Learntech Program for Today

Lots on web 2.0 and latest technologies. Let's see. The day is long.

London Learntech Conference 2009

Flew in for the big event of the year for learning technology fans.
Should be exciting. Good line up of presentations and a massive
exhibition full of demos. Stay tuned for regular updates.

Just Leap In

Just lept into Just leap In virtual world. My third review of this weekend of virtual worlds for training. Good points small download. No error pop-ups. Took 10 seconds and I was in this browser-based virtual world. Great graphics. Simple navigation. Only dipped in so can't say anything about audio or integrating multimedia. But I liked it. Not sure if it offers a business package as this looks like its still in Beta. So far so good.

70% of Businesses Use Interactive Computer Training

Impressive statistics from the Entertainment Software Association.

"...more than 75 percent of businesses and non-profits already offering video game-based training plan to expand their usage in the next three to five years. And more than three-quarters (78%) of organizations not utilizing this technology today are likely to offer it in the next five years."
According to the survey: Managers of three in four companies also said their employees like video game-based training more or the same as traditional training and their employees found the convenience and ability to learn at their own speed particularly attractive.

50 Worlds in Seven Minutes

Great compilation of 50 virtual worlds nicely put together with a soundtrack. Sit back and enjoy. Check out: 50 Worlds in Seven Minutes. Connected to this blog we also have Education in Virtual Worlds - maybe worth a look to see how virtual worlds link to training. Some interesting comments.

Corporate Twitter

Nice update from Jay Cross about Corporate Twitter. View the YouTube video if you are new to this craze. Makes you wonder.

Lenovo eLounge Virtual Shop - Can I Help You?

Chilled at the Lenovo eLounge today. A virtual shop. Built on Nortels's web.alive virtual world client, Lenovo is one of their more well known customers. Took a while to download. Navigation of the eLounge is clunky. Nothing really much to excite a visitor. You can customize your avatar. But why bother. You have better things to do with your life. Not sure what ths point is with this World. I can go to the shop to view laptops rather than dress up an avatar and stumble through an empty although cool looking shop. ...hold on...this is a laugh while I am writing this a voice came up on my PC asking me do I need any help browsing the shop. The avatar I thought was sleeping, is the shop assistant and now wants me to enable my mic for a quick voice chat. Now this is getting interesting. Maybe there is life yet in these virtual worlds. BRB.

Vivaty

A quick visit to the Vivaty virtual world on Facebook took longer than expected. Sooooo slow to load. I almost fell asleep. Even as I write it is still loading. Zzzzzz. Had to download a client and ensure there was an Active X plugin. For a Facebook application is is awfully empty. Hello...is there anybody out there?

Its a lonely (Active)World

Playing around this rainy morning in ActiveWorlds. Download client pretty quickly. No Pain there. Unfortuntely, it makes SecondLife look lively (I was the only tourist - thats the same as a guest account). No pun intended on the word Lively - which was the virtual world launched last year by Google and died just before Christmas 2008. Nice graphics in ActiveWorld - not much different than in 2nd Life. Fast. Terrible fashion sense for the poor tourist. The navigation is much more simple and user friendly than in Second Life. The audio was superb. Not bad but is it a life I can afford or will return to? Stay tuned.

Twitter for Training (and Socializing)

Wouldn't it be great to automatically setup people with Twitter accounts when they take part in a training course. Not just for networking (which is great to stay in touch after the course for like-minded folk) but to share thoughts before, during and after the class. (Not to encourage it... but you could even have students having a virtual debate via their mobiles while the presenter slowly gets to page 126 on the PowerPoint) Its such a simple tool to setup. Lets face it everyone has a mobile phone. So why not tap into using SMS updates for micro-blogging topics and ideas that strengthen the conversation around specific training goals. You can always use it to setup an instant social network with your classmates so you can all find each other for that essential after-class pint ; -)

Virtual World Research

Saw that Playstation 3 got off to a slow start with their new virtual world to connect gamers called Home. Cool graphics but X-Box seems to have sped ahead of them while they waited to get the PS3 shipped with blue ray, then Home was delayed and on it goes. With the fantastic Wii leading the pack with x-Box, I can‘t see the PS3 Home virtual world maintaining a long-term population. Google have shut down their virtual world Lively which I find no big surprise as it crashed my computer everytime I tried to launch it. Great interface but kind of pointless wanderings in neverland. I‘ll be reporting from the London-based learningtechnologies conference later this month and sure to grab some nuggets of wisdom from the following presentations: 3D Learning and Virtual Worlds, Virtual Worlds Beyond The Hype, and Enhancing Learning in Virtual Environments. Whew...
On the work front, I am investigating the possibilities of building a virtual training centre for a cool new project. So far my early research into serious business ventures into this area has produced a few interesting contenders: Forterra and Nortel‘s web.alive. Also found WebFlock 1.0 by The Electric Sheep Company. You may have noticed I did not include the usual suspects like 2nd Life – mainly because I am trying to focus on more private business focused environments that are easier to sell to management worried about privacy and security. Who knows after my research I may come back to 2nd Life or similar.

You Talking To Me?

We at Learning Technologies are still waiting on the arrival of our thought-reading headsets (see earlier blog from last year). Made by Emotiv the headsets allow users to control movement and objects on screen just by thinking about the activity. On a similar topic which was the cause of a few laughs and creative jokes in our canteen recently, is the ability to make phone calls without talking (I'm sure a great wish for many people in open space offices - my family would also welcome this breakthrough). Take a look the worlds first phone-call conducted through thought alone. A neckband translates thought into speech by picking up nerve signals directed at the vocal chords. The nerve-tapping neckband is in its infancy but like the Emotiv headset is an interesting space to watch.

Fast Food

Its going to be an exciting year for tapping into some cool technology solutions to present creative and innovative learning experiences. I am already warming up on expanding the use of Podcasting, Touchscreens, and Mobile to reach a wider audience and support ever more convenient knowledge transfer. I hate making an effort to get information (this could be just laziness or that it is minus 8 C outside) but I want it here and now and short and to the point. (Thats why I do mobile blogging on a Saturday morning, access mobile news and mail anytime, view film trailers on the go, update my social network in the pub, and on and on). I make the assumption this is not a bad attitude (if I manage to get to the gym and work off a few pounds) so I am constantly thinking how our lives can be made simpler by harnessing the various channels and gadgets to achieve that goal. The fact is we do live in a fast food consumer driven world so why shouldn't information be just as easily accessible and digestible? Call it bite-sized learning without any unhealthy side effects.

2009 Predictions for Learning

Hope everyone enjoyed the holdiay break. I spent a lot of time trying out new technologies and finally gave in and bought the 360 xbox to sit alongside my wii. I nearly invested in the Playstation 3 but with Blueray players going down in price and the sales of PS3 slowing, I decided to opt for the 360 as I feel they will be around for a while. I also did a lot of mobile updates with text, photos and video and setup a 12seconds.tv channel that I broadcast over the past two weeks.
So what will be hot in 2009?
I will stick my neck out on a few choice predictions that I feel should materialize if the climate is appropriate. First up, I feel mobile learning should see an uptake. With all the new mobile touch-screen devices on the market from Blackberry, HTC and Apples iPhone, more learners should see invites to take one-minute learning wherever they are and upload the scores to a slim LMS app. In this category of mobile learning, I can see podcasting being used more as Trainers realize the benefit of short visual elements to get their message across. Key here is a focus on the content and who cares if the quality is more YouTube than Hollywood - welcome to the "I want the information now" age. Secondly, social networking will replace that old term Knowledge Management as the standard way people connect and collaborate - they want content that fits their tastes and lifestyle - its happening now everyday outside the firewall, we only need to think how to make it common workplace practice to extend its potential in a business learning environment. Learning will be more user-centric. Users will take more control of their learning and demand shorter, smarter and contextual learning items - KISS or keep it short and sweet. Finally, I also see gaming consoles like the wii being used more in some form of training. Think of of all the possibilities with its rich interactivity - this area is just waiting to explode. Marry gaming with mobile and we could have a creative easy-to-access convenient new channel for delivering "just in time learning".
Happy new year!