Jane's Pick of the Day

Social Media is not going away; so it's time to embrace it not ban it

I've just read an article in Mashable - The case for Social Media in Schools.  It begins with an a example of how a teacher, Elizabeth Delmatoff is using social media in her 7th grade class, and then states ..

"At a time when many teachers are made wary by reports of predators and bullies online, social media in the classroom is not the most popular proposition. Teachers like Delmatoff, however, are embracing it rather than banning it. They argue that the educational benefits of social media far outweigh the risks, and they worry that schools are missing out on an opportunity to incorporate learning tools the students already know how to use."

The article then provides six reasons why other schools should do the same, the first one being - Social Media are not going away, and explains

"When schools have tried to ban social media, now an integral part of a young person’s life, they’ve had negative results."

Of course, it's not just schools that are wary of social media, businesses are too, and like schools they have found it easier to ban social media than to understand how to harness the benefits it can bring to them in the business as a whole (not just for training) by encouraging their people to use it.

Recently, I compiled a resource - 10 reasons NOT to ban social media in organisations - with the help of over 30 contributors

... and my article, It's time to welcome social media, not ban it, has just appeared in September's edition of elearning age Magazine.

Of course, schools and businesses will still have their concerns, so an important first step is to help them, as well as their pupils or workers, understand how to use it safely, responsibly and effectively.  (I run a one-day workshop for businesses that addresses these issues, and ensures that both managers and workers feel confident and comfortable with its use.)  

This is also the view of the Mashable article, which concludes

"Nobody would dispute that the risks of children using social media are real and not to be taken lightly. But there are also dangers offline. The teachers and parents who embrace social media say the best way to keep kids safe, online or offline, is to teach them."

Working Smarter in Terra Nova Circa 2015

The latest eLearn magazine newsetter gives details of what's new in eLearn magazine.  It includes the following entry

 “Working Smarter in Terra Nova Circa 2015”

By Jay Cross, Jane Hart, Charles Jennings, Harold Jarche, Clark Quinn, and Jon Husband

In an exclusive eLearn Magazine article, an e-learning all star team of authors defines the new learning age, approaching in the next 2 to 5 years: Terra Nova!

Unlike the industrial age, when workers were told they were not paid to think, or the information age, when people were encouraged to think but only "inside the box," Terra Nova embraces a dynamic flow of power, authority, know-how, and trust.

Change is so fast and furious that work and learning blur into one activity. Workers respond to novel situations as best they see fit, governed by the organization's values and their own gut feelings. Read on to learn about the new learning landscape.

Take a look and leave your comments

Top 5 ways to use Augmented Reality in Education

Johnny Kissko wrote to tell me about a series of postings he is writing on the top 5 ways to use augmented reality in education.  Although this is aimed at K-12 education I thought I would share it with you as it is interesting reading!

Here are the postings so far

1. Second Life [mobile learning]
2. iPhone AR Apps
3. Xbox 360 Kinect
4. Toozla

Johnny's blog is K-12 Mobile Learning

30 ways to use social media to work smarter #some4job

What does it mean to work smarter?  Jay Cross defines working smarter, in The Working Smarter Fieldbook, as follows:

"Working smarter is the key to sustainability and continuous improvement. Knowledge work and learning to work smarter are becoming indistinguishable. The accelerating rate of change in business forces everyone in every organization to make a choice: learn while you work or become obsolete."

Would you like to find out more about how to use a range of social media tools to work smarter?  This resource looks at 30 ways to use social media to

• find things out on the Social Web
• keep up to date with new content on the Social Web
• build a trusted network of colleagues
• communicate with your colleagues
• share resources, ideas and experiences with your colleagues
• collaborate with your colleagues
• improve your personal and team productivity

This resource is now available online both as an ondemand resource (to dip in and out of as you like) or as a 30-day uncourse (where you can work alongside others on the materials).  The next uncourse starts 1 October. 

Whichever option you choose, remember: use of this resource is totally under your control; you decide what you want to spend time on and when you do it.   No one is monitoring, tracking or managing your learnng!  

Over 200 people have already accessed the materials, and here is just one email I received from a participant:

"I am a current participant in the September some4job ‘uncourse’ and have to say I am quite enjoying it.  I really like the idea of a short pre-determined time but no requirements to keep up or hand things in.  Your topics are great too and of interest to me.  I will be recommending my faculty join the next round."

Find out more about the resource here, and how to access it: 30 ways to use social media to work smarter.

Kno - the digital textbook system

I have just been sent this link to Kno by someone in my professional network.  The information on the home page drew me in straightaway  ..

"While no one was looking, someone revolutionized the textbook, higher education, and learning itself in one crazy, bold move."

Yes, it’s a digital textbook. Yes, it’s a whole new ecosystem. Two spacious panels. Touch-screen interaction. A fully-stocked store. Video. Note-taking. Sharing and community.

Kno is everything a textbook was. And will be.

Take a look!  What do you think?

Kno

Creately turns one

Creately is a collaborative diagramming software.  It lets users invite team-members and clients collaborate on flowcharts, software designs, wireframes and business diagrams easily.

Yesterday Creately celebrated its first birthday by announcing a major product update to its online collaborative diagramming platform introducing new capabilities and features.

Creately now comes with a refreshed interface, brand new customizable smart objects for Wireframing, UML and Database designs and the Creately Diagram Viewer. 

Read more on the Creately Blog

The New Social Learning : Book review

Today I want to review another valuable book about social learning, that was officially released yesterday  - The New Social Learning - written by Tony Bingham and Marcia Conner. 

So what is the book about and for whom is it intended? Tony and Marcia explain in the Introduction  ...

"We wrote this book for senior executives, managers at all levels, and the people rising quickly to those posts. Rather than simply address leaders focused on education delivery models, trainers thinking about instructional design, or even technologists fascinated by tools, we explore the application of social media in all aspects of talent management: recruitment, engagement, retention, capacity, and capability. We look at the power of social learning and share compelling stories from companies that validate the value of collaborative technologies to elevate and accelerate business and employee impact."

Marcia also points out on her blog:

"it’s the first book to showcase how social media tools can be used inside organization to connect people and spur innovation–both for learning and for improving the bottom line. It’s chock full of case studies, examples, approaches to address the critics, and lessons learned"

I was fortunate to receive a preview copy of the book and very happy to endorse it as follows:

"This book is both inspirational and at the same time pragmatic, as it explains how the new social learning can transform the workplace. Learning managers cannot fail to be excited by the new possibilities of harnessing social media to facilitate social learning in their organizations.”

If you want to take a peek inside, then you can see the list of endorsements, the contents list, the Foreword by Dan Pink, and a substantial chunk of Chapter 1,HERE

The Book is available for purchase on Amazon (both as paperback and Kindle versions); here are direct links to it on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Social Learning : the video

Thanks to Conrado Schlochauer of LAB SSJ in Brazil for sharing this video with me - and thanks for the mention!

Google Instant - Search as you type

Just in case you missed the news, yesterday Google introduce Google Instant - a new search enhancement that shows results as you type.

Watch the video below, where Jonathan Effrat, the Product Manager,  talks about Google Instant

Here are a few of the core features in Google Instant:

• Dynamic Results - Google dynamically displays relevant search results as you type so you can quickly interact and click through to the web content you need.
• Predictions - One of the key technologies in Google Instant is that we predict the rest of your query (in light gray text) before you finish typing. See what you need? Stop typing, look down and find what you’re looking for.
• Scroll to search - Scroll through predictions and see results instantly for each as you arrow down.

Read more about Google Instant here

DeweyDigger

Another resource from the hand of Dan Weaver, Dewey Digger

"Explore knowledge via the Dewey Decimal Classification; just clickety-click".