From: Lance Dublin
[lance@dublinconsulting.net] Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2007 4:07
AM To: lance@dublinconsulting.net Subject: News and Views
and Invitations - February 2007
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D-Letter
from DUBLIN
CONSULTING
February 2007
Dear Lance,
Welcome to the February issue of the D-
Letter.
In this issue I want to share with you an amazing video on Web
2.0, rant at you about mental models and courses, introduce you to
the e-learning / learning tune-up, invite you to my next 'Let's Get
Serious' Webinar on Learning 2.0, and tell you about two other
February events.
Thank you for joining me. As always, I welcome your comments and
feedback. Don't hold back.
Let's Get Serious About
Learning@the-Speed-of-Work/Life
On Thursday, February 22nd join me for the second webinar
in my Winter Series, Let's Get Serious About New
Learning Technologies: Learning-at-the- Speed of Work/Life
The vision of learning-at-the-speed-of-work/life is
becoming closer to a reality. Blogs and v-logs, wikis and
group chat, podcasts and VODS , RSS and social networks all
make it possible to enhance, extend and enable learning in
ways we have never imagined before. The world of learning 2.0
is upon us. And, as always, it's often difficult to separate
out fact from fiction, truth from possibility, leading edge
from bleeding edge, opportunity from misadventure. This is the
session for those of you ready to take a serious look at the
latest learning technologies and understand how to effectively
apply them in your organization.
You and your colleagues are invited to join me for this
FREE webinar on Thursday, February 22nd from 2:00 - 3:00pmEST.
I look forward to 'seeing' you online.
P.S. If you want to review a recording of the first webianr
in this series, Let's Get Serious About New Learning
Approaches, click on the Quick Link.
It's Time for a Tune-Up: Get Peak Performance from Your
e-Learning / Learning Programs
No doubt about it. If you owned an expensive car, you would
regularly take it in for a tune-up. Shouldn’t you do the same
with your much more costly e-learning / learning programs?
Companies everywhere are trying to do more with less.
And they know the way to put off major purchases is by getting
the extra mile out of what they already have in place -
spending a little on ‘preventive maintenance’ and increased
performance rather than a lot on a new vehicle or adding more
‘options’.
I'm not the only one talking about the value of tune-ups.
The theme of Elliott Masie's LMS 2007 Learning Systems User
Group is "Take Your LMS for a Tune-Up". I'd like to say 'great
minds think alike', but it's an idea that just makes sense
now.
Your e-learning / learning programs have been around a
while and they have some miles on them. But, when was the last
time you stopped what you were doing to re-think your
strategy, re-visit your overall learning architecture,
re-consider your technologies, re-examine your processes? When
was the last time you stoppped to consider what it would take
to increase usage, expand your impact, and deliver more
meaningful business results?
That time is now.
Give me a call or send me an email and let's start a
conversation about the kind of tune-up that is right for your
organization.
February 25th-28th -- Training 2007 in Orlando: Join me
for a panel on leadership development, and sessions on
aligning your learning/e-learning strategy with your
organization's needs and implementing your e-learning by
motivating learners and managers, and energizing
organizations to produce results
February 27th - eLearning Forum in San Jose: Don
Tapscott, one of the world's leading business strategists,
shares insights from his new best selling book (co-author
Anthony Williams) Wikimonics: How Mass Collaboration
Changes Everything
I look forward to seeing you at either event or both!
Where is the proof that the course is the most effective
means to train people, to organize and present powerful
learning, to ensure people acquire and apply new skills and
knowledge? I've searched the Internet and have yet to uncover
that conclusive scientific study that proves beyond the shadow
of a doubt what appears to be a commonly understood and shared
belief, courses = learning.
So then, how did we - and I mean the learning profession -
become so enamored with courses? How did it come to pass we
think about most learning events as courses? We plan learning
in course containers? We implement systems to launch and track
courses? How did we become so sure that courses = learning?
I believe it's because of our collective mental model.
Peter Senge in his book "The Fifth Discipline: The art and
practice of the learning organization" said mental models are
"deeply ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or even
pictures or images that influence how we understand the world
and how we take action."
What must have been the mental models of these gentlemen
and the people of their time?
"The telephone may be appropriate for our American
cousins, but not here, because we have an adequate supply of
messenger boys." - British experts, c.1900
"Aircraft are interesting toys, but of no military
value." - Marshal Foch, France, 1912
"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial
value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in
particular?" - Associates of David Sarnoff, manager of an
early US radio network, 1920s.
"I think there is a world market for as many as 5
computers." - Thomas Watson, head of IBM,1943.
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in
their home." - Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment
Corporation, 1977
But are we falling into the same trap with our mental
models for courses? Can you imagine how learning might take
place without courses? Can you envision how teachers might
teach and learners might learn without courses? Can you
consider the possibility that courses have more to do with
economics than learning?
It's time we seriously challenge this mental model. It's
time we let go of the mistaken belief that courses = learning.
