377 - Training Mistakes Survey Results, One Touch Conversations and More

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - Jan 20, 2006.
#377 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
52,003 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
LMS 2006 - April 6-7 - Las Vegas, NV - www.lms2006.com Learning 2006 - Nov 5-8 - Orlando - www.learning2006.com

1. Training Mistakes Survey Results.
2. Communities One Touch on Mobile Phones.
3. Robust Conversations on "Every-Day Learning"

1. Training Mistakes Survey Results: In December, over 700 Learning TRENDS readers submitted their lists of the most common Training Mistakes. This was a fun and informative set of data. We are presenting the results in two formats:

To see the Executive Summary and also comment in our wiki:
http://www.learningwiki.com/mistakes

To view the entire set of data and Executive Summary in PDF Format:
http://www.masie.com/mistakes.pdf

2. Community One Touch Calls on Mobile Phones: It may be very hectic and perhaps aimed at a younger generation, but I reviewed a new feature from several mobile phone service providers: One Touch Community Conference Calls. The user defines a set of community members. These could be friends or colleagues. The phone displays a sort of Instant Messenger list, which indicates which ones are available or not available. One touch and all of these people are placed into a conference call. I tried this yesterday and was struck by its possible use for smaller groups, for rapid knowledge sharing or brainstorming. In some countries, folks are using this to say goodnight to their entire family. Good night, John Boy :)

3. Robust Conversations on "Every-Day Learning": There is a robust conversation occurring on our Learning Wiki. Great ideas and thoughts from around the world on Every-Day Learning (and some challenges) in the areas of firefighters, airlines and manufacturing. Check it out at:

http://www.learningwiki.com/daily

Add your own comments and perspectives. We love the "wisdom of the crowds"!

Upcoming MASIE Center Events and Services:
* Learning Management Systems 2006 - Las Vegas - April 6 and 7.
* Extreme Learning LAB & Seminar - Saratoga Springs - Jan 25-27.
* Learning 2006 - Orlando - Nov 5 - 8.
* Membership in The Learning CONSORTIUM.
Information at http://www.masie.com

376 - Let's Discuss Every-Day Learning!

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - Jan 13, 2006.
#376 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
51,999 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
LMS 2006 - April 6-7 - Las Vegas, NV - www.lms2006.com
Learning 2006 - Nov 5-8 - Orlando - www.learning2006.com

"Every-Day Learning?"
A TRENDS Interactive Conversation!

Most organizational learning is occasional learning. Sometimes, very occasional. A worker might attend a class once a year. And, they might take an e-Learning module every few weeks. But, things change every day!
What about an approach called "Every-Day Learning?"

I am not talking about informal or self-service learning, which are both highly important. In this instance, I am proposing a structured model of daily learning activities. Here are a few examples:

* A police officer gets into a squad car, which is now equipped with a wireless PC. As part of the check-in routine, they must take a short module of learning content, prior to leaving the parking lot.

* Flight attendants go to a briefing prior to the start of a flight.
They participate in a short peer-taught lesson from a daily curriculum.

* Customer service reps respond to a daily scenario, built from 2 difficult incidents the previous day. Their responses are shared in a collaborative environment. Each day, this scenario becomes the buzz of the call center.

* A leadership development program is broken into 200 modules, delivered once a day to each senior succession candidate. Each is asked to respond and share.

* Field sales representatives build a daily module covering a learning from a sales call. These are then sent to other sales reps around the country.

Let's challenge our assumptions of learning delivery timing. What if we were to create some modules or activities that became a daily part of the work pattern, for just a few minutes at a time?

What are the pros and cons of a model of "Every-Day Learning"?

Let's discuss this. Go to our interactive wiki and leave a comment or write a longer note:

http://www.learningwiki.com/daily

I will summarize these back in a Learning TRENDS next week.

Thanks,
Elliott

Upcoming MASIE Center Events and Services:
* Learning Management Systems 2006 - Las Vegas - April 6 and 7.
* Extreme Learning LAB & Seminar - Saratoga Springs - Jan 25-27.
* Learning 2006 - Orlando - Nov 5 - 8.
* Membership in The Learning CONSORTIUM.
Information at http://www.masie.com

375 - TV via Internet - Learning Implications: CES Report

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - Jan 9, 2006.
#375 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
51,985 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
LMS 2006 - April 6-7 - Las Vegas, NV - www.lms2006.com
Learning 2006 - Nov 5-8 - Orlando - www.learning2006.com

TV via Internet - Learning Implications: CES Report from The MASIE Center.

The primary discussion at the just-ended Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was Television over the Internet. Announcements from Google, Microsoft, Apple, Cisco, Verizon, Yahoo and others all focused on the expanding capability (and market) for delivering television content over the internet. Terms like IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) are being used to describe a rapidly expanding capacity to deliver video content to your desktop, mobile phone or other devices, via broadband internet connections, on-demand and to your specifications.

The MASIE Center is exploring how these trends and market investments may impact organizational learning approaches. Here are some Learning TRENDS and emerging examples for our readers to ponder:

* "Videoification" of the Web: Apple has cut the way with the release of their video iPod and the sale of TV shows for $1.99 a piece. New services from Microsoft, Yahoo and others are rapidly expanding this marketplace.
Video PodCasting is starting to emerge as an additional vehicle for content distribution. We believe that this may be an early "tipping point"
for the "Videoification" of the web.

Currently, most internet usage is text based with a mild level of graphics and a sprinkling of audio/video. If the growth of video content continues, the user may increasingly come to accept and expect video content from their web experience. This raises serious development hurdles for content producers and also requires new models for tagging and search processes.
However, we believe that there will be a steady increase in the demand for video for learning activities.

* Personalized Control Rooms: Check out the recent announcement from CNN of their CNN Pipeline product. The user is given a video control room that contains four live feeds from CNN sources as well as access to a huge level of stored images. They can switch the "feeds" the same way the control room at CNN is doing, selecting images, stories and perspectives as desired. Imagine providing this same offering to learners. Rather than a single storyline or instructional path, they are given multiple sources, including some live peer interaction and they can choose which one to select. Imagine being in a webcast with 5 windows, including a live feed from the instructor, application sharing, remedial content and the ability to search archives. The learner may increase their expectation of switching and choosing the scene or shot or perspective of their choice.
For example, there may be a "nay sayer" feed from someone who disagrees with the perspective of the presenter. Check out the CNN Pipeline and get a glimpse of the future. http://www.cnn.com/pipeline/
Their video quality is amazing and gives a sense of how far streaming over the internet has advanced.

* Video to Devices: On my belt is a new cell phone, the Viper from Motorola with service from Verizon. There is a new service called V Cast, which brings broadcast quality video to my phone from a variety of sources. Right now, I can access news and entertainment highlights. But, in a short while, there will be access to a broad range of content, including corporate-specific or learning focused content. The ability to distribute just in time video content to the hands of our workforce is intriguing. Imagine retailers, banks or other customer-facing organizations using this technology to provide short blasts of content to the entire workforce or on-demand access.

There is an interesting story by a USA Reporter who used this service to "kill time" while waiting for a flight as they were leaving CES this week:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2005-01-12-baig_x.htm

* Digital Cameras at Work: Learning organizations should take a fresh look at the use of digital cameras (video and still) as tools for corporate learning. I could not find a single company that is currently teaching their employees to utilize digital cameras as knowledge/learning tools.
While we whip out these cameras, along with our cell phone cameras, at any family event or outing, they are not really recognized as assets for organizational knowledge capture. It is time to take a fresh look. When someone comes back from an event, why not do a short video interview with them, rapidly edit and tag it and share it back out? Think of other times when we might be able to leverage "citizen capture" as part of our learning efforts. Many will point to the "poor quality" or "lack of editing" as a reason to avoid their use. Let's see how we might use these tools as part of the knowledge feed of our organizations.

Upcoming MASIE Center Events and Services:
* Learning Management Systems 2006 - Las Vegas - April 6 and 7.
* Extreme Learning LAB & Seminar - Saratoga Springs - Jan 25-27.
* Learning 2006 - Orlando - Nov 5 - 8.
* Membership in The Learning CONSORTIUM.
Information at http://www.masie.com

374 - LMS Next Hurdles; 20th Anniversary of The MASIE Center

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - Jan 1, 2006.
#374 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
51,934 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
LMS 2006 - April 6-7 - Las Vegas, NV - www.lms2006.com Learning 2006 - Nov 5-8 - Orlando - www.learning2006.com

1. 20th Anniversary of The MASIE Center.
2. Learning Management Systems - The Next Hurdles.
3. An In-Store Handheld Shopping Experience.

1. 20th Anniversary of The MASIE Center: Happy New Year! As we start 2006, I remembered that it is the 20th Anniversary of The MASIE Center.
In 1986, I started the Center as a thinktank focused on the future of learning. Over the years, we have addressed a wide range of learning and technology themes, including Computer Training, CBT, e-Learning, Extreme Learning and Collaboration. And, we have launched many key events for the industry including Computer Training & Support Conference, TechLearn, Learning 2005 and now the LMS 2006 event. I want to thank Learning TRENDS readers and our Learning CONSORTIUM members for their support and interest. We will celebrate the 20th Anniversary of The MASIE Center with new experiments, new collaborations and even more "attitude" about the need for learning in our organizations. We look forward to the next 20 years of working together!

2. Learning Management Systems - The Next Hurdles: The key challenge for most organizations using Learning Management Systems (and Learning Content Management Systems) is to turn them into "engines" for learning. How do we use our LMS to drive these business requirements?
* Compliance.
* Invitation.
* Informal Learning.
* Customer Knowledge.
* Rapid Development.
* Talent Retention.
* Balanced Scorecard
* Speed and Velocity of Change & On-Boarding.
* Globalizing Learning.
We will be focusing the work of the Learning CONSORTIUM and The MASIE Center on many of these key issues in the coming months as we work with both LMS providers and Learning Executives in implementing companies.
(Note, LMS 2006 registration is now open at www.lms2006.com)

3. An In-Store Handheld Shopping Experience: I had a very cool shopping experience in the Container Store in New York City. I was handed a PDA as I entered the store, linked to my credit card and address of our corporate apartment in Manhattan. All I had to do was scan the bar codes of any products that I wanted. Pictures, details, inventory data and quantity desired were displayed. I walked around the store, pointing and buying.
I then handed it back at a desk near the door, had a receipt printed and three hours later it was delivered to our apartment (for only $15 delivery charge). My mind has been swirling with the implications for this type of in-store shopping experience.

Upcoming MASIE Center Events and Services:
* Learning Management Systems 2006 - Las Vegas - April 6 and 7.
* Extreme Learning LAB & Seminar - Saratoga Springs - Jan 25-27.
* Learning 2006 - Orlando - Nov 5 - 8.
* Membership in The Learning CONSORTIUM.
Information at http://www.masie.com