Future of Learning as a Business #4

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For Session 4 of today’s LearnTrends event Dave Wilkins, Learn.com, led off on the subject of social learning and the challenge of the concept as opposed to the technologies. Concepts such as wirearchy, the long tail or wisdom of crowds need to be understood and put into our work context before we can really become social learners at work. This means that you might wish to stay away from Web 2.0 terminology when selling it to clients or inside the organization. He also mentioned that there exist several ways of measuring ROI for social media, you just have to look for it. Dave discussed what Learn.com is doing so that anyone can build a course, share a document, publish, spin their own web space and collaborate with whom they want.

Amit Garg, Upside Learning, discussed his innovation and new projects team current focus on simulations & games, social learning and integrated accountability – areas that are on the near horizon for our industry.

Holly St John Peck, Peck Training Group, and  Monika Ebert, DifferentLens, discussed an informal learning solution with formal application using this model they developed (click for an interactive version):

Picture 2

There was some interesting discussion on whether this above approach keeps learning separate from daily working and performance.

Future of Learning as a Business #3

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Session 3 (C Level perspective) of the LearnTrends event started with Ann Herrman-Nehdi from the Instructional Systems Association talking about a change in the mindset of learning services with the “app” & “plug-n-play” construct of the Web. The notions of on-demand and small pieces are here to stay, as are social networks and the communication and cooperation that happens around them. Real personalization of learning is an opportunity for vendors.

Jeff Sugerman of Inscape Publishing discussed their product design concept, which is aimed at HR consultancies, so it has to be customized by each client. Open & customizable are important and they have even given up control over digital media management (e.g. DRM). He noted that the market’s desire for innovation and cool design is coupled with a reluctance to pay for it, and asks his company, “What would Picasso do?”

Pete Weaver at DDI led by saying how important it is to understand the client’s business intent. He said what is hard from a selling position is that many learning products and services are becoming commoditized. This is difficult when your value proposition is culture change and means that you have to discuss outcomes, not inputs (like the latest web technologies), with your clients.

Ben Snyder at Systemation talked about how stressed many of their clients are, due to staff reductions and the poor economy. This means that a consultative sales approach doesn’t work well. Clients also think that content, as well as time, should be free. Clients ARE willing to pay for experience. Another big trend is the move to gaming for learning [agree, but we have a way to go yet]. Finally, good customer service is important, so treat your clients well or they will go elsewhere.

Future of Learning as a Business #2

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Session 2 of the LearnTrends event looked at internal training organization. Gary Wise of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital discussed the PD&R continuum of Prepare – Deploy – Reinforce. The last part is essential in integrating learning into the work context, using performance support tools, coaching, mentoring and contacting experts. Harvesting feedback, like checking to see if job aids are effective, is also important but may be harder to implement. Most interestingly, Gary showed the training organization with a visual metaphor of a fortress surrounded by a moat. Gary recommends getting out of the fortress and thinking more like a sales person and getting out with “clients”. He is also a proponent of performance consulting skills for anyone in a training role.

Rob Robertson at Citi discussed the important role of training departments making connections with internal and external networks. I think learning as a network is essential in business today.

Allessandria Polizzi at Intuit said that clients who get training actually become better customers. Intuit went from low and “training” and then moved to higher quality training in more modes but at no costs. Interestingly, much of this training was not ADDIE developed stuff, but everything from user-generated content ( blogs, podcasts, videos) as well as connections on social networks. Customers were even paid to develop content. An important note: At Intuit, the Training department is a sub-set of the Marketing department. In the comments, Jennifer noted, “The e-Learning has kept my CPA husband loyal to intuit versus Peachtree, etc.”

Another observation during the discussion was that demand for formal training is dropping in organizations as collaborative and informal networks meet more and more individual performance needs.

Future of Learning as a Business #1

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Finally made it into the Elluminate session for today’s LearnTrends event thanks to D’Arcy Norman’s help with the Mac OS. I made it to the end of Panel 1 on industry perspectives. Tony Karrer asked if there are some new models for selling learning-related products & services online. LiveMocha was given as an example of giving online (language) learning away for free. Accelerated courses are available at a cost but there is a lot of free stuff. The Internet has created the expectation of getting content for free. However, Lisa Fagan said there can be a backlash if you give away for free as a bait & switch sales generation tactic.

Unfortunately I only made the last 10 minutes of the session but I’ll update this with links as they become available.

Future business of learning

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The future business of Learning (or whatever name we finally settle on) lies in providing organisations with the tools, techniques and environments to support them in building employee capability and performance in an increasing range of areas. It certainly doesn’t lie in the provision of ‘ training’. Traditional training may have a role in the picture going forward, sometimes, but it will certainly be only a minor role.

In The Future Business of Learning for Suppliers Charles Jennings shares his perspective and experience from Reuters. I’ve noticed that when we moved to e-learning the mainstream approach was to stick an “e” on industrial, classroom training and have away with it. When that didn’t work, the mainstream started talking about “blended” learning, meaning stuff bolted on to the original system. Now we’re getting collaboration and informal learning slapped on legacy systems, but much of it is lipstick on a pig. The pig hasn’t changed, it’s just a different shade of lipstick.

After 15 years of being in some way involved with web-centric learning, I’m seeing glimmers of hope that we’re going to dump the “horseless carriage” metaphor of e-learning. The financial system collapse and peak oil are two major factors, as we have hit a wall in doing things the old way. We also have a generation entering the workforce who don’t know what life before the Web was like. They don’t know a world where you can’t connect with anyone at anytime and with the device of your choice.

What needs to be jettisoned is the concept of learning as receiving information. We are swimming in information. We need to make sense of our connections and relationships. Connections should be made between several fields of practice and the best taken from each. I think there is great potential in combining the best of organizational development, knowledge management, training, human performance technology and information technology to develop methods for working and learning in digital networks. I wonder though, if we’ll take the easy route and just buy the next version of silicon snake oil that comes along.

What are you selling? Lipstick on a pig or something that works? What will you buy?

Join us at The Future of Learning as a Business on 23 July to discuss these issues and more.

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Other PKM processes

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It seems that Stephen Downes isn’t enamoured with my PKM process:

My first thought was, do I do it this way? And, of course, I don’t – my process is much too haphazard to be dignified with the term ‘method’. But then I thought, what does the concept of a ‘method’ here imply? That there is a ‘best’ way to manage knowledge an information? Isn’t that what we’ve learned there isn’t? It’s a pick-and-choose sort of thing: the way we manage information has a lot to do with the information, and a lot to do with who we are and what we want the information for. “categorizing’, for example, is something I do only if my head is in a vise and I have no alternative – and even then, I use scripts to do it for me.

To be clear, my intention is to show what works for me and perhaps some part of this may work for others. All of my articles on PKM are descriptive, not prescriptive. Take what you need, as there are no “best practices” for complex and personal learning processes.

For example, here is a graphical representation of Lilia Efimova’s process:

knowledge-work-framework-efimova

This is Urs Frei’s representation of PKM:

Frei_PKM_20

And here is a model of social networking technologies and PKM skills from a group of researchers at the University of Florence:

networking_pkm

These representations offer different perspectives on the PKM theme, with a few similarities, and perhaps are of some use for others.

Here is one more by Sumeet Moghe (posted Jan 2010):

PKM_cpor-process_sumeet_meghe

Creating your PKM processes

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In Sense-making with PKM I described some personal knowledge management processes using various web tools. The overall process consists of four internal actions (Sort, Categorize, Retrieve, Make Explicit) and three externally focused ones (Connect, Contribute, Exchange). Personal knowledge management is one way of addressing the issue of TMI (too  much information).

pkm-flow

A sense-making routine can be regularly reading certain blogs and news feeds, capturing important ideas with social bookmarks and then putting ideas out in the open on a blog. The power of this process is realized after many iterations when you have created a personally contextualized knowledge base. PKM takes the notion of a personal journal and extends it significantly.

In Web Tools for Critical Thinking I expanded on Dave Pollard’s critical thinking process, showing how web tools can be used to develop critical thinking skills. Critical thinking is an important aspect of PKM but I had not put the two together explicitly. I created the following table to integrate my PKM process with Dave’s critical thinking process. You may have noticed that I’ve changed the order of  Retrieve & Make Explicit, but this is an iterative and non-linear process, so it doesn’t really matter.

My own PKM process has changed lately with my increasing use of Twitter and this is noted in the tools and strategies column.

PKM Critical Thinking Process Web Tools & Strategies
1 Sort Observe & Study Use an aggregator (feed reader) to keep track of online conversations

Follow interesting people on Twitter
2 Categorize Synthesize & Qualify
 Use Social Bookmarks

Find a Twitter App to suit your needs
3 Retrieve Draw Inferences Now that information is in a DB, use Search, instead of file folders.

Create online (reusable) mind maps,  graphics and text files of your thoughts
4 Make Explicit Form Tentative Opinions Tweet

Write a Blog post
A Connect Identify Missing Information (and people) Connect via Twitter, follow blogs or join Social Networks
B Contribute Develop Supporting Arguments Join in Tweet Chats

Write Blog Comments
C Exchange Analyze & Challenge Arguments Continue and extend conversations from news sources, other tweets or blog posts

Friday’s Finds #9

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Once again, not much blogging but a bit more activity on Twitter. It seems I can blast off 140 characters a lot easier than a complete blog post.

via @robpatrob Rob asks 10 questions for all of those who feel ok with the current food system
Agriculture – Our Delusion – My Questions Please help by answering

via @nprnews – Fight Against Antibiotic Fed Farm Animals All Uphill

via @paullowe Paul interviews jessica dimmock of VII network on intimacy with your photography subject

The importance of deliberate practice Anecdote Blog

via @kanter @peterscampbell – Why SharePoint Scares Me

When Culture Eats Enterprise 2.0 Strategy for Breakfast: Slideshare

How not to train (free registration required) by @charlesjennings

Workplace depression: Your co-worker needs your help (for my MH@W Blog)

If you’re really busy, you can use Twitter for busy people via @MiNutrition

Comments Dead, Twitter Holds Smoking Gun Read/Write Web – my blog stats confirm this


Learning to work smarter

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Anne Marie McEwan’s Smart Working nicely summarizes the shift that is taking place in how we work. These shifts have happened before – when we developed agriculture, moved into cities, or created powered machines. Now we are becoming networked.

The term ‘smart working’ has in recent years been associated with flexible and mobile working, that is ‘anytime, anywhere’ ways of working enabled by communication technologies. Another view, broader than the narrow focus on location and time independence, is that smart working is about flexibility and autonomy in where, when and how people work.

In my view, smart working is the outcome of designing and putting in place systems, working environments and governance principles that are known to be associated with effective business performance, including workforce autonomy and self-determination, and which seek to maximise opportunities to use and develop people’s knowledge, skills.

I’m in the process of putting together several threads as a single article, and this is where I do my thinking in public.

In The Learning Age I said that business models and work practices are becoming networked and global, speeding the rate of time to implementation. The lines between work and leisure are blurring, as with work and learning. Today, about 16% of us can be described as hyperconnected but that is expected to grow to 40%, and I would say those people will be the main drivers of our economies and societies.

Effective knowledge sharing is essential for all organizations today but the mainstream application of knowledge management, and I would include learning management, over the past few decades has got it all wrong. We have over-managed information because it’s easy and we’re still enamoured with information technology. However, the ubiquitous information surround may put a stop to this. As enterprises become more closely tied to the Web, the principle of “small pieces loosely joined” is permeating our industrial walls. More and more workers have their own sources of information and knowledge.

At an individual level we need to make sense of the ever-increasing signals coming from our networks, while reducing the noise. This is why I developed sense-making with PKM which I am continuing to refine. Just yesterday I explained social bookmarks, feed readers and using Twitter as a search engine to a “digital immigrant” the same age as me. The light went on when I showed how she could connect with a worldwide cooperative community that shared several of her professional interests.

The power of micro-blogging with Twitter so far is quite impressive and I was one who adopted this medium with a fair bit of skepticism. I just noticed that in the past few months Twitter has replaced Google as the prime referring site for visitors here, surpassing Google.

With some individual skills in using social media, the next question an organization may ask is how to start an online community. Of course starting one doesn’t mean it will grow or be useful. Communication does not equal collaboration, and that is a challenge in “building” communities of practice (CoP). Just because the communication tools are in place does not mean that people will automatically collaborate.  You can’t really build a CoP, it has to emerge through practice; but you can put in systems and processes to support CoP’s.  You know you’re in a real community of practice when it changes your practice.

Taking advantage of social networks for business can give a temporary advantage (everything in business is temporary anyway) and help to develop disruptive business models. So that’s it – there are significant shifts in how we work which will require new skills and if used effectively can create new ways of generating wealth. The information age status quo isn’t the same for the learning age.

Community Supported Agriculture

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Dave Cormier is getting started on connecting people with local farmers, using the Web, on Prince Edward Island. This is Dave’s initial plan:

it’s normal, it’s easy and it’s good to buy local

I want a list of people who are interested in finding out where the good local food is WHEN it is ready. Once the system is ready you’ll be able to either get ALL messages of ‘food is ready to come be picked up, bought or picked’ or be able to subscribe to certain kinds of food or certain producers.

I also want to get a group of people together to prove to the local farmers that we are here. So far, the people I’ve talked to think this is a really exciting idea. I’d like to get those people together so that when i meet with farmers i can say “look, these people want your product, and they want to buy locally”.

Since PEI is not far from here, we share many things, such as climate, our rural environment and distance from major markets. I shared with Dave some of what we have learned in the past three years with the Sackville Community Supported Agriculture initiative. For me, it’s about local control and having a more resilient local agriculture infrastructure that can weather the storms of peak oil, climate change and pandemic. As with nature, in diversity is resilience.

Carrots_of_many_colors

Here are some further readings related to CSA’s.