438 - Your Comments on Gaming for Learning

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - March 30, 2007.
#438 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
53,418 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Host of LMS 2007 - April 12 & 13 - Las Vegas, NV, USA.

Afternoon Update - Game Stop - Gaming in Learning Gathering.

Dear TRENDS Readers,

You are an incredible part of the Gaming and Learning conversation we are having here in Toronto. I have received several hundred great emails with questions, thoughts, hopes and concerns about Gaming in Learning. Every 10 minutes, I have been reading one of your emails to the group.

We will post the proceedings' summary on our website in a week. In the meantime, here are a few samples of the conversations here and some of your
emails:

- High interest in Gaming for Learning - driven by both generational changes and shifts in people's acceptance of video/computer games.
- Opportunity to use Gaming for repetition, transfer, social networking, multiple layers of practice and virtualization of business process.
- Need to alter our language about gaming. There is a lack of vocabulary about gaming in learning to help us effectively promote them internally as well as describe our emerging practices.
- Fuzziness about the distinction between Gaming, Simulations and Virtual Worlds - and it is going to get fuzzier.
- Generational attitudes about gaming are quite different. Interesting to see an article in the New York Times about Seniors and Gaming:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/30/arts/30seni.html?ref=arts

Additional comments came in on the Cost, Technology Hurdles, Regulatory Concerns and Social Issues in Virtual Worlds.

Keep sending your comments and questions to me, as the meeting will continue through tomorrow, including a visit to the First Robotics challenge in Toronto. Send your notes to emasie@masie.com

I really appreciate your comments and participating in this blended model of raising issues. Watch your email for a summary of your comments and the proceedings here at Game Stop. Thanks to John Abele for supporting this important discussion.

Elliott Masie

P.S. Mark Your Calendar - At Learning 2007 we will have two key "events in the event" - "Gaming for Learning" and "Virtual Worlds for Learning".

October 21 to 24 - Orlando, Florida - http://www.masie.com

437 - Game Change: Real Time Input

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - March 30, 2007.
#437 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
53,416 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Host of LMS 2007 - April 12 & 13 - Las Vegas, NV, USA.

Attend a Gathering With Me -- Today!

The first session of a very small and focused meeting has just begun in Toronto, Canada. Game Change is a gathering with 60 diverse folks from corporate, high education and gaming design - "chewing" the issues of how games will (or will not) be a key element in learning.

Convened by John Abele (and co-facilited by me) the group includes folks from KPMG, IBM, Autodesk, Champlain College, GM and thinkers like Tom Malone from MIT's Center for Collective Intelligence.

We have just opened the meeting and we are starting the conversation with talking about the language of "gaming". I'd love your real time input.

Could you send me a message to emasie@masie.com with your thoughts on:

* What are your key questions, thoughts, hopes or worries about "Gaming for Learning?"

* What words or phrases can we use to talk about gaming for learning?
Should we even use the phrase "gaming"?

* How would your organization react to the use of gaming for learning a key skill or competency?

I will input your thoughts into this meeting and send you one more note in the early afternoon.

Yours in learning,
Elliott Masie

PS: There are just a few spaces and rooms available for the LMS 2007 - Learning Systems User Group - April 12 & 13 in Las Vegas. Information and registration at www.lms2007.com

436 - American Idol Perspectives?; LMS Futures - CEO Interviews

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - March 22, 2007.
#436 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
53,404 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Host of LMS 2007 - April 12 & 13 - Las Vegas, NV, USA.

1. American Idol Perspectives on Media
2. Podcasts with LMS CEOs On-Line.

1. American Idol Perspectives on Media: Some people love it! Some people hate it! But either way, American Idol is an interesting topic and phenomenon for learning colleagues to examine. Each week in the U.S., tens of millions of households are gathering together to watch, interact and "game" the performances of a these 'vocal stars of the future'. I will admit that I called in a vote for Melinda, but that is not the purpose of this note.

What is provocative is the popular shift to a highly interactive, multi-player, pervasive "game". Just as documents are moving from a .doc file to a wiki or blog format for interaction, so is our television watching. People are interacting through voting by phone (30 to 50 million calls per week). The viewership is highly multi-generational. It is also interesting to watch how some are "gaming" the show.

I'd be fascinated to hear your thoughts and comments about American Idol as a case study of changing media viewing/interaction. What are the implications for us in the learning field? Send me a note to emasie@masie.com

2. Podcasts with LMS CEOs On-Line: We now have podcasts with 17 CEOs of LMS and LCMS companies - focusing on the changing world of Learning Systems and the future of our field. Each interview is 10 minutes long:
Cornerstone, EEDO, Flying Fish, Giunti Labs, Intrepid, KnowledgePlanet, Learn.com, Meridian, NetDimensions, OutStart, Plateau, RWD, Saba, SumTotal, TrainingPartner, Vertex Solutions and Xerceo.

You can listen to or download each of these PodCasts at:

http://www.lms2007.com/library

Upcoming MASIE Center Events & Services:
* LMS 2007: April 12-13 - Las Vegas, NV.
* Performance Support LAB & Seminar: April 25-27 - Saratoga Springs, NY.
* Extreme Learning LAB & Seminar: May 9-11 - Saratoga Springs, NY.
* Learning 2007: Oct 21-24 - Orlando, FL.
* Membership in our Learning CONSORTIUM.
Information at http://www.masie.com

Marketplace Alert: Webex Bought by Cisco!

TO: Learning TRENDS Readers
FROM: Elliott Masie
RE: MARKETPLACE ALERT

Cisco Buys Webex!

This press release just came across the wire:

"Cisco and WebEx today announced a definitive agreement for Cisco to
acquire WebEx. WebEx is a market leader in on-demand collaboration
applications, and its network-based solution for delivering
business-to-business collaboration extends Cisco's vision for Unified
Communications, particularly within the Small to Medium Business (SMB)
segment."

"Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco will commence a cash tender offer
to purchase all of the outstanding shares of WebEx for $57 per share and
will assume outstanding share-based awards, for an aggregate purchase
price of approximately $3.2 billion, or approximately $2.9 billion net of
WebEx's existing cash balance."

"As collaboration in the workplace becomes increasingly important,
companies are looking for rich communications tools to help them work more
effectively and efficiently," said Charles H. Giancarlo, Chief Development
Officer at Cisco. "The combination of Cisco and WebEx will deliver
compelling solutions accelerating this next wave of business
communications."

"Cisco and WebEx share a vision of web collaboration as a key to
accelerating business processes and critical to durable competitive
advantage," said Subrah S. Iyar, CEO of WebEx. "Cisco's global reach and
customer focus will help us extend our core web collaboration applications
and continue to broaden the services we offer through the WebEx Connect
platform."

Information at: http://www.webex.com

Upcoming MASIE Center Events & Services:
* LMS 2007: April 12-13 - Las Vegas, NV.
* Performance Support LAB & Seminar: April 25-27 - Saratoga Springs, NY.
* Extreme Learning LAB & Seminar: May 9-11 - Saratoga Springs, NY.
* Learning 2007: Oct 21-24 - Orlando, FL.
* Membership in our Learning CONSORTIUM.
Information at http://www.masie.com

435 - ChinesePod - Mandarin at 56; Open Source Learning Project Launched

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - March 14, 2007.
#435 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
53,396 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Host of LMS 2007 - April 12 & 13 - Las Vegas, NV, USA.

1. ChinesePod - A Radical Approach to Learning Mandarin!
2. Open Source Learning Project Launched.
3. LMS 2007 - Web 2.0 and Learning Systems.

1. ChinesePod - A Radical Approach to Learning Mandarin! Yes, a 56-year-old-guy CAN learn Mandarin. As a learning researcher, I am embarking on an exciting experiment to learn Chinese. Using a variety of tools, from coaching to residential immersion, learning Mandarin is my personal objective in 2007. I wanted to point to a very cool web site that my colleagues in the U.S. government found me: Chinese Pod!

This unique site includes audio pod/segments, news from China and live one-to-one coaching services from Shanghai. Upbeat, well structured and highly interactive content and assistance flows from this site. There is a fee for on-going content and personal coaching. Check it out at http://www.chinesepod.com

2. Open Source Learning Project Launched: We are launching a new project in our Learning CONSORTIUM on Thursday, focused on Open Source Learning.
Volunteers from dozens of our corporate members are working together to create free, reusable learning content on two topics: Working Virtually with Teams and Better On-Line Search Techniques. There are two provocative elements to this project:

* All content will be developed by teams from multiple Fortune 1000 companies.
* All content and modules will be placed in the Public Domain for any organization to use, modify or extend.

We are very excited about the start of this project. It will extend to dozens of modules this year and beyond. If you are interested in joining our Learning CONSORTIUM, go to our website at http://www.masie.com

3. LMS 2007 - Web 2.0 and Learning Systems: A key conversation at the upcoming LMS 2007 event will be about the intersection of Web 2.0 and Learning Systems. Many corporations are shifting to a wider use of Web 2.0 features in their technology deployments:

* Web Services Models.
* Social Networking.
* User Defined and Modified Content Display.
* Deeper Integration with Desktop and Web Applications.

We will explore a wide range of Web 2.0 and LMS/LCMS futures. You are invited to join us at LMS 2007 - April 12 and 13 in Las Vegas - http://www.lms2007.com Space is limited, so please register soon.

Upcoming MASIE Center Events & Services:
* Performance Support LAB & Seminar: April 25-27 - Saratoga Springs, NY.
* LMS 2007: April 12-13 - Las Vegas, NV.
* Extreme Learning LAB & Seminar: May 9-11 - Saratoga Springs, NY.
* Learning 2007: Oct 21-24 - Orlando, FL.
* Membership in our Learning CONSORTIUM.
Information at http://www.masie.com

An Experiment: Predictive Marketplace on Future of Learning!

Dear Learning Colleagues:

Take part in an interesting experiment about "Predictive Marketplaces".
We have created a marketplace where hundreds of learning colleagues can place "play" bets on this question:

"What will employees, in 2009, use as their PRIMARY tools for everyday learning in the workplace?"

http://home.inklingmarkets.com/market/show/3714

Go to this totally free site, register and you will be given $5,000 play dollars to buy stocks for answers such as Classes, PodCasts, Classroom, Video Conferencing and others.

The theory is to use a Predictive Marketplace as a tool for gathering the wisdom of the crowds. This marketplace will remain open until April 1st.

http://home.inklingmarkets.com/market/show/3714

I am intrigued to have you as part of this experiment. Feel free to send comments to emasie@masie.com

Yours in learning,
Elliott Masie, The MASIE Center & Learning CONSORTIUM

Upcoming MASIE Center Events & Services:
* Performance Support LAB & Seminar: April 25-27 - Saratoga Springs, NY.
* LMS 2007: April 12-13 - Las Vegas, NV.
* Extreme Learning LAB & Seminar: May 9-11 - Saratoga Springs, NY.
* Learning 2007: Oct 21-24 - Orlando, FL.
* Membership in our Learning CONSORTIUM.
Information at http://www.masie.com

434 - Mini Y2K? Emergency Room Simulation, Compliance Management

Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie - March 5, 2007.
#434 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology.
53,389 Readers - http://www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Host of LMS 2007 - April 12 & 13 - Las Vegas, NV, USA.

1. Mini-Y2K-Learning/Training for Daylight Change?
2. Emergency Room Medical Simulation at Home!
3. LMS as a Compliance Management System.

1. Mini-Y2K-Learning/Training for Daylight Change? Next weekend, many corporate IT managers will have a mini-Y2K experience! When the U.S.
Congress shifted the start of Daylight Savings Time by one month, little did they realize the computing implications. This puts the U.S. out of sync with much of the world on time zones, with scheduling implications for business travel and even web conferences.

But, the largest impact can be seen in corporate investment to prevent a Mini-Y2K, when servers, desktops and other devices need to be instantly reset for a time change that is not part of their core programming. The New York Times recently reported that U.S. companies will spend about $350 million on computer fixes for this situation.

I would love to hear from TRENDS readers about any involvement that corporate training or learning departments have with this situation. Have organizations created e-Learning or other resources as part of the planning? Send me a note to emasie@masie.com and I will send a summary in a few days.

2. Emergency Room Medical Simulation at Home! Nintendo Wii has released a new simulation - Trauma Center: Second Opinion. The player is presented with a series of patients who have serious conditions. You are prompted to use a variety of medical interventions, from scanners, to medicines to scalpels and surgical needles. You stand up ... with a wireless device in each hand and "operate" on the patient, complete with very graphic detail and feedback. This is taking game-based simulation to the next era and is only $49. I can't wait to see authoring systems that will more easily support corporate simulations. Check it out at http://www.atlus.com/tcso/index.html

3. LMS as a Compliance Management System. One of the fastest growing uses for Learning Management Systems is Compliance Management. Many corporate deployments are being driven by the Compliance Tracking, Reporting and Management requirements of legal and other departments. A number of major corporations are building Compliance front ends to their LMS deployments, to allow compliance focused executives more direct control over the Learning System. There are also conversations afoot for Compliance APIs that will allow for more automatic transfer of data to regulatory agencies.

Compliance and the LMS is one of the topics that we will be addressing at LMS 2007 - Learning Systems User Group, to be held in Las Vegas, NV on April 12 and 13th. Join several hundred colleagues for a vendor-neutral discussion. http://www.lms2007.com

Upcoming MASIE Center Events & Services:
* Performance Support LAB & Seminar: April 25-27 - Saratoga Springs, NY.
* LMS 2007: April 12-13 - Las Vegas, NV.
* Extreme Learning LAB & Seminar: May 9-11 - Saratoga Springs, NY.
* Learning 2007: Oct 21-24 - Orlando, FL.
* Membership in our Learning CONSORTIUM.
Information at http://www.masie.com

Elliott Masie's Free Briefing Module on Learning System Changes

TO: Learning Colleagues
FROM: Elliott Masie, Learning CONSORTIUM
DATE: March 1, 2007
RE: LMS and Learning Systems Changes - Free Briefing

Why are so many organizations Leaving, Changing or Evolving their deployments of Learning Management Systems?

I have created a free, vendor-neutral, 25-minute, on-line briefing module focused on these key changes impacting LMS and LCMS choices:

http://www.lms2007.com/changes

"Changing Learning Systems: Forces & Disruptions"

Changing Learners
Changing Content Models
Changing Business Processes
Changing Learning & IT Models
Changing Marketplace

This content is based on our research with our 240 member Learning CONSORTIUM. We are tracking a rate of more than 30% of corporations in LMS and LCMS "reconsideration". This on-line module includes my audio comments on the key business drivers that are impacting LMS selection and change.

http://www.lms2007.com/changes

In addition, I would like to invite you and your colleagues to participate in our LMS 2007 - Learning Systems User Group, to be held in Las Vegas on April 12 and 13th. This will be co-hosted by Cushing Anderson (IDC), Nigel Paine (former CLO of the BBC), Tom King (MASIE Center Fellow) and will feature a special keynote by Malcolm Gladwell (author of "Tipping Point" and "Blink"). Last year's event was sold out and closed. So, please register early!

Hope you enjoy this briefing. We will be sending two additional briefing notices on upcoming segments called "Learning is Tribal" and "LMS meets Search and Google".

Yours in learning,

Elliott Masie
The MASIE Center & Learning CONSORTIUM