I think it's okay to admit one of the things that attracts us to something like curriculum design and the world of knowledge management is the idea of achieving elusive goals. While we often profess to be striving towards something measurable, 'learning' is still a deliciously vague term for what we are trying to cause or create. I think part of becoming an instructional designer is loving (or learning to love) the craft of creating conditions and designing experiences. I could probably go on for a bit to talk about the virtues of pursuing systems excellence, but I want to spend a bit of time talking about the flip side of that interest - the part where what we create is rightfully situated in the corporate or academic contexts. The part where what you create is considered a component of a product.Do you think of what you do - what you contribute - as a product? For a long time, I didn't. I thought of myself as exercising a honed skill, and it didn't really matter where I was doing it. I didn't think a lot about how things would be acquired, and the term 'product' seemed a little too crass for what I was trying to do. These days, one of the more challenging and clarifying parts of my job is to focus on the product aspect of what I do. I say product because my design is a functional piece within a larger unit that is sold. Today, I say that thinking about instructional design (in my case, e-learning instructional design) in product terms helps me to create more useful solutions. In a way, I am becoming a product manager. For me, this means three things:Focusing on the contextIn my experience, we instructional designers can at times to look at 'the business' as basically a set of limits on what we can do: not enough funding, not enough freedom, not enough appreciation for what we can really do. (If only I had that really good authoring tool, you all would see something...) There's a bit of comfort in that position, of course -- the best solutions can't be properly leveraged due to limits, so we are cleared to make do with a lesser design -- often a design pushed by those with business concerns but no instructional design experience. That is one option. Another is to look past the minor limits and focus on what your business is trying to do. (I learned the term business acumen while working for CEB. It should probably already have been in my vocabulary.) Using the desired business outcome as your north star -- continually asking what the stakeholders want the learner to do, not learn -- means that you can stay rooted in how valuable this whole endeavor (e.g., your project) really is. Maybe your approach will change. Maybe your stakeholders' resolve will founder. Either way, we shouldn't fear this kind of interaction -- we should embrace this kind of practical analysis and strive to be known for it. We are partners in creating, rather than agents of stakeholder notions, and we have to be OK with (advocate for!) destroying in order to create. Thinking about product means thinking about how we want something consumed; focusing on the context means focusing on why you are making something before getting caught up in the how.Focusing on the positioningI am not a marketing professional. I do not want to be a marketing professional. Additionally, brief summer jobs selling vacuum cleaners and steak knives taught me that I really, really hate selling things. I just want to help people do what they do better. Most of us are taught that the target audience -- the end user -- is the most important profile is the cavalcade of people who will lay hands on the end result of our work. I still believe that this is true, but thinking about the product as a whole - as something to be sold and consumed - means that sooner or later, I start thinking about who's doing the shopping. In other words: when all is said, done, developed, and set on the shelf, who or what is going to deliver your work to the end user? Maybe you sell your products externally - in this case, you should have marketing working on your behalf. But maybe the product is internally focused (i.e., for your co-workers); in this case, who or what is standing in the way of your target audience consuming your content? Think about that, and you'll open yourself to more than design and development by thinking about production and deployment - the entire system at play in a business solution, rather than simply the part that you directly control.Focusing on the ecosystemLately, I've been thinking a lot about the learning ecosystems in my company. This is something that I never expected to say, but here it is: by focusing on the product, I am more aware of other products that are vaguely or acutely related to what I have helped to produce. To make sure that I know how what I've helped to produce is interacting with other products, my business acumen has extended from my business unit to other parts of the company. If my product is to be a star in the night sky, I want it to be part of a guiding constellation of resources.I don't know if thinking this way will work for everyone, but thinking about creating a consumable resource (i.e., thinking like a product manager) has made me closer to both the people who consume the fruits of my labor and the people who help me create them. I believe that doing so is leading us to create ever more helpful solutions - a goal that suddenly doesn't seem so elusive.--Craig Wiggins has been helping people create and manage learning experiences for the last 10 years. He is the eLearning Instructional Design Strategist for the Corporate Executive Board's Corporate Leadership Council, where he manages the creation of meaningful distance learning and performance solutions. Craig holds a B.A. in anthropology and an M.Ed. in curriculum development, and spends a lot of time thinking about how to sneak usability, accessibility, and proper task analysis into the mix. In his natural habitat, he is usually storyboarding on wall-sized whiteboards or pontificating on Google+.

Responsive Open Learning Environments (ROLE) is a European funded project that has focused on both Self_Regulated learning (SRL) as well as the development and implementation of Personal Learning Environments (PLEs). It aims to exploit web-based tools and technologies to empower learners to construct their own personal learning environments (PLEs). The overall goal is to create flexible, web... Read More ›

Visualizing the 21st Century Leader When Ankit returned to his home country, India, after getting his degree in Chemical Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark, he was not the same person anymore. At that point, he had the confidence, … Continue reading →

"We are all born with an innate need to learn so as to make sense of, and learn from, our experiences. The question is why do so many students lose this natural disposition?" - Bruce HammondsBruce Hammonds’ opening statement and question in his recent post What do we all need to be lifelong learners? made me wonder why the mechanism for learning is there in the first place.While I don’t entirely disagree with his supposition about the innateness of learning, I question the innateness of a need to make sense of experiences the way he suggests.One way of rationalising the existence of the learning mechanism is that it evolved for survival. Learning what's good to eat and what's not so good would certainly assist with this. Learning to recognise dangerous situations as well as environments that are safe for settling for the night, or for raising offspring, would likewise tend towards a continued existence.These abilities to learn are innate, and it is understandable how they may have arisen through evolution. But learning from experience, as an innate tendency, is less of a drive to want to learn. It is more a mechanism for survival. To have a drive to learn needs more than just instinct. It needs curiosity - a compelling urge to want to find out.Curiosity killed the catThat ‘curiosity killed the cat’ is well known. In order to seek a learning experience, one needs the drive of the explorer, a curiosity that might be associated with a bohemian tendency to stray away from the safety of the pack.Curiosity is not always good for survival, however, and it could well be why this trait is not so prominent in some as in others. Part of the curiosity that humans display at an early age can get discouraged by parental action, justified by the idea that curiosity may incur danger.At first sight, the characteristics of curiosity and learning appear to oppose one another when it comes to survival. But, curiosity coupled with a keen tendency to learn is what all teachers look for in their students.A complement to learning?Could it be that curiosity evolved as a feature complementary to the development of the learning mechanism? Curiosity certainly seems to stimulate learning in the young child. Several education principles encourage curiosity at an early age, advocating that it permits the unimpeded development of the child.Though curiosity may be thought of as being instinctive, it has an almost random aspect to it that makes it different from many other mammalian characteristics. This complex quality of curiosity prevents it from being categorised as a true instinct. It is not innate in the traditional sense, for it is neither a behaviour that’s learnt, nor is it necessarily influenced by the environment.A strategy for finding out?What can trigger curiosity, however, is a stimulus that suggests the existence of something unknown. Just watch a cat when it senses movement in a clump of long grass. In situations like this, the creature becomes engaged in a series of actions that appear to be strategies for finding out.The curiosity that’s experienced by scientists, explorers and the like, and that drives them to search into the unknown, is often stimulated through chance observation. Yet the conscious act of being curious when these situations arise does not occur in these people by chance.Curiosity and creativityThe importance of curiosity to creativity is implicit. Creativity is a curiosity to explore innovative thought. Curiosity is also important to those who are lifelong learners. It is what drives them to continue learning.Might it be that the ability to be curious or creative cannot be imparted to everyone? Or are these abilities that should be encouraged at all ages, so that their occurrence in each individual, however scant, can be best put to use in learning throughout life?Could it be that it’s not ability to learn that’s lost in the young as they progress through school, but the curiosity that drives them to learn that is suppressed?I affirm Ken Robinson’s opinion that schools can kill creativity.

I think I may have mentioned this before, but I work with researchers - people who spend time living in data and coming up for air only when they have actionable insights in tow. In some ways this has been a bracing change of pace for me, and for the most part it has been very interesting to witness. I don't think any of my colleagues in Rosslyn would put it this way, but I like to think that the unspoken refrain in this kind of work is:look -- really look -- at what is in front of you.stop pretending that things are otherwise.act accordingly. Rinse. Repeat.I like this idea a lot. I think I like it so much because we are living in an age of unprecedented access to data and potential analysis. It's flooding into our living rooms, our classrooms, and our conversations, threatening to knock over our television viewing habits and aborting our actor sighting arguments into trips to IMDb. Never has it been easier to elicit the right answer, even taking into account the number of wrong answers that doggedly flank our prey. In the interests of taking stock of the world in which we're working - in light of all of this (and inspired by this unconference update) - let's stop pretending.Let's stop pretending that the answer to 70-20-10 is to double down on formal learning hierarchies.Let's stop pretending that 'social learning' is something new (or something that can only be achieved using social media).Let's stop pretending that what you're collecting with your LMS has a lot to show in terms of learning analytics, ROI, or business intelligence.(While we're at it, let's stop pretending that you need an LMS at all to capture information about meaningful learning experiences.)Let's stop pretending that online learning can only be canned, disembodied public access TV-style instruction with no connection to universities' missions and students' needs.For starters, let's stop pretending that live instructor-led or online education are the only (let alone ranking) games in town.Let's stop pretending that the university will be killed by online education.Let's stop pretending that we don't know (better than most) that the ones most responsive to change will survive.Let's stop pretending that the solution to crafting excellent learning experiences is going to come from Silicon Valley....or from a tool....or from a tool....or from a tool. (it bears repeating.)Let's stop pretending that tools are anything more than tools.Let's stop pretending that elearning and mlearning should exist as terms.Let's stop pretending that we even know how to spell eLearning e-learning e-Learning elearning.Let's stop pretending that any part of our value comes from shrouding our methods and knowledge in mystery.Let's stop pretending that the transparency of a common language for what we do is anything but potential #winning.Let's stop pretending that any of this is about anything other than GTD.Pelo amor de deus, can we please stop pretending that catering to learning styles is something that we should be talking about in 2012?Let's stop pretending that bowing to business pressures from stakeholders is helping anyone, in the long run.At the same time, let's stop pretending that we are not in a business of production.Let's stop pretending that some part of us didn't wish that we could please everyone.Let's stop pretending that we don't have the scars to prove that much of our value is in our spirited, educated opposition.Let's stop pretending that, somewhere along the way, we didn't allow marketers to make us look kind of dumb.Let's stop pretending that we can get away with not knowing how to work with visual and user experience design teams.Let's stop pretending that we have nothing to learn from visual and user experience design teams. (for starters, they tend to be more comfortable with the concept of design thinking than we.)Let's stop pretending that badges = fun.Let's stop pretending that this game from 2006 isn't more engaging than a fair lot of serious/educational gaming.(While we're at it, let's stop to marvel at our breathtaking getting-schooled-ness at the hands of a motivated social change organization and a clever ad firm.)Let's stop pretending that content curation isn't already a core competency.Let's stop giving the impression that we as a people have this social media thing figured out. (This is me, standing on the free soil of Google+land, staring disapprovingly at you all trying to make it work in Facebookistan. Let's get it together, my people.)Let's stop pretending that, at one point or another, we haven't for a moment wondered if we deserve to be marginalized.  (Opinions on learning are never short supply.)Let's stop pretending that what we do is to be relegated to the corner of any business or institution. What we do is central to life -- or at least, living full throttle. Let's make everyone else realize that, too.--Craig Wiggins has been helping people create and manage learning experiences for the last 10 years. He is the eLearning Instructional Design Strategist for the Corporate Executive Board's Corporate Leadership Council, where he manages the creation of meaningful distance learning and performance solutions. Craig holds a B.A. in anthropology and an M.Ed. in curriculum development, and spends a lot of time thinking about how to sneak usability, accessibility, and proper task analysis into the mix. In his natural habitat, he is usually storyboarding on wall-sized whiteboards or pontificating on Google+.

From Editorial - Inaugural Issue of the Journal of Learning Analytics Since the establishment of the Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR) in 2011, the rapidly emerging learning analytics field warranted greater focus and opportunity to showcase the quality research and practice underway. As an initial step, SoLAR established the international conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge. The Journal... Read More ›

Since Eliademy was launched on 2013, we have been amazed about how many people have been able to use the platform to bring education to others. The Chiriboga Green Project Foundation has now a special place in our minds, since they … Continue reading →

I'm presenting - eLearning Guild Online Forum on 9/16.  My topic is "Is HTML5 Ready for eLearning?"  Hope you will join me!In this Online Forum, you will review many of the top trends in eLearning. Is learning through play still on the rise? What about alternate reality, simulations, and visualization? Social learning? eBooks? Storytelling? What will HTML5 mean to eLearning? What business, economic, and cultural trends will impact how, when, and where we deliver learning? Attend this Online Forum to discover the trends that will impact what and how you develop and deliver eLearning in your organization in the future.Check it out:  http://www.elearningguild.com/online-forums/content/1853/2011-olf---sept-15--16/

The LACE project brings together existing key European players in the field of learning analytics & EDM who are committed to build communities of practice and share emerging best practice in order to make progress towards four objectives. Objective 1 - Promote knowledge creation and exchange Objective 2 - Increase the evidence base Objective 3... Read More ›

The voice I hear this passing night was heardIn ancient days by emperor and clown: - John KeatsIsn’t it . . .interesting that bird-song has charmed the hearts of explorers the world over?sensational how people are stirred to dance when they hear lively music?touching how music can arouse memories of past events otherwise long forgotten?profound that some melodies, still popular today, were played so long ago their origins have been forgotten?curious how some forms of music can affect the function of the brain?remarkable that nations burst into song as a symbol of solidarity in moments of triumph or disaster?intriguing that all over the globe, mothers murmur, coo and sing to their newborn children who, at only a few days old, will invariably respond by listening or vocalising?An ancient practiceArchaeological remains of flute-like instruments suggest that music must have been known and practiced as far back as 10,000 BC.The fragmentary physical remains of musicianship represent a mere trace of the significance that music may have played in the lives of the people of those Palaeolithic times. One can only surmise that singing would also have been a component of that music. Perhaps it may well have been customary thousands of years before that era.Music has an amazing power to bring people together. Legend tells us that Apollo initiated the earliest festivals of music and poetry around 6th century BC. Cultural elements of these arts became part of the festivity of the Pythian Games.MusicalityDancing and music have been major components of cultures from time immemorial. Yet only in recent years has musicality been considered to be of key importance to communication and to human development.We live in an environment that’s steeped in rhythm and movement. If all musical devices including radio, TV, CD and DVD drives, and the Internet were mysteriously to cease to function, the rhythmical component of our day-to-day lives would still make a significant contribution to the musicality of the environment we are in.Just take a walk to the corner shop and listen to the rhythm and timbre of the sound of your footstep. Or lie still in a quiet room and sense the dull throb of your heartbeat. You become aware of the leisurely tempo of your own sibilant breathing.It may be you overhear a conversation between neighbours in the street outside, voices too faint for you to make out the words. The patterns in their speech are familiar. You may even recognise a voice from its rhythm and pitch. A bird utters its warbling chronicle from a distant perch. You recognise the call of a songthrush.New Zealand Emeritus ProfessorIn today's Radio NZ interview by Gordon Harcourt, New Zealander Colwyn Trevarthen, child psychologist and Emeritus Professor at Edinburgh University, explains the recent and not so recent researches on the mother and child relationship.He tells of the major contribution brought to that relationship through the musicality of vocal interaction. The endearing conversation of parent and baby is a musical symphony. Babies are very attentive to the ritual of these interactions and take part by actively contributing through their own movement and vocalisation. He talks of recent studies that show an exact similarity of mother and baby communication to jazz music, in terms of the structural dynamics of rhythm and pitch.Bridging the communication gap, well known in the study of autistic conditions, is made possible through music. Trevarthen introduces, through example, how communication with an autistic child can be initiated through the skilled use of rhythm.Complexity in motionTrevarthen describes the motion of the human body as polyrhythmic.It is complex owing to the ability to stand on two feet with independent movement of legs, arms and hands.He likens the complexity of the extravagant gestures of the human body to the structure of human thought.People are as individual in the way they move as they are in the way they use speech patterns to communicate. Movement and dance, speech and speech patterns all contribute to a musicality that’s unique to the human form.His idea on the origin of language, through the musicality of human interaction, is one that challenges traditional theories of the origin of speech.The 34 minute interview was broadcast today, Saturday, 11 July 2009.A Green Pen Society contribution