#mLearnCon 2011 Backchannel - Collected Resources

Last Update: 7/12
The conference may be over but the backchannel continues!  I will add a 'Date Added' to each new resource that is added to make it easier for return visitors to see what has bee added since their last viewing. If you know of any additional resources not shown here, please let me know.

I am a huge proponent of backchannel learning.  There are many conferences I would love to be able to attend, but my budget can only accomodate one or two each year.  The backchannel is an excellent resource for learning from a conference or event that you are unable to attend in-person.

I find collecting collecting and reviewing backchannel resources to be a valuable learning experience for me, even when I am attending a conference in person.  Sharing these collections on this blog has shown that others find value in the collections as well.

This post collects the resources shared via the backchannel of the mLearn Conference 2011, being held June 21-23 in San Jose, California.

Official mLearn ConferenceResources

Conference Website Home Page

Conference Program Guide - Concurrent Sessions
Conference Program Guide - Keynotes
Conference Program Guide - mLearning Future Zone
Conference Program Guide - MOSH Pit
Conference Program Guide - Master Classes
Conference Program Guide - AMLearning
Conference Program Guide - Conference Games
July 21 & 22: Audio, Video, and Rich Media for eLearning (Online Forum)

Conference Summaries and Recaps
Backchannel Archive compiled using The Archivist
eLearning Guild's #mLearnCon 2011 conference is in session by Nicole Fougere
Interesting Tweets from mLearnCon 2011- Day 1 by Tracy Parish (Added 6/27)
Interesting Tweets from #mLearnCon 2011- Day 2 by Tracy Parish
mLearnCon 2011: Our impressions video by Paul Drexler and Ani Mukerji (Added 6/27)
First Impressions: mLearnCon 2011 Exposition by Abhijit Kadle (Added 6/28)
Day One - mLearnCon 2011 by Jeff Tillett (Added 6/28)
mLearnCon 2011: Putting Learning In Motion (A Week After) by Bill Brandon (Added 6/30)
Lessons Learned from the mLearnCon 2011 Backchannel by David Kelly (Added 7/1)
mLearnCon 2011 Prezi by Aisha Taylor (Added 7/6)
A Recap Of June: Float's Mobile Learning Symposium & mLearnCon 2011 by Float Mobile Learning (Added 7/6)
Five Lessons in Mobile Learning by Alex Poulos (Added 7/6)
The ToolBar, Episode 2 podcast by Judy Unrein and Brian Dusablon (Added 7/6)
mLearnCon 2011 Highlights video from The eLearning Guild (Added 7/12)

Session Specific

A Game of Phones = A Serious Learning Game at mLearnCon post by Brent Schlenker, game by Alicia Sanchez and Kris Rockwell
Slides: Developing a Learning Strategy for Mobile and Social (Keynote) slides from Jeremiah Owyang
Jeremiah Owyang mLearnCon keynote mindmap by Clark Quinn
Slides: Power Learning: Mobile and Social Media Trends (Keynote) slides from Amber MacArthur
BlendTech videos: great example of AUTHENTIC use of social media shared during Amber MacArthur keynote
Amber MacArthur #mLearnCon Keynote Mindmap by Clark Quinn
Find mLearning Success with Lectora eLearning and CourseMill LMS by Heather Thomas
Going Mobile with Lectora & CourseMill presentation by Tanya Seidel
m-learning across the world slides from Geoff Stead
The Making of A Game of Phones slides by Alicia Sanchez and Kris Rockwell (Added 6/27)
We Don't Need No Stinkin' Buttons! slides by Brian Berg (Added 6/27)
Prototyping on a Shoestring with Virtually No Tech Skills summary and slides by Chad Udell (Added 6/28)
Design Strategies for Adapting Content for mlearning summary and slides by Chad Udell (Added 6/28)
Mobile Market Share by Gregory Lyons (Added 6/30)
A Game of Phones by Brian Dusablon (Added 7/1)
mLearnCon Recap: A Game of Phones by Judy Unrein (Added 7/12)
A Game of Cards official website for the Game of Phones card game (Added 7/12)

Miscellaneous

ADL mobile version of mLearning Guide shared by Jason Haag
Ten Tips for Designing Mobile Learning Content by Gerry Griffin
Publishers get ready to abandon mobile apps by mLearnCon Staff
St. Marys City Schools Mobile Learning Technology
5 Tips That Make Your Meetings iPad-Friendly by Amber Mac
Mobile Learning: A Quick SWOT Analysis by Amit Gautam
Amber MacArthur's 10 keys to the perfect social media strategy by David Hamilton
ADL Mobile Learning Newsletter shared by Judy Brown
Mobile Technology – Empowering The Workforce by Aneesh Bhat
Learning & Skills Survey: 87% More eLearning & Mobile Learning; 73% Less 2-3 Day Classroom Training by Amit Garg
Use This Free E-Learning Template to Inspire Your Next M-Learning Course by Tom Kuhlmann
What is Game Based Learning? by Aneesh Bhat
Getting the most out of attending a conference by Jeff Tillett
HOW TO: Optimize Marketing Copy For Mobile by Ryan Matzner
#mLearnCon: Augmented Reality is “Everywhere” Learning by Aaron Silvers
Open Source is Not Cheap, Leave Alone Free by Amit Garg
Mobile Learning Revolution – Round-Up Of Our Best mLearning Posts by Abhijeet Valke
Why Should Somebody Buy This Instead of an iPad? by Harry McCracken
Eight Tips for LMS Implementation by Amit Gautam
Pretenders: Why mobile Web apps should stop trying to act like native apps by Craig Villamor
mLearnCon – Just Say Hi! by Judy Unrein
Mobile Apps Put the Web in Their Rear-view Mirror by Charles Newark-French
Consumers Don’t Want Tablets, They Want iPads by John Paczkowski
Usability of iPad Apps and Websites reports from Nielsen Norman Group
The Updated Monster List of 111 Online Learning Resources by Nemo
Creating Polls for Mobile or Desktops with PollEverywhere.com using Web, Twitter or Text Responses #mlearncon by Nick Floro
CHART OF THE DAY: People Are Spending More Time In Mobile Apps Than On The Web by Jay Yarow
World's First Coins With QR Codes Will Start Circulating in the Netherlands Next Week by Rebecca Boyle
HTML5 and CSS3 - great web sites and resources for keeping with latest information #mlearncon by Nick Floro
Airline Pilots Ditch Paper for iPads and Save Millions in Fuel by Alex Goldmark
Top 50 Mobile Learning Resources by Abhijit Kadle
A User-Centered Approach To Web Design For Mobile Devices by Lyndon Cerejo
How To Customize QR Codes With Your Brand’s Identity by David Cummings
http://nickfloro.com/great-mobile-templates-for-ipad-and-iphone-to by Nick Floro
Will Mobile Apps Change Training Forever? by Amit Garg
Khan Academy and the mythical math cure by Sylvia Martinez
More Africans learn by mobile phone by Ludger Kasumuni
Why Libya can't shut down bit.ly by David Goldman
NY Post iPad Policy: A Real Threat to the Web by Jason Grigsby
30 Top Online Resources For Instructional Designers To Keep Up With by Amit Garg
Rapid Authoring Tools For Creating mLearning by Sushil Kokate
Good Games, Good Learning by Abhikit Kadle
What Is Mobile Learning? by Amit Garg
Using Lectora to Create iPad-Compatible Content – Results of Our Testing by Diane Elkins
Quora: Know This, At Least by Saul Fleischman
22 Books For Beginner Instructional Designers by Amit Garg
Optimizing Web Media for Mobile Learning by Abhijit Kadle
What’s the Top-Selling Phone at Verizon and AT&T? by John Paczkowski
Learning In The Future – Exploring Five Themes by Abhijit Kadle
Top 47 eLearning & Workplace Learning Blogs by Amit Garg
Blended learning: A disruptive innovation [Infographic] from Alltop
Top 100 Learning Game Resources by Abhijit Kadle
Instructional Design And The Six Thinking Hats by Aneesh Bhat
How To Make The Right Call With Mobile Learning by Timothy Hildreth
ELearning Project Managers – Misunderstood Heroes by Aneesh Bhat
Seven Ways to Use the iPad for Workplace Learning by Abhijit Kadle
50 really useful iPad 2 tips and tricks from Apps in Education
Mobile Learning Revolution – Round-Up Of Our Best mLearning Posts by Abhijeet Valke
Three Great Mobile Mind Mapping Apps by Robert Strohmeyer
These Are NOT Serious Games! by Abhijit Kadle
10 Tips For Designing mLearning And Support Apps by Connie Malamed
Mobile Usage Among The Youth by Abhijit Kadle(Added 6/27)
Expectations From eLearning Authoring Tools by Sushil Kokate
Do People Really Like To Go On Training Courses? by Abhijit Kadle
RIM PlayBook Holds Security Edge Even as IPad Wows U.S. Troops by Traci McMillan and Melissa Aparicio
The M-Learning Mantra: Augmenting What We Do by Paul Signorelli
The Ten Commandments of eLearning by Abhijit Kadle
“It Just Works.” by MG Siegler (Added 6/24)
The Advent Of Mobile Learning Technology slides by Upside Learning (Added 6/24)
Mobile devices overtake computers on Wi-Fi networks by Ryan Kim (Added 6/24)
Can Fun Help Change Behaviors? by Amit Garg (Added 6/24)
How the Web Wants Us to Learn – An Interview with Reuben Tozman by Nannette Miner (Added 6/24)
comScore: the iPad Owns 97 Percent of US Tablet Traffic by Greg Sterling (Added 6/24)
Adding Social To Learning Games by Abhijit Kadle (Added 6/24)
Guns, grenades and iPads for Singapore soldiers by AFP (Added 6/27)
Mobile: IHG has gone from $1M monthly to $10M in just over a year by Intercontinentals Hotel Group (Added 6/27)
7 objections to social media in learning (and answers) by Donald Clark (Added 6/27)
Create mobile learning, not art for art’s sake by Martin Addison (Added 6/27)
Colleges deploying mobile learning apps by Thor Olavsrud (Added 6/27)
Mobile Learning: A couple examples of the promise it offers by Bottom Line Performance (Added 6/27)
What Exactly Can You Learn on a Mobile Phone? by Tina Barseghian (Added 6/27)
eLearning Radio Episode #7 – Podcast Challenge – Live @ mLearnCon 2011 by Rick Nielsen (Added 6/27)
Attack of the mobile browsers by Peter Wayner (Added 6/27)
HTML5 — Opportunities for Mobile Devices by Yael Even-Levy (Added 6/27)
Is Mobile Learning A Reality Now? by Simon Meager (Added 6/28)
#mLearnCon: The Use of Tablets in the Future of mLearning by Aaron Silvers (Added 6/28)
iHeal app would help vets deal with post-traumatic stress disorder by Risk and Insurance (Added 6/28)
Quick mobile thoughts by Clark Quinn (Added 6/30)
Blind Florida State U. Students Sue Over E-Learning Systems by Jie Jenny Zou (Added 7/1)
Engaging with the New eLearning White Paper by Allison Rossett and Antonia Chan (Added 7/1)
Smells Like School Spirit by David Brooks (Added 7/1)
Smartphones Outsell Feature Phones For First Time by Eric Zeman (Added 7/1)
mLearning Edugame taxonomy dimensions by Rod Gammon (Added 7/6)
Neil Lasher interview at mLearnCon 2011 YouTube video posted by Float Learning (Added 7/6)
Clark Quinn interview at mLearnCon 2011 YouTube video posted by Float Learning (Added 7/6)
Gary Woodill interview at mLearnCon 2011 YouTube video posted by Float Learning (Added 7/6)
Trivantis interview at mLearnCon 2011 YouTube video posted by Float Learning (Added 7/6)
Watch the Use of the “F” Bomb by Phil Cowcill (Added 7/6)
Two Bite Brownies = Mobile Learning by Phil Cowcill (Added 7/6)
CHART OF THE DAY: Android Is Blowing Everyone Away by Jay Yarow and Kamelia Angelova (Added 7/6)
The knowledge-bubble trap worsens by Nick Milton (Added 7/6)
13 Top Learning, Technology & Media Links: Weekly Digest – 25 by Abhijeet Valke (Added 7/6)
Ode to Mobile Performance Support by Allison Rossett (Added 7/6)
June Hot List: Mobile Learning Content by Judy Brown (Added 7/6)
iPad boosts literacy and numeracy in pre-schoolers by mLearnCon Staff (Added 7/6)
CERTPOINT and Forrester Research go mobile, get social from Training Press Releases (Added 7/12)
User Interface Guidelines for Mobile and Tablet Devices by Simon Whatley (Added 7/12)

Dedicated Backchannel Queries [Tool and search terms shown in brackets]

Access the up-to-date #mlearncon backchannel [Twitter: #mlearncon]
Jeremiah Owyang Keynote [Twitter: jowyang OR owyang, #mlearncon]
Amber MacArthur Keynote [Twitter: ambermac OR MacArthur, #mlearncon]
Photos from the Backchannel [TwiPho: mlearncon]

I will be adding to this list as I continue to review the backchannel transcripts and find resources.  I will tweet updates occasionally as additional links are added.  If you know of a valued resource I should add to the list - or if something is inaccurate - please add it to the comments or tweet me a link to @LnDDave.

If you find these collections of value, I have posts that consolidate the backchannel resources from other conferences.  An archive of all of these posts can be accessed by clicking the link below:

Click here to access the archive of backchannel resource posts.

Reflections on #realwplearn chat: From Learning Design to Performance Design

One of my favorite learning activities is participating in the weekly twitter chat called #lrnchat.  Participating in this chat and writing reflective blog posts is an extremely valuable learning experience for me.  A collection of these reflective posts can be found here.

This past week a new Twitter chat for learning professionals was introduced.  The chat is called Real Workplace Learning, part of a new initiative from Jane Hart (@c4lpt) and Jane Bozarth (@janebozarth).  The Real Workplace Learning blog is a place to share examples of where REAL workplace happens: through social, informal, and often serendipitous happenings.

The Real Workplace Learning chat is scheduled to take place once a month on Wednesdays using the hashtag #realwplearn. Additional details and listing of upcoming chats for the summer is listed at the bottom of this post. 

The topic of this week's #realwplearn chat session was "From Learning Design to Performance Design".  The topic and questions were inspired by Tom Gram's article -  Designs for Natural Learning.

I always find looking at the questions that are used to loosely guide the chat as a nice way to see the overall theme of the chat. Here are the discussion questions that were presented to the group.

NOTE: In this chat, some of the questions were presented in two parts.  The first part presented a quote from Tom Gram's article. The second part presented a related question.

Q1  How do knowledge workers really learn to do their jobs?

Q2 P1 “It doesn’t make sense to build a whole department around training when there are so many other ways to help people learn.”

Q2 P2 How can you “move” out of the training department into the workflow to help people learn as they work?

Q3 P1 “Instead of learning programs, you are designing work environments, tools, information and feedback systems. Think of it as performance design.”

Q3 P2 How can you move from learning program design culture to performance design ? Small steps or bold new approach?

Q4 P1 “This focus on designing work to enable natural learning resembles what progressive managers see as their role and they are not wrong.”

Q4 P2  How can you help managers fulfill that responsibility better?

The shift from learning sign to performance design is am important one for learning professionals.  It represents a reality that more and more professionals are beginning to understand: that the vast majority of workplace learning does not happen via a formal program designed by the learning and development department.

Charles Jennings often discusses the 70:20:10 learning model, which states that only 10% of what employees learn comes from formal learning programs.  The vast majority of workplace learning comes from the work itself, and applying new skills on the job.

Where does the learning professional fit in a world where formal programs account for so little of the learning that is taking place?  What are the skills that today's learning professional will need to support this new paradigm?

That is what Real Workplace Learning hopes to explore, and this week's chat provided an excellent starting point for the ongoing discussions.

The chat started by exploring how knowledge workers really learn to do their jobs.  It is becoming increasingly obvious that there is no division between learning and work; they are forever linked, one consistently building on the other.

This happens at an almost unconscious level, with the worker often not being fully aware that learning is taking place.  This is enhanced during times that the worker will take a more active and conscious role in learning, using some of the techniques shared in the chat.

•   Contacting a colleague for assistance, be it from the next cubicle or a country away.

•   Learn through failing, provided the culture understands the value of failure.

•   Creating a network of peers to learn from that you trust.

•   Focusing less on learning everything, and more on learning how to find out anything.

From there the discussion moved towards how learning professionals can move away from traditional delivery methods and put their energy into the actual workplace.  How can learning professionals provide their support as part of the existing work flows?

I find this question to be very similar to a question that is often asked about social media.  Often organizations want to institute some sort of a social media program, yet the project is spearheaded by someone that has only a Facebook account that they haven't signed in to it in weeks.

It doesn't really work that way.  If you want to play in the social media space, you need to participate. I believe the same rule applies to trainers who want to focus their efforts on the existing workflows of the work itself.  You can’t simply plug learning into the work; you have to join the workflow yourself.

For many learning professionals, this isn’t a simple shift; it’s a fundamental change in the way they need to see their role.  Many of the traditional models of training – such as classroom workshops, traditional e-learning, and courses – do not fit into the flow of the work.  Their very design requires that the learner stop working so they can participate in a learning event.

Supporting learning during the work requires a different mindset.  It requires learning professionals to participate in the workflow.  That's a simple statement, but putting it to action can be a challenge.

One of the easiest ways to get started is to join conversations and communities related to the work.  It's there that learning professionals will be able to learn what is really going on, where the true performance gaps are, and how they might be able to help.

It's also at the workplace that learning professionals can learn about an important, but too often overlooked, part of their job.  If most of the learning is taking place on the job, is the working environment structured in a way that best supports learning?  By becoming part of the workflow, learning professionals can observe where learning is taking place, and identify ways they can alter and add to the environment to make the learning more effective. This could be as simple as inserting a performance support tool into the workflow, or as complex as reworking the physical environment itself.

The discussion then moved towards design, specifically how we might be able to shift from a learning program design culture to a culture more focused on performance design.

There are a great number of roads learning professionals can take on this journey.  Some of the roads have been paved by our peers, while still countless more are trails just waiting to blazed by those brave enough to choose the road not yet taken.

Regardless of the route though, all of the paths share something in common: they started with a single step. Do SOMETHING to get started – even if that something is to make the decision to stop doing something else that no longer makes sense.

I think the easiest way to get started is to implement 'Find and Replace All' in the way we see ourselves.  'Find and Replace All' is a common functionality found in word processing software. It enables a user to search for a given word or phrase and automatically replace it with a different word or phrase.

If we could apply that function to ourselves, we would find every place we use the word 'learning' and replace it with 'performance'. Learning objectives become performance objectives. Learning consultants become performance consultants.  That simple change in language would do wonders to shift our thinking.  Suddenly we'll realize that we aren't as interested in what workers need to learn; we're more focused on what they need to DO.

For many learning professionals, the challenge of this shift will not be about applying new skills; the challenge will be in stopping the use of techniques and methods that are no longer applicable, or are at least no longer the primary tools, in this new world.

The discussion ended with an exploration on how we can assist managers in designing work so that it allows for natural learning.  This is a very large challenge that has a number of obstacles, including:

• Many managers have little interest in managing.
• Most managers do not know how to lead.
• For most managers, ‘learning’ is defined by their own experiences.  There is an expectation that it will take place in a classroom taught by a teacher. They do not understand that this in ineffective.

Learning (actually, performance) professionals need to take on these issues and help managers help themselves.  It takes education, perseverance, and patience.  In most cases you’re not just trying to change the perspective of a group of managers; you’re trying to change the culture of an organization.  That takes time.

I especially liked this closing question.  The fact that we are looking at the managers is very representative of how real workplace learning takes place.  It takes place as part of the work.  As such, we need to start bringing other non-learning professionals into the equation more.

I think this first Real Workplace Learning chat laid a great foundation for a regular discussion series.  I look forward to adding it to my calendar each month, and further exploring the ways workers REALLY learn at work, and how learning and performance professionals can best support that learning.

Here are a few links of additional resources I mentioned in this post:

Real Workplace Learning

• Main Blog
• Chat Description and Schedule

When Learning is the Work: Approaches for supporting learning in the workplace by Charles Jennings

Designs for Natural Learning by Tom Gram