991 - A Personal Note: Heading to Germany with New Passport & Father's Legacy
February 9, 2018 Elliott Masie’s Learning TRENDS - February 9, 2018.
#991 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology Since 1997.
57,917 Readers - www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Host: ChatBots for Learning LAB - Feb 21 to 23, Saratoga Springs, NY.
1. A Personal Note: Journey to Germany Tonight - New Passport & Father’s Legacy!
2. Meeting with Online Educa in Berlin!
3. Reminder: ChatBots for Learning LAB in 2 Weeks - 6 Spaces Left!
1. A Personal Note: Journey to Germany Tonight - New Passport & Father’s Legacy!: In the twenty years that I have been writing Learning TRENDS there are some personal moments that I have shared.
Tonight, I fly to Germany for 2 Unique Experiences. First, I will enter Germany with my new German Passport. My father was forced to flee Nazi Germany in 1938 and come to the United States. At the end of the war, a law was passed to allow people who had to flee in WWII and their children to apply for a “2nd” passport from Germany.
I submitted the application and in September was Naturalized as a German Citizen - honoring the pain and disruption caused by the Nazi era. We lost almost 20 relatives in the Camps. And, it was a powerful moment to go the German Consulate in NY and receive my passport.
I am proud to be an American Citizen and will use that passport for most of my travels. But, I will enter Frankfurt tomorrow morning and use my new German Passport. It will be a time to reflect and honor my father and the millions of people who were not able to leave. Our family never had hate towards Germany - it was a horrible time and there were horrible people who did unthinkable things in the war. My father always called himself an American who was born and raised in Germany.
And, spirits work in a wonderful way. Just one month ago, two people from Germany discovered letters that their grandfather had received and written to my father - who was a Mineral Engineer - and we will get together in Berlin to share more memories.
My last time to Berlin was as the Wall was coming down between East and West Germany. Tomorrow, a personal wall will come down as I think of Hans Heinrich Masie as I use my German Passport.
2. Meeting with Online Educa in Berlin: The other great thing that will happen this week is a meeting that I will have with one of the real leaders in the Global Learning World.
Rebecca Stromeyer is the head of Online Educa Berlin - a major learning event in Europe. And, she is the organizer of learning innovation efforts in Africa and around the world.
We will meet on Monday to share our perceptions of the ever changing world of Learning and Technologies. I am excited to connect with Rebecca and learn from her unique and wide experiences. Learning is ever more global and we must connect with new peers and mentors across boarders - as our learners are increasingly boundary free. Here is the Online Educa site: https://oeb.global/
3. ChatBots for Learning Expanding! In two weeks I will host our first ChatBots for Learning LAB - also featuring a focus on Smart Speakers (e.g. Alexa or Google Assistant for Work).
The research that my team has being doing on the potential for leveraging ChatBots for Learning - as active performance support and workflow support tools - is mind boggling. The ability to leverage structured and machine-learning-aided ChatBots for employees (and customers) who need to perform a task or learn a readiness is very exciting.
We have 5 spots remaining in our ChatBots for Learning Lab from Feb 21 to 23. Go to http://www.masie.com for complete info and online registration. Each participant will also receive 2 Smart Speakers and loads of take-home resources.
Yours in Learning,
Elliott Masie.
Email: emasie@masie.com .
Twitter: @emasie .
MASIE Center Seminars, Events and Services:
- ChatBots for Learning LAB - Feb 21 to 23- Saratoga Springs, NY
- Curation & Learning LAB - Mar 21 to 23 - Saratoga Springs, NY
- Diversity & Inclusion LAB for Learning - April 10 to 12, Saratoga Springs, NY
- Learning 2018 - Nov 4 to 7 - Orlando (Very Early Registration Now Open)
- Membership in The Learning CONSORTIUM
Details and Online Registration: http://www.masie.com
Learning TRENDS is produced by The MASIE Center. 95 Washington Street, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866