The Total Learner Experience

Social Media Sites and Data Leaks

I noticed this headline and survey today at Clearswift:

Survey Shows Organizations Susceptible to Data Leaks through Social Media Sites

Growing popularity of Web 2.0 sites put corporate information at risk and drains productivity

Survey Results highlights:

·  87 percent of office workers access Web 2.0 sites each week, with 63 percent accessing the sites one or more times a day;

·  51 percent of office workers spend one or more hours a week using and accessing Web 2.0 sites when at work;

·  46 percent of office workers have discussed work-related issues on social media websites;

·  71 percent of office workers use Web-based email at work for personal reasons; and

· 50 per cent of office workers believe that employees should be entitled to access Web 2.0 Internet content from their work computer for personal reasons.

 

 

Arguing for Better Usability

I'm interested in using wikis to promote communication between members of our work team. I encouraged several non-technical people on the team to use a project wiki I set up. As the team began to use the wiki to share ideas, files, and important links to relevant documents, we consistently hit bumps on the road of usability. An example of a usability problem we encountered is the simple task of deleting an attachment. Comparing the wiki software we're using at Sun to that of the free wikispaces site, compare the difference:

 
 

Our wiki software requires a command-line to perform the simple task of deleting an attachment or page. To successfully construct a delete command, I had to review syntax which consumed 20 minutes of my time (granted the image I was trying to delete had a special character in the filename; however that special character was added to the filename when it was attached to the wiki page by the software). To delete a page from my wikispaces wiki, I simply click a delete button, taking approximately 5 seconds.

Usability is a key factor in gaining adoption of a software tool. We need to find a way to apply usability factors when designing applications to promote higher levels of communication and productivity.

Blending the Physical and Virtual Selves

While watching the Project Darkstar videocast by Chris Melissinos I was struck by the business use of the technology. This technology allows true immersion of the physical self into a virtual environment. Perfect for my team here at Sun where several of us are located in Colorado, and a few located here in Northern California. In April, we're traveling to Colorado for a team summit.

 With this technology, instead of physically traveling to Colorado, me and my colleague could simply step into a virtual conference room with the other team members and experience meeting "face to face."

The thought of blending your physical and virtual selves brings to mind how your once separate identities can work together to increase efficiency and productivity. With technology like this, my virtual self can do the things my physical self can't: I can fly to Colorado in seconds...My virtual self can be researching new technologies, performing Google searches, compiling documents for my physical self to review later. While I'm sunning at the beach, my virtual self is slaving away over the computer keyboard... what a nice thought.
 

Game Design Tips

When designing a learning game, make sure you integrate the following components:

• Points (scoring)
• Power-Ups (Collect objects to make the game more rewarding)
• Leveling (Create short, intermediate, and long-term goals)
• Virtual Prizing (Add rewards and incentives)
  
• Make completion attainable (Don't make the game too hard for your audience to gain satisfaction from completion)
  

Make the game work by gaining learner attention from the start, and balance the play: set clear expectations, but add an element of surprise as well.

• Points (scoring)
• Power-Ups (Collect objects to make the game more rewarding)
• Leveling (Create short, intermediate, and long-term goals)
• Virtual Prizing (Add rewards and incentives)
  
• Make completion attainable (Don't make the game too hard for your audience to gain satisfaction from completion)
  

Make the game work by gaining learner attention from the start, and balance the play: set clear expectations, but add an element of surprise as well.

Data Permanence

Now that all historical archives can be stored, retrieved and processed digitally, our whole relationship to history is going through significant changes that we are only beginning to identify and discuss. Digital age historians have the following material to draw from, report and manipulate:

    * Approximately 3000 years of written documents
    * Approximately 500 years of print
    * Approximately 150 years of photography
    * Approximately 120 years of audio recording
    * Approximately 100 years of motion pictures
    * Approximately 70 years of “talkie” motion pictures
    * Approximately 50 years of television
    * Approximately two decades of camcorder videos
    * Approximately one decade of computer hypertext and interactive multimedia

Sticky learning

We should re-consider how we think of what we do when creating learning interventions to inspire learners to action.

The process of creating a learning intervention is traditionally thought of as a service. Instead of developing turn-key learning solutions, maybe we should consider providing platforms and tools for learners to use to collaborate with each other, and springboard organic knowledge clusters that live on virtually and physically for as long as necessary.

If we create the rules, provide the systems, and orchestrate the action, the participants will evolve the content, and move others to action as well.

Our learning initiatives should be built on community, platforms, and resources, not stale, static content.
 

Knowledge Networks

We need to organically grow personal knowledge networks within Sun. This means we should design a platform a bit more robust than blog comments.

Maybe wikis can serve as a foundation. A way to ask a question, wait for answers, and then engage in discussion around the answers is what we need. Add a way to reward those that answer, and capture the knowledge shared for others to browse.

Reliable searching and a usable interface is necessary for it to succeed. Yahoo is doing interesting things around this concept with their Ask/Answer portal. (answers.yahoo.com). Customizable avatars, searchability, reward and incentives, etc.

This construct can help elevate informal learning within our teams. We need knowledge networks.
 

What do instructional designers design?

I found this interesting presentation by Don Morrison where he begs the question: What do Instructional Designers Design?

The pressure to produce more with less time and money is relentless. As the march of technology moves onward, the word new becomes our morning wake-up call everyday. The newest models, the newest formats for delivery, the newest is always so new, and we have to constantly filter it.

 Which makes Don's question relevant. Sometimes I wonder what we really design...learning, training, experiences, rich-media, etc?

As the quality of instructional design gets worse, it does get cheaper.

As the quality of instructional design gets better, it costs more.

 Simple. That will never change.