In this podcast I talked about:
- being exposed to the world of podcasts as I had never paid much attention to them before
- traits of a good podcast
- audio versus visual
- using podcasts within our team at work
You can listen to episode 2 here.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Podcasting - Episode 2
Well, this attempt went much better than the first. It appears the more you play with a new tool, the better you get at using it.
In this podcast I talked about:
You can listen to episode 2 here.
In this podcast I talked about:
You can listen to episode 2 here.
Podcasting - Episode 1
Well, here's my first podcast. In this episode I explored the world of blogging and how it could be used within our company for learning and training.
A few items discussed within the podcast include:
I hope everyone can hear me as it was a bit softer than I expected when I listened to it after. If someone can't let me know and I will try to fix it.
A few items discussed within the podcast include:
- Blogging - Is it for me?
- Would blogging work within our company?
- How could blogging be used by our Training & Development team?
I hope everyone can hear me as it was a bit softer than I expected when I listened to it after. If someone can't let me know and I will try to fix it.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Using Delicious in a Training Environment
While I can see the advantage of using Delicious to save my favorite sites which I can access from any computer, I don't see it being beneficial as a training tool within our organization.
http://delicious.com/cooperfridays
I think it would take some time to locate sites which are relevant to me and my job. It took some time to at the beginning to find sites that really interested me. I was a bit frustrates with the Google Blog search option. But perhaps that's due to my lack of experience in searching for blogs effectively.
As I explored tags I was interested in, I came across a few of the blogs I had already bookmarked, but not much else at this point. Unless of course I needed to train my dog :) So for this reason I don't think I would use it as much as the RSS Feeder. I like how the feeder works in being able to keep on top of new information easily.
http://delicious.com/cooperfridays
I think it would take some time to locate sites which are relevant to me and my job. It took some time to at the beginning to find sites that really interested me. I was a bit frustrates with the Google Blog search option. But perhaps that's due to my lack of experience in searching for blogs effectively.
As I explored tags I was interested in, I came across a few of the blogs I had already bookmarked, but not much else at this point. Unless of course I needed to train my dog :) So for this reason I don't think I would use it as much as the RSS Feeder. I like how the feeder works in being able to keep on top of new information easily.
To Flickr or Not to Flickr
Setting up the account was the easy part. I found Flickr not as simple as some other sites I've during this course. However, I did manage to get some pictures posted.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sugarcube456/
As for using Flickr as a learning tool, I can't see it being beneficial within our company from a learning perspective. However, I do see value in using it as a social tool. Not only are our learners spread across the country, but so is the Training and Development team. While I have had the opportunity to visit another office and meet some individuals from the team, there are still a lot more that I have not. We tried a "Getting to Know You" activity last year and while this did provide some info on each person, it did not provide the whole picture. I'd love to see what the other offices look like (most have quite different set-ups) and maybe even a few pictures from around town.
Being able to picture who you are talking to (and even where they may be sitting) plays a big role in being able to relate to others. I can attest to having built a stronger relationship with those that I have either met once or seen a picture of.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sugarcube456/
As for using Flickr as a learning tool, I can't see it being beneficial within our company from a learning perspective. However, I do see value in using it as a social tool. Not only are our learners spread across the country, but so is the Training and Development team. While I have had the opportunity to visit another office and meet some individuals from the team, there are still a lot more that I have not. We tried a "Getting to Know You" activity last year and while this did provide some info on each person, it did not provide the whole picture. I'd love to see what the other offices look like (most have quite different set-ups) and maybe even a few pictures from around town.
Being able to picture who you are talking to (and even where they may be sitting) plays a big role in being able to relate to others. I can attest to having built a stronger relationship with those that I have either met once or seen a picture of.
RSS Feeds in our Learning Environment
Well, I must admit I am a RSS Feed convert. I love it and have been sharing it everyone I know.
When thinking about how it could be used in our learning environment, I don't it could easily be leveraged by our learners. Many don't have Internet access (with the exception of a few selected sites) and most of our courses are quite structured and do not require the collection of information from outside sources. However, I can see it being used by individuals within our Training & Development team (i.e. the ones who write and develop the courses).
Assuming we subscribe to relevant sites/blogs, I see value in keeping up to date on the e-learning technologies we use, as well as, gathering ideas for making our learning more meaningful, memorable and motivational. Getting new ideas from outside "our little world" may provide new opportunities to engage our learners or even experiment with a new technique.
When thinking about how it could be used in our learning environment, I don't it could easily be leveraged by our learners. Many don't have Internet access (with the exception of a few selected sites) and most of our courses are quite structured and do not require the collection of information from outside sources. However, I can see it being used by individuals within our Training & Development team (i.e. the ones who write and develop the courses).
Assuming we subscribe to relevant sites/blogs, I see value in keeping up to date on the e-learning technologies we use, as well as, gathering ideas for making our learning more meaningful, memorable and motivational. Getting new ideas from outside "our little world" may provide new opportunities to engage our learners or even experiment with a new technique.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Course Readings
As I read through the text book, I thought to myself "I wish we had blogs when I was in school". In particular, I found the descriptions of various Weblog posts interesting. Previously, I would have categorized most of them all in to one category, but now I can see the difference.
I was even able to "rate" the various blogs I checked out using this scale. I see the added value when blogs include links to other resources. This can sometimes lead you to a path of information that you may not have found through a traditional Google search.
I look forward to exploring more blogs and the blogs found by others in this course.
I was even able to "rate" the various blogs I checked out using this scale. I see the added value when blogs include links to other resources. This can sometimes lead you to a path of information that you may not have found through a traditional Google search.
I look forward to exploring more blogs and the blogs found by others in this course.
The Blogging Experience
Like I mentioned in my previous post, I am feeling a bit out of sorts at the moment. But with each blog I read or post I publish, I am getting closer to having a better grasp on this new experience.
I have felt a bit overwhelmed with the new blogging experience. While I have read blogs on much lighter topics like cupcakes and Disney World in the past, I had not taken advantage of them from a professional development perspective. I can see the benefits of these sites, of course remembering that it is only the view of one person. In trying to keep up with all the postings, I have found the RSS reader a valuable tool. I never knew such an things existed and am going to share it with everyone.
I know moving forward I will search out blogs in a more specifically for assistance in future projects. I was in the habit of looking at traditional web sites and may have stumbled across a blog by accident not knowing what it really was.
As for incorporating blogs into our training environment, that would depend on the training itself. Some of our training would not lend itself very well to a blog since the training period is short and condensed (as little as 20 minutes). I see the main advantage is with longer induction curriculum where there is an opportunity to share and interact with peers.
Additionally, I think blogs could be a good tool used within our Training & development department. Our team is spread across Canada, so having a common place to share ideas, create virtual discussions would be great.
However, even with these great opportunities to introduce blogs to our company, there could be a few issues getting it implemented. Concerns may arise from the technology team about housing all this new information and who is going to manage it. Of course there are external sites available to set up blogs, but that would go against company policy to post/discuss business on external sites.
So I think it would take some time to get everyone on board. But I think trying it within our team first would be a great first step.
I have felt a bit overwhelmed with the new blogging experience. While I have read blogs on much lighter topics like cupcakes and Disney World in the past, I had not taken advantage of them from a professional development perspective. I can see the benefits of these sites, of course remembering that it is only the view of one person. In trying to keep up with all the postings, I have found the RSS reader a valuable tool. I never knew such an things existed and am going to share it with everyone.
I know moving forward I will search out blogs in a more specifically for assistance in future projects. I was in the habit of looking at traditional web sites and may have stumbled across a blog by accident not knowing what it really was.
As for incorporating blogs into our training environment, that would depend on the training itself. Some of our training would not lend itself very well to a blog since the training period is short and condensed (as little as 20 minutes). I see the main advantage is with longer induction curriculum where there is an opportunity to share and interact with peers.
Additionally, I think blogs could be a good tool used within our Training & development department. Our team is spread across Canada, so having a common place to share ideas, create virtual discussions would be great.
However, even with these great opportunities to introduce blogs to our company, there could be a few issues getting it implemented. Concerns may arise from the technology team about housing all this new information and who is going to manage it. Of course there are external sites available to set up blogs, but that would go against company policy to post/discuss business on external sites.
So I think it would take some time to get everyone on board. But I think trying it within our team first would be a great first step.
Blog Evalution
Well, here it goes. I must admit I was a bit confused int he beginning trying to figure everything out and where everything was. I playing a bit of catch up due to other commitments last week. While I am still sorting through the various blogs and Twitter accounts, I did manage to review a couple of learning blogs.
The first is The Rapid eLearning Blog. The first thing to catch my eye was the today's post (March 16) - 10 Things to Consider Before Your E-Learning Course Goes Live. This title made a connection with me as I am currently working on 4 e-learning courses. I found the posts in the blog valuable and relevant to me. It also included good uses of examples and graphics to provide more context.
After searching through a few more blogs, I found T+D Blog. While this blog explores learning/training on a broader scale, I liked the layout and found the posts easy to read. And more importantly, I found value in reading them. With so much information out there, it seems to take more time to find a blog that you like (and is relevant) as it does to read the posts.
I tried the Google blog search to find these blog. It was a search option that I never even knew existed. I know I will use it again.
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