The highly anticipated anonymity project may be the subject of a law enforcement gag order. The post Online Anonymity Project ProxyHam Mysteriously Vanishes appeared first on WIRED.

It’s hard to think of myself as an author. I mean for the entirety of my life, I’ve always known what I was … be it a son, brother, husband, dad, friend, educator, leader, Manchester United supporter, scotch drinker, Star Wars fan, pain in the ass, etc. But I’ve never been a published author before. I don’t have a playbook or a manual that I’m following either. I’m making it up as I go along. The back cover of Flat Army is one of those examples. While I understand the industry typically defaults to having quotes from famous people waxing lyrical about the contents of said book, I refused and ultimately balked at this approach. My idea at first was to simply have a QR code that — after being scanned — would lead the reader to a video of me talking about the book. That morphed into what is now on the back cover which is my own definitions of FLAT, ARMY and FLAT ARMY. On Saturday, April 20 another of those ‘newbie author‘ items sprung into my alter persona. In the confines of a large party room overlooking False Creek in my adopted hometown of Vancouver, roughly 60 people gathered to celebrate the launch of the book. My beloved amongst a few close friends were the master planners; I was simply told to book off the night and not ask any questions leading up to the evening. It’s amazing to me how powerful the human spirit really can be. The room was full of friendly and loving faces … each with a smile, a hug, a kiss and oodles of well wishes and congratulations for me. Denise (my beloved) gave a speech that was not only breathtaking, it was amorous. She read a beautiful poem my father wrote … penned in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK where he resides. Dave (my artist friend) painted a larger than life-sized replica of the Flat Army cover alongside his usual touch of humour which came in the form of a giant-sized ‘stick your face in this hole and be an author like Dan’ placard. I received not only a hangover the next day but a visceral reminder the sea of humanity that was in that room for a very special night is why I wrote the book in the first place. The pixels, letters and words in the book are a reflection of the people who have helped shape me into the person I am today. Although I’m affected by many people across this planet of ours, the book launch party and the chance to see so many people face-to-face was a reminder of how lucky I am. Thanks to those that attended the party. Thanks to those that couldn’t attend. And thanks to everyone in my personal sea of humanity network that has helped shape me into the person I am today. I am truly humbled. I am equally lucky.   203 total views, no views today Related Posts:Announcing the Full Book Cover Jacket of Flat ArmyWordle Graphic of Flat ArmyDid I Just Spam My Entire LinkedIn Network?The 10 Winners of Flat Army Copies Are …WHY I Wrote Flat Army: The Flat Army Golden Circle

One of the best things about going to conferences is that we get to hear from colleagues around the world and see what they’ve been up to. Last week in Las Vegas, eLearning Developers, educators and trainers from around the world gathered to share industry trends, the latest techniques and teaching / training methods and […]

As it turns out, cycling is beginning to take over North America as an extra-curricular athletic hobby. According to the National Sporting Goods Association the number of Americans who ride bicycles is greater than all those who ski, golf, and play tennis combined. According to Outdoor Foundation there were 1.2 billion cycling outings in America in 2011 second only to jogging and running. This got me thinking about one of my favourite personal passions (cycling) and our corporate organizations. Maybe if we were to act like a peloton in our organizations, we might see higher levels of employee engagement. What’s a peloton? In cycling speak, it’s what a pack of cyclists are called when they ride together. Check out the photo to the right for an example. A peloton is a massive group of riders who ultimately work together — as a team — to move from one distance to another. Take away competitive cycling competitions for a moment (eg. Giro d’Italia or Tour de France) and think about amateur cyclists going out for weekend rides or events like the GranFondo between Vancouver and Whistler. These women and men ride together as a team but what happens along the journey? Sharing the load Cyclists take turns at the front of the pack (ie. the peloton) to both set the pace and to protect others behind them from the wind. (A process known as drafting) Those in front exert extra effort so others in the back can save some of their energy for their turn at the front at another interval in the ride Proactive Communication Often in a peloton, cyclists are proactively communicating with each other If there is debris on the road, hand signals from whomever is in front alerts cyclists in the back to be careful "On your right" or "stopping" are simple examples that cyclists shout out in the peloton to inform others of their intentions "My turn to share the front" or "anyone need food or water" are other proactive examples of communication happening inside the peloton Encouragement and Recognition Whenever there are difficult impediments like tough gradients, sideways wind, pellets of rain, or even the successful maneuvering around unforeseen wildlife, cyclists from within the peloton are quick to recognize the effort or encourage the effort to continue It really is a culture of encouragement inside the peloton It would be nice if our organizations thought like and acted similar to a cycling peloton. It sure might assist efforts to drive up employee engagement, creating a culture of sharing and connected leadership. 410 total views, 12 views today Related Posts:I Don’t Do GolfIt’s About Leadership: Ryder Hesjedal & the Giro…top 5 postsI Have Never Worn a WatchYa, I Cry at Work. Do You?

Margot Robbie's version of Harley Quinn is a far cry from writer Paul Dini's original incarnation The post Suicide Squad’s Harley Quinn Is Kinda Un-Harley-Quinnish appeared first on WIRED.

In this article you will learn how to easily convert your PowerPoint slides into web enabled presentations using HTML5. What you’ll need You will need a Windows or Macintosh computer and a copy of Adobe Captivate. (You can download a free 30 day trial of Adobe Captivate here.) Step 1 Create a PowerPoint slide deck […]

We could learn a thing or two from Star Wars. Take for example what happens when you forget to brush your teeth, floss or use mouthwash. No one wants green slime oozing out of their mouth like Jabba the Hutt. I think some of it might have actually fallen on Princess Leia when she was shackled to Jabba’s throne while wearing what was the coolest bikini I had ever seen as a then 11-year old boy. But I digress. One aspect of Star Wars that goes relatively unnoticed is the galaxy-class mentoring program that is woven into the story arc. No, I’m not kidding. How do Jedi’s become a Jedi? It’s a masterful example of a mentoring program. Anakin Skywalker had Obi-Wan Kenobi as his mentor while he was a young Padawan learning the ways of the Force. He then decided to lose his mind and get all evil — killing ‘younglings’ and ‘Sand People’ along the way — but he knew the power of a good mentor and so he cozied up to the evil Emperor (Darth Sidious) who became his go-to mentor as Anakin morphed into Darth Vader. (it’s a long story, you should watch the movies) That’s a mentoring one-two punch story of excellence. But the fact of the matter is Anakin had a mentor at all times. Obi-Wan himself also had a mentor when he too was a Padawan learner. Qui-Gon Jinn provided guidance, counsel and insight as Obi-Wan learned the ways of the Jedi order. And what about Luke Skywalker? Not only did he have Obi-Wan as a mentor through his time on the tropical vacation planet of Tatooine, when he ventured off to everyone’s favourite swamp — Dagobah, a place even Shrek might say "no way am I living there" -  Yoda chipped in with a very hands-on mentoring program as Luke fast-tracked his way toward the status of Jedi. In summary, the manner in which George Lucas (Star Wars creator) instituted a mentoring program for the Jedi learners was masterful. What does mentoring look like in your organization? Do you personally have a mentor? I like having three; a Millennial, a Gen X’er and a Baby Boomer otherwise known as my Padawan, my Jedi and my Yoda. 706 total views, 19 views today Dan's Related Posts:Virtual Worlds in an Organization are not a Time Waster (and other beefs)Would You Send Your 6-Year Old to an MBA Program?Five Uses for Virtual Worlds in the WorkplaceWhose Your Brian Reid?Flat Army Book Launch Party … A Sea of Humanity

Topic: Making the most of Themes in Adobe Captivate 7 Date and time: Thursday, 7th November, 2013 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM US/Pacific Description: Themes in Adobe Captivate 7 help your project look better with coordinated colors, well-planned layouts for slides, fonts and effects. Join Dr. Pooja Jaisingh, as she shows you how to make […]

Sir Ken Robinson remarked in his indelible TED Talks a few years ago that his daughter saw no reason to wear a watch. As he stated, "My teenage daughter doesn’t wear a watch. She says, ‘It’s a single-function device, how lame is that?" The audience roared. I agree. I have never worn a watch. Ever. Well aside from that Goofy watch when I was a wee tot. To me, watches are a bit like children attractions in Las Vegas. What’s the point? Given mobile phone penetration is near 90% in the Western world, isn’t it time we gave up our watches? Wouldn’t we be doing the environment a favour if we refrained from purchasing new watches to adorn our wrists? Seeing as the use of mobile phones isn’t likely to be diminishing anytime soon, nor is our passion to upgrade, perhaps we can assist Earth by foregoing the purchase of watches. I might provide clemency to runners, cyclists and athletes who require watches to time themselves, but do we really need watches in this the age of digital device timekeeping? I’m on the watch. Go watchless. Yes, even in spite of Apple’s alleged plans to bring to market iWatch. 1,760 total views, 7 views today Dan's Related Posts:IFThe Recalibration of PlayLet’s N-Screen the ClassroomThe Con AcademyThe Death of TV Could Help Learning 2.0 Take Flight

Julien Mauve dons old-school space suits and pretends to selfie-stick his way around Mars. The post Mars Tourists Will Be Just as Annoying as Regular Tourists appeared first on WIRED.

Topic: Tracking Learner Interaction in Video-based Courses with Adobe Presenter 9 Description: Now-a-days, video is considered the best form of content delivery. There is a video available for almost everything. Even the trainers and educators are adopting this form of content delivery but there are some questions that plague their minds: Are my students watching the […]

When it first came out I thought the LinkedIn Labs feature known as "InMaps" was really cool. It still is really cool. I haven’t used it in a couple of years, so after two days where I was on four planes and in three cities, I decided to vegetate on the couch and take another look at my LinkedIn network … graphically speaking. Here’s what 1800 LinkedIn contacts look like and their relationship to me and each other. 875 total views, 9 views today Dan's Related Posts:Did I Just Spam My Entire LinkedIn Network?I’m Boycotting Mixtent, Here’s WhyI Unfriended You On Facebook. Are We Still Friends?My Network is my Net Worth - Part IIMy Network is my Net Worth: A Personal Story

Hankook has new, wacky-looking airless-tires that perform nearly as well as traditional tires. The post These Futuristic Car Tires Never Go Flat appeared first on WIRED.

Topic: Things you thought you could never do with Advanced Actions and Variables Description: Shhhhh! It’s a secret, which will be revealed during this exciting session on Advanced Actions and Variables, where Dr. Pooja Jaisingh will demonstrate how to make the most of this feature in Adobe Captivate 7 and a lot of things that […]

During some recent travelling, I used it as an opportunity to re-read (power read, you might say) fellow author and Speakers Spotlight brother Simon Sinek’s book "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Others To Take Action". The fact it was first published in 2009 still gives me goose bumps. Simon was — and continues to be — ahead of his time. If you haven’t done so already, watch his TEDxPuget Sound Talk to get a condensed 18-minute version of his fantastic hypothesis and theory centered (literally) on The Golden Circle. But you really should buy the book. (support those authors - we need new ribbons for the typewriter) Aside from a man-crush on Simon and being highly influenced by his book, I was struck by the simplicity in his overarching point: "People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it." In my personal situation, the WHAT is clearly the Flat Army book — and the other pieces that are going along with it now or in the future — but the WHY is something I care deeply about. I hope you do too. I hope the WHY is why you might have bought the book in the first place, wanted to hear me speak, or continue showing up at this site. I hope the WHY is why we might share a café, beer or an exchange on social media. WHY art thou? The WHY of Flat Army is simple … I’m fed up with the current state of leadership. I’m fed up with current levels of disengagement in the organization. I’m fed up with pervasive levels of command and control in the organization. I’m fed up that although zillions of books have been written about ‘leadership’ over the past 30 years we have witnessed no discernible difference or improvement in employee engagement. I’m fed up that leaders have not truly recognized that an engaged employee will and can result in improved levels of productivity, customer satisfaction and yes … business results such as revenue or profit or shareholder return growth. Put slightly more succinctly and with less ranting venom, the WHY of Flat Army is: to improve levels of organizational and employee engagement and to make leaders and the organization more collaborative such that work gets done in a more harmonious, meaningful and productive manner for everyone. My WHY is my passion for people. Whether employees, leaders or anyone in between, I believe the organization needs to become a mecca of togetherness. My WHY is my wish for employee engagement to actually become the state in which there is reciprocal trust between the employee and leadership to do what’s right however, whenever and with whomever. I wrote Flat Army inspired by the WHY that Simon puts forward in his ground-breaking book. Now you know WHY … WHAT are you going to do to change employee engagement in your organization and/or leadership style?   1,617 total views, 8 views today Dan's Related Posts:Don’t Be a FOOL: Fear of Open LeadershipFuture Of Work: A Flat Army Of Open Leadership via A.G. Lafleythe FLAT ARMY cheat sheetEmployee Engagement is Still Poor but it Does Drive Bottom Line ResultsThe Harmonic Leader: Stage 5 of 5 in the Leadership Tonic Scale

At 7:49:58 AM Eastern time, the New Horizons space probe makes its closest flyby of everyone's favorite dwarf planet, Pluto. The post At Long Last, New Horizons Makes a Historic Flyby of Pluto appeared first on WIRED.

Zidisha connects lenders with entrepreneurs in places where access to capital doesn't come easy. The post SMS Loans Let People Skip Banks in the Developing World appeared first on WIRED.

Update - The upgrade is completed and system is up. You can start using the system.   Adobe Captivate Course Companion (A3C) system will be down for approximately 24 hours starting at 0000 hrs (PST) on 31st October, 2013. This is required for a critical update of the back-end software. Please plan accordingly. We apologize […]

Those that know the intricacies of raising children also know there isn’t a day that goes by where we — as parents — aren’t judging. We might be judging other parents, other children, other families, our better half, our own children … whatever the scenario, we’re judging. For the most part I hope we judge as a way of learning; questioning the ways and methods of others to better ourselves as a parent and as a human being. But, there are times we judge in somewhat cynical ways yearning for mistakes or saying to ourselves, "see, I told you so." Denise and I, as parents of the three goats (now aged, 10, 7 and 6) happily encourage them to publicly blog at their own domains: www.clairepontefract.com www.colepontefract.com www.catepontefract.com If you weren’t aware of it, are you now judging us? If you were aware of it, are you still judging us? And is it a positive judgment or a negative one? Why do we encourage (and ultimately allow) three young children who technically aren’t allowed to be on Facebook yet to publicly and openly blog? There are a few reasons, so let us try to help with the rationale. Writing, Motor and Memory Skills First and foremost, this is a chance for the wee goats to practice their writing skills. Now we know the naysayers will say, "isn’t a pad and paper in a diary just as effective?" Sure … we encourage writing on paper as well through the creation of stories, booklets and cards. But hammering out a blog post using Gutenberg’s invention (whether on a laptop or their iPad) is both a writing skill as much as it’s a motor and memory skill as they learn the nuances of the QWERTY keyboard. Motivation and Reward The thrill of both pressing the button ‘publish‘ and knowing others might read their thoughts is both motivating and an intrinsic reward. Secondly, when a comment comes into their site as a result of their post from relatives, friends or yes even strangers, it both reinforces the motivation to write and it too creates a human connection reward. (plus the comments often have some form of learning in it as well for the goats) Creativity Blogging inspires creativity. At least in our house, there are no rules to what they might write about … so long as they are writing. Claire may write about a science experiment she conducted at home, Cole might want to create a presentation about sharks or Cate might want to regale you with her love of gymnastics. Whatever the case, they are encouraged to be creative and think ‘outside the box‘. There are no rules to what they can write about. Everything is a Teaching Moment Before you think Denise and I are complete lunatics, each post is vetted by the parents and often it’s a group writing exercise. With Denise and I both being educators, we’re using the act of blogging to help reinforce life values alongside life skills. Claire wanted to write about Rosa Parks (how cool is that?) and we had a great discussion about the Civil Rights movement at the dinner table that night. The same thing goes for War, which Cole wrote about once. Everything is a teaching moment. Digital Literacy Skills Of course, one of the easier skills we’re teaching is digital literacy. Claire started blogging when she was 7, Cole when he was 6 and Cate when she was 5 … and in each case, the goats are learning the ‘in’s and out’s’ of researching online, finding photos, checking facts (if applicable) as well as using the WordPress application on a laptop or as an app on the iPad. Memory Keeper As they continue their journey on the train of life, we reckon the blog posts that they write will (or perhaps can) act as a new way of documenting life itself. We hope it becomes a looking-glass to the past for each of them; a 2.0 way of tapping into past memories AND learning. Each comment that comes into the sites are first vetted by the parents. Each post is ultimately pre-approved and there is a grammar and diction lesson that goes with it before publication. And yes, we teach the goats about not only digital citizenship but digital safety. Sure, their names are ‘out there’ on the Internet for all to see, but safety goes hand-in-hand with our teaching efforts not only online but in the physical world too. To us, digital safety is an extension of physical safety. We’re proud of the goats. We’re proud they love writing on their blogs. We don’t judge other parents for NOT encouraging (or allowing) their children to blog. But, if you are judging our parental choice on this particular matter, we hope you can now see (openly and publicly) why we’re encouraging it in the first place. Thanks for reading. Love, Dan & Denise   1,217 total views, 2 views today Dan's Related Posts:Interlocutors of 2012 (the goats are better for it)An 8 Year-Old Does Social LearningAutotelic: The Word of 2013The Recalibration of PlayI Detached on Holiday. I Didn’t Unplug. You Should Too.

I’m really excited to be speaking at the World Business of Leadership Summit but before I explain it and your chance to participate, I need to discuss reading. I do a lot of reading.  I properly read a few books a month, I skim or power-read a few more and I’m always digesting blogs, research papers, articles, tweets and other social bits and bobs. Perhaps you do the same? In 2012, Pew Research asked Americans how many books they were reading on an annual basis and the results broke down as follows: 7% of Americans ages 16 and older read one book in the previous 12 months 14% had read 2-3 books in that time block 12% had read 4-5 books in that time block 15% had read 6-10 books in that time block 13% had read 11-20 books in that time block 14% had read 21 or more books in that time block I guess I’m in the last bullet. Equally interesting, however, was how Americans were actually reading those books: 89% of book readers said they had read a printed book. This translates into 67% of all those ages 16 and older. 30% of book readers said they had read an e-book. This translates into 23% of all those ages 16 and older. 17% of book readers said they had listened to an audio book. This translates into 13% of all those ages 16 and older. Can you read an audio book? (just kidding) But what does reading have to do with me speaking at the World Business of Leadership Summit? Over the last few years I’ve definitely increased the number of books I’ve been reading AND the number of conferences I’ve attended … but there is a catch. Although my attendance at various conferences has increased … my participation at them has decreased. How is that possible you knucklehead? I’ve been fortunate enough to have been invited to speak at a number of conferences over the last few years but because I have a real job and because I’ve increased the amount I’ve been reading, I typically go to a conference for the speaking opportunity, mingle with a few people, and then depart the conference to attend to my job or my reading … or life in general. (remember, I have three goats, Denise, a cycling hobby, etc.) I don’t actually get to listen to the other speakers or partake in some of the sessions. But, coming up for me is the World Business of Leadership Summit and not only do I get to speak, I am going to attend (and participate in) several of the sessions found on the agenda. It is a stellar event. (and I’ve read pretty much anything the speakers have previously written) There are 3 key reasons why I’m excited: First off, the conference is spread out between June 17 and June 28. What else is cool? You don’t have to leave your home, office or wherever you happen to park your back side. It’s conducted through virtual tools the entire time. (just pay that internet bill) Second, there are 1-3 sessions each day that you can attend. They are 100% live so you can interact with the speaker through a Q&A during or following the speaker’s timeslot. If you miss one … don’t worry, each of the sessions are recorded and you have up to 6 months to view them. (of course you miss out on the live interactions and you still have to pay that internet bill) And finally there is the talent. Imagine a conference spread out over two working weeks where you can tap into the leadership minds of Jim Kouzes, Charlene Li, Chester Elton, Jody Thompson and Marshall Goldsmith amongst 20 others including … even me … from the comfort of your fingertips. In a strictly platonic way of course. If you’re interested, why not join me as a fellow attendee at the World Business of Leadership Summit.  Click the graphic below to register. 1,480 total views, 8 views today Dan's Related Posts:Review: SharePoint Conference 201110 Free Copies of Flat Army … Participate to WinSteve Denning Nails It on Forbes: Paradigm Shift in Leadership and ManagementThe TED of all Learning Conferences #LWF12Flexible Working Works

Let’s share a few scary cool tips and tricks for creating great eLearning with Adobe Captivate this Halloween. I held an eSeminar yesterday with a complete overview - Here is the downloadable source: littlMonstors.cptx, as well as a brief overview of some of the highlights. Trick #1 - Create a popup window with just a […]

A lot of new movie and TV footage got released during Comic-Con. Here it all is in one handy list. The post All the Essential Comic-Con Trailers You Should Watch Right Now appeared first on WIRED.

I spend a lot of time thinking, writing, speaking and working in my own personal and professional venn diagram of: leadership development; social collaborative tools; and all things related to learning. One of those pillars — the learning space — is where I started my career. I owe much of what I have today in my professional life to the learning space, be it K-12, higher education or the corporate sector. But it’s the corporate learning sector in particular where I believe a new ‘learning arc’ must be developed. It must shift from Status Quo Ante (as was before) to Ad Meliora (toward better things). Two of my dear friends and colleagues — Marcia Conner and Kerry Brown — were thinking the same way and so we put our collective heads together and developed a manifesto for you to read, and ideally, to be inspired by. As we state,"the corporate learning field is in dire need of bravery, insight, creativity and boldness." Use as you see fit and imagine a new ‘learning arc’. Imagine "learning nouveau". Revolutionize Corporate Learning: Beyond Formal, Informal, Mobile, Social Dichotomies by Marcia Conner, Dan Pontefract, and Kerry Brown.   From Slideshare you can download the full .pdf file. We are working on creating additional e-reader formats and will link to them here. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. We want it to spread at no cost with attribution. Read, share, and use. Please attribute as follows, with a link: "Revolutionize Corporate Learning: Beyond Formal, Informal, Mobile, Social Dichotomies" by Marcia Conner, Dan Pontefract and Kerry Brown. May 2013. www.marciaconner.com/learning-nouveau/ Fascinated by that cover image? It was taken at the rehearsal for the wedding by Charlottesville wedding and portrait photographer April Bennett. Stephanie Helvin, the performer pictured, is part of the fire troupe Scintillation. The ARC graphic is by Steve Kizer. For information about this report or to begin, contact revolution@sensifygroup.com. 3,751 total views, 7 views today Dan's Related Posts:Flat Army Graphics on SlideshareSteve Denning Nails It on Forbes: Paradigm Shift in Leadership and ManagementAnnouncing the Full Book Cover Jacket of Flat ArmyThe Remarkable Leadership Story of Conner & Cayden LongThe Leadership Tonic Scale - Free PDF Download

Last month at DevLearn 2013 conference, I participated in the 9th Annual eLearning DemoFest event and showcased an Interactive eBook for iPad on how to use Adobe Presenter to create eLearning courses. There were 81 participants at DemoFest showing off their latest and greatest development efforts, offering the DevLearn conference attendees an opportunity to see […]