Webinar: Using Social Media to Support Workplace Learning

Jane Hart
Social Business Consultant
Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies

Tuesday, June 12, 2012 | 10:30 AM Pacific Time

Complimentary for Paid Guild Members

More and more people are using social media and networks to solve their learning and performance problems in the workplace — connecting, conversing, and collaborating with colleagues both inside and outside the organization. Jane Hart will share her experiences in, ideas about, and predictions for using social media to support workplace learning.

Check it out:  http://www.elearningguild.com/content.cfm?selection=doc.2241&utm_campaign=tlws1206&utm_medium=email&utm_source=elg-memberp 

Google Knowledge Graph

The Knowledge Graph enables you to search for things, people or places that Google knows about—landmarks, celebrities, cities, sports teams, buildings, geographical features, movies, celestial objects, works of art and more—and instantly get information that’s relevant to your query. This is a critical first step towards building the next generation of search, which taps into the collective intelligence of the web and understands the world a bit more like people do.

Check it out:  http://www.google.com/insidesearch/features/search/knowledge.html

http://support.google.com/websearch/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2620861

http://youtu.be/mmQl6VGvX-c

Free Webinar: Clark Quinn on How Mobile Enables Social Learning, May 23

Social learning is an increasing part of organizational learning, and mobile learning brings a new dimension to social learning in important ways. What do we need to know to do this well? Find out on May 23 in How Mobile Enables Social Learning with mLearning expert Clark Quinn. Register now for this complimentary webinar.

You do not need to be a member of The eLearning Guild to access this event.

 Check it out: http://www.elearningguild.com/content.cfm?selection=doc.2239&utm_campaign=bestof1205&utm_medium=email&utm_source=elg-insider

Lose Your Excuse for Losing Energy

Great website for kids ... and everyone else.  This interactive site offers many online and offline activities for students to learn about energy conservation from the U.S Department of Energy.  View some popular excuses we hear over and over about why we don't save energy. Find videos and other resources under Energy Extras. Click on Posters to create your own energy conservation poster or to see posters created by others. Play the Energy Rescue Game (more entertaining than educational) or go to the Lost Excuses Land to save energy by eliminating the excuses and learning the facts.

Check it out:  http://www.loseyourexcuse.gov

The Gamification of Learning and Instruction

Karl Kapp’s new book “The Gamification of Learning and Instruction” launched this week – I was able to preview the book. It’s available on the ASTDBook store and Amazon. Make sure to use your Chapter Code when ordering the book to support your local ASTD Chapter - the Houston ASTD Code is CH7032.

From the book - The engagement achieved through games means that gamification is a concept that needs to be a part of every learning professional's tool box. Games provide meaning and context to learners, they provide a set of boundaries within a "safe" environment to explore, think and "try things out".

The four themes in the book are:

1. Describe and define the concept of gamification, dissect games to determine the elements that provide the most impact for the players and why these elements are critical to the success of the game.

2. Research and theoretical basis for the use of games and game-based thinking.

3. Matching game results with game design.

4. Actual design and development of the gamification of learning and instruction.

Full disclosure - I'm still working my way through the book.  What I’m appreciating through the book is the depth of the material, examples, and key takeways. I came into the book with my own ideas about gamification and what it means.  I’m getting a clear picture of the true power of game-based thinking including engagement, storytelling, visualization of characters and problem solving.  We’ve been using these elements in learning for a long time.  I don’t think we’ve considered them gamification.  One example given is “The Binary Game”  from Cisco (http://forums.cisco.com/CertCom/game/binary_game_page.htm).  This is a arcade game.  The idea is to teach people the basis of binary numbers.  The player leans the concepts while playing.  The patterns and strategies in game provide the ability to think in binary.  I think this book will help anyone who wants to understand how to bring “gamification” into their toolbox –finding methods to improve learning, retention and application of knowledge.  I’ll circle back with more thoughts once I complete the book!

Karl presented to the Houston ASTD chapter yesterday on this topic - his slides can be found at http://www.slideshare.net/kkapp/what-research-tells-us-about-games-gamification-and-learning.