#astd2013, Social Media for Trainers by @janebozarth

The last presentation on day two was with Jane Bozarth, and it focused on using social media in a training environment both in class and supporting the class. During the presentation, she encouraged us to tweet to #astd2013 and #m209. She also provide a link to resources supporting her presentation.

Bozarth has two books on the subject: Elearning Solutions on a Shoestring and Social Media for Trainers.

To begin her presentation, she polled us about our experiences with social media: I don’t get it, I check in once in a while, I actively engage, and I engage, create content, drive discussion.

She then moved on to discussing Web 2.0. She pointed out that Web 2.0 was Web-based, more than one person was putting stuff on the server or site, it is often free, and was often user-done and not dependent on IT. Social media, specifically,  was content that invites and allows others to participate.

There are benefits to using social media for learning and teaching:

• social learning / informal learning
• relationship building / community crowdsourcing
• knowledge management / transfer of learning

 ”Email is a place where information goes to die.”

One bit of advise that got a chuckle out of me was “IT folks do not set policy.” However, in my experience, they certainly think they do.

Using social media to support learning can help change the traditional model of training where you have training events periodically given throughout the employee’s lifetime to continuous learning across the lifetime. Social media can be used to support classes or be used to deliver a class. We need to look for opportunities for people to use social media tools in a learning setting. For example, have class take notes in a Google doc.

We should also be using social media tools to help build learning communities.

Social Media Tools

Blog

A blog is free idiot-proof Web page. It is password protected and moderated. A blog can contain pictures, videos, and links. Participants can also post and respond to comments.

Bozarth showed some learning blogs in action:

• 23 Things - an online library course to teach librarians how to use different social media tools.
• Teaching English in Japan

She asked u,s how many had a mobile phone? It was almost 100%. She then asked how many of us had a camera on our phone. She wanted us to use the cameras in a learning setting.

Wiki

A wiki is a password-controlled Website where groups of individuals can collaborate and create content. Everyone can access and edit the wiki. If you are concerned about the changes, you can also be notified when a change is made. Bozarth highlighted Library Success as a great example of a learning wiki. Here is an example how I am using a wiki to support learning.

Facebook

Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+ are useful sites for building community because they are easy to use. Bozarth pointed out that “No one asked me how to upload a picture to Facebook.” She also noted that Facebook is block on local computers (government and schools) but not on phones. Again, why are we blocking them?

“No one asked me how to upload a picture to Facebook.”

Twitter

Twitter is a great tool to interact with learners. It is useful for quick unstructured sharing. But unfiltered, it can be like drinking from a stream. She recommended first getting involved with Twitter chats, and recommended #lrnchat, #edchat, #blogchat, #KMrs, and #PTChat.

This was another fun and informative presentation. So far, I have been very pleased with my ASTD 2013 conference sessions.

July 2012 issue of Geeks and Speaks is out

Geeks and Speaks

Here is the July 2012 issue of Geeks and Speaks, the monthly newsletter which highlights the great finds of the previous month. This month I am sharing the first three of my informal learning guides; this supports my dissertation project on informal learning for Extension educators. Additionally, Theresa Chavez outlines how to do Extension reporting on an iPad, and Kelsey Roop shares her Meat Quality Assurance video series. This issue also provides some great ideas relating to blogging, a couple of articles relating to computer maintenance and security, and a few articles showing how to get the most out of Evernote. I added some articles on Google Docs, flipping instruction, Moodle course modeling, better presentations, screencasting, Twitter, and YouTube. Finally, there is also a link to a new book review… this time on Gamification. Enjoy!

Build your own library: What we can learn from Jefferson and Franklin

Today was the start of the third part of a six part series on informal learning. Today’s session focused on building your own knowledge library. I believe we can learn a lot from Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin. Each of these gentlemen were avid readers and prolific writers. The personal library that Jefferson donated to the Library of Congress had 6,487 volumes. Franklin was the father of the public library. But more importantly were the writings of these two gentlemen. Jefferson has approximately 27,000 documents he wrote on file at the Library of Congress. Yale University has forty volumes of 30,000 papers from Franklin.

I think reading and writing made these founding fathers who they were. They found the written word to a powerful method for conveying ideas and sharing knowledge. Franklin was not a fan of intellectual property and believe in the free sharing of information. I feel as Extension educators and instructional technologists, we have almost a duty to share what we know with others through blogs, wikis, image and video libraries. We should capture what we know and continuously build upon it, just as Jefferson and Franklin did in their time.

• Blogs are great tools for capturing personal ideas reflective of the moment.
• Wikis are powerful tools for amassing information that can be searched by others. More importantly it can be created through the cooperation of others.
• Video libraries created on tools like YouTube can capture processes and history. Playlists can be created to share knowledge on a topic.
• Image libraries can be created to capture change over time or simply a snapshot of a time and place.

These are tools available for you to build your own library. Take time to capture your personal reflections in a blog. Create an image wing in your library along with a video wing. Use a wiki to build a knowledge base available to you and others. It is a not a quick or easy project, but over time it will prove to be valuable; perhaps as valuable as the Jefferson and Franklin libraries.

Using Blogs and Wikis in the classroom

Deb Beck talked to the group about using blogs and wikis in the classroom.

This session will explore the potential – and the challenges – of using wikis and blogs in the higher education classroom. The presenter will offer an overview of each tool and lessons learned as a blogger and as someone who has used wikis for group work in an online classroom.

Deb Beck enlightens us on blogs and wikis

Deb started her presentation by pointing out that she had a number of useful resources on her Wiki. What is a blog? Blogs are a great resource for getting current information and perspectives on topics. Blog is a chronological listing of web logs. The most recent post is on the top. Blogs are typically text, but can be photo blogs, video blogs, etc. It is possible to subscribe by email or through RSS feeds. By subscribing, the information comes to you. Blogs are topical, social, and usually public. Deb does not get a many comments on the blogs, but does get discussion through Twitter. Blogs can put the student in a one to many situation instead of a discussion being hijacked.

Deb provided examples of using blogs in education.

• Sharing research
• Developing a personal professional page.
• Sharing knowledge (Laramie Board Learning Project)
• Inviting conversation (ProfHacker)
• Sharing the journey
• Student blogs for reflection (public or private)
• In the classroom
  • Creating content
  • Sharing knowledge
  • Reflecting publicly
  • Thinking critically
  • Engaging peers
  • Creating online persona
  • http://bloggingined.wikispaces.com/

Deb moved on to wikis. Wikis are a Web-page where many can collaborate. For group work, there are still student fears and anxieties. All technology can be powerful, but none are perfect. Deb uses engagement theory because she believes content created for others will result in a better product. Students appreciate creating a project for others. Students are immersed in a topic. Students learn by teaching. It is also an online collaboration experience. Deb tends to facilitate her course. She provides various support to include providing a video to show how to use a wiki, creates a brainstorming page for each group, stresses to go to the wiki to do the work, sets benchmarks or milestones for specific work products, sets a style sheet, tries to support the community.

Deb speaks to the frustrations, based on her experiences:

• They can never have “too much” information.
• Wiki can be scary.
• Groups can be transient. Different people will be active and inactive.
• Copyright concerns.
• Iffy product quality.
• Group work anxiety X 100 (plus)

Here is Deb’s advice if you want to use a wiki:

• Clear instructional goal
• Choose a wiki platform
• Understand your students & their commitment to your project.
• Is this stretch in their learning worth it?
• Be ready to provide support.
• Have a strong constitution.

Students have different anxieties with wikis. They are not sure about wikis. They do not like group work. They stress about their grade.

Deb has put together a great set of resources to help support others who want to use wikis in the class.

Good idea, using wiki or blog for collecting class notes.  A blog can be used as an optional journal assignment.

Kaijsa pointed out that blogs and wikis are powerful for developing communities of practice.

June 2012 issue of Geeks and Speaks is out

Geeks and Speaks

Here is the June 2012 issue of Geeks and Speaks, the monthly newsletter which highlights the great finds of the previous month. This issue provides some great ideas relating to blogging, a couple of articles relating to computer security and password management. Naturally, there are a couple of articles showing how to get the most out of Evernote. I added some articles on using Google Calendar to manage your projects. This month, I found a couple of great lists of books related to instructional design that I wanted to share with you. Since we have been conducting Moodle workshops, I included some links on Moodle. Additionally, there are some articles on how to produce better videos and ideas for incorporating videos in your training. Finally, there is also a link to a new learning guide on Wikis. Enjoy!

Preparing for my next informal learning Webinar

Right now, I am working on supporting content for the third Webinar of a six part series. This installment is on creating content to support informal learning.

The upcoming Webinar will focus on four tools that I believe support informal learning in different ways. These tools are blogs, wikis, Flickr, and YouTube.

Presently, I have finished working on three of them, and I am starting to work on the fourth.

Here is are the pages completed:

• Launch page
• Wikis
• Blogs
• YouTube

If you have time, please take a look and let me know what you would like to see. The idea of these pages is to have additional support content for viewers of the Webinar.

March 2012 issue of Geeks and Speaks is out

Geeks and Speaks

Here is the March 2012 issue of Geeks and Speaks, the monthly newsletter which highlights the great finds of the previous month. This issue provides some great ideas relating to blogging, Six Disciplines to Breakthrough Learning, a number of articles relating to Moodle, discussion relating to Pinterest, a bunch of great iPad applications, and a hodgepodge of other relevant articles. There is also a link to book reviews that I wrote in the past month, and a link to a new learning guide on Six Thinking Hats.

I have also included links to our archives on Webinars, learning guides, and all of the Geeks and Speaks articles linked to. Finally, to wet your learning palate, I have included a link to eXtension.org’s learning site. Enjoy!

February 2012 issue of Geeks and Speaks is out

Geeks and Speaks

Here is the February 2012 issue of Geeks and Speaks, the monthly newsletter which highlights the great finds of the previous month. This issue provides some great ideas relating to blogging, Creative Commons, and WordPress, and a hodgepodge of other relevant articles. There is also a link to book reviews that I wrote, and links to two new learning guides: Flickr and Pinterest. Enjoy!

Book review: Social media for trainers: Techniques for enhancing and extending learning

Social media for trainers: Techniques for enhancing and extending learning

Many trainers and educators are now examining or using social media tools to support their work in the classroom. When starting to learn about new tools, there is often a steep learning curve; you must not only learn how to use the features of the tool, but you must also figure out how to use it in an educational setting. Jane Bozarth’s book, Social media for trainers: Techniques for enhancing and extending learning, will help you get a jump start on the second problem… how to use the tools in an educational setting.

This book has seven primary chapters and an afterword. The first and last chapter basically outline the reasons why you would want to consider using these social media tools in your classroom or training environment. Chapters 2 through 6 make up the meat of the book. Four mainstay tools are highlighted: Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and wikis, while a number of other tools are given an overview in chapter 6.

For the chapters on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and wikis, Bozarth explains what the tool is along with advantages and disadvantages in an educational setting. She then gives a number of great examples for using each tool in different stages of the class: prior to the training event, in class, between class sessions, formative and summative evaluations, and post class. A number of the examples given work with various tools and she points this out. The examples she provides leverage the idea of informal learning and social learning. She lends ideas to help develop a sense of online community. Throughout the book, there are gems of information for getting the most out of each tool as well as strategies for managing the class and workshop while maximizing the use of each tool.

In each chapter, Bozarth gives examples for using social media tools to carry out typical in class exercises such as icebreakers, homework assignments, distributing support resources, polling students, sharing materials, case studies, role playing, and many other ideas.

Perhaps one of the best discussions related to developing a support community following a workshop or training event. She explained how to use these tools to keep participants engaged to help them with learning transfer.  She describes how to use the tools to communicate and develop community, share and distribute resources, and get feedback to strengthen courses.

Throughout the book, Bozarth includes successful case studies and links to additional reading material.  In chapter 6, Bozarth briefly provided an overview on  Google Docs, YouTube, TeacherTube, social bookmarking, Slideshare.net, virtual classrooms, Skype, VoiceThread, mash-ups, and UStream. This is a nice collection of tools that rounds out the book. Many of these tools I use on a regular basis, however, some tools were new to me.

In chapter 7, she explains the importance of social learning and spends a considerable amount of time discussing personal learning networks and communities of practice. It is clear through her writing that she understnads the importance of social learning.

If you are looking for ideas on how to use Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and wikis in your classroom or educational environment, I would then add this book to your shelf. There are a number of great ideas to get you started, and her personal Websites will provide you with additional ideas.

September issue of Geeks and Speaks is out

Geeks and Speaks

Here is the Spetember 2011 issue of Geeks and Speaks, the monthly newsletter which highlights the great finds of the previous month. This issue provides some great ideas relating to blogging, using Evernote better, a wide range of Google tips, how to jump start your personal learning network, some video tips and sites, and QR codes.

Additionally, I am highlighting the upcoming EPIC event, which is a Wyoming Extension Educators conference. Also, I am linking to fascinating presentation by Lee Crockett on the change of education and technology.

You can find your copy of Geeks and Speaks at http://www.uwyo.edu/cessupport/support/shownewsletter.asp?letterid=3561

If you are looking for past issues, you can find them at http://www.uwyo.edu/cessupport/Learning_Support/Geeks_and_Speaks.html

An if you would like to subscribe for a future issue, go to http://www.uwyo.edu/cessupport/support/emailsignup2.asp

Keep on learning!