Many trends are emerging in the ongoing development and use of technology. One of the most prominent is the rise of the individual - anyone can create and share digital content (video, audio, print). Ten years ago, this was limited to individuals with expertise and resources. Today, a 10 year old can start building a personal publishing empire (or network, if you prefer). Traditional media is experiencing challenges in adapting to this model. The first stage of adaptation appears to be "come to our site and do what you do in your other new (but cooler) forums". In the spirit of this attitude, CNN has launched Exchange - a forum for user generated content and two-way conversation.
Businessweek Wants To Teach You Graphic Design "At first I am appalled. Who is Businessweek to think that they can turn someone into a Graphic Designer in two weeks? I’ve spent years toiling in this craft with a formal education to boot. Then it hit me. This isn’t about teaching design as much as it is embracing an inevitable reality. Today, everyone has the ability to be an editor, designer, artist, director or producer."
I've been following conversation in an online forum on the impact of the "coming" flu pandemic...and the role of knowledge management in the crisis. (side note: very few disciplines have been more unable to generate value for their discipline than adherents to some view of knowledge management. In concept, knowledge management is the critical science/activity of our generation (when seen as a component to learning processes). For some reason, those involved have been unable to successfully speak the language of business and implementation. Instead, they spend time drawing elaborate diagrams and defining procedures that are at best tenuous in theory; and a nightmare in implementation).
Regardless, the workforce is becoming distributed. We don't need a flu pandemic to make it a reality.How To Manage A Virtual Workforce: "But as the virtual workforce grows, so do the managerial headaches. Many employees who work virtually say they frequently feel isolated and don't know if they're valued by their companies. Others say they don't feel like they're part of a team."
Dave Snowden has started blogging at Cognitive Edge. If you're not familiar with Dave, he has his roots in knowledge management (IBM), and has written extensively on complex systems. He has opinions - many opinions (he manages to draw high levels of debate in online forums). I chatted with Dave on Skype last week...which I recorded (or so I thought). The tool I was using (powergramo) failed to capture the session (much to my dismay...we spent time chatting about social constructivism (not in positive terms :)), trends in knowledge management, the changed nature of knowledge (I posited that knowledge has changed on two levels: the environment in which it exists, and the core of knowledge itself - he agreed with my first point, but wasn't convinced about the second), and the critical role of context in knowledge exchanges). After I found out I didn't get the recording, I went to Odeo to create a podcast of the key components of our conversation. After 20 minutes, I saved the podcast, only to have the browser hang and the podcast disappear. Oh well. Still, I'm excited to see Dave blogging...
Not sure exactly why I'm linking to this article...perhaps to highlight my own confusion about why anyone would suggest that the act of teaching is not worthy of study (i.e. it's better to know something than to be skilled at creating learning spaces): In a globalised world, mediocre teaching is doomed: "By 2036, the forms of teacher preparation that currently prevail in Western nations will have sunk into oblivion. We will have discarded schools of education, the pedagogies they teach, and the certification apparatus that they serve. Such schools, pedagogies, and certifications have clung to life stubbornly for the better part of a century despite ample evidence of their unsuitability."
Why we pursue knowledge:: "An article in last month's American Scientist offered an interesting theory of why some people are driven to find knowledge - because of the kick of natural opioids in the brain."
While the article itself is subscription-based, the concept of natural rewards makes sense...but it's only part of the overall reason why we pursue knowledge. There is a "feel good" dimension to acquiring knowledge or understanding something new. But our motivations at times fall outside of the intrinsic reward (pursuing external targets (goals), attempting to earn more money, wanting to make a better world, etc.). The article may get into that dimension...but the .pdfs provided don't cover it. The "natural kick" of knowledge is a nice-to-have feature, but I think we are often more goal-based than this theory would suggest (namely that we pursue knowledge because it gives us good feelings...many of my learning activities have given me much pain and suffering :)).
Because I love everything 2.0 (heh), It's only fair that I share this article on Seach 2.0: "Traditional search engines are based on information retrieval technologies. They implement operations such as boolean queries, proximity searches, text relevance and link analysis...Third-generation search technologies are designed to combine the scalability of existing internet search engines with new and improved relevancy models; they bring into the equation user preferences, collaboration, collective intelligence, a rich user experience, and many other specialized capabilities that make information more productive."
Joyce Valenza has posted a great .ppt resource on Information Literacy for 21st Century Learners. She brings together tools like blogs, wikis, podcasts...and contrasts the nature of learners today with the nature of effective research (using sources beyond Google). She covers a significant swath (though much of it at an introductory level. Well worth the time to review.
I would have sudden moments of happiness if we stopped labeling everything "2.0". Network 2.0: "But the internet does more than destroy. It forces the media to redefine themselves, to discover their essence. Broadcast networks thought their value was in controlling precious distribution and content. But in this post-scarcity media economy, the real job of a network is to find us the good stuff. Doing that no longer requires owning studios or transmitter towers. Today, a network is born with every link."
I spend most of my time in this forum discussing trends that will influence learning. We are in an environment where the cycle of new idea penetration is very rapid. I don't have precise statistics, only personal observation, but the adoption of blogs/wikis/LMS in education has occurred within a 4 - 5 year timeframe. TV\VCR adoption took decades. Computers took at least a decade. Good ideas flow rapidly through a networked world. As educators, much of our task is to prepare individuals for the world. Part of that challenge is to prepare learners to function in work environments. The practical reality of the global change is creating a new environment with new competition. Our greatest learning challenge is not to teach people "how to do" or "how to know". Our challenge is to teach people how to innovate and transform themselves and their organizations. Emerging Giants : "A new breed of ambitious multinational is rising on the world scene, presenting both challenges and opportunities for established global players."
Teacher development: "A new survey of teachers and their use of technology suggests there is a clear correlation between hours spent in professional development, classroom integration of technology, and improved student performance. "
I don't imagine this is a shock to anyone. Competence and confidence determines action. Professional development for educators needs to be on at least two levels: how to use technology tools (LMS, blogs, wikis, podcasts) and how to alter the instructional environment to reflect the new affordances created by the tools. I'm concerned that the second component will be overlooked in our efforts to teach individuals how to use the tools.
Update: Chris Sessums offers a great post on the topic as well.
Many people have been surprised (and skeptical) about Bill Gates & Knowledge Commons: "Yesterday, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced that it would require that any researcher who accepts its grant monies for HIV/AIDS research will have to agree to share their scientific findings." Open knowledge sharing has always made sense to me when public funds are involved. If a corporation invests in research, and preserve its intellectual property, that makes sense. If a researcher, dealing with public or grant funds, chooses to keep new knowledge hidden (especially in fields like AIDS research, where it seems unethical to withold new research while people are dying), it seems inappropriate.
The IT manager's guide to social computing: "The fact is that 'social computing' cannot be implemented without trust between employers and employed, between colleagues and between departments. It holds the potential to destroy hierarchies and demolish departmental silos. Paradoxically, it can also protect and strengthen these things, if this is what the company really wants."
If the triad of data, information, and knowledge confuse you, Patrick Lambe provides help :).
A veteran technology writer decided to see what it's like to live in the new web (for two weeks). Instead of using desktop software, he used online applications to write, email, share pictures, schedule, etc. The life style he explores for two weeks is one that I think many people already experience as the norm.
"A crucial part of Homo conexus remains gravely underdeveloped -- and as long as that's the case, all these systems will fall short of their potential. The missing adaptation is a way to get information from the Internet when you have a signal but don't have a keyboard."
There's very little doubt that we change as people when the environment in which we exist changes. Physical organisms has a dance-type relationship with their world. As elements change, we adjust and adapt. At times, we also force the environment around us to change as well. This is most noticeable in how younger people are using technology to communicate, connect, and learn. They are developing new skills and new functionality. The technology-embedded environment of their youth has created a different mindset than the one I acquired in a more physically-based world. The Next Step in Brain Evolution: "This generational divide has been evident for a while, but only now is its impact becoming clear. Last month, Lord Saatchi, doyen of the advertising world, virtually declared the death of traditional advertising — because digital technology is changing the way people absorb information. The digital native’s brain is physically different as a result of the digital input it has received growing up, he claims."
Four years ago, blogs were gaining much attention and hype. Three years ago, it was wikis and wikipedia. Over the last two years, RSS has ruled the hype space. Today, it's online video providers (like YouTube) and vloggers. Wharton offers a thorough review of the state of online video: "However, questions about the online video market remain. What will ultimately become of all the wheeling and dealing in the online video market? What are the most important technologies needed to expand online video? Can online video startups find viable business models? And aren't all parties simply hedging their bets since it's unclear which online video distribution models will win out?"
Most students enter education provider's spaces with formed online identity. Through blogging, podcasting, community, MySpace, Facebook, etc., they have formed their online identity. When they enter higher education, we prompty provide them with a new identity - one that we control and is not linked to the outside internet world (i.e. stored in an LMS or CMS). While it appears to be the "safe way" to go, it splices the real student from the student attending a college. Cross-institution studies, informal learning (in the form of a portfolio, and other online activities are kept in separate containers. For education, an identity system should be one that allows users not only to authenticate, but to bring the content of their learning activities into a space each individual controls. In this regard, I find portfolios to be of greater value than a simple ID system. I know the ID systems are important so we can comment, connect, and share on different blogs and forums (in addition to the obvious value of authentication). From my perspective, the ID system is a part of the larger value of portfolio and how we project our accomplishments and thoughts to others. Identity Networks: "What distinguishes these systems from other identity systems is that they are networks rather than federations. The difference is [crucial]. In a network, there does not need to exist a trust relation between one member and another - they operate at arm's length. This means there's no real process required to 'join' the network - you install the right code, get people to use it, and you're in."
Using Wikis on the Intranet: "Wikis offer a simple shared space to collaborate on things that really matter. This does not translate into the “build it and they will come” thinking."
Periodically, I play around with Second Life. I've yet to cross the threshold from "this is neat" to "addiction". Educators have been discussing it as a possible tool for learning, collaboration, and "internet-age" instruction. Terry Anderson provides a useful overview of his experience with Second Life: " The capacity to create spaces in which multiple forms of human discourse can flourish, while still retaining access to the Net’s resources is very compelling. I imagine that in a dedicated learning environment, the avatars may more closely resemble their human owners, much as anonymity has not been a big feature of online learning."
Mark Oehlert also links to a list of top 20 education-related Second Life locations
Our access to information and meaning-creation has changed substantially over the last decade. Instead of receiving information "packaged" by an editor or newscast, we now build our own information structure on a daily basis by pulling in elements from distributed sources. Obviously, this has implications for how we design and deliver learning (though I don't think too many organizations are aware of, or interested in, what this means...the conversation level on implications is nonexistent. Actually, I don't think most organizations have a clear understanding yet of what it is that has actually changed). Your Attention Please: "It's not just that media is splintering, as it has been for decades. The difference now is that the Internet is thrusting that trend into overdrive. With every quick click, millions of people...are slicing and dicing media into ever-tinier little bits, just the nuggets they want and nothing more."
Decent article exploring organizational wiki use: What Is a Wiki (and How to Use One for Your Projects)
Marvin Minsky: "What surprises me is how few people have been working on higher-level theories of how thinking works. That's been a big disappointment...I think people look around to see what field is currently popular, and then waste their lives on that. If it's popular, then to my mind you don't want to work on it." and "Unless you understand something in several different ways, you are likely to get stuck...I made up a word for it: "panalogy." When you represent something, you should represent it in several different ways, so that you can switch from one to another without thinking."
As technology and society change, it only makes sense that our processes change as well. Whether we talk in Kuhn-like paradigm shifts, or McLuhan's statement of "new media doing the job of the old", in the technology and instructional design spaces we are still using models that (in my eyes, at least) are not matched for the new space and process of learning...or the changed core characteristics of how we experience and disseminate knowledge. I tried to tackle the design aspects of elearning in an article about learning development cycle (intended as an interim model...which I'll try and update sometime in the next few months).
Over the last few days I've encountered a few resources that challenge two "staples" in the instructional design space: ADDIE Not Relevant? and Problems with Blooms Taxonomy (can't remember where I sourced those resources...). ISD can be very effective for learning that has both a clear end outcome and process. Often, today's learning has neither. We have a rough end target (solve this problem, innovate, adapt, etc.)...and we really don't have a clear process (other than teams, meetings, and emerging collaborative spaces).
I think a big carry over comes from concepts like Dewey decimal system - we define the containers of knowledge in advance, and when we encounter knew knowledge, we simply put them into the right bin. Our model today should begin at the exact opposite end - evaluate a knowledge item for what it is...and allow "bins" to emerge based on our interaction with knowledge, not in advance. In a learning sense, this means changing our ISD models to pursue objectives/outcomes that include end-user contributions to what is learned and why. A designer can't know in advance what a learner will need. Obviously, not all learning would be accommodated by this approach (certification or clear outcome/clear process training/learning still requires a structured process and sequencing)...but most of our knowledge needs today are better served by an interactive, negotiated model.
I've stated previously that one of the most important trends occurring in society today is the blurring between virtual and physical worlds. For some reason, not too much attention has been paid to the impact of this trend on society. This trend is evident in the growth of MMORPG and the amount of time individuals are prepared to devote to creating and building a virtual identity (and, as has been reported by BusinessWeek, the real-world crossover with traditional financial markets and income generation). What's missing is a link to connect real to virtual. We are building two separate worlds, and doorways between the two are limited. We have to stop activities in one in order to enter the other.
I've been researching QR codes as a first generation doorway between virtual and physical worlds. A QR code is a graphic/matrix/barcode that can be scanned with reading software in cell phones. For example, while reading a magazine, or driving past a building, the code can be scanned by the camera phone, and will then launch the website in the phone's browser. But don't be fooled by the simplicity. It's a first round attempt to blur and integrate our ability to exist in both physical and virtual worlds...and move seamlessly between the two. While non-existent in North America (and Europe, I believe), QR codes have caught on in Japan. I'm exploring the value of inserting QR codes in my upcoming book...though the purpose is defeated when it's limited to one or two countries...the main point I'm trying to make is how we can no longer perceive these two spaces (virtual/physical) as exclusive to each other.
Most regular readers of this blog/newsletter will already be familiar with blog search tools. If not, take a few minutes to visit some of the sites I have listed below. While Google is an excellent search engine, they treat content as an indexed product...resulting in a discoverability delay of up to thirty days (more popular sites are crawled and indexed more frequently). A really interesting sense of "what's happening right now" can be gained from visiting blog search engines. These search tools allow an individual to "step into the flow of knowledge" and experience what people are saying right now.
I have made a habit over the last year of following conversations around connectivism and elearnspace (among others, obviously). A huge shift has occured. Previously, if someone wanted to contact me, they had to email, post on my blog (comments are once again disabled due to spam), or send a trackback to the post. With blog search engines, they don't have to make any direct effort to make others aware of their thoughts...they simply have to make their opinions transparent on a blog. The blog search engines provide relatively quick "findability" (usually within an hour) of posts that carry topcis I follow. This is a substantial change in information access. Take a few minutes and search for your company/school in these engines, and contrast the results with Google/Yahoo. (Google/Yahoo treat the content as a product to access, blog engines treat the content as a stream):
Technorati
Feedster
Ice Rocket
iPods have gained a fair bit of traction as a learning tool. Georgia College and State University has a useful history available of their iPod initiatives. Elliot Masie, in a recent newsletter, mentioned how MLB pitures are using iPods to review the hitting strengths and weaknesses of upcoming batters (a great example of just in time learning). New tools create new affordances...usually far beyond our initial conceptualization. iPods represent, as a tool, a means to review content at a time and place that is convenient. As a trend, however, they represent increased end-user control, micro-chunking content, formal learning extended beyond classrooms, support at the point of need, and integration of learning with the life activities of learners.
I'm waiting for a similar announcement from learners in corporate and higher education: The People Formerly Known as the Audience: "The people formerly known as the audience wish to inform media people of our existence, and of a shift in power that goes with the platform shift you’ve all heard about."
Mobile Affordances: "It occured to me that one of the main capabilities of mobile devices is a tradeoff of convenience for bandwidth. That is, we put up with lower voice quality, small screens, and other limitations, in exchange for the ability to connect more often. There may be two types of bandwidth tradeoffs: bandwidth from device to network, and bandwidth between device and our senses."
Collective Action (via SmartMobs) - if the notion of collective action (I see it from a learning perspective, the author of this article sees it from a larger societal view) mystifies you, this article is a great primer on collective activities, as well as software tools and implications for how we communicate.
Stephen Hawking poses an complex question on Yahoo Answers: "In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and environmentally, how can the human race sustain another 100 years?"...A slashdot mention of the item includes this commentary on the role of education: "I'd like to think that education would cure all three of those issues. But it's a rather naïve view. Either way, I'll have my official answer be better education throughout the entire world about everything. That's our best strategy for making it through the next 100 years. Bank on the children."
People Power: "Now we have armies of amateurs, happy to work for free. Call it the Age of Peer Production. From Amazon.com to MySpace to craigslist, the most successful Web companies are building business models based on user-generated content. This is perhaps the most dramatic manifestation of the second-generation Web. The tools of production, from blogging to video-sharing, are fully democratized, and the engine for growth is the spare cycles, talent, and capacity of regular folks, who are, in aggregate, creating a distributed labor force of unprecedented scale."
The real story here isn't that people are "happy to work for free" (they aren't...we work for many factors, money is only one. Reputation, connections, personal growth - these are all drivers of why people engage in activities without a monetary benefit. For many, monetary value comes in different channels - bloggers may share their ideas for free, but they gain consulting opportunities...the article touches on this briefly at the end.). The real story is that the value point for content has shifted...and that the power to publish and distribute exist at a level that enables anyone to express themselves. Getting others to read and watch is a different matter. Instead of a dozen resources being watched and read by millions, we have a million resources being watched and read by dozens.
Lack of Necessary Workforce Skills Hinders Corporate Ability to Succeed (via Big Dog, Little Dog): "Nearly two-thirds (60 percent) of respondents reported that, over the next five years, they expect to begin feeling the impact of the aging workforce and the impending retirement of baby boomers. Of those, 28 percent said they are feeling the impact now. Almost one-half (43 percent) of participants described talent sourcing as a challenge or a severe challenge, primarily because of a smaller or shrinking talent pool from which to choose."
This article - The End of Authorship - captured my attention, as I'm currently working on publishing a book on the changing nature of knoweldge and learning (sometime late August). I opted to bypass traditional publishers - partly because they had already rejected me for a previous project :), but mostly because the lifecycle of publishing (18+ months) a book seemed significantly at odds with what I was trying to say with the book. From the department of who cares, will make the book available for free download (in addition to traditional book format). For some reason, a book generates credibility. Is it the physical substance? The perceived authority (i.e. if I decide to write a book, it shows that I've actually thought through what I say)? I've been an active blogger for five+ years...and during that time I've written the equivalent of many books (in terms of strictly text, ideas, thoughts - the cohesion of a book is obviously lacking, as my writing is a reaction to resources I encounter on a daily basis). I spend more of my time each day reading "rapid text" by bloggers and other online writers than I do reading "book text". Maybe it's just me...
Anyway, quote from the above linked article: "The printed, bound and paid-for book was — still is, for the moment — more exacting, more demanding, of its producer and consumer both. It is the site of an encounter, in silence, of two minds, one following in the other's steps but invited to imagine, to argue, to concur on a level of reflection beyond that of personal encounter, with all its merely social conventions, its merciful padding of blather and mutual forgiveness. Book readers and writers are approaching the condition of holdouts, surly hermits who refuse to come out and play in the electronic sunshine of the post-Gutenberg village."
Teachers pay Teachers is an interesting site. The basic premise is that teachers make their resources available for others to purchase. I'm going to side step the open courseware discussion, and focus instead on the "microcontent" side. Google, with their adsense program, has augmented the income of many individuals. As an alternative revenue stream, it doesn't make too many people wealthy, but the reward is sufficient for most people to stay involved. I think many educators have similar opportunities. Essentially "micro players", earning additional income through online services like this (I would suggest staking your claim less on the content, and more on the services provided through discussion and consultation). We become purveyors of small learning moments, not entire courses/programs. I'm interested to see how this service will fair...
His Space: "To find something comparable, you have to go back 500 years to the printing press, the birth of mass media – which, incidentally, is what really destroyed the old world of kings and aristocracies. Technology is shifting power away from the editors, the publishers, the establishment, the media elite. Now it’s the people who are taking control."
How Failure Breeds Success: "Indeed, for a generation of managers weaned on the rigors of Six Sigma error-elimination programs, embracing failure -- gasp! -- is close to blasphemy."
Learning is not a process of performance...it's a process of becoming. When educators mistake these two, they limit much of the experimental nature of learning. New ideas come through accident (see top 10 accidental discoveries), trial and error, and failure. Spaces of high-failure tolerance provide much greater learning opportunities (and, when learning occurs, we can assume innovation and success will follow).
Sharing: "Making our own products and music is only have of the modern creative experience. Now is is easier than ever to share our creations."
heh. I can relate/suffer - 'Millennials' Big for Media Biz: "Millennials consume 20 hours of media a day, but that is all done within 7 hours of clock time."
Focused on the mobile industry, but applicable to education - Opengardens, walled gardens and mobile web 2.0: "Historically, major technology vendors have used the philosophy of “walled gardens”, often with considerable success. However, over time, we see walled gardens crumbling all around us and being replaced by Open systems and Open source. If ‘customer lock-in’ was the byword of the older players, web 2.0/mobile web 2.0 are all about relinquishing customer control."
I agree that walled gardens have a tendency of breaking down over time...though I think we see a similar breakdown in the functionality of open gardens as well. Some great ideas have come from walled garden environments...and many society-shaping influences arise from open gardens. I'm not sure this is an either/or debate. As I've stated previously, the approach selected needs to match to the outcome desired (and increasingly, needs to occur in appropriate contexts, as we are discovering with the rising influence of many different cultures and countries).