Originally posted on Julian Stodd's Learning Blog: The Social Age is upon us: a time of constant change. The ecosystem we inhabit has evolved through a combination of technology and social trends. The distinction between work and play, between formal and social is blurring. This is both a good and a bad thing. On the plus side: social learning draws upon the ‘sense making‘ power of communities, making us more effective. On the down side: we run the risk of disenfranchisement and a loss of privacy. It’s unclear who owns the rules anymore. What else is happening? Formal hierarchies are being subverted in all walks of life: reputation forged in social spaces subverts formal hierarchies of authority. New business models subvert long established notions of retail, communication, banking and so forth. This change means that only the agile, innovative and creative will thrive. Is that all? No, the changes in technology and society… View original 100 more words

The topic of gamification within our learning and development team is very popular. What is gamification and how can we apply it in the training corporate world? Collect gold coins for a job well done? Earn points for completing courses or learning experiences? What would that look like and why would this be a good idea? We have images and perceptions of what gamification is and an assumption that it wouldn’t work especially within the financial world….but maybe we need to re-look at this. Gamification is about taking gaming elements and incorporating it into a non-gaming environment to make the task or work more engaging and fun so the end user can feel they’ve achieved something great and do it over and over again resulting in a positive outcome. How appropriate for learning new skills! In this TedTalks video with Gabe Zichermann, author of The Gamification Revolution, he gives the best explanation of gamification and how it can enhance and improve our lives.    

Sir Ken Robinson has to be one of the most inspirational speakers of education. I just finished reading Teaching Naked, by Jose Bowen that speaks to the changes of education and how we as adult educators need to be open and change our ways because our ultimate goal is to create interactive, engaging and positive learning environments…well, it got me thinking about this Ted Talk.    In this talk from RSA Animate, Sir Ken Robinson lays out the link between 3 troubling trends: rising drop-out rates, schools’ dwindling stake in the arts, and ADHD. An important, timely talk for parents and teachers. Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we’re educating our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence.    

I’m currently taking two Provincial Instructor’s Diploma courses. 3100 teaches the foundations of adult education and how the roles of adult educators are changing in our world today. 3240 teaches media and technology and how it can positively impact the learning experience. I get really jazzed thinking of ways to apply what I’ve learned at work. I’m inspired and want to make a difference to how people learn and perform on the job….and then I watch a video like this. This is truly inspiring! In this video you’ll see the shift in the role of the teachers and how they leverage the use of mobile devices for learning and improve the experience for their students. This is creating a social learning environment, connectivity and a generation of life long learners.  

I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of TedTalks. I owe the credit to my friend Vissch who would regularly ask me if I’ve watched the latest and greatest most inspirational thing that week. Well the latest and greatest is in theme with the copyright discussion we’re having in my PID 3240 Digtial, Media and Learning course. Is anything truly original? Is it just re-mixed and new again? Is it enough to just acknowledge the source?…it’s a tricky topic out there. I just had to post this new video that shows this brilliant artist Mark Ronson, a modern day musician. If his name is not familiar, I’m sure you’ve heard his music. I’m wondering…How has he protected himself with copyright issues and his music? Here’s his take on re-mixing and creativity…It’s just brilliant!  

Mobile learning is nothing new. As soon as you got your first smart phone and realized you had the world at your finger tips and no longer had to be at your desk or computer to have Google answer your questions, you started learning. All of your questions were answered with a couple of taps and within seconds. When you discovered the LinkedIn App and Twitter could push out information to you that would help the project you’re leading at work and when you discovered how to change the carburetor on your motorcycle on YouTube, you were learning. All through your mobile device. How do you prepare your organization for mobile learning? Aren’t we mobile learning already? Jennifer Neibert asks critical questions for learning leaders….#don’tgetleftbehind right? http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/1416/?utm_campaign=lsmag&utm_medium=email&utm_source=lsm-news  

Social media is here to stay and a great method to deliver information and learn. It’s become more readily used and accepted, so how do we implement this into the corporate learning world?  

I started a new certification program. Even though I haven’t quite finished my Provincial Instructors Diploma, I just couldn’t resist starting this new course to get my Certificate in Online/ e-Learning Instruction. There is so much e-Learning development required at work, it just made sense.  I feel the need to learn in depth about online development and at the same time put my new knowledge into action…yes, I’m a bit of a nerd that way. The worst learning experience for me is trying to retain information for the duration of the course and never be able to apply it in real life. I feel that the time is wasted….so needless to say I’m going to learn and do. How constructivist of me! It’s my first week or so and I’m back into the world of online learning. As long as I’ve remembered, I’ve always been an online learner. I almost prefer it than going into the classroom. The first time I was given an opportunity to take an online course, I was all over it. Why leave the comforts of home? Especially after a long day at work and wanting to spend family time. This course is a bit different in that it’s asking me to reflect on my experiences as an online student. I never really thought about it before, I just learned and was on my way. Here are some things I’m asked to reflect on… What are the challenges for you as an online student? I only have two…Moodle navigation and self paced courses. If it wasn’t for my instructor giving me tips on navigation I would be lost in the never ending Moodle paths. I’ve been so used to "follow the menu on the left" instructions. With Moodle you have to remember not to do this and "follow the center path". Moodle could design a more learner friendly interface - something more cognitive in design? (Can you tell I’m learning about learning theories and online implications?) With the self paced course, the challenge is just simply staying on track. I find that with the online courses that have end of week deadlines, although it’s a bit more pressure at the time, it’s less pressure to get it all done in time or even catch up with the course schedule. Both of these challenges are my own learner, behavioural challenges. Things I can manage and don’t significantly impact my learning…or so I think. How are you going to deal with these challenges? With the Moodle navigation challenges it’s easier - stop myself of my old ways and trust the process of learning sequentially. With the self paced schedule, it’s a bit trickier. I binge work - which I know is not a productive and efficient way to work but it’s a behavior and habit I’m trying to change. My answer - set my weekly goal. Something that is realistic and not over achieving. Something that is reasonable and attainable. Something SMART? What has been your most important learning to date? The most important things I learned so far on the course are: 1. Generational learners and online learning - It’s not about the year you were born but how you use and interact with media and learning. It’s not fair to label someone a millennial just because they are 25 years old, there is more to their experiences than just their age. Take this generational test from Penelope Trunk to see what generation you belong to. 2. How learning theories impact online learning - Behaviourism (The "What), Cognitivisim (The "How") and Constructivism (The "Why") all play a part in developing more meaningful and valuable learning. Knowing how each theory can support the learner and create a well rounded online learning experience.

In the EDUC 4150 - e-Learning Principles and Processes, we learned about Generational Learners, how this new generation or digital natives need learning to be delivered differently than the previous generations because of the environment they’ve been brought up in. It’s important now more than ever as online instructional designers to develop a learning space where the experience is just as good as the academic classroom if not better. So what would make online learning better? Active Learning Self Paced Instant Feedback Gamification Peer Learning Check out this video from Anant Agarwal the CEO of edX where he talks about  Why massive open online courses (still) matter. In another Ted.com video I learned that A demographic kick from a new generation and a demand pull from a new economic global environment is causing the world to open up…and that’s a good thing. ~ Don Tapscott.  This push and pull has created a global environment of open learning and has improved our lives significantly both personally and socially. I’ve always felt that online learning was something great - it was convenient and helped me develop my career while I worked and raised a family, but it wasn’t until I started taking my last two PIDP courses and began my online certification that I started to understand the huge impact that online learning has on a global scale.

Yesterday we introduced the first five benefits of online training and today we will provide the final five! If you missed part one on the top 10 benefits of online training you can check them out here. 6. Online Training Makes Knowledge Transfer Easier With baby boomers retiring at ever quickening rates, change management managers are busier than ever. Using the company learning management system, knowledge that needs to be transferred to current and future employees can be organized so that training managers can re-purpose information easier and faster. Whether it is a system, process or skill that needs to be learnt—online training makes it easy to facilitate organizational change in a cost effective manner.