Interested In E-Learning, Online Training, etc.
Let's start right up front with the "free stuff". Since our last
issue, we've added tons of free stuff, including e-books, book
summaries, even online courses to our sites. I'd suggest visiting our
small business blog (free stuff area) at: http://smallbusiness411.org/wp/category/free/
and the entire free2thee site at http://free2thee.com .
Free-Of Interest to Trainers, Educators, and HR
But here's some highlights, starting off with some interesting free
white papers for trainers, HR professionals, and those otherwise
involved in learning, or elearning and online learning. For brevity,
I'll list just the titles, since they are indicative of the topics +
the links in shortened form so they fit properly in your reader.
PLEASE, if you are interested, get them NOW. These offers tend to be
discontinued suddenly. Offers require registration (the companies are
reputable, and we access their material often), and there is NO limit
on the number of white papers you can request. So, browse.
How to Promote the Value of Online Training Within Your Organization:
http://bit.ly/2QHHG2
How to Market Training: Four Principles of Effective Online Learning:
http://bit.ly/3WDJwN
Five Keys to Getting Started with Interactive Online Training:
http://bit.ly/x6aDl
Moving Training Online: Benefits and Best Practices (Free Webinar):
http://bit.ly/qWbFS
Free-For Everyone
One of the amazing things about the Internet now is the availability
of free courses offered by some of the best universities in the world,
including M.I.T., Stanford, Harvard -- I think you get the drift. Now,
of course, it's not quite like being there, but neither is it going to
cost you $20,000 a year. In fact, it will cost you nothing. We are
actively hunting down some of the more interesting offerings, and we
are listing them.
For business and management type courses try here:
http://free2thee.com/category/free_online_courses/management-free_online_courses/
For HR related, try here: http://free2thee.com/category/free_online_courses/human_resources/
We'll be hunting and adding all the time, so don't wait for us to
update you. Visit the blog at http://free2thee.com, use the rss feed
if you want, and feel free to post a comment asking for what you are
looking for. Chances are if you are looking, so are others.
Special Feature:
Why Technology Never Has The Expected Positive Impact on Learning and
Teaching
This article is also available online at: http://bit.ly/oUbOR along
with a number of user comments. Please feel free to add yours. Also,
there are some other interesting and related issues regarding
technology, such as its inability to actually solve human problems,
and its relative ineffectiveness in increasing productivity,
particular for white collar jobs. Enjoy.
One thing that happens as you age, and provided you've been paying
attention, is that patterns seem to emerge. You hear some people
talking, and you can quickly determine what is going on, hostile,
friendly, business, personal, whatever, from the patterns exhibited.
Many things start to look familiar.
And you get the feeling you've seen most things before. Because you
have.
That's why it's so interesting to see the claims, hopes, even demands
made by those in the business of peddling learning and training
solutions that are technologically, rather than humanly based. Or the
similar claims and demands made by converts to the newest faith based
"movements" like social learning and e-learning.
"A powerful force—unlike any in history—is altering the learning
profession's landscape", Tony Bingham, President of ASTD says. "You
will become irrelevant", another learning professional expounds. "Your
business will disappear", yet another pundit screams. Yet, it all
seems so familiar.
Now, it's true that there have been technological innovations that
HAVE had profound effects on how people live, and society in general,
going from movable type, telegraph and telephone, television,
mainframe computers, personal computers, inter-connectivity, and the
Internet. Oddly enough, though only ONE of these (the Gutenberg Press)
has had an appreciable revolutionary impact on how people learn.
Television, telephone, mainframes, pc's etc were all touted as
revolutionary in terms of how they would change the education system,
and the learning process. I can personally remember the claims
regarding television when I was in elementary school, and the claims
for computer assisted instruction on mainframes and so on. And, the
hopes for the personal computer. I was "there" for the latter two.
Our school district bought dozens of expensive TV's, ultimately used
once or twice a year (the walk on the moon was one time). Schools went
out and bought APPLE II's, which promptly ended up gathering dust,
useless. Computer assisted instruction, by and large didn't go very
far.
Despite all the claims, the "buzz" (it wasn't called that then), the
investment of huge amounts of resources, NONE of these revolutionized
learning. And I'll let you in on a secret. The newest technologies
aren't going to either (but see the exception at the end). Why?
There are several reasons. One has to do with people as human beings.
The other has to do with systems. The first is the more profound and
immutable. The second can be addressed.
First, while proponents of "social learning" have taken the term and
bastardized it, there's a kernel of value to the term. In essence ALL
learning is social. Knowledge is a social construction and often the
effectiveness of lack in terms of what someone learns is determined in
the context of interacting with other people. If knowledge is social,
and validation of learning is social, then ultimately, learning is
also social.
Most important is that generally, learning works best when it involves
interactions of real human beings in real time. That's the best way to
get in depth learning happening, and it's a major rational reason why
the ancient model of one person telling (stories) to many, then
interacting with them, has been with us for thousands of years. That's
not to say that it is perfect. It's not. But humans, quite simply,
like to learn in relatively "high touch" circumstances. That is, they
like to learn from humans with humans, and the interactions enables
more learning of different types.
Clearly, learning by reading a book is not the same as sitting with
the author for the same length of time. It's simply different. In
exactly the same way interacting with a machine to learn is not the
same as talking with someone directly.
One mistake techno's make is believing that interactions via
technology will be equal to, the same, or be able to replace live,
face to face interaction in real time.
The clear error made over and over is that given content to be
learned, any medium can be used to get the identical results, but
newer media are more effective and preferred by learners.
It's not so. What happens is that any medium that is made more
"efficient" by the elimination of real time human interaction and
contact unmediated by machines, will be perceived as unpleasant,
boring, uninspiring by most learners, particularly over time. Can you
imagine watching television for learning, 7 hours a day? Or sitting at
a computer for that period of time? Or even reading? Every day?
Of course not. The human contact makes it work. It allows questions.
You can test your learning with a real human being who can help, or
congratulate, make you feel good, (or bad). Not even "real time"
machine mediated interactions can do that. YES, technology can help.
But it will never yield the positive impact on learning and teaching
that is claimed, because it cannot replace humans in the learning
process. Sadly, often disappointment when the claims and expected
impacts do not occur results in the shelving of the whole technology
even if it would have some value.
Ultimately it's the LEARNERS who say: NO. They said no to learning by
watching television, NO to programmed instruction, NO to language labs
with tape recorders, NO to computer mediated instruction (unless you
forced them) NO to interactive video discs, and they will continue to
go back to human interactions for learning, formal or otherwise.
We are social. There is no dispute over that in the scientific
community. Social does NOT mean connecting via machines. It means
connecting IN PERSON. It means high touch. This will not change, at
least in the near future.
Systems Issues
Systems issues are a bit different. We learn within, and educate
within structures that have evolved for practical reasons, rather than
in ways that maximized learning for each individual. It's a tough
thing, really. The bottom line is our systems are created with a
certain mind set about learning, into which technological solutions do
not fit well.
Technology gets "stuck on" like a band aid" rather than integrated
into a learning system that works seamlessly.
We have many questions about study and learning that takes place
outside the institutions we have. We need to certify and protect and
fulfil other social obligations, and that creates integration issues
with individually based technology based learning. In any event, it is
theoretically possible the world's systems will evolve to allow for
intelligent technological use that works. But there are many barriers.
Exceptions
There will be some exceptions. If and when we can create virtual
worlds and simulations that are, in effect indistinguishable from real
face to face interaction, we will be as close as we can get (without
implanted electrodes and DNA/RNA stuff) to superior technologically
based learning. Of course, that'd be pretty freaky. Clearly that would
alter the world, and how learning occurs.
Would it replace the desire and need for face 2 face interaction in
the real world? Maybe. Maybe not. Probably not. Got to keep an open
mind.
Comments? http://bit.ly/oUbOR
We Have To Do A Little Business.
I have a suspicion that the more one relies on technology, the more
one tends to become a servant of technology. It seems I've spent the
majority of my work time the last while struggling with programs that
crash, computers that misbehave, webservers that break, and on and on.
But the final straw is that in a space of a few days, two essential
tools for my life bit the dust. First, my GPS, which I absolutely rely
upon for driving directions, developed a cracked face after only 11
months. And, then my Ipod Classic locked up and died. So, the upshot
is we need to make money to pay for these "essentials" (Who am I
kidding here? Probably no one)
Ok. You know, we actually sell things. Well, there's a book on
defusing hostile customers, and one on preventing unnecessary
conflict, and then there's are unique series of helpcards.
People tell me I should write this high pressure, BS type sales hype,
and I just can't. So, if you are looking to increase your ability to
delegate, or communicate or present to tough groups, or to do
performance appraisals, the scoot over to http://busylearners.com and
browse. Buy something.
Oh, and when you get to http://busylearners.com, the first time, you
will see (at the top) the discount that will be applicable to your
entire order. Everyone will get one who pays attention, and they range
from 20% to 50% off your order. There's the usual, we reserve the
right to limit quantities and that kind of thing.
Before We Go: Reprise
Do You Believe Learning By Doing is a Superior Learning Method? Is
Your Hamster Smarter Than You?
I'm at it again, puncturing some of the "wisdom" that is accepted as
truth in the training field. Enjoy, and be sure to read the comments
made on the article.
Our Sites:
Just a quick summary of our sites that have information on the
following topics:
Free Learning Stuff: http://free2thee.com
Small Business Resource Center: http://smallbusiness411.org
Small Business Blog (new material): http://smallbusiness411.org/wp/
Leadership Resource Center: http://work911.com/leadership-development/index.html
Communication Resource Center: http://www.work911.com/communication/index.htm
Conflict (both workplace and family) http://conflict911.com
Business, Strategic and Personal Planning: http://www.work911.com/planningmaster/index.html
Performance Management & Appraisal: http://performance-appraisals.org
Customer Service: http://customerservicezone.com
Our Main Site: http://www.work911.com
Multi-Purpose Articles Database: http://www.articles911.com
To new subscribers: The work911 newsletter is published no more than
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contains other work related resources, and updates about our sites,
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Don't forget that you can access free, useable previews of over twenty
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