Miscellaneous – Page 3

A look back on my 2010

A Happy New Year to one and all. For my first post of 2011 I thought I’d look back on my 2010.

2010 was a year of firsts for me:

1. I started Tweeting
2. I started blogging
3. I got my first iPhone
4. I delivered my first presentation to a room full of strangers

It won’t come as any surprise to you all then to hear what my top tools for 2010 were!

One that has to be near the top of the list is Twitter which has proved to be an invaluable professional development tool. It’s been nearly a year since I began my Twitter journey and I will review my first year at another time.

The others, in no particular order are:

WordPress which I use for my blog
Evernote – very useful for collating my research articles and planning my blog posts
Hootsuite – helps me manage my social media posts
Google calendar – to share with friends and colleagues
Feedly and Google Reader to help collate my blog subscriptions
PowerPoint 2007 (not yet got 2010)

The overall number one tool for me in 2010 though has got to be my iPhone (although other smart phones are available) which has helped me use my beloved Twitter at more convenient times. Snatches in between sessions, waiting for a train, sat in the dentist’s waiting room – always connected. Before my iPhone, it was often inconvenient and frustrating to use Twitter. Although I could access it from my normal mobile phone via text, it was cumbersome and using it on my laptop meant I was probably interrupting some other piece of work I should have been concentrating on.

My smart phone gives me easy access not only to Twitter but to my top tools as listed above and:

In fact, I will go as far as to say, my iPhone has become my mobile office.

What are my predictions for top tools in 2011? Well, I’m guessing my new Kindle I had for Christmas might be playing a big part in 2011 for me. My iPhone, of course will still be there as the contract doesn’t come to an end until 2012. It is debatable whether I will stay with the iPhone – but smartphones are here to stay.

Revolution for the Classroom

Redesigning the learning environment

My vision of face to face learning events of the future is not a ‘classroom’ but more a social meeting area. If we are going to embrace the change in learning that has to happen and soon, we should also rethink the environment our learners visit when attend a face to face learning event.

To me, the word classroom conjures up a memory of chairs all in a row. Sometimes, these chairs may even be locked together so we can’t move them. Some of them have little tables attached. Have you ever tried to sit at these strange contraptions? For me they are certainly not comfortable and very restrictive not to mention difficult to adjust my seating or cross my legs. Then there are those conference chairs. I have short legs and often find that the majority of conference / classroom / training event chairs leave me with legs a-dangle cutting off the circulation. If I wear my killer heels this is slightly better but then by the end of the day I can’t walk!

The alternative to the rows upon rows of lecture-style layout in corporate training rooms is the ‘horseshoe’ style with the premise of making the experience much more friendly allowing the trainer more opportunity to become more accessible to their learners and allow learners to see each other, thereby interacting more easily. A lot better than the first option but the trainer often still stands at the front ‘in charge’. With the barrier of tables it can be tricky to break down the walls of formality. I’ve tried pulling a chair round and sitting at the front. This feels odd but a little less formal. I’ve tried sitting on the table but then I’m almost on top of some people and a little distant from others. It’s also uncomfortable (short legs and no circulation again).

If I had my way, I would redesign the environment so it’s no longer like a classroom but an inviting area where learners feel at ease on a range of comfortable chairs and sofas, where the the trainer becomes a facilitator. There will be coffee tables and any slides are viewed on a flat screen TV from a laptop. Individuals will have a much more comfortable experience and a more informal approach to learning. Where computer based activities are required, of course safe ergonomic considerations are needed but I feel this would also benefit from a more informal feel to it.

Considering that with more emphasis these days on blended learning*, where we will be using face to face events more appropriately and collaboratively I think it’s time to adapt the environment accordingly.

*note that blended learning doesn’t necessarily mean face to face is included.

Bogus website reviews

Star vector created by starline – www.freepik.comI was sitting watching Click, the BBC’s flagship technology programme, the other morning where they reported on bogus reviews on some websites It was saying that although customer reviews on websites can be valuable to us when deciding on using a business or service, there has been a spate of spam reviews potentially damaging firms’ reputations. I have certainly found reviews very useful when booking hotels, buying a new Bluetooth headset or deciding which car to get next. It is easy to focus too hard on a bad review and let that cloud our thinking even when there are a great many great reviews for the same business.

There was a good piece of advice at the end of the article on the TV programme which isn’t reflected in the web article here that advised to ignore all the excellent reviews and the extreme bad reviews and concentrate on the middle ground. Something that I am careful to do. It doesn’t take away the upset for the businesses or person targeted however.

The article brought back thoughts of what it is like when you put your all into delivering an engaging training course and everyone has enjoyed themselves and accomplished what they set out to do with no indication of anything being wrong and then when everything has been packed away and you receive feedback –one person appeared to have been on a totally different course. It may be one in a thousand that may call your reputation into question and it is human nature to dwell on that one in a thousand rather than the other 999 satisfied learners. We forget that external fears, problems at home, work politics etc can influence a person’s experience not forgetting how our own moods can affect us when reading reviews.

Not that we should totally ignore poor reviews – there may be something that needs to change – but we do need to put them in perspective or suffer sleepless nights and questioning of our own abilities. Remember the majority not the minority and to take criticism as an opportunity.

Does this ring a bell with you? What are your experiences?

Seeing Double? No – 3DTV

It looks like 3DTV is closer than we think. As soon as this month – according to news reports today. Samsung’s sets maybe a little out of reach to us everyday mortals at £1,300 for a 32” LED and as much as £5000 for a 65”. Now that’s big – and I thought our 42” flat-screen we bought a year ago was BIG.

I’m sure we would get used to 65” very quickly. At least, that’s what my husband will say as a persuasion tactic as he did for our 42”!!! The down side is that the expense doesn’t stop there. You will also require a special Blu-ray DVD player and at least one pair of very sophisticated electronic glasses. How easy will these be for those of us who already wear glasses? And how harmful will they be for our already dwindling eyesight due to constant staring at LCD laptops and close proximity to 42” LCD TV screens?

Despite claims of already seeing “a lot of demand” for these new TV sets, I think I would still prefer the all-round experience of 3D at a cinema, munching popcorn and coffee. In fact, I’m looking forward to Alice in Wonderland with the chameleonesque Johnny Depp and donning those 3D specs very soon. (I’m actually going with my husband – Johnny was busy!) We would eventually see 3DTV in our learning environments in the near future? If so, they are likely to be used to become immersed in some serious gaming scenario programmes. Time will tell.

Positivity – the key to engagement

Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay (edited by LLJ)

Yesterday evening I was watching the One Show in the hotel while away delivering a training course. Now this was on as background noise while I was eating but I became interested in the subject. The report was one of a series looking at the seven deadly sins and this time looked at pride.

Although the report was less about pride and more about self-belief, the experiment that followed was an interesting one. A presenter gave a problem solving task to a group of people. The instructions were to spend a specific amount of time thinking about the problem to make plans and he left with the words ; “it should only take you a couple of minutes”. There were 5 people in this group and immediately, 2 of the group took the lead making decisions and, essentially, resolving the problems. Here comes the second part of the experiment. The group was then tasked with counting dots on a screen in a very short period of time. To cut it short… the presenter returned and asked two of the group to leave.

The remaining 3 were praised for their exceptional results and that, in fact, they had scored higher than he did earlier. Their reaction was superb. They all expressed surprise and, I guess, just a little pride in their results. Impressive – how good must they have felt?

Wait – there was a third task. This time the group reconvened and was given another problem to solve. Guess who were the three who improved the most? Yes … it was the three people praised in the second task. In fact, they hadn’t scored that exceptionally, and the presenter hadn’t done the task himself at all so there was nothing to compare. However, the three who were given such positive praise were the three who naturally took a back seat in the first task while the other two quickly took the lead and made the decisions.

What was the result? The three who took a back seat in the first task, gained confidence and became more involved this time round. Now why does that surprise everyone? This is the power of positive feedback and what effect it has on our performance and motivation. This can be linked to all aspects of our lives:

Children whose parents praise them when they do well rather than scold them when they do not will find their behaviour improve and grow;

Employers who especially give recognition for work well done and hard work reaching goals will likely see an improvement in their workers’ and motivation and performance;

L&D professionals who build their learners’ confidence with positive phrases and encouragement will result in more motivated learners, better quality work and improved rates of application back in the workplace.

None of the above need cost a thing – the right words are often enough. It’s amazing what effect positivity has on our whole world.

Let’s make a better start to 2010 with a pledge to have a more positive affect on those around us.

Dipping my toe into blogging