955 - Cloud Goes Down & LMS Risks, Learners' Pins, "SITZPROBE"
March 1, 2017 Elliott Masie’s Learning TRENDS - March 1, 2017.
#955 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology Since 1997.
57,611 Readers - www.masie.com - twitter: emasie - The MASIE Center.
1. When Amazon Cloud Fails, What Happens to Your LMS?
2. Employees Wearing Learning Pins.
3. “SITZPROBE” and Previews: Broadway Lessons for Learning.
1. When Amazon Cloud Burps, What Happens to Your LMS? Yesterday, Amazon’s Cloud Servers had a BURP, as many software applications and servers around the world failed or underperformed for several hours. I had difficulty using 3 key software packages that were located on the Amazon Cloud. Other sites slowed down or had an error message posted. We all know that IT things sometimes fail or “burp”, but this was one of the most widely experienced cloud based failures.
What if your company had moved the Learning Management System or LCMS to a cloud like Amazon? What are our “learning vulnerabilities” as we shift from servers located in our corporate IT facility to globally located clouds? One lesson that many cloud users learned yesterday was to have “redundant or competitive clouds”. If an LMS were on a cloud and it had a short term failure, the user would be automatically shifted to a secondary cloud - either located in a different geography or hosted by a different supplier.
While learning professionals are not responsible for making cloud storage decisions, we should be advocates for redundancy or backups. Enterprise Learning will need to have a failure roll-over capability. Time to take your IT manager for a cup of coffee and talk about your cloud failure strategy.
2. Employees Wearing Learning Pins. Imagine collections of your employees wearing small Learning Pins or Badges, sharing their engagement in a learning program or ability to be a learning resource to fellow learners. We used this strategy at a government agency where employees were building their global language skills. Learners enrolled in a language learning program would wear a small flag indicating they were building that skill. And, employees who were fluent in languages wore a similar flag. It was fascinating to watch folks in the lunchroom connect with others to practice speaking the language while eating their meal.
There is a lot of conversation about digital badges and interest icons, but let’s also add wearable pins as an option. Fellow employees and even customers can respond to these visual symbols.
3. “SITZPROBE” and Previews: Broadway Lessons for Learning: In the next several days, we will be going to several brand new Broadway shows and there are two elements of the production process that are intriguing to the world of learning:
“SITZPROBE” - Putting it Together: Tonight, we will see the first preview performance of the return of Miss Saigon to Broadway. It stars Katie Rose Clarke, who was a featured singer at Learning 2016. Several days ago, they had their Sitzprobe day. It is the magical moment when the full orchestra and the full cast sing the entire show together - at the same time. Sitzprobe is the magical time when elements of a production merge and even adjust as tone, sound, pitch and overall effect come together.
PREVIEWS - Notes and Corrections: Significant Other and Anastasia, two shows that MASIE Productions is engaged with, are in or are about to begin previews. While there is a real paying audience for a preview, the creative team is actively watching every minute of the production and making an amazing number of “notes”, which become feedback and adjustments for the cast. Rehearsals the next afternoon will implement some of these adjustments and fixes.
Learning Professionals could learn from the intense creative processes that a Broadway production goes through, even when it has a well tested “curriculum” like Miss Saigon. Sitzprobe and Previews embrace a development model that is intense, agile, honest and reflects a commitment to engage developers and professionals in a non-stop process of improving experiences for our “audiences”.
Yours in learning,
Elliott Masie
Email: emasie@masie.com
Twitter: @emasie
MASIE Center Seminars, Events and Services:
- Curation & Learning LAB - March 7-9, 2017 Saratoga Springs, NY. (3 Spots Left)
- Learning Systems & Tools ‘17 - April 19 & 20, Chicago, IL.
- Learning Innovations LAB - May 9-11, 2017 Saratoga Springs, NY.
- Membership in The Learning CONSORTIUM.
- Learning 2017 - October 22 to 25 - Orlando, Florida.
Details and Online Registration: http://www.masie.com