Posted 7:16 PM by George Siemens
I've been thinking about the process needed to move resources online...I took a stab at it several months ago with the article: A Learning Development Model For Today’s Students and Organizations. In that article, I focused on organizational responses needed to meet a changing culture...and a sample development model. What I'm focusing on now is the actual process an instructor/teacher/trainer would utilize to move online. Here's a quick sketch of the process:

1. Profile the audience...who are the learners? What are their needs? What kind of technology do they have - connection, software?
   
2. Design outcomes...even if they are kept invisible. Outcomes are as useful for designer (or more so) as they are for the learner. Outcomes create the organizational structure of a unit of learning/course/module.
   
3. Design objectives. Objectives are subsets of outcomes. An outcome should have about 3 - 5 objectives.
   
4. Design content and plan presentation...select media based on characteristics...and how those characteristics relate to learning outcomes (for example, higher level outcomes (synthesis) should not be matched with media with lower level characteristics (reading text).
   
5. Design interactions for each objective
   
6. Design evaluation for objectives/outcomes
   
7. Design synthesis/integration activity for each outcome
   
8. Design feedback strategy - formative and summative. Feedback is the critical process that informs and instructs instruction.
   
9. Select technology based on intended learning desired and unique situation of the profiled audience/learner...for example, a mandatory course for a large number of geographically dispersed staff (with limited access to high speed Internet connections) would require the use of asynchronous presentation (perhaps largely text)...or the use of CD/DVD's. The formula is: learner+learner situation+intended outcomes+company needs+company resources=technology utilized.
   

Posted 7:06 PM by George Siemens
Heterarchies: A Balance for De/centralization
Quote: "Finding an optimal balance between decentralization and centralization as organizing concept for business architectures...Researching Heterarchies as an organizing concept may provide some answers."
Comment: See Doc's and Ross Mayfield's excellent coverage of the Supernova Conference (theme: the decentralized future)

Posted 6:56 PM by George Siemens
Trouble in nanoland: The truth about nanotechnology via Roland Piquepaille's Technology Trends
Quote: "Scientific journals, market research organizations and the financial and business press cover nanotechnology from every angle. Wall Street has jumped on the bandwagon: Merrill Lynch published the first nanotechnology equity report this September. Science magazine named nanotechnology the Breakthrough of the Year, and NEC has touted its nanotechnology research in corporate ads."
Comment: Quick overview of nanotechnology (science of really, really small stuff)...lists six main categories. Worth a quick read...this is a technology that will continue to grow in prominence.

Posted 6:45 PM by George Siemens
How to make a CoP fly?
Quote: "First, we have identified 10 actions items to create a successful Community of Practice. There are 10 fundamental questions you need to ask before starting a CoP..."
Comment: Includes 10 questions to ask before starting...10 pointers on how to manage...and 10 pitfalls to avoid.

Posted 10:49 AM by George Siemens
Overcoming Your Resistance to Distance Learning
Quote: "Often when asked to prove the value of e-learning, I am asked to provide facts that show just how effective e-learning is over traditional classroom-based instruction; time has shown me that such an approach changes few minds if any. I believe that's the wrong argument...The true debate is why students and instructors resist learning through the Internet and why many who attempt to do so fail."
Comment: I agree - the debate about online/classroom effectiveness is misguided. The real issue is one of understanding the characteristics of each medium...and then selecting the approach that best meets learning needs, budget, timelines, audience size, location, etc. Both classroom and elearning are tools - selected based on their ability to achieve solve problems (gee, have I said that before? :)).

Posted 9:37 AM by George Siemens
LMS and LCMS: What's the Difference?
Quote: "In essence, an LMS is a high-level, strategic solution for planning, delivering, and managing all learning events within an organization, including online, virtual classroom, and instructor-led courses...In contrast, the focus of an LCMS is on learning content. It gives authors, instructional designers, and subject matter experts the means to create e-learning content more efficiently."
Comment: Gives a decent overview of the differences between LMS/LCMS (the best articles I've come across explaining this is: LCMS = LMS + CMS [RLOs]. A new technology is often defined by the things it needs to make explicit in order to be understood (i.e. - what does our product do that others don't...or why need this product). Sometimes, the benefit derived from a product is presented as being achievable only through "product XYZ" or in a particular formation. This is false...and I think this is my issue with both LMS and LCMS. These products are presented (often unspoken) as being the only/best way to "do" elearning...leaving the victims of a sales presentation to think that no other viable options exist. This, no doubt, explains WebCT/Blackboard's rapid growth - their products have been positioned as being the backbone of elearning...and now LCMS companies want a piece of the action by positioning their products as being the backbone of learning object creation/management. The functions that LMS/LCMS provide are no doubt an important element of elearning...currently, however, we are only seeing a one-sided, corporate driven picture.

Posted 7:58 AM by George Siemens
I love the concept of wikis ("A Wiki is a collaboratively-edited website which many people also view as an anarchistic publishing tool. The distinguishing feature of wikis is that they typically allow all users to edit any page, with full freedom to edit/change/delete the work of previous authors"). Education, in particular, could benefit from the use of wikis...via a student created resource that is honed and expanded with each class...a true "spiraled" resource. See Wikipedia for an example of a large wiki project. I'd like to explore this as an option for creating organizational KM resource page - basically a listing of what we know. KM wiki?...hmm.