Dude, Karl Kapp Mentioned Me In His Blog (My Social Media Story)

I’ve been blogging for a couple years now and using Twitter off and on… not much. I wouldn’t call myself a social media maven.

But at TechKnowledge, that brief SoMe resume plus participation in the backchannel was enough to give me a good introduction to Karl Kapp, Aaron Silvers, Cammy Bean, Ellen Wagner, Alicia Ruiz, Stevie Rocco, Kris Rockwell, Koreen Olbrish, Clark Quinn, Michelle Lentz, and Damon Regan… All great people with great minds and passion for learning.

Now, some of you won’t believe this, but I tend toward the shy side sometimes, particularly around people I really respect and haven’t met yet. My point? I never would have met these people if I hadn’t been using social media, or I never would have met as many of them, or I never would have established connections as quickly.

If that were all of the story, it would be good. But that’s not all.

Meeting in person adds a dimension, strengthens bonds, gives you the common ground of shared experience. And that’s a good thing. But there’s more.

I’m more active now on Twitter, blogs (including my own), and even Facebook. A few new friends have linked to my blog, which I always find thrilling. I’ve online-met even more people through the people I met in person, and maybe I’ll meet those other people soon, too. (Yeah, go ahead and re-read that. I’ll wait.) All of this activity is good networking, but it’s even better food for… as Aaron Silvers would say… ideation.

I’m tempted to wrap this up with a moral but honestly, I think you get it.

And if you’re reading this and we’ll be in the same place soon, get in touch. I’d love to meet you.

(Oh, and the inspiration for the title of this post: Lots of Fun at ASTD TechKnowledge 2011. Karl Kapp is a scholar and a gentleman who will one day succeed in teaching me the etiquette of spell-checker-to-client confidentiality.)

Design is a Signal of Intention, But This Post Is Just a Jumble of Thoughts

Design is a signal of intention.
- William McDonough

That’s one of my favorite quotes. Couldn’t locate it yesterday during #lrnchat

mrch0mp3rs: Design, in my opinion, means there’s an end in mind we wish to achieve by intent.

jkunrein: @mrch0mp3rs YES about intent! All design implies intent. If you don’t have it, you’re just throwing stuff, seeing what sticks.

tmiket: @jkunrein I know lots of people to take the “just throwing stuff” pproach… unfortunately!

usablelearning: @jkunrein I’m ok with throwing stuff and seeing what sticks, actually. Not ok w throwing stuff, and then walking away

tmiket: @usablelearning Great point…I see lots of walking away too…it’s journey right?

And then someone tweeted that throwing stuff was just for the first 5 minutes… Unfortunately, I can’t find that.

Anyway, there’s a plug for early usability testing… or rapid prototyping… or whatever interpretation you like.

What I’m Missing at Learning Solutions, Part 1

Jealous!

Looking ahead to the conferences happening this summer, the one I’m probably most sorry to be missing is Learning Solutions Conference and Expo 2010.

But just because I can’t go doesn’t mean I can’t window-shop! So, completely ignoring my word count, here are the sessions I would be trying to decide between if I were in Orlando today:

Using Web Analytics to Track the Use of Formal and Informal Learning – Lots of us try to avoid our LMSs, but then we don’t get good tracking on how many customers we’re serving. Analytics could bridge that gap and I do use Google Analytics for websites I manage… but I don’t know a lot about using it inside a company’s intranet, which it seems like you would have to do.

The Role of Standards in Supporting Innovation in e-Learning – This might be a little basic for me, but I’m really interested in the work that LETSI is doing.

Creating Game-like Engagement without a Game Designer’s Budget – I’m a big believer that it’s the creativity behind the game — and the understanding of what makes a game good — that makes it exciting… not the multimedia. It sounds like this session is aimed at the right ideas.

Assessing e-Learning Results: Fundamentals, Myths, and Special Opportunities – I like that Will Thalheimer focuses on research-based solutions, so I tend to be interested in pretty much anything he has to say.

Project Management for Rapid e-Learning Projects – Project management has always been a challenge for me… not so much because I’m bad at it (hopefully), but more because I’d like to be better so that I could spend less time doing it.

Improving Systems Training by Adding Informal Learning – See comments on Will Thalheimer’s session above.

Distributed Learning: Rethinking Design to Encourage Advanced Performance – I’ve spent a lot of effort over the last year trying to change from designing learning “events” to designing solutions that meet learners’ needs over time. Interested in what Clark Quinn has to say on the topic… his perspective is usually a very interesting one.

Creating Media Like a Pro: Tips and Tricks for Audio and Video Development – And as much as I like to contemplate theory and learning strategy, I’m part of a very small shop and that is just getting its feet wet in video development. Some nitty-gritty tips would be good, and I always pick up good stuff from Diane Elkins’s presentations.

Advanced e-Learning Technology Architecture: Moving Beyond Course Delivery – Again, just interested in how technology supports — and limits — learning delivery.

Creating Value in e-Learning Design through Effective Instructional Feedback – I also usually learn a lot from Allen Interactions’ classes and sessions, though this one might not be much that’s new after taking both of their Elearning Instructional Design classes from ASTD.

On the upside, I guess I don’t actually have to decide between these, since I won’t be there. Did you pick any of these? How were they?

10/22/09 #Lrnchat Quotables

lrnchat{if you aren’t acquainted with #lrnchat…}

I participate as often as I can, and tonight I decided to post some of my favorites from last night. (Yes, sometimes I blog purely for the pleasure of deciding to do something and then do it. No committee involved.)

So, without further ado…

Re: Q1) What new trends, approaches, etc are you suspicious of?

oxala75: i’m always suspicious of VW, but mostly because of its implementation, not its potential.

tmiket: I like easy to use software but ….just b/c you have a wrench doesn’t make you a mechanic..

Re: Q2) What skills are we missing in the suite necessary for good learning design?

Quinnovator: Q2: a willingness to go to the mat for the user experience, supporting fun over seriousness

And a bonus to take me over my word limit, but totally worth it…

Re: a side conversation?

Quinnovator: er,,, sex education or sex training: which would you want your daughter to have in high school?