knowledge and Learning In The News - 5/30/2006

CNET's AllYouCanUpload Is Disruptive - TechCrunch
CNET very quietly launched a simple new photo uploading site called AllYouCanUpload last week. At first glance it doesn't appear to be very special or disruptive. But it is.

Don't Try This at Home - Wired

The lure of do-it-yourself chemistry has always been the most potent recruiting tool science has to offer. Many kids attracted by the promise of filling the garage with clouds of ammonium sulfide - the proverbial stink bomb - went on to brilliant careers in mathematics, biology, programming, and medicine.

Deconstructing the MySpace Threat - Stephen Downes
Good post linking to and summarizing an interview with Danah Boyd and Henry Jenkins on the subject of MySpace.

What are knowledge behaviors - Knowledge Jolt with Jack
Shawn's list is primarily about those behaviors associated with the idea of knowledge appearing in the interaction between people: sharing, helping, discussing, seeking.

knowledge and Learning In The News - 5/29/2006

by Petty Officer 1st Class Marvin Harris

Knowledge Management: The Next Generation - CIO
Book excerpt from Stealth KM: Winning Knowledge Management Strategies for the Private Sector by Niall Sinclair. Today, most knowledge and information workers still rely on e-mail and voice mail for communication with individuals and teams.

Research Project: TagLines - via Micro Persuasion
TagLines is the visualization of the evolution of Flickr tags over time.

The Death of The Internet? - Youtube video
Major telecommunications companies are spending millions lobbying the U.S. congress to make the Internet into a private network.

Pull the other one ... how iPods took over the world - The Observer
This tiny object does a lot more than play music: as part of a larger system with iTunes and the iTunes music store, it defines a new relationship between customer and producer and reshapes an industry.

Adults Who Do Not Learn

There have been a couple of highly interesting responses to the news story, Third of adults 'not learning.' Frank Carver posted a comment, while Tony Karrer posted a blog pointing out that there was more to 'learning' that what was pointed out in the article.

Thus, it might be interesting to compare this study to another study done by Allen Tough, who was one of the first persons to really delve into the study of informal learning. His study showed that 10% were not involved in intentional learning. Since his study used intensive face-to-face interviews, the researchers could really probe and tailer the interview to fit the person. His conclusion was that these people who were not learning were actually quite 'content' at the time. Tough writes, "They learned how to raise their kids or do their job or whatever, but now they’re just sort of on a plateau, but life is good, it’s content, it’s not that they’re under extraordinary stress." Basically, they were taking a break from intentional learning.

He also mentions another study that looked at older people in a nursing home. The study found almost no informal learning taking place because it was a very repressive kind of atmosphere that presented absolutely no stimulation to learn.

The two studies basically only look at 'intentional learning' -- purposely learning in order to change one's life; rather than 'incidental learning' -- learning that occurs unintentionally or by chance. We learn incidentally because we are in the world. We learn intentionally because something in the world draws our interest.

Thus, I think we can start drawing some conclusions from the two studies. People learn 'incidentally' almost every day, while 'intentional' learning is on a continuum. On one-end are a small minority of people who are in repressive learning environments, such as people in nursing homes, holding two jobs and are too tired to set out to learn, and coach potatoes who lost interest in the world; to people who are 'content' at the moment and are taking a break from learning; to the large majority who are in the middle of the continuum and have one or more learning episodes taking place in their daily life; to those on the other end of the continuum whose lives are almost entirely composed of learning episodes, such as students or people learning a new job.

Exactly what the true percentages are seem to be open to debate. It is probably somewhere between the UK poll that used a survey to capture a large number of people and Tough's interviews that captured a smaller number, but were more intensive in their means. However, the percentage of intentional learning episodes in people's daily lives are increasing due to the information/knowledge society that we are now entering. This new information/knowledge society is really becoming a learning/information/knowledge society.

knowledge and Learning In The News - 5/28/2006

Wikis--a disruptive innovation - KM World
Overall, wikis increase the socialization process, enabling collaboration to generate at warp speed. Socialization underpins the sharing of ideas, and hence innovation capacity increases from wiki infrastructure.

Kevin Kruse interview - kineo (audio)
Kevin Kruse has been a voice of reason and insight in the learning field many years now, and the e-learning guru website is a great tool for anyone interested in e-learning.

E-Learning in 2012 - kineo (Breeze Slide/Audio)
New Technologies are at the heart of 85% of the way we learn today.

College 2.0: No Lectures, But Plenty Of Podcasts, Blogs And Text Messages - Tech Dirt
While some will say that this is a less personal approach to teaching, that might not really be true.

The Rise of Crowdsourcing - elearningpost
Having ordinary people 'create content, solve problems, even do corporate R & D'.

Knowledge and Learning In The News - 5/27/2006

May 27, 2006

A Sneak Peek At The Future - Forbes
A three-day conference, hosted by consultant and newsletter writer Mark Anderson, made a point of landing a wide variety of presenters and a diverse group of attendees.

Revisiting Communities of Practice: from fishermen guilds to the global village - Knowledge Board (free registration required)
After a recent debate at com-prac's about what is a CoP and what isn't, I ended up trying to find the root of the definition problem. What is a CoP? IMHO we've been running with a model that grew out of a very specific situation that is no longer predominant. If we want a model that truly reflects modern CoP behaviour, we need to take into account a number of changes that have affected CoPs

Can anyone own "Web 2.0?" - Boing Boing
O'Reilly Media have taken a ton of criticism for attempting to enforce a service mark against a nonprofit group in Ireland that wanted to have "Web 2.0" conference.

Widgets, Gadgets and Kapsules - On-Demand Functionality and Knowledge - e-Clippings
I think that as learning professionals we should care because the uptake of things like widgets reveal something about the preferences of our audiences.

The Wikipedia Death Watch - Business Week
That's one pitched debate over at Nick Carr's blog, especially in the comments following his original post pronouncing the death of Wikipedia.

Microsoft vs. Microsoft - Nicholas Carr
Microsoft is only truly alive when it's in a fierce fight with a competitor. The company "defines itself by its rivalries.

knowledge and Learning In The News - 5/23/2006

Third of adults 'not learning' - BBC
One in three of the population has not participated in any form of learning since school, according to a survey -- both foral and informal.

Spiky World versus Flat World - e-Clippings
The thing that does give me pause however, is the rapid and almost universal acceptance of Friedman's ideas. There is another camp. Actually two other camps.

Knowledge Organisers - IT News
The term 'knowledge organiser' is something of a catch all, covering pretty much everything from complex freeform databases to simple pen and paper.

Next-Generation Textbooks: Book Smarts - Campus Technology
That creaky spine. The yellowing paper. Those eternally typeset words. Why do we still love the printed page? In the age of electronic media, some say producing textbooks is a dying art.

Podcasting Tutorials - Portable Media
List of Podcasting Tutorials.

Knowledge and Learning In The News - 5/21/2006

Skills versus knowledge - FE News
It seems that skills win here: passing exams by rote is a combination of basic skills that include, copying, memorizing and regurgitating, whilst knowledge sits in the corner talking to itself.

Eyespot and One True Media - OnLine Video Editing Tools - EdTechPost
What made Eyespot really stand out for me was the ability to edit and create new clips from existing ones - in the 'mixer' view.

How Google Plans to Change the Scope of Googling (And Why Information and Knowledge Workers Should Care) - Babson Knowledge
These days, employees feel increasingly confident that they can find anything, just as long as it's external information. But if it's right under their noses in their companies databases, their confidence will often be much lower.

Leapfrogging Through Local Wisdom: Knowledge Management for Development - World Changing
Ideally there should be a strong link between KS and poverty reduction in Africa because, with high application of information and knowledge by the poor, they can substitute and add value to the limited resources they possess.

An Inconvenient Truth - Boing Boing
With 2005, the worst storm season ever experienced in America just behind us, it seems we may be reaching a tipping point - and Gore pulls no punches in explaining the dire situation.

Knowledge and Learning In The News - 5/18/2006

From Training Departments to Learning WoonerfsLearning Circuits
By linking the full gamut of learning processes into a "Learning Woonerf," the organization evolves from a linear learning function into a dynamic uninterrupted slew of learning connections.

Wiki as a KM and PM tool - Alexander Johannesen
KM (Knowledge Management) is a cauldron which contains many things (processes, methods, systems, software, etc) that tries to manage (meaning; collecting, storing, finding, repurposing and changing) "knowledge". PM (Project Management) is that crazy category of "things we do to do things on time and within budget."

What's Up With Knowledge? (podcast) - AudioBerkman
David Weinberger, Berkman fellow, author, and blogger, talks about some of the ideas he's exploring in a new book he's writing on knowledge. He says, "The comedian Jon Stewart has become a trusted journalist. Wikipedia is in many instances more reliable and up-to-date than traditional encyclopedias.

Faked microchip shames all of China - Seattle PI
The revelation is a huge embarrassment for China, which has been trying to lure talented scientists back from overseas in the hopes of creating its own world-class research and technology centers. Related story.

Knowledge and Learning In The News - 5/13/2006

Inspiration

The world is changed.- Galadriel (J.R.R. Tolkien)

Web 2.0: A New Wave of Innovation for Teaching and Learning? - Educause
Many people—including, or perhaps especially, supporters—critique the "Web 2.0" moniker for definitional reasons. Few can agree on even the general outlines of Web 2.0. . . Ultimately, the label "Web 2.0" is far less important than the concepts, projects, and practices included in its scope.

The Wealth of Networks - Stephen's Web
It's a long read, but worth the while. This, for example, echoes my own thoughts: "The networked information economy improves the practical capacities of individuals along three dimensions: (1) it improves their capacity to do more for and by themselves; (2) it enhances their capacity to do more in loose commonality with others, without being constrained to organize their relationship through a price system or in traditional hierarchical models of social and economic organization; and (3) it improves the capacity of individuals to do more in formal organizations that operate outside the market sphere." Direct Link

Bob Newhart: Free Radicals of Innovation (podcast) - IT Conversations
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. - Albert EinsteinDr. Moira Gunn speaks about the Free Radicals of Innovation with Bob Newhart, the founder and CEO of the Innovation Center.

Training vs. Learning - Google Trends
Training is still more popular than learning. . . but not by much.

Creating talent - kottke.org
Deliberate practice entails more than simply repeating a task -- playing a C-minor scale 100 times, for instance, or hitting tennis serves until your shoulder pops out of its socket. Rather, it involves setting specific goals, obtaining immediate feedback and concentrating as much on technique as on outcome. Note: Ensure you visit the link, "On Brain Training" -- quite interesting.

Knowledge hoarders hinder workplace productivity - SHRM
Hoarding food and other supplies might be a good survival instinct in the face of war or pestilence, but it’s usually bad for business.

Knowledge and Learning In The News - 5/10/2006

Inspiration

Tools for Identifying Training Needs... - David Passmore
Powerpoint and information sheets. Via Passmore.

Learning in Context - elearnspace
A presentation on "Learning in Context" (.ppt - 1.6 mb). The focus is on how different learning needs require different approaches. Game-based learning will meet different needs than formal learning...communities serve a different purpose than informal learning. Need drives the tool selected. Mono-chromatic views of learning (one tool does it all, all the time) are inadequate.

Tools for On-Demand Information - CLO
On demand is taking hold in the workplace, too, but with an added sense of urgency and financial pressures. On-demand information goes beyond being convenient and flexible. Instead, having access to on-demand information is imperative for improving a company's productivity, efficiency and the bottom line.

Knowledge hiding between co-workers - Knowledge Jolt with Jack
Knowledge hiding and knowledge hoarding seem to be essentially the same. The idea of hiding as described here is the more active decision to NOT share something we know for fear or uncertainty about what it implies. Hoarding is usually done from a perspective of "knowledge is power." I'm curious to see the deeper article on this topic.

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts -- remix it yourself! - Brian Eno and David Byrne
In keeping with the spirit of the original album, Brian Eno and David Byrne are offering for download the multitracks on two of their songs. You are free to edit, sample, add them to your own song, or create a new one.

Knowledge and Learning In The News - 5/07/2006

Starbucks' Secret Ingredient - Business Week
Schultz is fiercely passionate about what he does. But understand that his passion is not only about the coffee. He sells much more. You see, while Schultz loves coffee, he's passionate about creating a workplace that treats people with dignity and respect. That's the message he conveys consistently to employees, customers, and investors.

Rebuilding Media - Corante
The hallmark characteristics of the New Medium are: 1) Uniquely individualized information can simultaneously be delivered or displayed to a potentially infinite number of people, 2) each of the people involved — whether publisher, broadcasters, or consumer — shares equal and reciprocal control over that content.

Performance appraisals - a double-edged sword - Innovations Report
A successful performance appraisal only has a positive effect on work performance in the case of employees who already have a high intrinsic job motivation. They are among the group of employees who already provide the best work performance and take personal responsibility for their own development and doing their job.

Firing Students - Learning Circuits
When should instructors fire students (ask students to no longer participate)? This is a more challenging issue in the corporate and government world, where training is more thought as a service, or a requirement, than the academic.

Wordsmiths hail podcast success - BBC
The term 'podcast' has been declared Word of the Year by the New Oxford American Dictionary.

Knowledge and Learning In The News - 5/04/2006

Just-in-Time Training - SHRM
Corporate trainers have begun to capitalize on the ease of the technology and the enormous growth in the number of MP3 users with cost-effective multimedia files that inform and educate.

What Knowledge Looks Like - elearnspace
Defining knowledge is a pain. Perspective is everything...but only to the extent that it aligns to the use intended.

Eight signs that the software giant is dead in the water - John Dvorak
Let me preface by saying that Microsoft is not about to stop making gobs of money. It's just that there is virtually nothing interesting or exciting happening (with the lone exception of the X-Box360) with anything the company is doing.

The six-second teacher evaluation - Cognitive Daily
While college faculty complain unceasingly about the fairness of the now nearly universal student course evaluation system (I did it myself, back when I taught college courses), it has in general been shown to be a relatively reliable indicator of teacher effectiveness, correlating positively with other measures such as faculty and administrator evaluation, as well as actual student learning.

Why You Should Care About Network Neutrality - Slate
The Internet is largely meritocratic in its design. If people like instapundit.com better than cnn.com, that's where they'll go. If they like the search engine A9 better than Google, they vote with their clicks.

Knowledge and Learning In The News - 5/02/2006

Globalization Shaping Creativity Training - CLO
Creativity isn't necessarily an innate skill. It's something that can be taught. A fundamental skill and a core line as a basis for creativity is helping people get in touch with and learn about their propensity for risks.

Boom in retirements could slow economy, Fed report predicts - Seattle PI
They sometimes have been called the most self-important generation in American history. Now, as their leading edge begins to enter retirement, we may start to find out whether the baby boomers' role in the economy is as outsized as their ranks.

What makes an enterprise wiki? - CMS Watch
A good CMS will offer a WYSIWYG interface that makes writing content for the web a lot like using a word processor. These days, more wikis have WYSIWYG editing features as well, so the wiki markup language becomes a less interesting feature in terms of formatting, although it does provide the benefit of being supported by all browsers on all platforms, something that is typically not the case with rich-text editors.

Informal Learning is Too Important to Leave to Chance - Stephen Downes
Of course the presumption in this title, with which I disagree, is that unmanaged learning is simply a matter of chance. But that can't be right; otherwise, informal learning wouldn't be very important even now.

What if everything we think about school is wrong? - Random Walk in E-Learning
The kids in the film are articulate, intelligent and well informed. If all students graduating from Fairhaven School are like them, I don't have problem sending my child there.

Knowledge and Learning In The News - 5/01/2006

The world is changed.- Galadriel (J.R.R. Tolkien)

The Beatles Principles - Andrew Sobel
How the Fab Four built the largest fan base in history: PDF file.

Unbolting the Chairs: Making Learning Management Systems More Flexible - eLearn Magazine
In the typical Learning Management System (LMS), the virtual rooms are fairly generic. Almost all have discussion forums, calendars, test engines, group work spaces, and gradebooks.

Top 100 Training Organizations - Training Magazine
The Training Top 100 is a ranking of organizations that excel at human capital development, as determined each year by Training magazine.

A preliminary study on the current state of e-learning in lifelong learning - LearningBusiness.Fi
After a transition phase that e-learning has been going through it is establishing its place in education, training and lifelong learning. However, e-learning opportunities varies in quantity, quality and accessibility in the countries studied.

Reinventing the Flophouse (video) - New York Times
Housing advocates are reinventing shelters for the homeless by drawing on an old idea - the Bowery flophouse.

Make Learning Matter: Become a Learning Organization - About
Organizations with the best chance to succeed and thrive in the future are learning organizations.