DevLearn10 Learning Resources: Collected

In a previous posting I discussed way to learn from the DevLearn10 conference via the backchannel. I shared a couple of approaches that work for me, but I forgot one very important technique that can be very effective:

Let someone else do the work for you!

In the spirit of that technique, here are some of the many resources I have collected and bookmarked as part of my DevLearn10 backchannel learning.  I hope this list is of value to both backchannel learners and live attendees looking to enhance their learning.

For starters, the official conference website has the program guide and handouts available.  You can access it HERE.

Conference Summaries and Recaps

DevLearn, Reflected #dl10 by Cammy Bean
DevLearn 2010 Recap by Philip Hutchison
Three Lessons Learned at DevLearn 2010 by Phil Cowcill
DevLearn 2010 Reflections by Koreen Olbrish
DevLearn 2010 - but no time for blogging! by Jane Hart
DevLearn 10: Day 1 by Jay Cross
DevLearn 10: Day 2 by Jay Cross
DevLearn 10: Finale by Jay Cross
What I Learned at DevLearn 10 by Steve Nguyen
2 Emerging Learning Trends Distilled from DevLearn 2010 by Nemo
DevLearn 10 Opens in San Francisco by Bill Brandon
Live from DevLearn 2010 by Jeanine O'Neill-Blackwell
DevLearn 2010 - Part 2 by Jeanine O'Neill-Blackwell     (Added November 12th)
DevLearn 10, The Aftermath... by Laura Dickson
In the Middle of the Curve by Wendy Wickham
My DevLearn 2010 Experience (#DL10) by Brian Dusablon     (Added November 12th)
My (first) DevLearn 2010 review: A different perspective by Kevin Thorne     (Added November 12th)
DevLearn 10 Notes by Michael McCabe     (Added November 12th)
DevLearn 2010 Conference Wrap by Jill Duffy     (Added November 12th)
The DevLearn 2010 Write Up (#DL10) by Aaron Silvers     (Added November 12th)
The Wrap-Up...Much Later Than I'd Intended... by Shawn Rosler    (Added November 18th)
The DevLearn 2010 Cheat Sheet: Refresh Yourself on 4 Key Takeaways (Interviews) by Nemo (Added December 3rd)

Slide Presentations
25+ mLearning Tools in 60 Minutes by B. J. Schone
The State of Learning in the Workplace Today by Jane Hart
Intro to Compressing Audio and Video AND Best Practices for Working with Video in Learning by Nick Florio
Mining the Value of Microsharing by Steve Nguyen
Games for Learning by Richard Culatta
Design Thinking + Democracy by Aaron Silvers

Session-Specific Discussions

John Seely Brown: The Power of Pull by Cammy Bean
John Seely Brown: The Power of Pull by Brian Dusablon
Translating tried and true engagement (Jane Bozarth session) by Jeff Narvid
The State of Learning in the Workplace Today (Jane Hart session) by Sumeet Moghe
The New Social Learning with Marcia Conner - Live Blog by Sumeet Moghe
How to Create a Podcast for e-Learning, DevLearn 2010 (Rick Nielsen session) by Jill Duffy
Multiple Session Notes by Shawn Rosler
Understanding the Tools of the Social Learning Landscape (Mark Oelhert workshop) by Sumeet Moghe
John Seely Brown: The Power of Pull (Mind Map) by Clark Quinn
The e-Learning Guild Announces DemoFest 2010 Winners by Bill Brandon    (Added November 12th)

Miscellaneous
#Lrnchat Live at DevLearn by Jane Hart
Visualization of the #Dl10 Tweet Stream via the Archivist
Making Connections by Harold Jarche
Flickr Stream by Charles Jennings
Enterprise Social Learning Needs Porous Walls by Sumeet Moghe
The Faces of e-Learning by Kevin Thorne
#dl10 Tweet Stream Archive for 11/1 through 11/7
A collection of DevLearn 10 photos started by @onEnterFrame
e-Learning Pros: What did we want to be? by Cammy Bean
e-Learning Product Launches announced at DevLearn by Learning Solutions Magazine
DevLearn 10 Conference and Expo Pics by The eLearning Guild    (Added November 12th)

I will be adding to this list as I discover new resources, and will tweet updates if warranted.  If you know of a valued resource I should add to the list, 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 #lrnchat: What is Holding Us Back as an Industry?

Each week that I am able to participate in #lrnchat discussion I post a summary of the discussion to my blog. I do this both for my personal development as well as sharing with the Learning and Development Profession at large. This summary is based on my own interpretations of the chat; others who participated may have differing opinions or interpretations of the discussion. I welcome those that do to add your ideas to the comments.

The topic of this week's #lrnchat session was "What is Holding Us Back as an Industry?."

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 five discussion questions that were presented to the group:

Q1) What is holding us back as an industry?
Q2) What is holding back your organization?
Q3) What is holding you back as an individual?
Q4) What is needed to set your organization free?
Q5) What is needed to set *you* free?

Key Learning Points

The #lrnchat discussions are an excellent source of development for L&D professionals. It is one of many resources we can use to develop our skills, add to our knowledge, and help continuing to move ourselves and our profession moving forward. This week's discussion looked at the other side of that coin; what is holding us back?

The discussion first focused on what is holding back the L&D profession. Our industry needs to become business focused in every aspect. Our work needs to provide value to all of our stakeholders, be there investment be financial support or their investment of time via participation. We need to get away from the widget-based metrics of the past and focus on the impact and value our effort have on critical business performance.

Next we focused on what is holding back our organizations. I found that many of the obstacles discussed regarding our organizations were directly tied to the obstacles focused by our profession. One of the more common themes discussed was the continuing battle with organizational silos. If departments continue to manage their own learning and performance issues in a vacuum, how can the organization possibly reach their overall performance goals and objectives?

From there the conversation migrated towards what holds us back as individuals. There were a number of challenges described, from resources to time, and from knowledge to empowerment. Ultimately though, almost all of the items shared were shackles we choose to wear. Even if they were placed on us by someone else, we have the power to choose to take them off.

The discussion continued with what would be required to set the organization free. There were a number of options shared, all of which shared one theme: the L&D group can not set the organization free by itself. We need the assistance and support of others in the organization, from senior management, to middle managers, to front line. Setting the organization free requires changing the organization's culture, and that takes time and buy-in across all levels.

The discussion concluded with what would be required to set *you* as an individual free. I was a little surprised to see a number of responses to this question that suggested things that we don't have control over, such as bandwidth, budget, and other resources. I go back to my shackles analogy from earlier; when it comes to breaking out of the shackles, I want to be the one with the key. If I have to wait for someone else to give me the key, I could be waiting a very long time.

Unfortunately, the answers to these question are not that different than the answers you would have received five or ten years ago. I think that many of those who participate in #lrnchat are, by nature, forward thinkers, and are likely ahead of the curve in these areas. In order to get our profession to move forward, we need to find a way to get those who are not early adopters to jump on the train. That would change the perception of the 'norm' for Learning and Performance programs. If we can do that, many of the obstacles individuals and organizations encounter would be eliminated.

Throughout the discussion ideas and strategies were shared that can help learning professionals adjust to the shifting landscape of workplace learning and performance. Whether you are a novice learning professional or a more seasoned professional that is looking to help build a bridge for novices, you will find many great ideas shared in the discussion. As always, you can find the full transcripts at http://lrnchat.com/.

There are always at least a couple of tweets that resonate well with the topic and seem to really strike a chord. Here are a few that stuck out to me from today's sessions:

On what is holding us back as an industry:
@Quinnovator: lack of evidence-based practice, lack of recognition of the need to look at ‘big L’ Learning: perf support, social, and more
@wilko64: Not understanding who our learning audience is and why they WANT to learn. Not understanding Knowledge work skill needs
@britz: We are often the barrier – we talk learning too much and not enough abt performance, execution, revenue..etc

On what is holding back our organizations:
@britz: Poor execution…lack of communication…oh, and silos…damn you silos!
@everyselearning: Money was holding back my org until I realized how to use FREE as a business model.
@TriciaRansom: Guts, time, $$$, resources (or lack thereof), lack of energy

On what is holding us back as individuals:
@smklausner: Easy to rely on the familiar
@gminks: Not connecting with you guys enough. Forgetting I'm not alone.
@wlonline: Organizational "rules"
@jkunrein: Being honest here... Fear of not being taken seriously if I try the crazy things I dally want to.

On what is needed to break an organization free:
@Quinnovator: "If it is to be, it can not be just me" via @marciamarcia
@lewismal: Higher level champions who will encourage and reward wise risk taking.
@JaneBozarth: cooperation from the middle layer

On what is needed to break *you* free:
@Catherine_Delia: Participating in a chat like this opens new avenues for ideas.
@TriciaRansom: I find I do best work when I have tight constraints. Forces me to be innovative and focused.
@LandDDave: If what you need to set yourself free needs to be provided by someone else, well, you're pretty much screwed.

In my past Reflections on #lrnchat posts, I have ended the summary with what I consider the most thought provoking tweet of the chat. I'm going to cheat on that pattern a bit this time.

For me the most thought provoking tweet came not during the chat, but the morning after from @britz: last nites #lrnchat left me wanting. Good Q's such as "What's holding you, industry, & org back?" But wish we added "what R u doing abt it?"

That's a perfect way of summing up my thoughts on the chat as well. As with learning, knowing something isn't what matters; it's applying that knowledge in a constructive way that matters. Perhaps we'll cover what we're personally going to do to break free our shackles in a follow-up discussion.

Tools for BackChannel Learning: DevLearn10

Last month I wrote a post about extracting learning from a conference you are not attending. In it I explored a number of ways that non-attendees can learn a great deal, even without attending a conference.

This week, I put much of those theories to practice, following the backchannel for the DevLearn10 conference. This blog posts expands on the recommendation from my previous post by exploring the unique backchannel learning opportunities that may exist at a conference, in this case, DevLearn10.

Explore the Program Guides

Learning from a conference is obviously easier when you actually attend it. Therefore, it's also understandable that a backchannel learner may need to do some extra pre-work to help bridge that learning gap.

One way to do that is by reviewing the conference's program guide before the conference begins. This is an excellent practice for any conference you attend, but I think the importance of this task differs for in-person and backchannel attendance. When you review the conference program for planned attendance, the general perspective is one of 'Which session do I want to attend?" For backchannel learning, the review of the program is a more critical part of the learning process, as it provides a fairly thorough overview of the themes, trends, and ideas being covered at the conference.

Another important part of the program guide review is planning what sessions you want to learn from. This, again, is in some ways even more important for the backchannel learner. When I attend a conference in person, my 'work calendar' for those days consists of something like this:

8:00am - 6:00pm: Attend Conference

It's highly unlikely that my work schedule when learning through the backchannel would read: 8:00am - 6:00pm: Follow Conference Backchannel <-- That's unrealistic in most organizations

It's therefore critical for a backchannel learner to review the program guide in advance, so that they may be able to block out time periods with speakers they may want to learn from. As a personal example, I have many projects I am currently working on, but I blocked out the time period for Marcia Conner's DevLearn10 Keynote.

DevLearn really raised the bar for program guides this year with their excellent program guide app pictured to the left. Powered by EventPilot, this app truly set a high bar for future conferences. Then again, would you expect less from the leading e-learning conference and expo?

The app contained much more than the schedule and details of all the sessions. It also included many other features of value to a backchannel learner, including:

* A live twitter feed of the conference hash tag

* A listing and summary of all of the expo exhibitors

* A great number of presentation slides from each of the sessions, which could be searched upon.

* A home page that features what's happening now

* The ability to take your own notes directly into the application, even linked to specific slides, and then email all of it to a colleague or yourself - nice!

That last bullet point alone made this application tremendously valuable to a backchannel learner. I only wish that I had discovered and explored the app more in advance of the conference so that I could leverage it more during the conference. As it was, it still created tremendous value as I explored it on the fly.

Use a Twitter 'Power Tool'

There are a great number of desktop and online tools that provide additional Twitter functionality not found via Twitter.com. Leveraging these tools can greatly enhance backchannel learning.

The tool that I use is one of the most popular: TweetDeck. TweetDeck enables a user to follow multiple Twitter feeds simultaneously. At first glance TweetDeck may seem overwhelming; in reality, it is actually filtering the Twitter stream into more targeted and actionable information. Using TweetDeck, I can simultaneously monitor my primary Twitter feed, as well as various search options.

During DevLearn, I had four primary columns open: My primary feed, my favorites, the DevLearn10 hashtag feed, and mentions. This combination of columns is, for me, the ideal backchannel learning environment. The DevLearn hashtag lists all the conference tweets. As I see something I may want to investigate further at a later time, I can set it as a favorite. If I am actively participating in the backchannel, I can immediately see if people are trying to interact with me via the mentions column.

I highly recommend TweetDeck and tools like it to enhance your general Social Media experience, and consider it to be a prerequisite for backchannel learning. The image below shows the TweetDeck layout I am using during DevLearn10.

Another reason I like TweetDeck is that it very well supports the in-and-out nature of backchannel learning. I can very easily review the tweet stream for a bit, return to my regular work for a period of time, and come back to TweetDeck without missing a beat.

I leverage TweetDeck's 'Clear All' button for this purpose. During DevLearn, I have TweetDeck running as shown in the above image. When I have the opportunity to review the backchannel, I do so. When I need to return to regular work, I click the Clear All button in each column to clear out the tweets. That way, when I return to TweetDeck later, I know anything on my screen is new and I should review.

Engage in Conference Learning Activities

DevLearn10 had a couple of excellent activities that expanded on the learning and engagement of the conference. One such activity that I participated in was called Backchatter.

Backchatter is an interesting game that further engages conference attendees. The idea behind Backchatter is simple: Participants think about the conference and choose the three words that they think will appear most often during the upcoming 60-90 minutes of backchannel. Those words are scored based on how many participants chose the word, and points are earned every time a tweet contains the word.

It was a simple game with real-time scoring that definitely added another leavel of engagement to the conference. It also enhanced backchannel learning.

For one thing, participating in this game put a backchannel participant on almost equal ground with an in-person attendee, at least in relation to the game. It also further enhanced backchannel learning. One basic rule of learning is just as true in the backchannel as it is in any other type of learning: If you are engaged, you have a better chance of learning. Backchatter definitely succeeds at increasing engagement.

Another way that Backchatter contributed to the learning was a subtle part of it's home page. It included a tag cloud that showed the most commonly chosen words of the participants. Like the program guide, this tag cloud provided a glimpse into the overall themes and ideas that were floating through the minds of conference participants.

Search the Hashtag for Tweets with Links

Monitoring a conference backchannel can be time consuming. Doing so live is preferred, as it gives you the option to interact with conference attendees. Unfortunately, that's not always an option.

When time is an issue, that doesn't eliminate backchannel learning. You can make best use of your limited time by performing an advanced search for tweets that provide more detail for your backchannel learning.

In my previous post on learning from a conference you did not attend, I suggested performing an advanced search looking for blog posts about the conference. For DevLearn10, I used a different approach that I think casts a wider, and more effective, net.

Using the advanced search functionality of Twitter (available at http://search.twitter.com/), search on the conference hashtag. In addition, if you scroll all the way down to the bottom of the search options, you will see an check box option labelled 'Containing Links'; check that. Here's what the results of such a search look like:

Since most tweets referencing blog posts include a link, this search covers that. It also catches much more valuable information for backchannel learning, including:

• Photos from the conference, often including pictures of slides being displayed.
• Links to resources and tools that speakers recommend
• Links to videos that compliment the conference content.

These are just a few of the techniques that can be used for backchannel learning. I have found them very helpful in enabling me to learn a great deal from the DevLearn10 conference. I hope these tips help you learn from an upcoming conference.

If you have any additional tips for learning via the backchannel, please add it via a comment.

Reflections on #lrnchat - Aligning and Evaluating Effective, Efficient, and Engaging Learning

Each week that I am able to participate in #lrnchat discussion I post a summary of the discussion to my blog. I do this both for my personal development as well as sharing with the Learning and Development Profession at large. This summary is based on my own interpretations of the chat; others who participated may have differing opinions or interpretations of the discussion. I welcome those that do to add your ideas to the comments.

The topic of this week's #lrnchat session was Aligning and Evaluating Effective, Efficient, and Engaging Learning.

I 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 five discussion questions that were presented to the group:

Q1) How do you ensure your learning solutions are *aligned* with organizational objectives?
Q2) How do you ensure your learning solutions are *effective*?
Q3) How do you ensure your learning solutions are *efficient*?
Q4) How do you ensure your learning solutions are *engaging*?
Q5) How do you *evalute* your learning solutions?

Key Learning Points

The discussion started with a focus on alignment. It's critical that any learning and performance solution be aligned with the overall objectives of the organization. The question is, how can we ensure that this happens?

It starts with something that seems obvious, but is often missing; L&D professionals need to be aware of what the organizational objectives are. Often L&D projects start with a problem that needs to be solved. These needs often come from a specific business unit, who may be requesting something that, in itself, is not aligned with organizational objectives. It is up to the L&D professional to ensure that all solutions have a direct line of sight to organizational objectives.

How do we do that? By consistently keeping the lines of communication open with Senior Leaders. It's also important to realize that successful organizations transform organizational objectives from something employees 'know' to something that they 'live' and 'do'.

From there the discussion moved towards ensuring solutions are effective. There was a similar theme here, as in order for a solution to be effective, it is critical that a thorough analysis be done beforehand and that the design be linked to organizational goals. The only true measure of effectiveness for a solution is whether or not the organizational goal measurement improved.

Next up in the discussion was how we can ensure our solutions are efficient. A common theme here was the need to 'cut the fat' in design. Much of the content in a solution is 'nice to know' instead of 'need to know'. If efficiency is a concern - and it often is in today's economy - we need to cut some of the 'niceties' and place focus on the key performance factors participants need to improve upon.

The brought the conversation towards ensuring solutions are engaging. There were two major themes related to engaging learners. The first was about control, specifically the need to turn it over to the learners. We need to create solutions in which learners can explore, discover, and practice skills that are transferable to the real-work environment.

Another theme towards engagement centered on making the solution 'fun'. I've never really embraced the idea of making learning 'fun', because I more often see the implementation of 'fun' as being a distraction. Fun in a performance solution can be great. However, it must be relevant fun. Fun on it's own is just that: fun. Fun that is relevant to the performance goal is powerful and engaging.

The discussion ended on the topic of how solutions are evaluated. The topic stayed on a more holistic level of evaluation, without getting into the often-debated detail of ROI, ROE, or other process-oriented aspect of evaluation. Most posts agreed that considering evaluation is something that should be done at the beginning of the process of building a solution, and it should be directly linked to the organizational and solution related objectives. In addition, what should be measured should be what impacts the organization, and in most cases that is performance, not learning.

Throughout the discussion ideas and strategies were shared that can help learning professionals build and implement better solutions. This was a chat that was probably of value for all levels of practitioner and included a number of tangible ideas that could immediately be put into practice. As always, you can find the full transcripts at http://lrnchat.com/.

There are always at least a couple of tweets that resonate well with the topic and seem to really strike a chord. Here are a few that stuck out to me from today's sessions:

On how we ensure alignment with organizational objectives:
@Quinnovator: um, *start* with your organizational objectives?
@karen_kelley: make sure everyone agrees what org objectives ARE
@c4lpt: Consider the *performance* outcomes you want to have (rather than the learning outcomes

On how we ensure learning solutions are effective:
@billcush: Learning effective if an org goal improved. What else is there?
@traceyyyz: How to ensure effectiveness? Ongoing learner evaluation and check in. Curric design that is nimble enough to adapt
@ThomasStone: Identify the critical mistakes people make in their jobs, and then measure to see if they are making fewer.

On how we ensure learning solutions are efficient:
@nlkilkenny: Just like with project management, consider constraints (resources, time, funds, etc.)
@briandusablon: Efficiency: again, review, test. Peer feedback – ask the question, “what can I cut?”
@chambo_online: Be a reflective practictioner…Can this be done better? Easier? Quicker? More effectively? Etc., If yes, implement revisions.

On how we ensure learning solutions are engaging:
@LearnNuggets: Simple. Give up control and let learner explore & discover. Let them create their own story while navigating content.
@LandDDave: Reminding learners why they should care always helps.
@c4lpt: “Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads to engagement” says Dan Pink in Drive

On how we evaluate learning solutions:
@JamesMcLuckie: Start by planning your evaluation at the *beginning* of the learning design process.
@ThomasStone: ?..are critical mistakes you are targeting reduced after the learning/training initiative?
@jaycross: Open-ended questions provide information. Closed-ended questions tell you what you want to hear.

I think the most thought provoking tweet of the day for me came from @Quinnovator, in reference to engaging learners: get out of the way, let them engage with problems, and provide appropriate resources.

Sometimes 140 characters can accommodate all that needs to be said.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad