Social Sphere – The eLearn Blog

Live from Learning Solutions 2013

Denise Doig — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:41:26 +0000

The 2013 Learning Solutions Conference and Expo kicked off today in Orlando, FL. This year’s theme is “Maximizing Performance with Learning Technologies.” Produced by the Elearning Guild, the conference is organized by three tracks: management, design, and development.

At the end of every day, we will be recapping the conference from now through Friday. If you want to keep up with detailed play-by-play, check out the conference backchannel, which is being curated by eLearn Mag’s Dave Kelly. You can find the curated stream at http://LSCon.hashcaster.com.

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And don’t forget to check out our Twitter feed for exclusive conference highlights. The official conference hashtag is #LSCon.

Update: (03/20/13)

9 Key Strategic Shifts to Watch

Day 2 of LSCON13: Part 1

Day 2 of LSCON13: Part 2

Vimeo Redesign

Denise Doig — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:03:08 +0000

Vimeo recently announced its plan to overhaul the video-sharing site. For users and creators looking for an alternative to the glut of YouTube, Vimeo offers a more elegant solution to sharing video content online. The company plans to incorporate new functionalities to improve the Vimeo experience.

Expect to find:

New video page
Improved search
Better video browser
Streaming feed
Follow
Multiple file uploading
Better privacy control
Recently viewed videos
Related videos

Are You a Social Media Star?

Denise Doig — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:58:55 +0000

Social media has changed how educators engage with each other and their students online. Recently, BestCollegesOnline.com compiled a list of the “50 Teachers Who Are Social Media Stars.” You may already be familiar with some of these names:

More importantly social media is being used to eliminate barriers to learning–from preschoolers using iPad apps, to professionals climbing the corporate ladder. Recently the New York Times reported on how the Kahn Academy is using YouTube to teach math and science to high schoolers, while global organizations like Deloitte are using Yammer to create an internal social network enabling employees to share and connect.

In the past year eLearn Magazine has published a range of articles that tackle the issue of utilizing and managing social media in the online learning space:

What about you? How are you utilizing Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Google , Tumblr, and Slideshare? Are you blogging?

If you’ve answered yes, then keep it up! You may be on next year’s list. If not, there’s no better time than the present.

Privacy, Trust, and Big Data

Janet Clarey — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 08:00:49 +0000

This post, to me, is really about what Mark Federman has called “unanticipated consequences” or “unintended consequences.” (Federman is Chief Strategist at the McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology so his statements are informed by Marshall McLuhan’s “the medium is the message” paradox.) It’s a good read. Anyway the post I’m referring to here is Audrey Walter’s interview of Terence Craig, co-author of “Privacy and Big Data.” As our channels for learning become more digitally dispersed, one has to wonder how that data will eventually be used. While Craig is talking about consumer privacy, the same issue exists internally at organizations. Ultimately it’s about transparency. Are you creating an environment where employees trust? Trust goes a long way in creating a safe environment for online learning.

What Does Privacy Mean in an Age of Big Data? Audrey Walters, November 2, 2011

The Value of Public bPortfolios

Janet Clarey — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 08:00:30 +0000

David Hopkins used the time waiting for his iOS5 update more productively than I did (my nails are red). He read (and thankfully wrote) about an academic paper on public bPortfolios (blogging portfolios). Dubbed in the abstract as a “holistic alternative portfolio assessment system”, bPortfolios provide a way to reflect on academic (and professional) work in a socially interactive environment well beyond the walls of a college (or organization). So, yeah as I said, blogging. David goes on to talk about the efficient, inexpensive, scalable thing that WordPress is and wonders if bPortfolios will kick ePortfolios, which never really got much traction, to the curb or just muck up the ongoing discussion about engagement. What I liked about the paper is the mention of metacognition (in this case critical reflection) applied to professional practice. While this is an academic study, the idea behind it applies just as much to corporate L&D – it’s important to document your learning not just what you learned. And (as they note) it’s better when the public can see it. The whole idea is to make the process of critical reflection as simple as possible.

Link: ‘ePortfolios are out, ‘bPortfolios’ are in (apparently), David Hopkins, 10/25/11

Top 10 Do’s to Create Awesome eLearning

Janet Clarey — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:12:27 +0000

Andrew Scivally and Shawn Scivally are the authors of the eLearning Brothers blog. Recently back from the eLearning Guild’s Learning Solutions Conference and Expo, they share their Top 10 Do’s to Create Awesome eLearning presentation. It’s a 55-page download with simple graphics to illustrate their points about text, style, images, graphics, and follow-up.

The primary take-away for me is that eLearning doesn’t have to be complex to be good. Enjoy and thanks guys.

Why and How Do You Use Ning?

Jill Duffy — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:11:33 +0000

Are you using Ning? Allow me to ask a seemingly dumb question: Why?
I don’t mean, “Oh, why would you ever use it!” but rather, “I understand what Ning is supposed to enable, but why do you personally use it? What does it enable or facilitate?”
For example, Facebook might have been intended at first to connect people in a similar time and place (university), but now, I personally use it predominently to keep in touch with people who live far away and get insight into their day-to-day lives. On the other hand, I hardly use Facebook as my primary method of connecting with people whom I see frequently.
Do you see what I’m asking? So, why do you use Ning? What do you do with it? Add your comments below, please! This is an earnest question!

Polyglots Have an Edge in a Socially-Technologically Connected World

Jill Duffy — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:00:00 +0000

English is the only language I speak and write fluently. It’s the result of growing up in an area and country where everyone around me spoke only English.
Sometimes, I feel being mono-lingual limits what I can learn.
On Twitter, in my personal account (not associated with eLearn Magazine), I follow a lot of chefs, restaurant critics, cook book authors, and food bloggers. As I expanded this network, I found more and more Twitter users who tweet predominantly in French.
At first, I struggled with it. Do I continue following them, even though I don’t know what they’re saying 85 percent of the time?
Sure enough, I started paying attention to the handful of French words that I already knew simply from being exposed to kitchen talk for many years, like bain-marie, buerre blanc, poulet, mise en place, vin rouge…
Little by little, I found links worth clicking through and discovered more and more recipes that I was motivated to translate. Now, I’m picking up a couple of new French words a month. True natural language learning is always need-based, and let me assure you, I needed to know how to make real pâte à choux!
This morning, while searching for Creative Commons-licensed artwork to use here at eLearn Magazine, I had a little stroke of inspiration. What if I tried keying in the same search words, but in a different language?
Sure enough, some amazing new images started cropping up!
In one search for computador, I fell onto these images, by Lizette Greco, related to the One Laptop Per Child program. I loved them so much, I just had to share them.
The point is, I might not have been prompted to expand my language skills–ever!–without all these interconnected and globally-spanning social media tools at my fingertips.

Teachers, Trainers, and the iPad

Jill Duffy — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 12:15:53 +0000

From the perspective of a teacher, trainer (or instructional designer for that matter) what’s your reaction to the iPad?
Does it make you curious about anything (e.g., “I wonder how students will…”)?
How can you envision it helping you educate?
Do you worry about any downsides of this technology pervading your learners?
Comment below, please!

Whaddya Call It?

Jill Duffy — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:36:40 +0000

I asked on Twitter yesterday, “What term do you use most? Learning 2.0, Blending Learning, Social Learning, Informal Learning, eLearning … something else?”
The responses, I hoped, would illuminate not only which words people use most, but also what practices or pedagogical philosophies are behind their instruction. Here’s the feedback:

antoesp: elearning (2.0) & blended learning: anyway it is always necessary what you are talking about…
vale24: I think I’m in “blended learning” category for when I use ICT with F2F groups in/outside class, otherwise it’s Online learning
_KirstenT: blended learning at Leeds – like most other UK higher education institutions
nhatipoglu: eLearning actually
minutebio: Informal Learning
arepeejee: eLearning & Technology Enhanced Learning
hopkinsdavid: Usually ‘eLearning’, but ‘blended’ making a big comeback in recent months
campusdirect: e-learning… with the hyphen
denniscallahan: It’s all “Learning”

What terms do you use, and what does it say about your teaching or instruction — or environment, or learners, or level of technology adoption (add a comment below)?