Tech4learning

The Big Wide World of Web 2.0 in Your Pocket

I've got a number of books on the go at the moment...and too few long train rides in which to finish them...but my latest learning technologies book arrived this week and having gotten over how small it was, compared to the picture on Amazon, I was amazed to see how much content had been fitted onto its small pages and how easy it was to read.

And it's packed full of new information for anyone who is looking to see how they could embed Web 2.0 technologies into their learning solutions.  "Blogs, Wikis, MySpace and More" is big on the "more".

Each chapter starts with a good overview of a handful of the main players in that area.  So in the blogging chapter, space is given over to Blogger; Del.icio.us takes pride of place in the tagging section; whilst Second Life and MySpace lead the virtual worlds and social network chapters.  But at the end of each section, the author lists out a much wider range of alternative players in that area and for me, that's where the true value of this book lies, in revealing a wealth of numerous other providers who could offer services for corporate learning...even it they don't yet know it themselves.

I'll be particularly looking at the chapters on Web 2.0 for education and knowledge, personal management tools (some great collaborative scheduling programs in there) and the wikis and collaboration section.

Here's One I Prepared Earlier!

Starting this post, I'm reminded of a former colleague who always seemed to have a PowerPoint for every occasion on their laptop.  And this was pre-Web 2.0 and the sharing of user-generated content, so it was all the result of their considerable experience across all dimensions of the corporate learning arena.  But today, shouldn't it be easier to find the content we need, even if in our closest circle of colleagues, we are the the only "expert" in that field?

Well, today I discovered SlideShare.net, a sharing site that does exactly what it says....shares PowerPoint slides in all manner of topics.  It looks just like YouTube.  You can search for presentations by key terms and embed and download (if the author has permitted this) the presentations.  And as with video sharing sites, once you have found a presentation, the system presents other possible options too, based on mutual key words. 

The author can add a written transcript below the slides, although you have to scroll through any reader comments to reach this.  Ideally, the author will have added an audio narration to their slides turning it into a so-called SlideCast, which really does make the content come alive.  This is done after first uploading the slides, then adding the MP3 audio file.

I started my own favourites collection off with some presentations about the things I discuss on this blog.  Clearly there is still room for more sharing in the topic of learning technologies for the corporate environment, as the same few slides get coming up time and time again.  Maybe in this area of training we're still keeping new developments to our chest, or despite telling those around us that user-created content that's shared widely via Web 2.0 is the thing, we're less likely to do it ourselves.  But if you're looking for inspiration to help you get started on a certain topic, say leadership, then there's lots more to choose from.

You can make the sharing easier by using the two widgets produced by the site.  One allows you to put a logo onto a webpage, that links directly to your presentations.  Or, as I've done, you can place a panel into your website or blog, that shows a selection of your choice of presentations.

I did wonder about copyright.  Some of the authors had also thought about this and more should investigate taking out some basic protection via the Creative Commons approach.  Some had removed the option to download their slides too.  If someone does embed your slides into their own website or blog (as I've done below with this very recent and topical presentation), then this is shown through a nice feature, the SlideShow Statistics, that highlights where your presentation has ended up.

| View | Upload your own

It is possible to make your slideshows private - great if you want to use the site to share slides with your participants or clients and a good way to convert your PowerPoint presentations into narrated "rapid e-learning-ish" modules.

Of course, it strikes me that the caveat "borrower beware" should apply to the reuse of content from this site.  I read that The Times newspaper has banned the use of Wikipedia as a research tool in its newsroom, so similarly we need to take care to ensure that what we reuse is accurate. 

So now I need to do my bit and contribute to this site.

(For those outside the UK, another explanation of this posting's title:  "Here's one I prepared earlier" is a popular catch phrase from the BBC's flagship children's TV programme, Blue Peter).

Boxed to Go

In my last posting, I promised that I'd report back once I'd had the chance to try out the remote access of my saved files via the box.net service.

Well, I was delighted with the results.  I first logged on from my o2 XDA exec personal organiser and was - it has to be said - amazed at how quick the sign-in procedure was and how I could view my Word documents, together with graphics files on the PDA's screen.  Everything was presented using the same folder structure I saw on the main website and I could open each file and view it on-screen, as if I was at my desktop.  I could also share content with others (using their e-mail address) from within the application.  Great it you're on the road and you need to send something to someone.

A few days later, I took out my Nokia N80 and browsed to the mobile box.net site. Now my PDA is powered by the Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system, so I guess I expected it to work fine, but I was even more delighted at how easy my phone could reach my folders.  Again, they were organised in the same way and could be shared.  My Nokia phone, even with its small screen, was also able to render all the content, including the Word documents in near-perfect quality, not that different from the original files.

This is a great service, combining essential on-line back-up of important files, with the ability to access and share them on the move.  If you're a virtual trainer, coach or mentor, always on the go, and need quick access to your resources, then this is a service I'm pleased to recommend.

Boxed to Share

Now this blog is all about sharing useful information about the learning technologies solutions I encounter during my everyday activities.  Today's posting is definitely something I wanted to share and with some thought, it could be a useful addition to a tool set for collaborative learning.

Having suffered two PC crashes in the last month or two - my old computer is on its last legs - I've been looking around for a web-based service to store back-ups of my most important files.  I'm really "hot" on user interface and all the solutions I'd found through web searches hadn't sold themselves well to me.  But today, a business associate mentioned the box.net service, so I took a look and within 10 minutes had signed up for their free 14-day trial and having uploaded my key files this evening, I'm sure I'll stick with them.

Easy uploading isn't the only feature I liked about this product that offers attractive options for both the home and corporate user.  You can organise how your content is stored and you can upload documents via e-mail, as well as view your files via your mobile phone.  I've not tried that yet, but I'll post an update here when I have. 

For those who want to use the service to collaborate, if you take out a business subscription, then you can take advantage of workgroups to share and collaborate on project files.  But even with an individual plan, you can share documents with others and receive them into your storage area.  The system makes this easy by allocating a unique link (URL) to each file or folder and you can see at-a-glance which documents you have put out for sharing.

You can also establish a direct link to your blog, so you can post a file directly to your weblog (in the form of a link back to the item), along with the text for a posting.  You can even put a box.net widget on your blog, if you wanted to provide easy access to some of your content files, great if you operate a learning blog.

All in all this is a nice service; easy to use and with a comprehensive range of practical features.  Give it a try!

Welcome

Hi there and welcome to my blog, Tech4learning.

In this first posting, I'd like to tell you what I have set out to do with this blog.

On a daily basis, I must search the Internet numerous times, either looking for specific information or just bouncing from one site to another, drilling down through hyperlink after hyperlink. Sometimes I have a sense of what I'm seeking; other times I'm searching for inspiration or simple curiosity is getting the better of me.  Often an entry on someone else's blog or website sets me off on my web-travels. 

Frequently, I find things that get me thinking - switching on the lightbulbs in my head - but as quickly as I find them, I've moved on through the tangled web and aside from ploughing through my browser's history, sometimes a specific piece of information is lost forever.

Some kind people in my past - colleagues and customers - have called me a "pathfinder", someone who can make sense of technology - past, present and future - and make meaningful links to learning, in particular learning within a corporate environment.  I was talking to a former colleague and good friend, Clare Howard of e-Coaches and we both agreed that technology is at long last catching up with what we all wanted it to do a few years ago.  Some of us have been way ahead in our thinking, but only now can we implement our ideas.  Whereas a few years ago the market was dominated by a handful of vendors, today it would seem that every Tom, Dick and Harry, regardless of their origins, is operating in the learning technologies space.  The so-called Web 2.0 has suddenly migrated from the marketing arena into learning solutions and ignited an explosion of possibilities.  In part, this has inspired this blog and the focus of my day-to-day activities.

So, to bring this first posting to a close, as I'm rambling, I hope that by sharing what I find and, more importantly, my thoughts about what I'm seeing and how it could be used, I can answer some of the questions you may have, help you to find the solutions you've been looking for, even let someone else do the things that I would love to do but can't at present.  And if you find what I write of interest, then let me know - tell me how you've used that information, how things worked out - and let's all learn from each other.

Oh...one more thing...I'm also a bit of a learning technologies bookworm...and with the constant flow of new books onto the bookshelves, I'll also provide insights into what I'm reading and an easy way to buy them for yourself.