Start Writing Now: Overcome your fears

Finding calm in the digital storm

It’s become cliche how much we are flooded with information. The rate at which the human race acquires knowledge is set to continue to speed up. More than one futurist has predicted that in the not too distant future the total of all knowledge will double every 30 days. Whilst futurists are not too great at some predictions, recent history seems to be bearing this one out.

Technology seems to also follow this pattern. Moore’s law is the one that get’s touted out at these points in time about computing power doubling whilst expense falls at an exponential rate. One such example is the humble mobile phone.

I still have one of the first mobile phones usable in Australia from the late eighties. It was never mine, but given to me as a trade for a new mobile phone when I managed a mobile phone shop. It is an amazing device. The battery pack is about as heavy as two standard twelve volt batteries and in its heyday lasted about 12 hours. You couldn’t of course take it out of the truck it rested in, but was nothing short technological marvel at the time it was released.

Compare this to the iPhone. Now, I don’t have an iPhone and, for the time being, I’m unlikely to acquire one. It doesn’t quite meet my needs. However it provides a stark contrast to my mobile dinosaur. You can certainly make and receive telephone calls. You can also browse the web, send/receive emails, take photos, play games and, yes, you can even breath on the screen so a fog like that of a window on a cold winter’s day forms and then write messages in the fog. You can download an app that let’s you update FaceBook, Twitter and other sites wherever you are. In fact the computing power in the phone is greater than most computers around in the seventies and eighties.

A number of us will state, “It’s a phone; I just want to make and receive calls. That’s all…” That’s fine, but another group of iPhone and Web 2.0 advocates will be saying, “Yes, but what about the richness and depth of experience you are missing out on? What about everything else you can do on the phone?” The truth of the matter is, there is no right answer and many words won’t sway you one way or the other.  This is just one example of a shift in paradigm for using technology.

 Ultimately it comes down to maintaining relevance in the shifting landscape of today. If sending and receiving calls, and maybe texting the odd person, or emailing the world is keeping you up with your peers and wider world, great! If however you are feeling like you are being left behind in the race to the future, think about moving forward. Take heart though that you are no worse off than the person who adopts every new technology with the giddy glee of a school child. The second is buffeted by the winds of the initial front of the hurricane; the first is tortured by the winds as they come back round. Both struggle to maintain equilibrium. 

The place most of us should be aiming for is that calm in the middle of the storm. And this doesn’t meaning finding relevance and sitting still. Storms move forward, as does technology. To maintain control of our lives we need to be moving forward as well.

So what can we do to find our piece of calm?

Watch the innovators. You will probably know a few of these intrepid souls. They are the people that are always watching for the next big thing. Sometimes the things they try don’t work. However, the technologies they try and then continue to use are worth watching. Generally they keep an eye on new developments and begin to find uses for things as they become established. The difference between the innovators and the technophreaks is the innovator is looking for solutions that work, not marvels that amaze.

Look at your peers and wider world. If everybody you know has a FaceBook account and you don’t, consider moving forward. A good indicator of your progress is how far ahead or behind you are compared with those around you. Look at your industry, what are the prevailing standards and how have they changed? Have you kept up with that change? What can you do now to stay in touch to those around you?

Be prepared to try new things. This more or less says it all. Life is moving forward, you should too. Take up the old challenge, ‘do something once a day that scares you’. If you haven’t tried something new for a while do so and see what works for you.

Be prepared to let things go. I once had a trainer that was permanently bonded to his overhead slides and shunned all more advanced display technology. There came a day when the projectors from his unit had all been removed or broken and no one was willing to fix them. Yet he still tried to keeps his overheads. I’d heard later that in his younger years, he’d been a really progressive teacher and was one of the keen adopters of new teaching methods and styles. Unfortunately, he’d gotten into his groove and refused to be shifted. It was a shame; he was a fantastic trainer, but so much less effective because he wouldn’t move on. The stunning moves of today will become old and dated; don’t be confined to irrelevance by not letting go of them.

Remember technology does not have to be new to be innovative and relevant. This is an interesting one. There is the quote, “There is nothing new under the sun.” and this can be true.

One piece of technology Mtraining is using to great effect are the Point Of View camera glasses. They have been around for quite some time, but they are just emerging as a fantastic tool in developing training resources. Other ideas being explored are assessments and evidence gathering using the glasses.

Another idea gaining traction is SMS’s in the classroom. Amongst a certain demographic, the phones and SMS’s are being used anyway, why not harness it? 

Take up the challenge to look around you and see new uses for existing technology. You can move yourself from the “falling behind” to the innovative very quickly.

Look at the long term. Not every bit of technology lasts. Fads come and go. Technology rises and fades. You don’t need to use everything. Pick what is going to work for you today and will likely work for you in the short to medium future. Take a longer look at things. Find what works for you.

It’s about finding the mix of relevance with a digital world and not being buffeted and blown by every new technology that arises.

In the end, our peace of calm in the digital storm is different for all of us. Ask yourself a few questions: Am I relevant to my world? What technology and ideas am I hanging onto that I need to let go of? What are the innovators in my industry doing? What are the people around me doing? What technologies am I not using that I could and should use? Where are we going next? What technologies do I see lasting? What do I need to do now to move forward today?

What do you think?

Perpetuus Calx – Resolutions that Last

The new year has started and provides us with the opportunity to think about where we are, where we want to go and how we go about getting there. In short, we have thought, and in many cases made, our New Year’s resolutions.

 The idea of the New Year’s resolutions has unfortunately been tarnished by time and personal experiences. A number of notable newspaper columnists go so far as to suggest that because so many resolutions get broken, you shouldn’t bother making them in the first place. And while it is true that at least 80% of the resolutions this year are already consigned to the trash can of life, I think the idea misses the point. It is about the resolutions that last the distance and make the difference sought in the first place.  The thing most people don’t think about is that other word for resolution is GOAL.

Anyone that has read any self-help book or business building manual in the last 20 years, or for that matter have decided to watch Dr Phil, know about the goals (or resolutions) that don’t work. They are the goals that are vague, unmeasurable or simple unattainable. They are generally a good intention with no possible follow-through such as “I will be more attentive in class”, “I will make my business grow” or even “I will lose weight this year”. They are great ideas with no direction and with no way to know when you get there.

Likewise we have all heard about the goals that work, the SMART goals (or one of half a dozen other variants). Simply put the goals that work are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timetabled. You should know what you want to achieve and when you will know you have made it. Your goals should be relevant to your current situation and be able to be reached. You should have a stated time to reach your goal.  So whilst “I will grow my business” might not be so great, “I will increase revenue by 10% by June by targeting product line x or service y” fits the bill. Writing down the goal and coming back to it several times before your target date can also help and make it one of the goals or resolutions that last.

In the end, the New Year’s resolution is about finding the time and space to reflect on the journey thus far, look about where you are right now and start on the path to where you want to be.  There is no perfect time for setting goals and planning, but you are served much better by the goals you have than the ones you don’t. As the adage goes, “He who aims at nothing is sure to hit it”. There are times that seem to lend themselves to reflection and goal setting and planning. New Year is one of them. A New Year’s resolution is a good way to start the year with a plan that can make the difference.

So in this stream of thinking, what are Mtraining’s New Year’s resolutions? Well, we’ll play that a little close to the chest. Some of the ones that I’m throwing into the ring and that excite me are:

• Find at least 5 emerging or new technologies and pilot their usage with students by years end
• Create a bank of over 100 new Point Of View training resources (videos) by June 
• and personally, I’d like to help at least a few hundred excellent trainers reach their learners more effectively through innovative use of technology this year

2009 contains some awesome and really exciting possibilities. Our New Year’s resolutions are aimed at making them become real. 

What are you aiming for? Post a comment or contact us and let us help you get there.

Web 2.0, Privacy and ELearning

A couple of weeks ago, I was watching a program on ABC2 called hack and they were exploring in an open-forum style the issue of privacy and the world of Web 2.0. You can see the show at http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hackhalfhour/programs/s2359534.htm and it is well worth the watch.
It was quite interesting, and somewhat scary, how naive even supposedly sophisticated users are.

Most were totally unaware about how much information about each of participants was available online, what a phishing attack was or how seemingly easy it is for a third party to launch a dedicated identity attack against them.

A whitehat (a hacker who works for good) explained to the crowd how a spear fishing attack can occur whereby an email is sent containing information specific to the individual being targeted and looking like it came from a legitimate source, but containing a link to a spoof or fake site requesting log on details. The site looks genuine in every respect, including styling and branding, and feeling comforted by familiar surrounds a user tries to log in and in the process hands over their user name and password to a third party who then has complete access to that person’s account. Given that most people use the same password for almost everything, a successful attack can open up a user’s email account to abuse and from there a complete identity fraud, including online banking can occur. Scary stuff! The next comments from the crowd were disheartening, ’so you can get hacked by clicking on an “attachment”‘. Yes, that is true, but misses the entire point of the explanation. You were left with a sense that still most of the crowd didn’t get it. The whitehat didn’t correct; he just sat there with a sad smirk on his face.

At the very least, every user involved in a social networking site or any of the available Web 2.0 services should be aware of how much information about ourselves we give away for free. From a training perspective this should very much inform us on what we need to be communicating to our learners.

As part of the education landscape in Australia we are bound by legislation to protect our learners’ privacy and we have a duty of care to do so. This means we need to be aware and ahead of the game when it comes to how the technologies we use work and impact on privacy.

If we are using available social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace for communicating with and amongst our student, and this can be a very good thing, we need to be aware of who can see what and when. A gentle word that is completely appropriate in a face to face environment can very easily turn into an embarassing comment screamed out to a student’s friends, family and indeed the whole world by accident. As with most things, context is everything.

From an administrative point of view, if learning is occurring in an LMS of any description the LMS should be configured correctly. Any impartation of other LMS users’ details to other users needs to be at the user’s discretion. If we by means of incorrect settings allow open access of details between users without their permission, life is by no means rosy. And of course, contingency is also important. The question how to respond to a breach should be answered well before the likelihood of a breach taking place. One great resource is http://www.privacy.gov.au.

Finally we need to educate those we train on how they can protect themselves. If a learner’s details are displayed in a public space or they make a fool of themselves in spaces such as Facebook or MySpace because we didn’t prepare them adequately where does the duty of care fall? What can we do to prevent such a calamity?

Now it needn’t be all doom and gloom, but we need to approach online learning and Web 2.0 with our eyes open. Failure to use the medium and tools available to us simply limits how well we interact with the digital generation. The tools available are great and incredibly useful and I argue should be used. The question is how best to do so. 

I’m interested in your thoughts. What do you think about the whole online privacy thing and where do you sit? What challenges have you faced? Have you been subject to ID theft or know someone who has? How do you think we as trainers, teachers, educators, students and learners need to approach our own online lives and learning? Huge questions, but well worth the asking.

Learning Landscapes

One of the more interesting developments within society today has been the constant push of technology. From fridges that can communicate to the internet to TV’s that can record hours of programs to watch at your leisure. The integration of technology has become less of a conscious decision and more of a way of life.

However despite all of these technological, dare I say the word “innovations”, there is still what could been seen as a militant resistance to its integration into education beyond the simplified use of a computer or data projector. There seems to be a misunderstanding relating to the purpose of technology’s place in learning. It will be next to impossible to go into a school now and not see a single computer, projector or mobile phone. Though technology has been accepted into education as a necessity, you will still see stalwarts forcing reams of paper into students hands with the belief that they should not have to use technology.

However regardless of how technically “savvy” an educator is. You will with a majority of them still hit a proverbial brick wall getting them to integrate their learning with the internet. What many educators see as the domain of teenagers with the likes of MySpace Facebook and YouTube they instantly baulk at the idea of integrating it with their teaching. However that is where the line must be drawn for learning of any kind to occur there must be a clear definition as to where supplementary material begins and teaching starts.

What has become exponentially clear during my time at Mtraining is that no good educator will ever be replaced by the internet. All courses that I have had experience with will fail if there is not someone dedicated and committed to increasing the value of the learners education and driving the information in the direction that they believe has value to the students.

As society dives forward with the leaps and bounds of technology so to must the educators of the people that use it. Communication has never been as easy as it is today worldwide conferences are common place people can run companies from countries that they don’t live in. The internet is available to millions of people with dozens or resources about a single topic. Would it not make sense to have someone that knows enough about their area to deem which subjects are suitable and which ones are not?

Exciting Times

One of the more ambiguous Chinese curses or blessings are the words, “May you live in exciting times.” It certainly asks the question which it is. Overall, I’d have to say exciting wins out for me. At Mtraining we have been going from strength to strength and certainly been having some exciting times of our own.

One of the challenges that we have been facing is how do we best use the resources that we have. We own around 5000+ resources covering a whole raft of areas in the VET sector. These have been acquired from a range of places over a period of time and cover everything from some really good Transport and Logistics references to Food handling to Business topics under almost every Training Package used in the Australian Education Landscape.

Part of our exciting times is the process of moving these from static, unused and unknown resources to something that can be used by everybody attached to our business. We are moving these resources into an online format using our Moodle servers and updating content to bring it inline with the existing training packages. We plan to supplement this with an exhaustive range of interactive activities and videos.

The excitement is figuring out how this all works and how best to move through this process. If you have any thoughts feel free to share.