Click through the buttons below to look through differe […]

I do create e-learning programs at work but for the pas […]

2015 has been the year of pixels.  The (poorly rated) P […]

It’s conference time. You love what you do and yo […]

Story 1 It’s 2 p.m. on a Sunday at a coffee shop […]

A few months ago I noticed the "Add Video" […]

Thanks for all of the comments and likes on my original […]

Grab a bowl of popcorn, grab a box of Kleenex, and get […]

Last week Twitter released the polling feature.  I thin […]

What is Code School?   What happened and how did I […]

November 16th marks the second International Working Ou […]

Are you interested in rare books or already have a large collection?  Do you like spending your time hunting for treasures at the local thrift store?  Perhaps you might like to sell your used textbooks online or start your own online bookstore.  AbeBooks.com can provide you with both choices.  You could sell your unwanted books [...]

During the flow of a task, at the edge of our zone of proximal development (ZPD), via our selective attention, rehearsal, and metacognition is where learning happens.  I acknowledge that this description short shrifts other important cognitive and behavioral learning processes; nevertheless, these are what I recognize as most important in creating an optimal learning experience. To be certain, […]

Csikszentmihalyi’s flow theory (1990) is based on several interrelated psychological constructs: ability, attitude, cognition, emotion, motivation, and personality. When perfectly combined in a task, they catapult a person into a state of flow commonly known as being in the zone. Csikszentmilhalyi refers to this as an optimal experience. He found that people around the world […]

Massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORGs) provide English language learners (ELLs) with various gameplay situations and narratives to learn language functions in interactive, fun, and effective ways. Commercial MMORGs like World of Warcraft (WOW) provide numerous opportunities to practice information literacy activities such as interpreting, seeking, synthesizing, and disseminating information (Martin & Steinkuehler, 2010).  According […]

An instructional strategy is something that an instructional designer (or educator) uses as a vehicle to deliver information.  Some instructional strategies require the Internet like WebQuests, HyperInquiry, and well-designed educational videogames, while others are used within the mind metacognitively like mnemonics for memory.  However, the vast majority are used to present instruction in multimodal formats.  Other […]

Join me in Lafayette, LA this November 4-6th for the Mid-South Educational Research Associations (MSERA) 2015 annual meeting.  Click this link to see the full conference schedule.  For more information on the MSERA, visit their Website.  The cool thing about this conference is that everybody brings their paper and not just the PowerPoint slides to […]

I took my first series of online courses for professional development in 2009.  The courses were highly interactively and well-designed because they were taught by experts in the field of computer-assisted language learning.  A shout-out to my professors in the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) certificate program, Principles and Practices of Online Teaching! […]

Time: November 14, 2015 to November 15, 2015 Location: EduNation in Second Life Organized By: Heike Philp aka Gwen Gwasi Event Description: 8th SLanguages Annual Symposium 14-15 November 2015 (Sat/Sun) Come and join us at SLanguages Annual Symposium, a two day online conference on language learning in virtual worlds held for the 8th time on EduNation […]

In preparation for the Cyber Monday sale, I wanted to share some of my holiday-related educational products available for sale on TeachersPayTeachers. This is an 18-page document with text from The Gingerbread Man story retold by Sandra Rogers in which students are provided space to illustrate the story to match the meaning described in the […]

Teaching to the whole person is more important than ever.  But how can we do this in an online learning environment?  I work at a Jesuit and Catholic college where I’ve been learning about Jesuit education and Ignatian pedagogy. The principles of Ignatian pedagogy include context, experience, reflection, action, and evaluation (Korth, 1993).  To address […]

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How many of you out there have studied the poetry of behaviour change? Today’s interesting blog comes from David Cameron, Logicearth’s soon-to-be poet in residence. It was borne out of a lengthy office discussion on Julie Dirksen’s excellent ‘Science of Behaviour Change’ which we really liked (it’s not that often we have such in-depth and varietous discussion on a presentation - a testament in itself to the slideshare content). It was a great focus for our designers on the ‘how to’ when it comes to really effecting changes in our learners’ behaviour. However, was there a possible alternative analogy to the one offered? Q. What lies at the heart of most training? A. Behaviour change. This is true even when we think it isn’t - ‘No, no, I just want the team to know this stuff.’ But what seems like simple knowledge transfer is ultimately linked to actions or possible actions. Knowledge is transferred in the hope that it can, even in an unlikely eventuality, be acted on. A bank wants its new employees to know what led up to the crash. Why? To have a greater understanding of the financial sector’s recent past. Again, why? Ultimately, so that past mistakes won’t be repeated and a similar disaster can be avoided. In this case, where the new recruits have no past behaviour patterns to undo, it’s institutional behaviour that requires change. There is a science to this stuff. There is also an industry devoted to behaviour change, as is clear from the phenomenon of the ever-expanding self-help section in bookshops. For every accept-yourself-as-you-are book that’s out there, there are a hundred change-every-aspect-of-your-life books. Which isn’t a real statistic, but you get my point. Or, at least, I hope you do. Because just asserting something, as I’ve done there, doesn’t mean that the message has been relayed. How it is relayed will determine whether the message is received. Even science has to find the right words and images to get itself into our heads - an act of transmission that is essentially an art form. So, if there is a Science of Behaviour Change (and there is), there is also a Poetry of Behaviour Change (which there isn’t, except for the purposes of this blog - but bear with me). On slideshare, the Instructional Designer Julie Dirksen gives a useful intro to the science part. (See http://www.slideshare.net/usablelearning/the-science-of-behavior-change.) For those working in L&D who like to cut to the chase, the key slide is 48 (of 50), ‘Ways to help’. These helpful ways are: ‘Make it more tangible/visceral/experiential’, ‘Create more immediate/visible feedback’, ‘Make it easier’, ‘Create a script’, ‘Create belief (using experience or emotion)’, ‘Make it social’, and ‘Make success stories visible’. All good advice for those who are conscientious about making the learning experience work for the learner. But to get there, Dirksen hops onto an elephant. Her elephant metaphor is borrowed from Jonathan Haidt’s The Happiness Hypothesis, in which he writes: ‘The mind is divided in many ways, but the division that really matters is between conscious/reasoned processes and automatic/implicit processes. These two parts are like a rider on the back of an elephant. The rider’s inability to control the elephant by force explains many puzzles about our mental life, particularly why we have such trouble with weakness of will. Learning how to train the elephant is the secret of self-improvement.’ Never mind that elephant-training suggests the kind of circus act long gone out of fashion. From Descartes to Freud - neither of whom was a great circus performer - thinkers have been telling us that we are ‘split’, whether mind from body, conscious from unconscious, or (more religiously) flesh from spirit. The version of the split described by Dirksen goes like this: The rider thinks logically and can plan for the future, while the elephant is all about what’s happening now; the rider thinks, the elephant feels; the elephant is impulsive, the rider keeps impulses under control. What motivates the elephant? Rewards. Especially if those rewards are immediate, tangible and - big. From the very first, this metaphor of the elephant and its rider bothered me. Big ears aside, the elephant is associated with its long memory, not chimp-like distractedness. And, for me, the metaphor suggests the split between conscious and unconscious, to the disparagement of the latter. This isn’t how the unconscious has been portrayed in poetry, or in such a quasi-scientific realm as psychoanalysis. Also, the notion of the reward is rather undignified, whether for the unconscious or the elephant. Behaviourism is one of the chief theories of learning. Reward represents the kind of positive reinforcement in the particular behaviourist theory developed by B.F. Skinner and given the chilly name ‘operant conditioning’. A real advance of the behaviourist approach is that it looks closely at what people actually do. Its drawback is that it often stops there. Here I have to declare an interest. I once worked in a school for children with sometimes severe behaviour difficulties related to their medical condition. I found myself feeling frustrated with the rather behaviourist approach that prevailed there at the time. A psychologist suggested that every instance of one child’s ‘good’ behaviour should be rewarded with a Smartie. When it was pointed out that this was doing the child’s teeth no good at all, the recommended ‘dose’ was changed to half a Smartie. And if you ever tried cutting a Smartie in half, then you’d dislike behaviourism too. Every parent knows that rewards ‘work’. Often the next stop after Granny’s is the sweet shop. But the effect of a reward tends to be short-lasting, and actually counter-productive when it comes to such complex notions as values. After all, we want children to learn more than just the efficacy of bribery. Likewise in eLearning. Small ‘rewards’ along the way - and a reward could be as simple as a vivid story after much abstraction - can lighten the learner’s load. But I’d suggest that, for a member of staff required to undertake - and pass - some eLearning course, the biggest barrier of all is the groan that the very notion of eLearning induces. One element of this is simple inertia, which can dissipate once the learner gets going. But might not another reason be the resistance to learning which too often fails to address the whole person; which leads the learner too harshly by the nose? The Romantic poet John Keats wrote in one of his deservedly famous letters, ‘We hate poetry that has a palpable design upon us.’ For ‘poetry’, we might substitute the word ‘anything’. This sounds like bad news for the graphic or instructional designer. How do you design something that avoids giving the impression of having ‘a palpable design upon us’? Again, by regarding the learner as a whole person and not as someone to be used, in the poet W.H. Auden’s words, ‘like water or electricity for so many hours a day’ - which is a challenge in any workplace. Graphic design that seems clean and clear in the best Modernist tradition to a designer might seem to the learner a bright hygienic hell. ‘Those churches are best for prayer that have least light,’ wrote the third poet I’ll quote in this paragraph, John Donne. We find ourselves working in a well-lit cube by day, and sometimes relaxing afterwards in a dimly lit pub contrived to look as old as the hills. Good design, whether textual or visual, integrates the relaxation into the exertion. It’s easy to carp. But what better metaphor might there be for the challenge we all face as learners, of staying focused, of feeling motivated and even energised by what we are learning? Sticking with the duality theme, I propose the following metaphor for the learner’s conscious-unconscious ‘divide’: the swimmer and the water. In this, the swimmer is the conscious self with a place to get to. Haidt spoke of training the elephant, but try training the ocean! The swimmer who regards the water merely as an obstacle, as something to be overcome, will not have a relaxed propulsion through the water: better to be at one, as one, with the ocean. Likewise, anxiety - the sudden fear of going under, the clutching at whatever’s near to hand - impedes the swimmer. The very depth that threatens the fearful swimmer is added buoyancy for the confident swimmer. And the swimmer isn’t a machine; on a long swim may need to rest, holding onto some bulky flotsam or even stopping off at a small island. Advertisers know well the importance of unconscious motivations, and appeal directly to them. Those devising and designing eLearning courses ought to be as aware, but with this difference: the advertiser doesn’t do it for the customer’s but the product’s (and so the client’s) sake. Learning must be directed at, designed for, and benefical to, the learner. And, in being so, it must be mindful not so much of the elephant as the ocean in the room. The post Corporate Learning: The Poetry of Behaviour Change appeared first on Logicearth.

What is unlearning? Unlearning is the process of discarding something from your memory. When you unlearn something you forget it, put it aside, and you lose knowledge of it. For a quick graphical summary of unlearning insights, click here. But - why exactly would you want to unlearn something? In many cases when you unlearn something you can get rid of a bad habit, preconceptions or something that is false. Alvin Toffler, futurist and philosopher said: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." We all have skills and knowledge to unlearn I’ve got lots of examples of unlearning. I was born at a time when society, education, workplaces were very rigid, structured and formal. In my early working years, management structures were very hierarchical and demarcation not collaboration was common. As I gained experience in those environments, I developed both learning and management skills to match. In the last 5 to 10 years though, workplaces have changed so much. I’ve had to unlearn habits of formal learning and communication to adapt a more agile learning and collaborative working approach. Unlearning is vital in today’s workplace. Why? Employees need to unlearn in order to move forward alongside their company so they can move ahead, work more effectively and further the company’s mission. In this blog post, we’re going to discuss seven tips for unlearning in the workplace. 1. Foster a sense of willingness Long-term employees often have a hard time unlearning especially if they’ve been doing something the same way for a long time. It’s not impossible to promote unlearning as long as there is an openness towards it. Instead of demanding compliance, a manager should foster a sense of willingness to unlearn and learn something new. Ease into the idea during a transitional period. Gradually assist employees by letting them unlearn and relearn slowly and over a specified time period. People are more cooperative in the unlearning process if they are willing participants. To make it easier, you can role model the new behaviour. Think of something like energy saving behaviours - you may need to first raise awareness of the bad habits to be unlearned e.g. switching off your PC if you leave your office for say more than an hour. But you could make this easier to do by buying new PCs or laptops with energy savings settings. Furthermore, you can involve people by asking them for ideas on how they save on energy bills at home. 2. Pursue the unfamiliar Consider the employee who shows resistance in using a new agile way of doing presentations. They’re severely limited in their ability to work offsite and make presentations on-the-go. When confronted with new technology or a new idea, many people look backwards for something familiar. They want to view the new with an eye for the old. The problem is that this is self-limiting. In order to grasp new ideas and let them take hold, you need to pursue the things that are unfamiliar and get to know them. Consider the new release of Windows 10. How many people jumped on this right away? How many decided to wait until it felt comfortable? Unfortunately, they may never feel comfortable switching. When unlearning, you have to let go of the familiar so you open your mind to the unfamiliar. This article on leadership - yes to the mess, talks about handling complexity and the importance of being agile. 3. Change the location One of the easiest ways to unlearn something is to move away from the location where you learned it. New surroundings can help you notice new things. This is a bit of psychological manipulation. You’re basically tricking your brain into unlearning by engaging in a new surrounding so you can unlearn one idea and learn another. It is another subtle way of helping you break a habit. 4. Learn from your opposite This isn’t exactly an "opposites attract" scenario, but it’s similar. When employees are surrounded by like-mind people, their ability to unlearn is hampered. When teamed with a business professional from a different background, employees are better able to look at things from a fresh viewpoint. Diversity in teams and organisations in general is good for everyone. By exposing themselves to something new, employees begin the unlearning process and open themselves up to learning something new. 5. Foster curiosity Consider a child’s capacity for learning. Help your employees see the unlearning from a child’s view. A child is usually open to discover new approaches and new techniques without much hesitation at all. They don’t have the same ‘adult baggage’ of fear or looking stupid. Ask yourself: What would you do today if you weren’t afraid? A child learns by engaging the five senses and investigating new situations through trial and error. The same methodology translates to the process of unlearning and then learning something new. What this really means is encouraging employees to find their inner child - their sense of curiosity that leads to increased creativity. To encourage employees to be open to new ideas and unlearn past knowledge, they can imagine learning as a child would from a place of curiosity. 6. Set goals and make success clear Employees respond better to the unlearning process if they not only buy into it, but if they have specific goals. Socially and emotionally, people work better this way - as long as it is no more than two to three key goals. The most effective unlearning process provides clear and challenging goals without infringing on the learner’s sense of ownership of the goals. Goals have the ability to provide motivation and self-reliance. First, be sure the goals set during the unlearning process are actually attainable. Make the steps clear so employees can check them off their list. For example, if you are introducing energy saving measures, you might kick off the unlearning with a campaign. You could set some initial easy targets e.g. 1% savings in first month, with a leader board for each area to see where people are against target. You first goal, could be: Everyone turns their PC off at least once per day when leaving their office for the first week of the campaign. By setting small goals like this, your transition will be easier. You might have some ‘energy champions’ spend a few minutes each day, giving out gentle reminders for that 1st week. This encourages the unlearning and learning process while making it easier for employees to do. 7. Continuous support and checking in Unlearning may be as difficult for the company as it is for individual employee. To ensure a smooth transition, encourage colleagues to help each other out. Consider creating a support team to handle the unlearning process. This team can handle any glitches that arise. The take away Today’s workforce needs to embrace continuous learning in order to move forward. Employees must continue to unlearn, learn and relearn in order to stay relevant in today’s modern, digital workforce. Change is continual, and in order to stay current and not dive into the world of the obsolete, unlearning is a vital component to 21st century employees. The most overlooked aspect of learning is the process of unlearning. Everyone has acquired knowledge that built their mountain of ideas, some still viable and others outdated. In order to unlearn and move forward, employees have to be willing to work through the process. Our world is in constant flux, and the most successful companies will be the ones who unlearn, learn, relearn and evolve with it. The concept of unlearning is to challenge yourself and your employees to think and learn about things from different perspectives and different angles. You’ll find that it’s the unlearning skills that give us our competitive edge in the 21st century. So, what are you going to unlearn today? Logicearth Learning Services specialise in designing, delivering and supporting modern workplace learning solutions, which brings results for individuals and organisations. We are learning technology experts and along with specialist interactive multi-device content development skills, we can provide a complete service for all your organisation’s modern learning needs. Logicearth has offices in Belfast and Dublin but deliver services worldwide, including Ireland, UK, USA and throughout Europe. Graphical summary - unlearning habits The post Unlearning is the new learning appeared first on Logicearth.