Twitter’s @SLQOTD Format Change
Sep 11, 2009 Social Learning SIG, slqotd
If you have been following @SLQOTD on Twitter, you know that for the last month or so we have been slacking off and not posting questions every day. With everything we have right now, we cannot keep up. Which, overall, is a good thing, but we want to keep SLQOTD going because it has been a great learning tool.
FORMAT CHANGE
There are almost 1000 followers of @SLQOTD. We all have questions about how to best implement and manage Social Learning in our organizations. Instead of pushing these questions out every day from one source, let’s let YOU, the followers, do the asking. You have almost 1000 people who are interested in Social Learning with different experiences and skill sets and levels. Ask the question any time you want. Let us all answer.
Dave and I will continue to post questions as they come up – just not every day. But feel free to ask as often as you want and at any time. Do this by sending a DM to @SLQOTD by starting your tweet with ‘dslqotd’ (sans quotes). Everyone will get the question and anyone can answer.
SLQOTD lives on!
Parents Question of the Day
Jun 23, 2009 Social Learning SIG
The Social Learning Question of the Day has gone so well, and because obviously I don’t have enough to do already, I created the Parents Question of the Day on Twitter (@parentsQOTD).
It is just like it sounds – one question each day about parenting. The kickoff question is tomorrow – Wednesday the 24th. If you are parent, I encourage you to follow and share.
This idea came a long time ago, before I had even heard about Twitter, actually. We, as parents, have just about all the answers. We have been through a TON of situations in varying forms. When parents get together they often talk about the challenges. And obviously there isn’t a manual we are given when we become parents. So why not create it by the people who do it?
It this not true social learning?
So let’s get together, ask questions, give advice, wisdom and resources and help each other be better parents. This is a passion of mine that I don’t get to act upon as often as I would like. Because – hey – if I can have some positive influence on you, and then you on your children and then my children happen to interact with your children (or even marry one of your children), they will all be all the better for it. Besides that, we can all help each other out.
Parenting is the most difficult, demanding, heart wrenching work – yet also the most rewarding, joyful work I have ever done. Social learning is a piece of cake compared to this.
So join the @parentsQOTD and let’s band together before our children band together against us! (j/k)
Used by permission of Linday Hagblom, Elle photography.
All rights reserved
Blog Project for SLQOTD – How I do it
Jun 23, 2009 Social Learning SIG
Twitter can only hold 140 characters at a punch. But there is so much more to be shared! To let people share >140, we created the Blog Project – create a post and share the link with SLQOTD on Friday. We give the topic at the beginning of the week.
To keep on top of it, I always have the topic in the back of my mind. When I see a post, or have a quick thought, I start a draft post and compile everything there. Then on Thursday or Friday I edit and publish. Simple, but it helps me write a good post, while my mind noodles over it for the week. It helps me focus on a good topic and come to some good, usable conclusions. Just as blogging & learning should be!
This weeks topic: Adoption – What are the best ways to increase adoption? What have you done that has worked well?
Are you up to the challenge?
SharePoint vs. Social Media
Jun 22, 2009 Social Learning SIG
Recently I was asked if I was OK with using SharePoint instead of social media software. The short answer is a resounding NO.
Why? My main reason – which may not seem like much on the outset – is that SP is document focused and social media is people focused. After that explanation I can hear the question, “So what? If they do the same thing is there any difference?” First of all, they don’t do the same thing. They may look like it, but they don’t.
photo credit: withoutgas2
In a few weeks I am leading 14 Boy Scouts, 14-17 years old and 12 leaders and parents on a bicycle trip from Cannon Beach on the north coast of Oregon to Florence, a central coastal town. Some boys have road bikes. Others are making due with mountain bikes equipped with slick tires, not the knobby ones. These bikes were made for mountain biking, not for road biking. Making adjustments will help. But through the last year’s practice runs there is a definate difference between those who’s bikes are make for the trek and those who’s bikes are not. They are slower. These boys expend more energy to get the same distance. They drag everyone behind. They have to stop for more breaks. They are not as aerodynamic (and with a headwind on the Oregon coast that makes a BIG difference). If the bikes have shocks… well, that is a killer.
In the same way, both SharePoint and social media might be said to make similar journeys – they are both vehicles. But for different landscapes and different purposes. Even with the changes SP says they will make in 2010, it still will not have the right focus.
Besides, how do you act and think and feel and interact when you are working on a document. Now, how do you act and think and feel and interact when you are working with a person. The PEOPLE are the ones that create the documents. Why focus on the documents with limited knowledge when you can focus on the people unlimited & timely knowledge? It is a different mindset which makes you interact with the people and content differently.
Here are a couple resources that talk about the difference between the two.
The New Communication Model
Jun 18, 2009 Social Learning SIG
This TED video by Clay Shirky is a MUST see. As you watch it, think about your organization. How will communication, collaboration and learning happen differently? Or how SHOULD it happen differently?! Why do we ask? Because communication has changed. Just look at the Twitter conversation that has happened around the Iran elections. It changes the way we work, create, innovate, learn – the list goes on…
Tags: clay shirkey, communication, Iran
The Tipping Point – Are You There Yet?
Jun 16, 2009 Implementation, Social Learning SIG
As has been the case so many times in the past, I talked today with a company which has made THE decision. You see, in the past if someone needed a wiki, they gave it to them. If they needed some other internal social technology, they would help out but there wasn’t a strategy. So many companies dabble in this pre-area, trying to figure out if (and how) internal social media is useful. Then, when it becomes apparent that it is and that many people want it, they need a strategy – it is a natural evolution. This is the point this company is at right now.
It is time to jump in with both feet. But where do you start? If you have thousands of employees, how do you determine who should use what and in what capacity?
Implementation:
As was mentioned in this meeting, start with the low hanging fruit. Where are you SURE it will work? Let them go for it. From there it will spread – they become your advocates, your case/success studies to the rest of the organization.
Culture:
This is the most difficult part of the whole thing. Why? Because cultures are made up of people. People are varied and they can change at any time. The software is easy because it is there. It only gets an update every few months at the most and usually it is on a schedule. People, and groups of people, can change at any time and as frequently as they want. For this reason, stick to the basics. Think of this as a change management / performance improvement project, not a social learning project. Use the same principles to guide you. Even if you assess the needs of your audience, this does not guarantee that they will use the better solution. Think ‘habit.’
Some departments will run out of the gate, some will barely crawl, some will reject. You will need to have a plan for all levels. Remember this is social media / learning. Don’t be afraid to be traditionally social and go and talk to them personally. It may take more time at the beginning, but it goes a LONG way.
Adoption:
Make it easy and natural. See my series on adoption. Show the benefits. Evangelize it. Sell it.
Processes:
Replace, replace replace. Find what is broken and fix it using social media. If you don’t replace a process or a mode of communication or some other task, it becomes extra. Everyone is so busy that anything extra will be put on the back burner and forgotten. If they want to add on extra, let them make that decision when they fully understand the value. Until then, as Tim O’Reilly said at DevLearn 09, ‘force it’ (with caution).
Use it:
Most of all, if you are not deep into it yourself, it will be VERY difficult to have the type of conversations you will need to have for a favorable outcome. This is because the objections (and here) they offer will be tough to explain.
Usage:
How will they use it? Why? Should we let them? How transparent should be we – and when and with whom? All good questions which lead to more questions. What is your system of governance and moderation? What does ‘acceptable use’ look like?
To really go into this subject would be quite lengthy (thus the disparate subjects) – I apologize for the quick overview. But if you are at the tipping point this should give you some things to think about.
Training vs. Learning – What’s the Diff?
Jun 5, 2009 Social Learning SIG
There are A LOT of thoughts floating around about the difference between training & learning. Here is my take:
Learning in Relation to Business Goals
As I see it, eLearning is a subset of Training is a subset of Learning is a subset of Performance Improvement is a means to the end: Accomplishing goals – in this case business goals, but more often personal goals.
There are many ways to learn. Training is one way. Whether that be eLearning or ILT (instructor led training). Other ways? Social learning (of course), job aids, experential discovery, mentoring and a thousand other subtle ways.
Tags: elearning, learning, social learning, training
Who am I? Where am I going? A Self Reflection
May 29, 2009 Social Learning SIG, collaboration
Having a ‘real’ job helps you to define yourself. You might be a graphic designer, a chemical engineer, a nurse or gardner. But when you are a consultant, the question “Who are you” is largely up to you to define. This is the challenging (yet exciting!) situation I have placed myself in. Doing this for one main, steady company and doing other projects on the side (which is what I have been doing for years) is MUCH different than all contracting and consulting. What a fun time it has been so far!
When I talk to either one person or a large hall of people about what I do, I get so excited! The possibilities for them are HUGE! Most people, because they don’t understand all this, do not realize the impact and savings of time, money and other resources that they would see. And when they finally take the plunge it is wonderful to see their eyes light up and get just as excited as I am. It is even better when they experience, first hand, the effects and become a hero in their organizations. Maybe that is what I do – I create heros. Hmmm. I need to think about that more!
Selling myself, however, has never been my strongest attribute. I just want to get in, do a great job and show them how to make some real gains. My ‘proof in the pudding’ is my work, not a hyped up sense of self. BUT, I do realize that to be able to be a part of those projects I have to so some selling. So I have taken a stab at defining myself in a more generic way. I have decided to do it as a post instead of in a doc that I horde myself. Feel free to make any comments.
Where is my focus?
Primary focus: Using social media and social networking for performance improvement and customer communication.
Secondary Focus: Using social media for marketing; creating performance improvement solutions including learning environments and curriculum; creating and delivering the training (standup, eLearning, etc.).
What does the Primary Focus look like?
- Education on how social media / networking can drastically increase performance improvement and customer communications through keynotes, conference sessions, workshops, webinars, trainings, writings
- Setting strategy – Working with key stakeholders to identify
- Goals / objectives
- Resources
- Culture which will help or hinder project
- Roles & responsibilities
- Skills and abilities of employees
- Current vs. future processes / procedures
- Timelines, milestones, tasks and measurements of success
- Implementation
- Managing the project
- Creating the environment culturally
- Creating the environment technically
- Educating all involved on all levels
- Marketing (internally & externally)
- Ongoing management and support
How have businesses benefited from this?
- Increase in
- sales
- time to ‘onboard’ a new employee
- innovation and idea creation
- the customer ‘working’ for the company for free
- finding and exploiting new and untapped markets and industry potential
- finding necessary information
- finding the experts in a given subject
- communication with and between employees
- communication with customers
- finding answers to questions
- brining out and storing the knowledge and wisdom of employees and customers
- working and more efficient processes
- focus on direction for employees and customers
- customers supporting themselves and each other
- customer feedback
- effectiveness of training
- Decrease in
- customer support instances and time/instance
- number of meetings and meeting time
- number of emails
- redundant tasks (duplication of efforts)
Current Side Projects
- Director of the Social Learning Special Interest Group for ASTD’s Cascadia chapter
- Co-Host of the Social Learning Strategies and Trends Podcast (iTunes link)
- Creator & co-administrator of the Social Learning Question of the Day on Twitter (@slqotd)
- Finishing a master’s of Instructional & Performance Technology from Boise State Universtiy with a thesis on using social media / networking as an EPSS (Electronic Performance Support System)
I am pretty blessed to work with some pretty smart people. Those in the industries of social media, search engine optimization and marketing (SEO / SEM), Learning and eLearning and hardware & software.
So, that is who I am – my self reflection.
Tags: selling, social learning, social media, social networking
My Kind of Carnival – Work / Learning
May 21, 2009 Social Learning SIG
Posted on Flickr - Taken by Ekler - (CC)
When I was young I remember going to a carnival, sitting in the ‘big tent’ watching the great acts for about 15 minutes and then dying – my hayfever got the best of me. Since then, I stay away from those types of carnivals. But THIS carnival I can do!
Dave Ferguson started this Carnival of learning and I volunteered to host it this month (you can, too!). (BTW – should you not be following him and reading his blog – repent now.) I asked a number of people to write about LEARNING / WORK and the intersection between. Below is a synopsis of those who were able to participate. But first, a word from our sponsor…
The more and more I dive into social learning, the more I realize that work and learning cannot be separated. Yet, as learning professionals, WE TRY SO HARD to delineate between the two. A classic example is a favorite former coworker. She was not very computerly inclined, yet bless her heart she tried. And she made good progress, too! I was proud of how hard she worked to learn some of the stuff you and I take for granted. She started helping out a new group and needed to learn a new program. At the beginning of it she said, “Kevin, I spent all my lunch going over online tutorials for this program!” Then she informed me that she will be taking future lunches to learn. What I heard, however, was that during work she was working. During lunch she was learning.
Two thoughts came immediately to mind: 1) Good for you! 2) Why only over lunch? Why not when you are working? Get a small project, something to do, and figure it out. Plow through it. Use a targeted tutorial. Ask for help/tips. But in an information / social age, there are few times when you can call an activity purely work, or purely learning.
Why is that? Think of the goal. We are doing what it takes to get to a goal. Does it involve learning? Does it involve working on a project? Does it involve a meeting? Does it involve researching? Could all be yes. But when you are doing one, chances are you are doing a few others at the same time.
So, my question for all those in learning and performance improvement: What are we doing?!
I say to you all – GIVE UP! Throw away the chains which bind you! Learning and work and so closely integrated that most often it is difficult to say where one ends and the other begins. We already know, theoretically and by the books, the difference between the two. It is now time to focus on how they are the same, how they can be accomplished at the same time, how they compliment each other as parallel tasks. OJT approaches this, but still is limited.
Your task: Find out how to (not separate learning from work, but rather) enhance the intersection. How will you enhance the learning already inherent in work?
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Here are three others’ take on the intersection between work and learning. They all have a unique perspective to the working / learn topic.
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Michelle Anderson has totally surprised me (in a good way!). We met at DevLearn last year. My first impression of her was stoic, but I could tell there was something else there behind it. Maybe it was just the setting, but my perception was WAY off. She, of anyone, brings out her fabulous personality in all she does. As you read her post, you will get a taste of it. (Oh, how I wish I could bring out more of my personality in my writing like she can!)
She takes work and learning from a social media consultant perspective. For her, she is constantly researching, listening, learning – that IS work! (Again, can we separate it out at all?) FIND HER POST HERE.
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Guy Wallace
One of my final projects for a class toward my masters was on different types of performance improvement. I wrote it and ‘turned it in’ on a public wiki. Shortly thereafter I get an email from Guy Wallace, asking me if this is ISPI’s wiki. I found out ISPI was trying to integrate new technology. Fast forward a year and a half and now he and I, along with a number of others, are on a team to define ISPI’s technology going forward. His blog has been an inspiration to me. A very smart guy who has great experience and one of those who really ‘get it’ in regards to learning. And this post is no exception. When I first invited him, his response was, “Tell me what to do and when to do it! And you do realize that I might be a bit of a contrarian? “ And, it is true. But only because he brings out the obvious that many people don’t want to acknowledge.
His post talks about the need for us to continue our learning, even as we help others learn. We cannot be stagnant! But at the same time, with all the ways to disseminate information, how can we separate the junk from that which is of worth? And also, how do we intersect social learning & traditional learning & work? FIND HIS POST HERE.
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Laura Kratochvil
Laura Kratochvil and I also met a DevLearn last year. What a great, fun person to be with! She writes about project she is finishing and the need to get personal and share stories. As I read this post, I can’t help but think about all the learning that is going on while working here. The learners are totally engaged, and the people who create the information have learned a ton. FIND HER POST HERE.
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Bill Brandon
Like Michelle & Laura, I met Bill Brandon at DevLearn (hint hint – you need to be there as well). We had dinner together the first night with a few others. He has some great stories (all true, by the way) and I could have listened to him all night. Bill is the editor of the eLearning Guild’s weekly Learning Solutions e-Magazine. In his post he talks about Linden Lab’s Second Life and the cool things they are doing with voice in the near future. Very interesting stuff! FIND HIS POST HERE.
The Fate of Academia – { #aft }
May 14, 2009 Social Learning SIG
David McCullough
The Fate of Academia – { #aft } from Kevin Jones on Vimeo.
My mother-in-law treated me, my wife Kelly and eldest son, Bryson, to a nice dinner and then a lecture given by David McCullough, the two-time Pulitzer Prize winning history author. He and is sweet wife sat two tables away from us at dinner. When they got up to leave, my son jumped up and mentioned an interview he had had recently. David was interviewed by my mother-in-law’s sister (a little more perspective, my wife’s aunt) for the Harvard Business Review. Before the interview she asked Bryson if he had a question for Mr. McCullough (because Bryson loves history and had read some of his books) and he gave her a few. A few days after the interview Bryson received a letter from David thanking him for his question. He was on cloud nine. And now that he was able to meet him – you should have seen him! They both came over and met us all and we had a very pleasant, yet brief discussion as he was leaving to the lecture.
Then the lecture itself was absolutely amazing. You don’t hear people talk like he does every day (a sad commentary as it were). It was one of those that when you walk out you not only feel like a better person than when you entered, but you wanted to continue to be even more than you are.
Why do I tell you all this? THAT was education. THAT created change – for all four of us. My wife and son and daughter have been studying the founding fathers and the making of America this year. They have learned a lot of wonderful things. But this was an experience. And experience is the best teacher.
(re: the pict at the beginning of the video. “Just Yank” a little dental floss and ora gel can cure any loose tooth.)
