Harold Jarche

Throwing sheep in the boardroom

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Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom could be sub-titled everything you wanted to know about social media but didn’t have the time to ask. The book is definitely comprehensive and is complete with hundreds of stories about the effects of online social networking. Anyone who is active in using and understanding social media may find this a bit of a repeat of the last few years of commentary on the subject, but those new to the field can find it here in one book, with plenty of end-notes.

The authors cover in detail the banning of Facebook and other sites by government agencies, schools and corporations. They also address some of the more positive aspects of social networking but I would not accuse them of being cyber-evangelists. There is some good analysis around open versus closed social networking sites. Citing the French aristocracy as an echo-chamber that failed to realise the factors that led to the Revolution, they use many other historical examples to place today’s situation in context. For instance, readers of this book will also get a short history of the Knights Templar.

This sums up the authors’ intent, and I think that they have achieved it:

What has interested us most is the Web 2.0 revolution’s impact on the three social dynamics that gave this book its structure: identity, status and power. It will be recalled that we describe our analytical approach to these themes as “3-D” – dis-aggregation of identities, democratization of status and diffusion of power.

Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom reads a bit like an academic treatise on Web 2.0 and would be useful for someone wanting a lot of information in one book. It could make a good course text book. For excellent analysis, without all the details, I would recommend Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody and for a deeper look at the fundamentals underlying the Internet economy I still consider Benkler’s The Wealth of Networks the most comprehensive examination to date.

Accountability

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Last month I wrote that it’s time to invert the pyramid and integrate learning into all that we do. Part of the research that led me to that conclusion was the notion of complexity and Dave Snowden’s cynefin framework. The cynefin framework comes up again in Patrick Lamb’s post looking at 3 different types of accountability via Glenda Eoyang [lots of background reading here if you’re interested].

Basically:

Stable systems => Outcome-based accountability

Active, self-organising systems => Learning-based accountability

Random & chaotic systems => Sharing-based accountability

Most of our HR and work practices are premised on the assumption of stable systems, but we are realising that is no longer the case. Some of the project-based work that I do uses learning-based accountability, where we are all responsible to help the rest of the team learn. For those who live and work on the Web, this becomes a natural way to work. The same can be said for sharing-based accountability, especially amongst bloggers and others who share online. We have learned that the more you give, the more you get back in the form of feedback and more learning opportunities. Last year I changed my copyright license to a more open one because I felt that would encourage sharing. I felt accountable.

If an organisation is only focused on outcome-based accountability can it thrive in more active or random environments? It seems that most markets and socio-economic structures are becoming more chaotic – just try to predict the price of gas for next month. Re-framing the concept of accountability is an important  conversation to start with HR professionals and executives.

Resources and Tools

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I was asked to develop a list of important resources, especially the blogs that I find most valuable in my work. Since my work is focused on the intersection of learning, work and technology and especially how learning and working are becoming integrated in networked organisations, these are not just edtech blogs. These are not the best, but a good representation of some of the better resources. A more complete list is available on my Bloglines public feed.

Focused on Learning

Internet Time Blog and Informl Learning Jay Cross has informed much of my work, which is why we continue to work collaboratively.

OLDaily Stephen Downes’ daily coverage of the widest range of learning-related items, making it an excellent meta blog.

Eide Neurolearning is a good source for me to get up to speed on the science of learning and cognition.

Workplace Learning Today This is a new multi-author blog that is becoming an important source of information for me.

Focused on Work & Business

Wirearchy discusses new models for the networked workplace.

FastForward Blog and The AppGap are both multi-author blogs looking at enterprise 2.0

The Creative Class Richard Florida has added several other authors so there are wide ranging opinions on the new nature of work here.

Focused on Technology

Read/Write Web if you only follow one site on Web technologies, this should be it.

Michael Geist is the Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-commerce Law and this is where I get a Canadian perspective on digital copyright and Net neutrality.

Miscellaneous

Polymeme is a potpourri of information that introduces me to new fields and ideas, without overwhelming me with frivolous information.

TOOLS

I’ve recently taken to using Twitter and I’m finding it to be a great tool for finding information. I liken it to lobbing comments over the cubicle walls. With twitter, I’m picking up more divergent points of view.

I’m also on the lookout for a decent comment aggregator, having used CoComment, Commentful and co.mment, and not been satisfied with their spotty service. I’m trying out BackType but it misses out on many comments and does not pick up follow-on comments. I’m currently awaiting the launch of Ubervu and hope that it fills this gap in my online collaboration.

I tried out Jing this past year and may use it more for quick video casts and Jay Cross just introduced me to EyeJot for sending quick video messages.

Drupal for Education and E-Learning

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Bill Fitzgerald has written a comprehensive technical guide for the Drupal open source content management system with a focus on its use in formal education. Drupal for Education and E-Learning, by Packt Publishing, walks you through the setup of a Drupal installation, step by step. This is a how-to book, covering everything from themes to modules to backup and maintenance. The core of the book is on education-specific aspects, such as teacher blogs, forums, enrolling students and managing classes. It also covers the use of various media and there are many comments on considerations from a learning perspective.

Drupal is not specifically designed for education, as Moodle is, but Bill gives a good map on how it can be used. The Drupal developer and user community is also larger than Moodle’s and an important factor in choosing an open source system is the strength of the developer/user community. Also, Drupal can be used for other aspects of the institution, such as alumni relations or digital asset management

I would think that this book would be excellent for the system administrator at an institution, the project lead or senior instructional designer. Parts of it would be of interest to individual teachers. Since Drupal has no licensing fees, institutions can afford several copies of this book.

Open source for learning costs less

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In my 2009 predictions for eLearn Magazine I said that “There will be an increased interest in open source software as well as tools and methods that enable online collaboration.” Ryan Cameron took me to task on open source in the comments:

Open source is not, actually, free. Someone has to build it, someone has to maintain it. Open source is simply transferring an up front and usually meagre licence fee for a long term highly specialized labour cost, which in many cases ends up creating situations where organizations are completely hamstrung by their IT department/gurus.

I agree, OS is not free, however it is free of licensing fees and free from many other licensing constraints of proprietary systems. If it is GPL it is free to hack, modify or build upon, with some restrictions.

My research and experience over the years shows open source, especially in training and education, to be significantly cheaper. One example is a Moodle installation that had a total cost of ownership at 3-10% of the compared proprietary system. Another example of open source versus a proprietary learning management system showed a savings of $345,000. Here’s a study from the Quebec Provincial Department of Education that showed savings of 59-75% over 5 years.

While OS is not free, and does incur some costs for implementation and support, I have yet to find examples where open source learning management systems cost more than proprietary ones. An OS learning management system may not meet all your needs, but it won’t be because it costs too much.

It’s not about the technology?

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INATT makes sense because most of us realise that people make things happen, not technology. It’s not about the technology is a rallying cry amongst many in education or in fields that are being disrupted by information technology. Perhaps INATT, but:

  • Imagine organising an international group of collaborators without access to Voice over IP (costs increase) or without presence monitoring (who’s available in what time zone) or without shared documents online (what’s the latest version?).
  • Try to understand a different geographic market with no travel budget. Using Twitter, you could follow people who live and work in that area and get to know what’s important to them (free competitive intelligence).
  • Create a presence in a field while living in a small town far from a major urban centre (that’s me, using my blog for the past five years).
  • Keep up to your professional field without access to paid journal subscriptions, lectures or conversations with experts (many experts now publish material online – TED.com, as well as universities publish lectures online, and you can engage other professionals on blogs or Twitter).

Just think about the advantages that these technologies provide us in connecting, collaborating, sharing and learning. Now imagine organisations that do not use them. Would you say they are at a disadvantage? It’s not about the technology but it’s definitely not about ignoring the technology.

Learning Industry Predictions 2009

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eLearn Magazine offers predictions for 2009 and Editor Lisa Neal Gualtieri says that the people polled “unanimously agree the global economic downturn is the overwhelming factor coloring their forecasts, [however] they do see a great array of opportunities and challenges in the coming 12 months.”

Here are the predictions from my Internet Time Alliance colleagues:

Jane Hart: As the recession bites and training budgets are slashed, organizations will no longer be able to afford the production of sophisticated courseware. Instead they will become more reliant on employee-generated content and increasingly appreciate the potential of Web 2.0 approaches for informal, social, and collaborative learning, and knowledge sharing throughout the enterprise. There will also be a growing trend toward adopting a top-down approach to using social media in organizations by building a social media/learning strategy and implementing a platform that integrates a number of social media tools for enterprise use.

Jay Cross: Wrenching changes in business and society accompanying the global transition from the industrial age to the network economy will kill off much of the training and education programs as we have known it. In its place will arise a more natural approach to learning through collaboration and sharing. There are great times ahead, an era of fulfilling, bounteous learning unprecedented in human history. However, the journey to this promised land will be brutal and unforgiving for people and organizations who resist change and lobby for “back to the basics.”

Clark Quinn: The extraordinary: Semantics will arise; we’ll start realizing the power of consistent tagging, and start being able to meta-process content to do smart things on our behalf. And we’ll start seeing cloud-hosting as a new vehicle for learning services.

You can find my predictions in with the rest as well.

PodCamp Halifax 2009

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PodCampHalifax2009 seems like a great mid-Winter activity. Time to get away from my computer screen and meet some folks. This year’s event is at the Aldernay Gate Public Library on 25 January, from 9 to 5.

This is an unconference, focused on social media (blogs, wikis, podcasts, video, etc). The goal is to have an open, participatory, user-generated series of workshops and the people who attend are the presenters.

There are several folks from New Brunswick listed to attend, so sign up and come on out. If you plan on staying overnight, you may want to put yourself up for adoption. I’m sure that we can organise some kind of car-pooling as well.

Make commenting easy

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Blogs have 3 primary characteristics that make them different from other media. 1) Blogs have a permanent resource identifier that does not change over time, 2) Blogs publish an RSS/Atom feed to notify services of updates, and (most importantly) 3) Blogs allow comments. What differentiates blogs from other published information is that there is a feedback loop.

I should note that there are now third-party services that let you comment on articles and blog posts without using the blog’s comment function. For example, Facebook allows comments via their platform.

For bloggers, comments add depth and insight to what would otherwise be a monologue. I think that it’s very important to make it as easy as possible for people to comment on your blog. However, too many services do just the opposite and I have passed on writing a comment many times when confronted by multiple-step comment forms. Captchas are one example.

I’ve made it as easy as possible to make a comment on this site and I get very little comment spam. First of all I use WordPress, designed specifically for blogging. The first line of defence is Bad Behavior, an easy plug-in for WP.

If this does not catch the bad guys, Akismet is the next line of defence. Akismet is another simple plug-in that will hold identified spam for 30 days or until you check it. It learns from the entire community of users, so it’s pretty darn good.

I also have my comment controls set so that first time visitors must be approved by me. I even allow pseudonyms and fake e-mails if the comment is relevant. Once approved, you are free to post at will, or until I revoke your privileges, which I have never done. This works very well and lets the conversation flow, even when I’m not online.

So if you’re wondering why you don’t get many comments, perhaps you’re just making it too difficult.

Volume, Velocity, Virtualization & Variability

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There are four V’s that should be kept in focus as Enterprise 2.0 becomes more of a reality in 2009, according to Mike Gotta:

  1. the volume of information is growing exponentially,
  2. the velocity of business is increasing,
  3. the virtualization of the workplace continues
  4. the variability of roles an employee may be expected to take on will become more diverse

What I like about Gotta’s post is that many of his comments are based on observations of real clients and workplaces. There is a lot to consider and I’m glad that Jon Husband pointed out this blog to me.

To address the increasing volume of information, processes such as Personal Knowledge Management become more necessary (note to self: time to update PKM diagrams).

The increasing velocity means accepting life in Beta, without becoming shallow thinkers and doers.

Virtualization of the workplace means that we had better figure out how best to work and learn collaboratively online. This of course, has been the focus of my work for the past decade. The key is making it work within individual and organisational contexts and accepting that there is more than one way to do anything.

Finally, variability of jobs may spell the end of job descriptions and a move toward multiple workplace roles, depending on context; a much less machinistic model, but one that still needs a lot of work in creating tools to help manage looser networks.