why employees don't share what they know presents a table detailing knowledge behaviours and intervention options. It is important to realize that reasons for not sharing knowledge are unique with each person/organization. There are certain environments where I'm very willing to share and contribute...and others where I'm not willing. Usually, it is a function of how I feel (trusted, secure, respected), the environment (openness, high tolerance for failure (needed for risk-taking behaviour)), and the people (mutual exchange, fair, responsive).

We Learning

This follow up article is worth reading to get an understanding of trends in elearning (which are really only an extension of trends in the larger field of communication and technology) We Learning: Social Software and E-Learning, Part II. I'm much more at ease with a concept of learning that relies on communication/collaboration tools, versus learning that relies on learning management systems. The former puts the learner in control, the latter puts the instructor in control.

Sorry for the amount of posts...

If you read this blog via RSS, sorry for the ton of posts. The server hosting this site crashed this weekend...and I'm just finish up rebuilding. Now, all that's left is formatting (content is more important than appearance, right?!?)

MADLaT

I'll be presenting at the MADLaT conference in May on "The Art of Blogging" . If you're in Winnipeg for the conference, stop by and say hi!

Silence

Break the Silence: "The fact is that silence is strangling many organizations today. Employees and management are encouraged to speak out at only the most opportune time, after the appropriate lobbying has been done and they have their ducks in a row." (via Jim and Seb)

Emergent Learning

This article about Howard Dean's use of the Internet offers quick lessons for elearning (though the article does not go into nearly enough detail addressing the concept of emergent learning/democracy) Emergent Learning : "...his campaign’s use of the Internet has been extraordinarily successful at creating a high-performance learning community. And there are enormous lessons to be learned here for designers of e-learning programs for corporations and universities." With that said, be sure to read Stephen's critique of the article.

CMS Matrix

Resource for comparing features of various content management systems: CMS Matrix

Lurking

Lurking and Social Networks: "The most obvious characteristic of a lurker is that he’s at the fringe of a group, listening and observing. Being at the fringe may seem like a bad place from the core, but in fact is a good position to build bridges to other groups, and be aware of other groups in the vicinity."

Managing Content

A mini-howto on setting up a content management systemManaging the Complexity of Content Management: "“A CMS is probably the most complex rollout you and your IT colleagues are likely to have to manage.” This is because content management most likely requires contributions from many different skill sets and coordination across diverse departments and roles."

Open Source in Education

Factors affecting the use of open source software in tertiary education institutions : "Open Source Software (OSS) describes software released under a particular style of license which requires the distribution of the software’s source code when any binaries are provided. Typically, open source software is available for no cost and has large numbers of developers adding new features and fixing bugs. Many examples have gained the reputation of being feature–rich, reliable, robust and secure. These attributes make OSS of particular interest to tertiary education institutions (TEIs), increasingly concerned with escalating software licensing costs. Security is becoming another driver towards OSS with the never–ending deluge of attacks against Microsoft–based systems and the constant requirement to update these systems against new vulnerabilities."

RSS

Thoughts on A New Technology Lets Colleges Spread Information to People Who Want It(via Library Stuff)

Instructional Design

Good resource (except for the .pdf powerpoint note format)What do Instructional Designers Design?
...love this quote: "What do you get when you cross and Instructional Designer with a Mafioso? Someone who makes you an offer you can't understand."
Maish offers some comments: "He touches many aspects of ID, like sequencing, that rarely get analyzed. Here's an anecdote from the article that I will be using often: Back in the 60s, French director, Jon-Luc Goddard was sitting on a panel of film luminaries at some or other film festival. A film critic on the panel felt obliged to defend traditional film narrative in the face of an onslaught by the French Nouvelle Vague, "Surely, Mr. Goddard", opined the critic, "A film needs a beginning, a middle and an end.""

Info management terms

Good example of what happens when every small nuance in a concept is given its own multi-syllable term: Definition of information management terms. No wonder people get confused about technology/learning terms.

Get the Picture

Get the Picture (via Knowledge Jolt): "Instead of wading through endless spreadsheets and text analyses, executives can get a quick overview with the graphics offered by visualization software, and still find whatever level of detail they need with a few clicks of the mouse. Some are even finding that the visual presentations allow them to see patterns they wouldn't have noticed otherwise."

Google

If you blog, read the very interesting comments to this post on how Google searches/caches blogs: Google, Why have you forsaken me?

Blogging - Content Delivery

Short exploration of blogging as a content delivery tool in education: Content Delivery in the 'Blogosphere'. Personally, I think the article misses the point...blogging is less about content delivery, and more about expression, self-exploration (and in some cases, dialogue). This representation is closer to the truth.

Content vs. Context

The Barriers of Content and Context: "The traditional lag between initial adoption by a small percentage of hip, connected "innovators" and the later contact with the "majoritarians" that comprise the overwhelming bulk of the market has been squashed to an almost immediate effect. "
Comment: The author is referring to social networking software, but I'm seeing the similar "It used to be cool, now it's not" concept happening in elearning. It used to be cool to talk about elearning, collaboration, knowledge management, etc. Now that the majority are tuning in to it, the avant gard is deeming it as no longer cool. Some groups are busy renaming to drop the "elearning" tag. All it'll do is confuse the newly interested groups.

Google

This resource is making its rounds: Google Guide. Excellent tutorial for both new/experienced Google users...

Content vs. Context

The Barriers of Content and Context: "The traditional lag between initial adoption by a small percentage of hip, connected "innovators" and the later contact with the "majoritarians" that comprise the overwhelming bulk of the market has been squashed to an almost immediate effect. "
Comment: The author is referring to social networking software, but I'm seeing the similar "It used to be cool, now it's not" concept happening in elearning. It used to be cool to talk about elearning, collaboration, knowledge management, etc. Now that the majority are tuning in to it, the avant gard is deeming it as no longer cool. Some groups are busy renaming to drop the "elearning" tag. All it'll do is confuse the newly interested groups.

Simulations

The Promise of Online Simulations: "Online simulations have the potential to add enormous value to corporate training environments. Simulations are fun and engaging and allow learners to internalize knowledge by applying new skills in a risk-free environment. This can dramatically increase motivation and retention rates—and provide a high return on training investments."

Looking at Wiki

Looking at Wiki: "I've not just been spending time looking at social networking services, I've also been digging deeper into wiki. I've still got more to go, but some of these will be of interest to you if you are considering implementing a wiki for your community, or if you are a wiki developer."

Online Conference Discussions

Online Conference Discussions: "Increasingly conference organizers are thinking of adding an online discussion to the in-person proceedings. This is a good thing to do and strongly encouraged, since it adds a dimension not possible to achieve with a strictly in-person event."
Comment: Good overview of how to extend conferences (and one could easily include classrooms and workshops) beyond the limitations of face-to-face proceedings. Conference organizers should note the advice given...after all, a pre-conference discussion, during conference blogging, and post conference discussion can significantly improve the experience (and value) for attendees.

Open Source Univerities

Open source and education are a perfect mix...and I'm surprised that adoption of open source lags in this environment. It seems, however, as if that's changing: Universities Speed Up Open-Source Plans "In the hopes of gaining more control over their infrastructure, more university IT administrators are accelerating plans to migrate to open-source technology in the data center." (Worth noting that the main motivation is not cost (the usual reason stated for going open source), but security and control).

Taking Charge of Learning: Tips for Students

Taking Charge of Learning: Tips for Students: "My recurring pedagogical theme is that each student is at the center of his or her learning."

The Innovation/Productivity Quotient

The Innovation/Productivity Quotient: "It's time to shift the debate and analysis. Instead of asking how IT improves productivity, we should ask how IT can enhance business innovation."
(elearninpost)

Technology and Worker Efficiency

Technology and Worker Efficiency: "HOW much does information technology really contribute to economic productivity and corporate competitiveness?"...some excellent comments by John Seely Brown, similar to opinions I've expressed in the past (1, 2) about the challenges of enterprise-level systems...and the rewards of simpler, social tools (blogs, wikis, etc.)

RSS: really simple solution

Good assessment of the value of the simplicity of RSS: RSS: really simple solution: "Managing simplicity means seeing through some of the complexity hype and making a concerted effort to look for the simplest solution to IT problems. In my experience simple solutions often deliver value at a reasonable cost, whereas many complex ones produce only headaches."

The KM spectrum

The KM spectrum: "Everyone positions themselves somewhere along the spectrum from knowledge creation (awareness, learning, community) to intellectual capital (knowledge assets, branding, knowledge exchanges)."

Pizza Guy

So the pizza guy gets it, but the CEO's don't.

Social Networking Software-Free Online Collaboration

I'm almost finished my current run of social network tool links...Social Networking Software-Free Online Collaboration .