did you know? 2.0

thanks to martha at adult education matters for posting the did you know? 2.0 video.

it is a video filled with stats as a way to reinforce that our preparation today is key to lifelong learning, no matter what area of specialty within education we may have.

one of the quotes in this presentation is so incredibly important:

“we are currently preparing students for jobs and technologies that don’t yet exist… in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.

more information at shifthappens.wikispaces.com.

and now, the video: did you know? 2.0 on teachertube.com

learn canada 2020

last week the council of ministers of education, canada (cmec) released the vision of learn canada 2020, a joint declaration from provincial and territorial ministers of education to address educational needs and aspirations of canadians.

Learn Canada 2020 is the framework the provincial and territorial ministers of education, through the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, will use to enhance Canada’s education systems, learning opportunities, and overall education outcomes. The vision of Learn Canada 2020 is Quality Lifelong Learning Opportunities for All Canadians.

Learn Canada 2020 recognizes the direct link between a well-educated population and (1) a vibrant knowledge-based economy in the 21st Century, (2) a socially progressive, sustainable society, and (3) enhanced personal growth opportunities for all Canadians.

it encompasses the four pillars of lifelong learning (early childhood learning and development, elementary to high school systems, post-secondary education, and adult learning and skill development) and identifies specific activity areas and accompanying objectives:

• Literacy: Raise the literacy levels of Canadians.
• Aboriginal Education: Eliminate the gap in academic achievement and graduation rates between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students.
• Postsecondary Capacity: Enhance and stabilize the long-term capacity of postsecondary systems to meet the training and learning needs of all Canadians seeking higher education learning opportunities.
• Education for Sustainable Development: Raise students’ awareness and encourage them to become actively engaged in working for a sustainable society.
• International and National Representation: Speak effectively and consistently for education and learning in Canada in both pan-Canadian and international settings.
• Official Languages: Promote and implement support programs for minority-language education and second-language programs that are among the most comprehensive in the world.
• Learning Assessment Programs and Performance Indicators: Support the implementation of national and international learning assessment programs and performance indicators for education systems.
• Education Data and Research Strategy: Create comprehensive, long-term strategies to collect, analyze, and disseminate nationally and internationally comparable data and research.

[ the full declaration ]

“We are committed, each in our own jurisdiction and collectively through CMEC, to ensuring that Canada leads the world in learning,” said Raymond Théberge, Director General of CMEC. “Learn Canada 2020 provides us with a shared vision that can be realized according to the unique needs and situation of each province and territory.”

upcoming live webcasts from innovate

upcoming live e-learning webcats of interest:

Preparing e-Learning Designers Using Kolb’s Model of Experiential Learning
Authors: Joni Dunlap, Jackie Dobrovolny & Dave Young
April 24, 2008
11:00 AM EST
See http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=490&action=article

Moving from Theory to Real-World Experiences in an e-Learning Community
Author: Ana-Paula Correia
May 12, 2008
1:00 PM EST
See http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=495&action=article

Game-Based Learning: A Different Perspective
Author: Karl Royle
May 14, 2008
11:00 AM EST
See http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=433&action=article

literacy and policing in canada

a focus group was held in thunder bay last month about targeting crime with literacy. input from frontline officers, supervisors, and investigators contributed to establishing the roles the police play when dealing with civilians who may have literacy challenges. this literacy project from the canadian association of chiefs of police identifies:

A high percentage of people who are convicted of criminal offences have low literacy skills. Low literacy can prevent a person’s understanding of the criminal justice system and processes. The Literacy and Policing project is developing police training materials to increase police effectiveness in communicating with all those who come into contact with the law: victims of crime, suspects, witnesses and the general public. This fall, learning materials will be available online to all officers across the country.

canadian local police services can get involved by contacting the co-chair of the crime prevention committee:

dorothy ahlgren-franklin
(613) 725-1555
frankly@magma.ca

imagine1day - lowering the barriers to education

while my primary focus is adult education, once in a while something in other areas of education and learning catches my interest and i want to blog about it.

chip wilson, founder of lululemon athletica, a popular yoga clothing chain, and his wife have invested $10million from their ipo launch to start imagine1day.

imagine1day is a charitable organisation that helps to bring primary education to northern ethiopia. however, in a recent interview on the hour (warning: video autoplay), wilson explains that it isn’t just about building a school and supplying it with books and teachers. it’s about taking care of the community so that education is possible.

he explains that perhaps one family could have a father dying of aids, a mother who has to go out to work extra to support the family, but they live 20miles from where the school is built, so they need to take care of the community and the families, in addition to developing ways to incorporate a sewage system, a fresh water system, etc.

i think imagine1day is really making charitable work more accessible by the way they break down what they need, total quantity, and remaining quantity needed. donations start at as little as $10. other options are very affordable. some examples:

teacher training
- practical training for 4 teachers on active learning, student centre approach, monitoring and evaluation, as well as continuous assessment
- needed 4
- remaining 3
- $57.47 per person

formation and traing of school pta’s
- workshop to establish and provide training for the parent teacher association
- needed 5
- remaining 4
- $114.95 per person

community education on health care
- 20 community educators will receive 20 days of basic health care education, including disease prevention (malaria and hiv/aids)
- needed 20
- remaining 16
- $45.98 per person

i’m going to keep an eye on this charity and work that into a fundraisng opportunity soon. it is great to see a canadian success story making a difference in the world in an unrelated industry.

web 2.0 tools for instruction and learning

free webinar tonight:

Web 2.0 Tools for Instruction and Learning
It’s never too late to start…

Information
Event Info Name: Web 2.0 Tools for Instruction and Learning
Host: e-Learning in Developing and Developed Countries
Type: Education - Workshop
Time and PlaceStart Time: Friday, April 4, 2008 at 10:00pm
End Time: Saturday, April 5, 2008 at 12:00am
Location: WiZiQ Public Session with Nellie Deutsch
Contact Info Email: nelliemuller@email.phoenix.edu

LearnHub and WiZiQ is hosting a live presentation on April 4 at 10.00 PM EST. Presenters will discuss web 2.0 tools for instruction and learning.

Please convert the date and time to your time zone, get your headsets ready, and enter WiZiQ 15 minutes before the scheduled time.

Time Zone conversions for this session:
1. 2:00 am in GMT
2. 10:00 p.m. Friday April 4, 2008 in EST
3. 07:00 p.m. Friday April 4, 2008 in PST
4. 05:00 a.m. Saturday April 5, 2008 in Jerusalem
5. 07:30 a.m. Saturday April 5, 2008 in IST

Join the session: http://www.wiziq.com/tutorsession/session.aspx?JuX%2bgH%2b2Gbb5Y7gQZSn5C%2bv

detailed event information including speakers: http://technical-writing.learnhub.com/lesson/page/1112-learnhub-is-alive

facebook event listing: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=27110103184

jott for blackberry

in the past i’ve tipped my hat to jott for it’s ease of use and ingenuity, and mashable recently announced that jott for the blackberry was slated for release yesterday in private beta.

while i see the value in this for the busy or business folks, the mobile learning capacity for this simply brilliant. i really hope this works well and is widely used.

keep your patent ducks in order

desire2learn’s website notes that the us patent and trademark office rejected blackboard’s 44 claims on patents that resulted in a $3million lawsuit with desire2learn.

though this is a non-final action, it is certainly an interesting turn of events and should have been resolved before the lawsuit judgement was delivered. either way, it’s a good reminder to keep your patent ducks in order.

nominations are now open for the 2008 canada post community literacy awards

do you know someone deserving of recognition for their efforts towards literacy? nominations are now open for the 2008 canada post community literacy awards. this annual event, now in its 15th year, recognises the achievement of individuals and educators who have made special effort or an important contribution to literacy.

up to 26 awards will be given to individuals, one for each english-speaking nominee and one for each french-speaking nominee in each province and territory. the winners receive a cash reward of $300 and a framed certificate.

and up to 26 awards will be given to educators, one for each english-speaking nominee and one for each french-speaking nominee in each province and territory. the winners receive a cash reward of $500 and a framed certificate.

nominations must be recieved by midnight fri mar 23, 2008. for more information visit www.canadapost.ca/literacyawards or download the nomination booklet (pdf).

immersive learning simulations - free e-learning webinar

brent over at corporate e-learning strategies and development tipped me off to a 1hr free e-learning webinar happening thu mar 27 (tomorrow) , 8:30am pst/11:30am est.

webinar sign up and report download available on his blog post.

the webinar is available to the first 400ppl that log in tomorrow. registrants can log in 15mins prior to the start of the webinar.

a $1.5billion investment for skilled trades in ontario

skilled trades and education were clearly the two winners in the ontario provincial budget announcement this week.

the skilled trades shortage is growing every day, and by 2030 ontario alone will be short nearly 360,000 skilled trades workers - these are the folks that help to build our libraries, maintain our schools, install plumbing in our condos, and lay down the cable for our internet everywhere.

the ontario government announced an investment of $1.5billion for a skills to jobs action plan, which includes $75million to increase apprenticeship programs, $355million over 3yrs for a second career strategy that will help 20,000 unemployed workers transition into new careers and well-paying jobs in growing areas of the economy, and $200million for colleges to purchase modern equipment for apprenticeship training and for maintenance and renewal of university facilities.

“we made a choice, we’ve chosen to invest in skills and training. we have chosen to invest in education.” said provincial finance minister dwight duncan.

with this announcement, the provincial government has also asked that richard florida study the changing composition of ontario’s workforce and economy.

this is all very good news for the state of education and skilled trades in ontario.

spring cleaning - unearth that canadian tire money

not education or learning related, but beneficial nonetheless:

canadian tire money, for those who aren’t canadian residents or canuck expats, is a collection of coupons resembling printed money as part of a loyalty program by a national general merchandise retail chain. many canadians occasionally shop at canadian tire, recieve the coupons at the checkout, and stuff the cantire money into a kitchen drawer.

we often unearth this money when we do spring cleaning, so i thought we could put this money to good use! consider sending me your cantire money so that we can make one collaborative donation to fife house.

for more information, please visit the pumpkin patch productions website and click on events.

21st century learners

21st century learners:

breaking the barriers to success for adult learners

a very important canadian conference will be taking place may 27-30 in belleville, on. it is the 19th annual pla conference - breaking the barriers to success for adult learners: principles, policies, and practices.

from the nald website:

This year’s theme acknowledges that while much progress has been made to improve services to adult learners there is much more to be done. In Canada we are still far away from an integrated approach to adult learning policy and practice that, if implemented could address a diversity of issues. Unfortunately there are many subtle and not-so-subtle impediments to success for adult learners - institutional barriers, fragmented and disconnected services and diverse funding mechanisms that vary from province to province, many of them ill suited to the needs and life circumstances of adult learners.

based on the key recommendations from recently released final report (pdf) from adult learner friendly institutions canada (alfican), this conference aims to explore a implementation strategy, confirming best practivce principles .

event registration is found at the bottom of the alfican events page.

if any of my canadian readers attend this event, i would love to hear about it.

the crosshairs of jobs, technology, and learning 2.0

journalist chris riedel quotes chris dede, a professor in learning technologies at harvard’s graduate school of education, from his opening remarks at the fetc 2008 conference late last month:

In a world where learners are being shaped by the things they do outside of the classroom, he said, how do we prepare students for careers that do not exist yet and that will be driven by these very same methods of learning?

these opening remarks were just the beginning of his explanation of the evolution of education brought on by web 2.0 tools, and points to, among other things, changes in learner characteristics. “It is important, he shared, for people to be fluent in new technologies and literacies because more and more jobs are disappearing that require classical knowledge.” we are at the crosshairs of where jobs, technology, and learning 2.0 intersect.

the full article is a must read for those working with education technology and continuing education.

howcast: the youtube for how-to videos

ah, jane. you find some of the best things to share with the world.

howcast is showcased in jane’s e-learning pick of the day for feb 7. it is like youtube for how-to videos, an invaluable resource for training and education.

i poked around the categories to see what sort of breadth there was, and i have to say it is quite diverse so far, and the content base is growing.

videos and wiki guides include the likes of:

• intruducing photoshop’s workspace
• how to create facebook widgets
• how to dress for an interview
• how to use a green screen
• be green, use fewer paper cups
• how to set a classic dinner table

and even:

• how to grow grassin someone’s keyboard
• how to turn someone into a zombie
• how to train your cat to play fetch

i’m going to poke around a bit more this week.

reduce reuse recycle for training

bryant nielson made a great post this week on the 5 disruptive training technologies which is actually a list of questions to consider when preparing to integrate technology into training activities.

in the list is one profound and important point: reusability.

Fourth, ask yourself if the technological intervention is reusable. If you take the time to integrate a CBT into a classroom course, participants should be able to reuse the technology as a job aid in the field. This way, they feel pressure to remember where to get information instead of feeling pressure to remember every piece of information taught in a course.

this reduces the amount of information the learners need to absorb (because, let’s face it - when learning large amounts of information, some of it automatically goes by the wayside) by enabling them to reuse the information later. and by continuously recylcying through job aids, that reinforces what they are learning and applies it to real life.

edtech weekly

i had heard about edtech weekly for a while now, but was finally able to check it out tonight.

edtech weekly episode 64 was a great casual yet informative live webcast of 4folks from various places in usa and canada. it was a quick 45mins of sharing links and brief stories of news, tools, and tips related to education. the audience can listen in using a live stream on common media players or streal live from their website, and are free to join in the conversation using a chat feature.

two gems in the list of links shared tonight are:

flypaper - bridges the gap between powerpoint and flash

myicourse - software and hosting to post your own educational materials (like moodle, for example)

from this one episode and past shows listed on their website it really does seem to be focussed on k-12 or a bit of college, but not much for adult learning which is my focus, so i’ll not likely be a regular listener, but i know i’ll check back in a few times because it is a valuable source of information.

the webcast is always on sun evening, but today was at a different time than normal. usually the webcast starts at 7:00pm est. see their calendar for more information.

creating a training dojo

some companies are blessed with the ability to create a new training department, a place to foster professional development, create career paths, and understand one’s job.

bryant neilson’s blog on training lists some great steps to creating a training dojo, starting with the most important step, one which i can’t be more heartily in agreement with:

Create a culture of development. Many organizations lack a culture that will allow training and development to grow. You must show the organization the benefits of training, from functional knowledge to career development. Explain that a training organization can lead to increased efficiency, lower turnover, higher retention, and a culture that allows learning to happen everywhere - not just in a classroom.

and followed by some other very impoartant steps:

• obtain buy-in (which he covers in a completely separate blog post)
• find an appropriate location and tools
• establish a curriculum committee

the full list of steps is great guidance to setting up a training department and getting it off on the right start.

and if i may add one more step to the list that goes hand in hand with the first step:

create a culture of entraining. make sure any training offered is done so in an effective and long-lasting way, to foster what is learned in training sessions, and to ensure that it isn’t lost once the employee goes back to their job. that may require new language throughout the organisation, new policies, new arrangements - whatever is needed to ensure training efforts aren’t lost.

blueprint for big broadband and educause learning initiative 2008

i’m a big fan of educause, an american non-profit with a mission to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology.

last week they released the paper a blueprint for big broadband which charges their federal government with the task to load every household and institution with a high-capacity broadband connection.

this isn’t unheard of in other countries around the world. here in canada for example three programs have been set up by the canadian federal government to address broadband-deficient areas, which are:

• the broadband for rural and northern development program
• the canada strategic infrastructure fund
• the national satellite initiative

these have been formed within the last 6yrs and many of which include efforts focussed on areas where inuit and first nations are more prevalent as well as rural areas where broadband is harder to come by or even non-existant.

and the grand point of it all? broadband opens up the world of possibility for education. the young and the old can have a better chance at developing life skills and personal or professional development when they have access to the tools their fellow citizens in well-wired areas of the country have already.

it’s a $32billion proposal that would span 4yrs, and it will be interesting to see what comes of this report and if the american government will take action.

the most recent significant educause event was the educause learning initiative 2008 (eliannual08):
connecting and reflecting: preparing learners for life 2.0, held last week in san antonio.

from the conference details:

The conference will demonstrate:

• Ways to help students connect with information, faculty, each other, and professional communities in authentic learning environments.
• The importance of reflecting—on learning and its application to real-world problems, professional goals, skill development, and values.

Education for Life 2.0 is not education as usual. Join us at the 2008 EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative Annual Meeting, “Connecting and Reflecting: Preparing Learners for Life 2.0,” to explore educational approaches that may better prepare students for a world of exponential change.

the educause connect blog eliannual08 was set up for live blogging, podcasts, and media sharing. i’m very curious to see what came of that confrence as well.