Bringing down the walls: Learning from within

I’ve recently started a unit through Open Universities Australia from Murdoch Uni, SSK12 How to Study and University. The information and learning have been fantastic. And whilst the title may sound like an easy way to gain 8 credit points, the information is interesting, informative and designed help an individual begin to grasp how the University environment requires them to think.

The unit requires reflection on your personal learning as you progress through weeks. Part of the challenge to participants, and this includes me, is not just the new information and skills we need to grapple with, but the idea that we need to examine our own thoughts as we travel through. I think about thinking regularly, but I still find this a challenge. If I am to reflect on my own thoughts, I need to be honest enough with myself to look behind the shallow walls that I have erected through my life.

We all build walls and facades in our thinking and filter information through the experiences and prejudices that we carry with us on this journey. The classic line in communication of “People don’t hear what you say, they hear what they think you said” bears out the reality of the previous statement. The question I find myself forced to ask is, “Is it only what I hear said to me or is it my own thoughts that I filter through these same beliefs, prejudices and world views?” I’m sure Freud and Jung would both say, “Yes!” There underlying beliefs for doing so might differ, but they would agree on the point I’m sure.

So I find myself thinking about the how honestly I am answering the reflective questions. I have found myself typing words on a page about goals and reflections and asking, “Is this really true? It seems so trite, so shallow.” I feel like I’m getting the words out, but questioning their connectedness to my deeper self. It feels strange to say in five years, “I will be participating in my Masters in IT in Education” when I am struggling to figure out how I pay my bills next week. Mind you, this is probably they whole point of the exercise to get me out of my immediate focus and dream about a bigger picture.

Maslow talks about his ideal of a Self-Actualised Individual that can live in the moment and take childlike delight in new things constantly being imbued with joy of new things discovered and having an immediate connection with their emotions. I can say, “I’m not there yet”.

One of the readings in the unit talked about how we define ourselves by what we are not or what we do not want to be. So what do I not want to be? Closed off, closed minded, disconnected, dogmatic, jargon spewing, thoughtless rhetoric junkie.

I find I can also define myself at least by a few things I am as well. I am a white male on a reasonable income in a society that values knowledge, decisiveness and action, goals to be recognised and achieved, hurdles to be jumped and rationality and coolness in the face of peril. I have learned through the trials of the school yard and the scorn of my peers to not show my emotions too openly or reveal my heart to freely. For unfortunately, like many boys growing up today, to show emotion is still a weakness and to be a man is to suck it up and keep on going.

I have learned to analyse and understand others positions and backgrounds and look beyond the pain immediately rendered and to empathise with my fellow travelers in this life. To a degree this has given me some very useful skills, one of which is to keep a cool head in conflict; accept that some things are beyond my fault, blame or control and therefore not worth adding to my baggage; that to understand is to be able to forgive though not forget; that forgiveness is always about the forgiver and not the forgiven.

The other side of the coin is to a degree my thoughts and emotion can sometimes be divorced from each other. I know that sometimes I analyse the pain I feel at a harsh word rather than feel the pain or watch from behind my eyes as I enjoy a moment. It is sometimes a strange self that makes up me, am I the watcher or the watchee? I don’t know, both at the same time is my guess.

This is not to say I don’t feel or live in the moment, I do as much as I am able. However, I find my joys are quiet joys as is my sadnesses. A small smile on my lips means deeper contentment and enjoyment than a deep belly laugh in the company of strangers. My griefs to a stranger may come out as aloofness. It’s not, I’m just wearing the face I have so I can deal with things in my own space. It has taken time overcome some of the conditioning of my past; to look at myself honestly; to gather friends I talk to and trust, that will grieve with me when I need, but also encourage, exhort and celebrate with in triumphs. And before anyone plays the depression card, I’m not. I happen to be having a moment of reflection that is all.

The walls I have worn externally to survive exist both in and out. The public world of display and the ones I have used to protect me inside. I say all this because to really understand myself as a learner, I am coming to the conclusions that I need to understand me as a person. I need to come from a place that knows where my own world views can impede my grasping a foreign concepts and know on which assumptions I base my thinking. There are beliefs I hold that I won’t change and there are some I will give on, but I need to know which ones are which. I may only discover them as I come face to face with new concepts and thoughts. I have to be honest enough within my own mind to know all these things exist.

The only way that I can come to a place of learning where the gaps are in my world view are filled is to be willing to drop my internal walls to myself and my feelings. Not that this is a bad thing, it isn’t. I really see that I can’t start learning from without until I start learning from within as well.

Heavy boots and communication

I’ve had my day made by the strangest of articles, Heavy Boots. I’m positively happy and have had my world view restored again. Before you tell me I have a skewed world view, you may be right. I subscribe to the belief that people are people are people and people are people everywhere.

Ok, back to this little gem. For those not willing to read the article: it outlines a question posed in a class, “If a pen is dropped will it fall to the moon or float away?”. The answer is fall, but more slowly. What the writer discovered was that people are quite willing to belief that astronauts stayed on the moon b X communicatioecause they wore heavy boots and that the pen would float away. The article is worth the read, if only for the amusement factor.

It does raise a real conundrum for educators though. We all interpret the world through our own filters and lenses that we build up through our experiences in life. The idea that heavy boots were responsible for our astronauts not floating away did not phase the philosophy class one iota. In the words of the miscellaneous author, “It was not part of their world view.” They could not understand why the world did not work this way even though at some point they would have learned the basics of gravity. It simply did not figure in their world. This strange happenstance is not unique, but affects every single discussion we join.

The idea is not a new one. A great saying is, “People do not hear what you say. They hear what they think you said!” It is rule one in Communication 101. People filter what you say through their experiences and understanding. For instance it is no good telling a colour-blind man that the sky is blue, if he sees purple. He will not understand your point of view because it does not work within his own world view.

Sometimes the difference in world views between the speaker and receiver is great enough that meaningful dialog is impossible. However if we seek to understand the position of person to whom we are communicating with we can adjust to find the point we can shift their views just that little bit. So how do we get there?

Seek first to understand

“People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.”

There are millions of experts and gurus in the world. Half of them live on Twitter. If you don’t believe me, check for yourself Some have great knowledge, some know the esoteric ways of the DVD Recorder and some make it up as they go along. The ones successful at getting you to listen (not necessarily the ones who know what they are talking about) are the ones who seem to understand where you are coming from. They make some connection with you and seem to be speaking to your need.

We as educators don’t need to be flim-flam men and women to reach this same connection with our students. The easiest way to reach the connection is to listen to what our students are telling us. It has nothing to do with what we say and everything to do with how we hear. It is a little thing called empathy and can do wonders on kicking down the pedestals on which we sometimes stand. I include myself on this list.

Our students have their own experiences and hassles, dramas, prejudices and emotions that they are working through, dealing with and filtering through. If we don’t have some idea of where they are standing, we have know way of knowing how to take them to where they need to be.

Walk a mile in these heavy boots

Once we have an idea of where they stand, we need to connect to them in a way that they can accept. Talking aerodynamics to a soccer player is potentially unhelpful and probably useless. Yes aerodynamics affect the ball in amazing ways, but talking about the Bernoille principle won’t help him put the ball in the net. Describing how the air moves around the ball when he kicks it and show him slow motion videos of the rotation and how spin affects the ball might.

People generally know when you are talking down to them or at them. The easiest way to achieve this is by over complicating things or oversimplifying.   Match your message to the marketplace and the market may listen.

Know thy stuff and make sense

Most people have some form of garbage meter in their brains. They will know when you are making it up as you go along.

We’ve all seen lecturers and teachers derailed by an errant comment. It can be really funny watch, but a nightmare to live. It also kills your credibility and makes it really hard to get back to the world view moving.

The easiest way to avoid it is: if you don’t know it, don’t say it. Get back them later after you check it out. Know what you are talking about and prepare. Structure things in a way that can be received by your audience.

Avoiding confusing explanations can also help. A rule of thumb I use is, “If I can’t finish a sentence without a breath. I’ve probably confused the heck out of my listener.” Take a breath, slow down and work through the explanation logically and be ready to expand on a point and break it down further if your listener doesn’t understand.

Listen again

Never stop listening. People will often tell you if they don’t get it. Ask questions and obtain feedback from your students. They will let you know. If their answers are garbled or don’t make sense, you probably have a clash of the world views happening and it’s time to take a different tack.

Reflective listening can be a great way to get the learner moving towards the right idea. Listen to what the student says and reflect back what they say to them either verbatim or paraphrased whilst giving them full attention. Ask questions to get them to expand on what they are thinking. You can then affirm where they have it right and either talk to the logic gap or have them fill the logic gap themselves by asking further questions.

By moving away from your world and into theirs you make a connection. The connection you make helps them move forward and may even move you further along on your learning journey. Don’t be afraid to use your ears as they can be your greatest tool.

Let me know what you think. How do you overcome the Heavy Boots syndrome with your students? How do you go about understanding your learners’ world views? Leave me a comment here or Tweet me @BradStokes. I’d love to hear what you think.

Heavy boots and communication

I’ve had my day made by the strangest of articles, Heavy Boots. I’m positively happy and have had my world view restored again. Before you tell me I have a skewed world view, you may be right. I subscribe to the belief that people are people are people and people are people everywhere.

Ok, back to this little gem. For those not willing to read the article: it outlines a question posed in a class, “If a pen is dropped will it fall to the moon or float away?”. The answer is fall, but more slowly. What the writer discovered was that people are quite willing to belief that astronauts stayed on the moon because they wore heavy boots and that the pen would float away. The article is worth the read, if only for the amusement factor.

It does raise a real conundrum for educators though. We all interpret the world through our own filters and lenses that we build up through our experiences in life. The idea that heavy boots were responsible for our astronauts not floating away did not phase the philosophy class one iota. In the words of the miscellaneous author, “It was not part of their world view.” They could not understand why the world did not work this way even though at some point they would have learned the basics of gravity. It simply did not figure in their world. This strange happenstance is not unique, but affects every single discussion we join.

The idea is not a new one. A great saying is, “People do not hear what you say. They hear what they think you said!” It is rule one in Communication 101. People filter what you say through their experiences and understanding. For instance it is no good telling a colour-blind man that the sky is blue, if he sees purple. He will not understand your point of view because it does not work within his own world view.

Sometimes the difference in world views between the speaker and receiver is great enough that meaningful dialog is impossible. However if we seek to understand the position of person to whom we are communicating with we can adjust to find the point we can shift their views just that little bit. So how do we get there?

Seek first to understand

“People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.”

There are millions of experts and gurus in the world. Half of them live on Twitter. If you don’t believe me, check for yourself Some have great knowledge, some know the esoteric ways of the DVD Recorder and some make it up as they go along. The ones successful at getting you to listen (not necessarily the ones who know what they are talking about) are the ones who seem to understand where you are coming from. They make some connection with you and seem to be speaking to your need.

We as educators don’t need to be flim-flam men and women to reach this same connection with our students. The easiest way to reach the connection is to listen to what our students are telling us. It has nothing to do with what we say and everything to do with how we hear. It is a little thing called empathy and can do wonders on kicking down the pedestals on which we sometimes stand. I include myself on this list.

Our students have their own experiences and hassles, dramas, prejudices and emotions that they are working through, dealing with and filtering through. If we don’t have some idea of where they are standing, we have know way of knowing how to take them to where they need to be.

Walk a mile in these heavy boots

Once we have an idea of where they stand, we need to connect to them in a way that they can accept. Talking aerodynamics to a soccer player is potentially unhelpful and probably useless. Yes aerodynamics affect the ball in amazing ways, but talking about the Bernoille principle won’t help him put the ball in the net. Describing how the air moves around the ball when he kicks it and show him slow motion videos of the rotation and how spin affects the ball might.

People generally know when you are talking down to them or at them. The easiest way to achieve this is by over complicating things or oversimplifying.   Match your message to the marketplace and the market may listen.

Know thy stuff and make sense

Most people have some form of garbage meter in their brains. They will know when you are making it up as you go along.

We’ve all seen lecturers and teachers derailed by an errant comment. It can be really funny watch, but a nightmare to live. It also kills your credibility and makes it really hard to get back to the world view moving.

The easiest way to avoid it is: if you don’t know it, don’t say it. Get back them later after you check it out. Know what you are talking about and prepare. Structure things in a way that can be received by your audience.

Avoiding confusing explanations can also help. A rule of thumb I use is, “If I can’t finish a sentence without a breath. I’ve probably confused the heck out of my listener.” Take a breath, slow down and work through the explanation logically and be ready to expand on a point and break it down further if your listener doesn’t understand.

Listen again

Never stop listening. People will often tell you if they don’t get it. Ask questions and obtain feedback from your students. They will let you know. If their answers are garbled or don’t make sense, you probably have a clash of the world views happening and it’s time to take a different tack.

Reflective listening can be a great way to get the learner moving towards the right idea. Listen to what the student says and reflect back what they say to them either verbatim or paraphrased whilst giving them full attention. Ask questions to get them to expand on what they are thinking. You can then affirm where they have it right and either talk to the logic gap or have them fill the logic gap themselves by asking further questions.

By moving away from your world and into theirs you make a connection. The connection you make helps them move forward and may even move you further along on your learning journey. Don’t be afraid to use your ears as they can be your greatest tool.

Let me know what you think. How do you overcome the Heavy Boots syndrome with your students? How do you go about understanding your learners’ world views? Leave me a comment here or Tweet me @BradStokes. I’d love to hear what you think.

Start Writing Now: Overcome your fears

One of the biggest barriers for people writing is the dreaded writer’s block. With blogging, twitter and status feeds the illness strikes just as hard and just as often. Unfortunately the added pressure of immediate feedback and putting what you write out there in the wild only compounds the problem. So in the end new bloggers and posters end up having to confront the other demons of writing, self doubt and fear, much sooner than those that write in secret.

There are a few ways these canny little beasts surface, but the main ones I see are:

• What if someone criticises my work
• What if someone criticises me
• What do I have that is worth sharing
• I’m not an expert
• How will I come up with new ideas to write about

Let’s confront number 1 and 2 straight up. I saw a fantastic Tweet of a quote by Bill Cosby today, “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” I’d agree. If what you are saying is worth saying, you with attract people who will disagree with you. Don’t be worried by that people can only affect you if you let them. Listen to the people you respect and value and let their feedback be your guide. Even then, if they disagree you don’t need to change your posts, but you may need to think through their arguments. Best case scenario, the people who don’t agree with you may force you to clarify and refine your position and may be the source for your next writing expedition.

Don’t take critisim personally, most times it won’t be personal. People are just responding to something on the page. If THEY want to make it personal by attacking you, they DON’T count as critics and can be ignored. If they argue against your IDEAs, think through what they are saying and respond when you have enough distance to reply in a constructive manner.

So rejoice when you attract critics, you will be attracting others too!

Fear of criticism stops some. Fear of not having something to share, not having something worthy to share and not being able to continue to share stops many, many more. Here are my thoughts on how to overcome these obstacles.

“I have nothing worthwhile”

Well, yes you do. Unless you are lying entombed beneath the earth, you are doing things everyday that you can record. Of course if you are into caving, being entombed in the earth would be something worth writing about. There are people in your type of situation the would like to know how you face it. This statement is true for the educator or the fitness fanatic. It is true for a depressive and an entrepreneur.

We like to know we are not alone. We like to know that some people think deep thoughts for us to ponder and we like to know that the dog next door bothers you as much as it does me. People are people are people everywhere. And people everywhere need people in order to feel like a we rather than a me all alone.

You have in you something to write. Recently at my work I was chatting with a colleague about the news a trainee that was to be nominated for a trainee award. It’s really exciting for the people involved, but I didn’t realise the amount of paperwork and legwork involved in the nomination. It was interesting. I’ve suggested that the colleague blog the entire process, because I know others would be similarly interested. Before the suggestion my colleague thought that they had nothing to write about. It turns out they have some great content material. Chances are so do you.

“Why should someone listen to me?”

This one is the rehash of the “I’m not an expert” files. Let’s just address that fear with some great quotes on experts:

• “An Ex-Spurt is just a drip under pressure”
• “Expert: a man who makes three correct guesses consecutively.” Dr. Laurence J. Peter
• “An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field.” Niels Bohr
• “An expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less, until eventually he knows everything about nothing.”
• “An expert is somebody who is more than 50 miles from home, has no responsibility for implementing the advice he gives, and shows slides.” Edwin Meese III
  

Let’s not be too worried about being an expert. I’m not an expert, guru or wonderkid. I’m someone who is happy to learn everyday and will continue to learn everyday. Expert isn’t a title you should EVER give yourself. If you have it applied to you, accept it with grace and don’t be too quick to believe it lest you get lost in your belief.

What you are is someone who has an interest in a field. Even if that field is the dog next door, you have the right to write about it. Defend your ideas and engage others, wax lyrical about the things that interest you. Find opportunities to ask others their opinions and have fun. That is all you need to do. If you are wrong or get a fact wrong, fix it up and keep writing. The trick is don’t take yourself too seriously and keep writing. You have something in you to write, write it.

“I can’t find new stuff to write about”

Material to write about comes into the inspiration area and it’s a little harder. Some of the advice I have tried to follow is to write everyday regardless. I admit I probably write more coal then diamonds. I still try to write and I’m not worried if it is one paragraph in a journal or an article. It does not matter.

Remember what you write doesn’t have be online for the world to see, you can keep this offline. I recommend there are certain things you keep to yourself including:

• Personal details that identify specific people and situations. If it is a private matter, keep it private.
• every single bit of your thoughts and letting it “all hang out” - some things you don’t want out there
• Public feuds with the rest of the world though these can be interesting to watch
• Anything that will damage you now and in the future unless ethics, conviction or faith compel you to speak up. Even then pause first.

It’s your call and write what you will, but write. Quantity will turn into quality if you keep at it. Your writing style will improve with time and the topics you write about will become more varied. Don’t doubt yourself. Write about the small things in your life or the big things in the world. Write about the news articles that grab your attention or the scout hall down the road that is run down and saddens you. Just write about anything that hits you and you will find new and good stuff. If you can’t start a blog, start responding to others. Start writing and keep writing.

It’s a journey that you can grow to love, because what you write about is less important than the journey itself. What will you write about? I can’t tell you and I shouldn’t because it’s your journey to live.

If you don’t write, start. If you need a place to start, let me know what you think as comment or catch me on Twitter. I want to hear what you have to say.

Five ways to find context in training

I heard it recently said that learning is not about the content, but the conversation. I understand the sentiment, but think it misses the point. Learning is about context. The content and the conversation are but parts of this. The best of content delivered to in a format that is unable to be interpreted by its receiver is useless. Likewise a fantastic conversation can be had with out a scarric of useful information changing hands.

To say that learning is about the conversation is to confuse the medium with end goal, learning. It comes back to the idea of right place, right person, right time, right information and right tools. There are many different things to get right for the learner to be engaged and for real learning to take place. Valuable learning occurs with the information being given has relevance and meaning to the one it is being given. The context of the overall learning scenario determines how a learner is connected to learning they are attempting to embark upon. Below I look at 5 ways to find the context of learning environment and how to connect to your learners when training.

Avoid Assumption

I’ve always loved the saying, “Never assume anything. It makes an ass out of u & me!” and it is true. Unfortunately, like most people, it is one I can very easily fall foul to.

The easiest way to have meaningless conversations and provide ineffective training is to be on a completely different wavelength to the people with which you are trying to communicate. Nothing makes this quite so easy as assuming that I know where the person is coming from. It makes it too easy to sprout information, and provide a whole heap of advice that completely misses the mark at best or totally confuses and agitates at worst. One sure fire way to alienate a person is to have them think you are not listening or understanding their needs. Assumption will mean you miss the context of the training everytime be it f2f, online or distance training.

One of the common misassumptions is that current school leaders are computer literate and completely at home on the Internet and by extension should be completely able to operate in the online world. It simply is not true. Most will know how to check their facebook and send an email. They will probably be able to send and receive MMS messages. They will likely be under the assumption that Google knows all. However, you will also find kids that can’t turn on a computer. That wouldn’t know how to use the Internet. Kids that still can’t read properly and have trouble with writing. That are happy working on an engine or helping care for a sick person, but would  happily condemn all computers to be thrown by trebuchets. Engaging these people online would probably be disastrous and the context of their situation will determine how we learn together. Stopping to check your assumptions saves a great deal of angst for all.

Make assumptions at your own peril.

Find the right time

Sometimes this very much defined for you, especially in a face to face institutional environment where classes are 2-4 on Thursdays. In the workplace or in a flexible environment - online or otherwise - there is more scope for movement. There will be certain times during the days and weeks you can engage the learners fully and others that just won’t work. Finding what works for you and them will be part of the negotiations. For road transport workers, you may find that after hours on a Wednesday works, but certain days are shot because everybody is in every direction. Mondays and Fridays in an office can be a bad time to engage someone as the pressure of starting a new week or ending it with all tasks completed will drive the concentration from the minds of those you wish to train.

In every case it will be slightly different and the only way to find what works is to open the lines of communication and be aware of your students actions and what they are telling you. When you pick the right time, the learner will be alert and ready to engage with where they are about to travel. Sometimes though, there is no right time. In these cases any time is right and making it work will be about separating the individual from the rest of their environment for the period of the learning sessions. In these cases you as a trainer may need to take the lead.

Finding the right time is about what works and when it works.  Be flexible and alert to your learners and you will find it.

Find the right medium

What works best with the student for them to learn. If a student learns better face to face, classes or group sessions may work best. If the learner is time poor and wishes to study from home a distance or blended model might be better for them. Even further if they are studying at home, the might want to operate online or feel more comfortable with paper. Finding the right tool for the job is about removing barriers to learning and empowering a person to learn in their way that suits them.

But what tool should I use? There may be dozens of tools that work for the situation and and example is online conferencing: four fantastic web conferencing tools are Elluminate, Wimba, DimDim and Adobe Connect. They all do approximately the same thing. They look a little different and have different pricing models and structures, but when push comes to shove they all work. The question becomes not what works, but which is going to work best for me and my student. It may even be a case of use whichever is your preference and if that doesn’t work move onto to another tool. There are no right answers here.

The big trick to finding the right tools for the job are to use the ones you have at hand. If they don’t work, don’t clasp them tight. Find another tool that works. If text chat isn’t working, use Skype or VOIP and if that doesn’t work pick up the phone. The tools to use are the ones that work.

Bring the right information and know when to bring others into the conversation

Your learner knows what they want to learn and in most case you will know what they will need to learn. The best thing you can do is prepare adequately and be ready to give of what you have. The old adage of preparation being the most important thing you can do still holds true in the modern training environment. The most flexible trainers are those prepared for most eventualities. Prepare early and move as you need to when your train. Your learners will be better for it.

It goes without saying that one person can’t know everything. You will have gaps in your knowledge, and if you don’t you are not human. When you hit something that you can’t answer, bring in the help you need to address the issue. Most successful people aim to surround themselves with smarter people then they are, why should trainers be any different? Hubris is the fortitude of the week and humbleness the refuge of the strong. Admitting to a knowledge gap doesn’t diminish a person, nothing robs credibility faster than trying to bluff through a topic you know little about. Finding the right person or information for a student when they need it, even if that person isn’t you, increases your connection to the learner and meets them where they need to be met.

Listen

It’s been said that we have two ears and one mouth and we should use them in that ratio. Funnily enough in training one of the hardest things to learn is when to shut the one tool we are used to using. One of the things I’ve observed is that the most effective trainers help learners train, tutor and teach each other. The knack they have is hearing exactly what they are being asked then drawing it out of those around them. Context is gained from the  subtext of the conversation. Reading between the lines and finding the story behind the questions.

One of the most effective tools here is the art of reflective listening. For the uninitiated reflective listening is where you reflect your learners statements back to them slightly paraphrased to determine that you understand what they are saying eg “So you mean…” or “He made you feel…” You can then employ a series of questions to get the learner thinking in the right direction or to find the heart of the matter and address the real questions being asked. Finding the real context of the conversation helps you as a trainer connect with your learners and help them make real behaviour change.

Admittedly the context might be “I’m confused and what you are saying doesn’t make much sense to me”, listening and obtaining feed back from your learners will help you find when you’ve got it right, got it wrong and when it is time to move the conversation along.

Finally…

We’ve moved from the teacher centric model of past, where an esteemed wise man stood on an elevated platform and espoused the wisdom he held. The main problem with throwing information at people is most of it bounces. For a learner to engage with information and behaviour to start to change, a facilitator and trainer must meet the student where they stand now. The trainer has to find the context of where the student is coming from and fit the learning to them. In the end, a learner centric system means context is everything…

Let us know what you think, by posting your comments below.

Finding calm in the digital storm

It’s become cliche how much we are flooded with information. The rate at which the human race acquires knowledge is set to continue to speed up. More than one futurist has predicted that in the not too distant future the total of all knowledge will double every 30 days. Whilst futurists are not too great at some predictions, recent history seems to be bearing this one out. Technology seems to also follow this pattern. Moore’s law is the one that get’s touted out at these points in time about computing power doubling whilst expense falls at an exponential rate. One such example is the humble mobile phone. I still have one of the first mobile phones usable in Australia from the late eighties. It was never mine, but given to me as a trade for a new mobile phone when I managed a mobile phone shop. It is an amazing device. The battery pack is about as heavy as two standard twelve volt batteries and in its heyday lasted about 12 hours. You couldn’t of course take it out of the truck it rested in, but was nothing short technological marvel at the time it was released. Compare this to the iPhone. Now, I don’t have an iPhone and, for the time being, I’m unlikely to acquire one. It doesn’t quite meet my needs. However it provides a stark contrast to my mobile dinosaur. You can certainly make and receive telephone calls. You can also browse the web, send/receive emails, take photos, play games and, yes, you can even breath on the screen so a fog like that of a window on a cold winter’s day forms and then write messages in the fog. You can download an app that let’s you update FaceBook, Twitter and other sites wherever you are. In fact the computing power in the phone is greater than most computers around in the seventies and eighties. A number of us will state, “It’s a phone; I just want to make and receive calls. That’s all…” That’s fine, but another group of iPhone and Web 2.0 advocates will be saying, “Yes, but what about the richness and depth of experience you are missing out on? What about everything else you can do on the phone?” The truth of the matter is, there is no right answer and many words won’t sway you one way or the other.  This is just one example of a shift in paradigm for using technology. Ultimately it comes down to maintaining relevance in the shifting landscape of today. If sending and receiving calls, and maybe texting the odd person, or emailing the world is keeping you up with your peers and wider world, great! If however you are feeling like you are being left behind in the race to the future, think about moving forward. Take heart though that you are no worse off than the person who adopts every new technology with the giddy glee of a school child. The second is buffeted by the winds of the initial front of the hurricane; the first is tortured by the winds as they come back round. Both struggle to maintain equilibrium. The place most of us should be aiming for is that calm in the middle of the storm. And this doesn’t meaning finding relevance and sitting still. Storms move forward, as does technology. To maintain control of our lives we need to be moving forward as well. So what can we do to find our piece of calm? Watch the innovators. You will probably know a few of these intrepid souls. They are the people that are always watching for the next big thing. Sometimes the things they try don’t work. However, the technologies they try and then continue to use are worth watching. Generally they keep an eye on new developments and begin to find uses for things as they become established. The difference between the innovators and the technophreaks is the innovator is looking for solutions that work, not marvels that amaze. Look at your peers and wider world. If everybody you know has a FaceBook account and you don’t, consider moving forward. A good indicator of your progress is how far ahead or behind you are compared with those around you. Look at your industry, what are the prevailing standards and how have they changed? Have you kept up with that change? What can you do now to stay in touch to those around you? Be prepared to try new things. This more or less says it all. Life is moving forward, you should too. Take up the old challenge, ‘do something once a day that scares you’. If you haven’t tried something new for a while do so and see what works for you. Be prepared to let things go. I once had a trainer that was permanently bonded to his overhead slides and shunned all more advanced display technology. There came a day when the projectors from his unit had all been removed or broken and no one was willing to fix them. Yet he still tried to keeps his overheads. I’d heard later that in his younger years, he’d been a really progressive teacher and was one of the keen adopters of new teaching methods and styles. Unfortunately, he’d gotten into his groove and refused to be shifted. It was a shame; he was a fantastic trainer, but so much less effective because he wouldn’t move on. The stunning moves of today will become old and dated; don’t be confined to irrelevance by not letting go of them. Remember technology does not have to be new to be innovative and relevant. This is an interesting one. There is the quote, “There is nothing new under the sun.” and this can be true. One piece of technology Mtraining is using to great effect are the Point Of View camera glasses. They have been around for quite some time, but they are just emerging as a fantastic tool in developing training resources. Other ideas being explored are assessments and evidence gathering using the glasses. Another idea gaining traction is SMS’s in the classroom. Amongst a certain demographic, the phones and SMS’s are being used anyway, why not harness it? Take up the challenge to look around you and see new uses for existing technology. You can move yourself from the “falling behind” to the innovative very quickly. Look at the long term. Not every bit of technology lasts. Fads come and go. Technology rises and fades. You don’t need to use everything. Pick what is going to work for you today and will likely work for you in the short to medium future. Take a longer look at things. Find what works for you. It’s about finding the mix of relevance with a digital world and not being buffeted and blown by every new technology that arises. In the end, our peace of calm in the digital storm is different for all of us. Ask yourself a few questions: Am I relevant to my world? What technology and ideas am I hanging onto that I need to let go of? What are the innovators in my industry doing? What are the people around me doing? What technologies am I not using that I could and should use? Where are we going next? What technologies do I see lasting? What do I need to do now to move forward today? What do you think?

Perpetuus Calx – Resolutions that Last

The new year has started and provides us with the opportunity to think about where we are, where we want to go and how we go about getting there. In short, we have thought, and in many cases made, our New Year’s resolutions.

 The idea of the New Year’s resolutions has unfortunately been tarnished by time and personal experiences. A number of notable newspaper columnists go so far as to suggest that because so many resolutions get broken, you shouldn’t bother making them in the first place. And while it is true that at least 80% of the resolutions this year are already consigned to the trash can of life, I think the idea misses the point. It is about the resolutions that last the distance and make the difference sought in the first place.  The thing most people don’t think about is that other word for resolution is GOAL.

Anyone that has read any self-help book or business building manual in the last 20 years, or for that matter have decided to watch Dr Phil, know about the goals (or resolutions) that don’t work. They are the goals that are vague, unmeasurable or simple unattainable. They are generally a good intention with no possible follow-through such as “I will be more attentive in class”, “I will make my business grow” or even “I will lose weight this year”. They are great ideas with no direction and with no way to know when you get there.

Likewise we have all heard about the goals that work, the SMART goals (or one of half a dozen other variants). Simply put the goals that work are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timetabled. You should know what you want to achieve and when you will know you have made it. Your goals should be relevant to your current situation and be able to be reached. You should have a stated time to reach your goal.  So whilst “I will grow my business” might not be so great, “I will increase revenue by 10% by June by targeting product line x or service y” fits the bill. Writing down the goal and coming back to it several times before your target date can also help and make it one of the goals or resolutions that last.

In the end, the New Year’s resolution is about finding the time and space to reflect on the journey thus far, look about where you are right now and start on the path to where you want to be.  There is no perfect time for setting goals and planning, but you are served much better by the goals you have than the ones you don’t. As the adage goes, “He who aims at nothing is sure to hit it”. There are times that seem to lend themselves to reflection and goal setting and planning. New Year is one of them. A New Year’s resolution is a good way to start the year with a plan that can make the difference.

So in this stream of thinking, what are Mtraining’s New Year’s resolutions? Well, we’ll play that a little close to the chest. Some of the ones that I’m throwing into the ring and that excite me are:

• Find at least 5 emerging or new technologies and pilot their usage with students by years end
• Create a bank of over 100 new Point Of View training resources (videos) by June 
• and personally, I’d like to help at least a few hundred excellent trainers reach their learners more effectively through innovative use of technology this year

2009 contains some awesome and really exciting possibilities. Our New Year’s resolutions are aimed at making them become real. 

What are you aiming for? Post a comment or contact us and let us help you get there.

Web 2.0, Privacy and ELearning

A couple of weeks ago, I was watching a program on ABC2 called hack and they were exploring in an open-forum style the issue of privacy and the world of Web 2.0. You can see the show at http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hackhalfhour/programs/s2359534.htm and it is well worth the watch. It was quite interesting, and somewhat scary, how naive even supposedly sophisticated users are. Most were totally unaware about how much information about each of participants was available online, what a phishing attack was or how seemingly easy it is for a third party to launch a dedicated identity attack against them. A whitehat (a hacker who works for good) explained to the crowd how a spear fishing attack can occur whereby an email is sent containing information specific to the individual being targeted and looking like it came from a legitimate source, but containing a link to a spoof or fake site requesting log on details. The site looks genuine in every respect, including styling and branding, and feeling comforted by familiar surrounds a user tries to log in and in the process hands over their user name and password to a third party who then has complete access to that person’s account. Given that most people use the same password for almost everything, a successful attack can open up a user’s email account to abuse and from there a complete identity fraud, including online banking can occur. Scary stuff! The next comments from the crowd were disheartening, ’so you can get hacked by clicking on an “attachment”‘. Yes, that is true, but misses the entire point of the explanation. You were left with a sense that still most of the crowd didn’t get it. The whitehat didn’t correct; he just sat there with a sad smirk on his face. At the very least, every user involved in a social networking site or any of the available Web 2.0 services should be aware of how much information about ourselves we give away for free. From a training perspective this should very much inform us on what we need to be communicating to our learners. As part of the education landscape in Australia we are bound by legislation to protect our learners’ privacy and we have a duty of care to do so. This means we need to be aware and ahead of the game when it comes to how the technologies we use work and impact on privacy. If we are using available social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace for communicating with and amongst our student, and this can be a very good thing, we need to be aware of who can see what and when. A gentle word that is completely appropriate in a face to face environment can very easily turn into an embarassing comment screamed out to a student’s friends, family and indeed the whole world by accident. As with most things, context is everything. From an administrative point of view, if learning is occurring in an LMS of any description the LMS should be configured correctly. Any impartation of other LMS users’ details to other users needs to be at the user’s discretion. If we by means of incorrect settings allow open access of details between users without their permission, life is by no means rosy. And of course, contingency is also important. The question how to respond to a breach should be answered well before the likelihood of a breach taking place. One great resource is http://www.privacy.gov.au. Finally we need to educate those we train on how they can protect themselves. If a learner’s details are displayed in a public space or they make a fool of themselves in spaces such as Facebook or MySpace because we didn’t prepare them adequately where does the duty of care fall? What can we do to prevent such a calamity? Now it needn’t be all doom and gloom, but we need to approach online learning and Web 2.0 with our eyes open. Failure to use the medium and tools available to us simply limits how well we interact with the digital generation. The tools available are great and incredibly useful and I argue should be used. The question is how best to do so. I’m interested in your thoughts. What do you think about the whole online privacy thing and where do you sit? What challenges have you faced? Have you been subject to ID theft or know someone who has? How do you think we as trainers, teachers, educators, students and learners need to approach our own online lives and learning? Huge questions, but well worth the asking.