Best practices rarely are.

Perhaps it's about time someone said this out loud and in public ...

The Worst Thing About Best Practices.

Here's a list of reasons to why you should not adopt 'best practices':

10:51:57 PM    

The Future of Work.

Future Tense explores how the modern work “place” is evolving and adapting to new trends, technologies, and economic factors.

2:14:44 PM    

San Jose State forbids staff member from podcasting to students.

This makes no sense. More when I find out more. [Ryan Sholin's J-School Blog]

1:57:35 PM    

What can software engineers teach eLearning developers?

Superficially, Color Modeling may look like using Post-It Notes (TM) on a whiteboard to do needs assessment. But it goes far beyond that. If you don't know what color modeling is, or simply want an online reference to all the best material, this article will give you what you need to get started. [AgileManagement]

1:48:12 PM    

Smart antennas and mLearning.

Dealing with one of the key constraints on growth in this area. [Computerworld]

1:37:20 PM    

How successful eLearners and entrepreneurs are alike.

Success in online learning is related to seeking out and capitalizing on opportunities, and on marshalling resources to achieve goals. This paper says entrepreneurial skills will become more and more important to the 21st century learner, cast adrift in a sea of information. [via Online Learning Update]

1:28:12 PM    

Virtual Collaboration Tools.

Chat, IM, Web and video conferencing tools and their use in eLearning. [via Online Learning Update]

1:21:45 PM    

Long term attrition and learning styles.

Do learning styles matter in eLearning? Maybe not, says the latest research.

"The overall comparison of graduation rate (38%) by learning style was not statistically significant ..." [via Online Learning Update]

1:15:59 PM    

Communities of Practice.

(Quoting George Siemens, quoting Stephen Downes.)

Interview - Etienne Wenger on Communities of Practice.

A really nice set of video interviews on the increased social nature of learning in contrast with the "industrial model": Interview - Etienne Wenger on Communities of Practice (via Stephen)

1:08:05 PM    

Case study: Moving from instructor-led to blended learning.

Great case study and lessons learned.

"There seems to be reluctance in transitioning instructor-led training (ILT) to a blended learning format. This may be due to resistance on the part of the organization or training department to change existing classroom session formats. Another reason I believe is more prevalent is not knowing how. The case study below is an example of how our training department made a very successful transition prior to knowing what blended learning meant. " [LTI Magazine] 

1:05:16 PM    

Personal digital libraries.

Relate these comments by George Siemens to my earlier post on Microsoft's desktop search APIs.

"Many issues arise from this more informal and increasingly empowered landscape of personal collection, dissemination, and digital memory, which will have major future impacts." [elearnspace]

1:00:31 PM    

Keeping an eye on Palm.

PalmSource may potentially be a critical player in mLearning, so I'm keeping track of developments there.

Late addition: Also see "As the Palm Turns."

12:43:38 PM    

Wall Street Journal reports on podcasting.

This technology is taking off fast, although many people either "don't get it" or get it wrong. Even Apple's implementation has some shortcomings.

"The premise behind podcasts is that they let consumers listen to audio programs when they want to, rather than when broadcasters schedule them. ... For now, podcasts are generating more grassroots excitement than profits. More than six million American adults say they have downloaded and listened to podcasts ... Still, few podcasters are selling advertisements, much less charging subscription fees for their content. The more commercial podcasts become, the more likelihood that they may come to resemble aspects of radio that turn off some consumers."

[WSJ]

12:33:05 PM    

Investing in "the online conversation."

Dave Winer says:

"John Palfrey, executive director at Berkman Center (where I used to work), announces a new venture capital fund that focuses on investments in "tagging, RSS, OPML, search, social software, and related next-gen standards." According to Jim Moore, another former colleague of mine and JP's partner, they have raised $20 million from Ritchey Capital, and plan to raise another $80 million."  [Scripting News]

12:25:45 PM    

Windows Desktop Search

Microsoft released APIs (in beta) to facilitate desktop search beyond the browser. As hard drives increase in size and drop in price, expect this to become significant in eLearning applications, especially in "workflow learning."

[CNET]

12:20:43 PM    

Using RSS to deliver malware.

Watch out when Longhorn arrives, according to this article. Comment spam may turn out to be the least of our worries.

"Richard Stiennon, director of threat research at anti-spyware company Webroot Software Inc., has long predicted that RSS will be used to serve up malicious code. 'It's not yet a big target, but once RSS usage becomes as widespread as e-mail or instant messaging, the hackers will find a way to use it to distribute malware,' Stiennon said in a recent interview with Ziff Davis Internet News."

[eWeek News]

Update: Microsoft ready to discuss RSS Security [ComputerWorld]

12:07:59 PM