Tools, Trends, and Technology.

2012-01-15T15:02:00.002+01:00

According to Tiwana in "The Knowledge Management Toolkit" (2000) there are some necessary steps for successful knowledge management:

Identifying knowledge gaps
Creating a culture of knowledge sharing
Creating appropriate metrics
Developing communities of practice
Diffusing best practices
Training
Structuring processes
Removing knowledge sharing barriers
Aligning local knowledge
Creating process triggers
Making knowledge management a part and parcel of routine work

In addition, he favors solutions that leverage the intranet as it is at the heart of any business. Do these still look relevant 12 years later?

The Invention of the Wheel

2011-10-20T15:53:00.001+02:00

I have been looking for this video for quite some time today. But it was worth the search: it is classic in the sense that for any project, any process or tool update - in fact any given change, there are people that don't see the benefit of it. And I'm not saying this is a bad thing. It is just important to know that new ideas are usually rejected - simply because they are different. Keep that in mind as evidence for the importance of change management for your next technology project.

Wasting less time with Priority Inbox for MS Outlook

2011-07-07T18:02:00.003+02:00

I recently came to the conclusion that I wasted too much time moving emails back and forth in my MS Outlook folders. Googlemail just introduced a new feature which I also wanted to implement for Outlook: Priority Inbox. This basically moves the most important (new, or flagged) messages on top of your inbox and simply ignores the rest (with google and in many companies you get unlimited storage) to stay on top of your information overflow.

So, how can you set this up in Outlook?

First, you need to group the inbox by Flag Status
Secondly you start using the flags for messages (e.g., some messages are flagged for follow up, other’s are completed, the rest is unflagged)

HINTS

Don’t worry about the unflagged messages, although it might be a strange feeling at first to have so many messages in your inbox. The idea is that you don’t waste time deleting or sorting messages into folders that are rather unimportant. Most messages are trash, then there is messages that contain info you simply need to know about - and finally there is a couple of items where you actually have to do something (=flag them to move them on top of the pile!).
If you want you can use two folders and move all your @Completed and @Unflagged messages into these dumps at the end of the week.
Today's searches (yes, even the Microsoft search) are quite powerful. They'll help you find you what you are looking for.

Remember: don’t waste time with old news.

Netzwerk-Treffen, Unternehmenskultur, IT & Co. Die größten Hürden von Wissensmanagement-Projekten

2011-04-15T13:26:00.004+02:00

This is my summary of the Network meeting on April 14, 2011. The setting was well chosen in the the rooms of mein-arbeitstraum.

According to the Gallup organization only 13% of all employees are engaged at work. This means that the rest is either indifferent or actively disengaged. Of course, this context hinders the acceptance for knowledge sharing as it initially creates more work for the employees.

OLAF SCHMIDT, K+K, "8 REASONS FOR PROJECT FAILURE"

There are a number of reasons why knowledge management projects fail.
It is important to create a passion for sharing. This should be the number one priority.
Knowledge management is not (just) an IT topic because "a fool with a tool is still a fool".
Don't become lazy ("Wash me, but don't make me wet"-effect). Some serious work is required to make kdb projects successful.
An evaluation of the organization is important - is sharing of knowledge already part of the culture? Or do knowledge silos exist, i.e. departments don't communicate with each other?
Wikipedia Fail (Wikipediairrtum): sharing does not work, only if there is the right amount/kind of people.
A critical mass needs to be reached: usually only 1% write content, about 8% comment and rate - the rest simply consumes.
It is not enough to know how it works theoretically - you have to know it by heart in order to explain it to others.
Don't put pressure on knowledge projects. Especially the change in culture takes a considerable amount of time.
The concept of knowledge management needs to be adjusted iteratively.
Profit from other people's mistakes (network!). Learn from best practices.
Communicate with all relevant stakeholders frequently.
Accept counterarguments and don't block them. Rather resolve them along the way.
It is important that the goal of the project is aligned to the strategic goals of the company - knowledge management should be part of the company vision.
Summary: a change in the culture is always needed, new ways of communication shall be accepted, don't administer but create knowledge.

DR. MICHAEL MÜLLER, SCINOVIS

2 major trends exist: demographical change & social software.
Provide quality information and have a controlled, initial amount of data.
As contiunity is key, a beta status indicator (like goolemail) might be a good idea.
Focus of all projects shall be the usage of knowledge not the collection.
Is shared knowledge understandable for other users? Should real (as in: this is how we really do it) or ideal processes be documented? Can knowledge be documented at all? It has to happen continuously.
To improve quality it might make sense to install a consultant that enters the information who asks the right questions.
Web 3.0: ontologies; drawback: often it is too hard for employees to enter this data.
Good experience with knowledge maps with mindmaps (not optimal for big maps => .mm to Wiki).
Process-oriented knowledge management is a current trend to integrate knowledge within process descriptions.
Usually there is strawfire effects (Strohfeuer) in knowledge management, with every new tool.
Can the five senses be attracted: sounds of motors, scents of flowers?
Workflows for rating and notifications about new articles are necessary.
Demand-driven knowledge promises good results. Don't collect knowledge in advance. A better concept is to answer questions that are answered throughout the day.
Ideal Knowledge Management: employees ask good questions.
"Vision of single source"
Problem is usually: I don't have time to fix the fence, I must collect the lost chickens!

All in all, these talks provided a solid overview of risks and chances of knowledge management in enterprises.

Johnny Bunko's 6 Career Secrets

2011-02-25T11:36:00.001+01:00

I just learned the following helpful career advises:

There is no plan: Don't spend too much time planning your career. It often turns out differently. Be open for challenges.
Think strengths not weaknesses: Focus on your strengths and improve them!
It is not about you: It is about making other people look good and helping out.
Make excellent mistakes: If you make a mistake, don't panic. Learn from it. Only strong people can handle mistakes. Other's would rather try to avoid mistakes which won't lead to innovation.
Persistence trumps talent: In the long run it is more important to persist at what you do. Keep on doing what you do and you will succeed.
Leave an imprint: Try to make a difference in your job and your life now. Be enthusiastic at what you do. This makes it easier to succeed.

(The adventures of Johnny Bunko, The last career guide you'll ever need by Daniel H. Pink)

Project Plan With MS Excel 2007 (including Gantt)

2011-02-01T11:04:00.002+01:00

For a recent project (introduction of a knowledge database) I created this Excel Project Plan that makes use of table styles, conditional formatting, data validation and grouping. The highlight on the second tab is a nice Gantt chart which is basically a bar graph. I think this approach works well for small and medium projects! You can find good tutorials to create these kind of graphs on youtube (e.g., this one).

Update: here you can download the file.

Online Educa 2010 Review

2011-02-01T09:58:00.003+01:00

GENERAL IMPRESSION

The Hotel Intercontinental in the centre of Berlin provided a great framework for 2010’s conference. There was an exceptional international atmosphere - 108 countries participated. The Dutch had the highest presence at the conference, followed by the English. Usually the groups were between 20-40 people so that discussions and questions were possible. Although the weather conditions were bad, most presenters and participants made it to the conference. Due to the high attendance, some workshops had to be held in an additional location (Hotel Schweizerhof).

The presenters were dedicated and motivated training professionals that focused on best practices and recent studies about innovative technology. The quality of the speeches and presentations was very high. The audience participated in discussions and made valuable input. Unfortunately, some interesting seminars were offered at the same time. Also, we were of the impression that the focus of some presentations and case studies was on Universities - but the main principles can easily be adapted to any company.

All in all the conference was a worthwhile investment.

MOST IMPORTANT TRENDS

Summary of the trends that were discussed throughout the conference:
• The density of iPad/iPhones was incredible: apple products are the de-facto standard for mobile learning and mobility

• The notion was that technology and apps exist now. The challenge is now simply to facilitate them and see what works and what doesn’t

• Web 2.0 (interaction, socialising, fun) is still a big deal and in the process of being implemented in most enterprises

• Some presenters claim the “death of the LMS”. However, there will still be room for LMS in the future but there is a need to put more emphasis on exploring the benefits of informal learning options

• Marketing of new tools becomes an essential implementation step, done through “Product Evangelists”

• Next step: integration of marketing, learning and product knowledge information in one integrated knowledge portal for the customer (all relevant information in one place)

• Start to interact with customers now! Because the competition already does...

• “A teacher that can be replaced by a machine – should be” = re-define roles & responsibilities of trainers

• Blended learning is successful = now enhance the training portfolio with twitter and Facebook updates to keep customers informed (helps to keep retention on a high level!)

• Game based learning and simulation is making progress but still cumbersome and expensive to build

• Balancing individual vs. organizational learning is a challenge

• Working in the cloud is still a big trend

• Challenge: Finding the right mix / blend of learning modalities

• To sum up: be social, be ethical and share your knowledge

Outlook Desktop Alert Settings

2010-12-17T10:44:00.005+01:00

If you are like me, the Outlook desktop alert might distract you. It pops up and plays a sound to inform you about incoming emails. Let's make this more subtle:

In Outlook 2007 click on Tools > Options

Go to E-mail Options...

Click Advanced E-mail Options

Click Desktop Alert Settings...

Change the settings to fit your needs (e.g., 3 seconds with 50% transparency).

Done!

3 Excel Tips

2009-05-27T10:30:00.003+02:00

I have spend quite some time to find answers to the following 3 questions:

How do I group a pivot table by month/year/quarter?

Click on a single date entry in the pivot table - options - group selection (make sure all date fields are correctly entered as date, no blanks or text like n/a)

How do I create a running total in a pivot table?

If you don't want the sum of every value separately but want to add it all up over a period of time do the following: Have a look at the Pivot Table Field list (panel on the right), find the entry in the values area ("Sum of..."). Click on the arrow. Select the Value Field Settings in the list. IN the dialog select Summarize by 'Sum', and in the next tab (Show value as) select 'Running Total'. Why is it so complicated? I don't know.

How do I use the TODAY() function in a complex formula?

If you want to use the TODAY() function in a formula you might get an error (e.g., volatile). I wanted to generate the Sum of values if the date was before today. The trick is to seperate the comparison and the date from another and concatenate it afterwards. Excel seems to like it better this way:

"<=" & TODAY()

Excel 2007

2009-05-22T11:44:00.004+02:00

Recently I have been spending quite some time with Microsoft Excel 2007. I belong to the group of people who really benefit from the new design and layout, especially the ribbon. I don't have Excel at home so I might have to convert files on my machine. I came across two tools that might be intersting for you as well:

Excel Viewer
Zamzar - free online file conversion

Musilicious

2009-04-28T13:23:00.001+02:00

Be your own band:

Online Storage

2009-03-31T15:46:00.003+02:00

As you may know, I like to store some of my files online using googlemail or google docs. This works fine but there are also other nice tools out there:

www.humyo.de
www.getdropbox.com

Humyo gives you more online space (10GB) but with dropbox you can install a little client and then simply drag your content to a dedicated folder on your harddrive and it will be synced automatically (no upload dialog necessary)!

Photoshop online alternative

2009-01-23T13:29:00.002+01:00

I know I am not the first one to say it but desktop applications are going to die - soon. Check out Snipshot an interesting alternative to Photoshop.

Folder size

2009-01-23T13:07:00.007+01:00

If you are like me you like to clean up your harddrive every now and then. It is a lot easier when you know where the big and unused files are on your computer. I recently downloaded folder size - this application makes it easy to spot where your big files are located. It is indeed a shame that Windows doesn't come with it out of the box.

Networking networks

2009-01-23T13:01:00.004+01:00

As you might have noticed I added a link to my Xing homepage under my picture. I use a wide range of online profiles for different purposes. Xing is great for connecting with colleagues but I think the great potential of these social networks hasn't been released yet. By connecting different networks (e.g., blogger and xing) people can get a better impression of what kind of person you are.

Enter business information to google maps

2009-01-02T13:26:00.005+01:00

Today I explored a couple of ways for small businesses to be more visible on the internet. Again, Google is a very good place to start. First, I used google business center to enter my office location and description to google maps. This involves registration and can either be done by phone, postcard or fax. I chose phone. A Google robot called me - I confirmed the information by providing a pin number and now my clients can find my business online. I also a added a coupon so that clients are encouraged to contact me.

I also wanted to create a homepage for my small business - but googles sites (formerly pages) look lame and cannot yet be compared to professional webpages.

PowerPoint 2007 compressing pictures

2008-11-19T10:47:00.006+01:00

Have you ever wondered why your pictures get worse and worse everytime you save your PowerPoint (or other Office) document? The answer is: Office 2007 comes with auto compression functions for every single file. You can find them under Save As -> Tools -> Compress Pictures -> Options. You can uncheck this option - but it will only be valid for your current file.

Now, let's have a look at disabling this option once and for all.

Push the Windows button + R and enter regedit. Yep, now we are in the registry.
Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\PowerPoint\Options
Now on the right pane, right click and add a Dword called AutomaticPictureCompressionDefault

Congratulations. That's it!

Google Maps

2008-10-30T19:27:00.005+01:00

Go to http://maps.google.com and then type in the location you want to add to your blog or website. Click on 'link' in the upper right corner on the website and copy the code.

Größere Kartenansicht

Sales skills

2008-10-08T14:03:00.004+02:00

I find it increasingly important to learn skills that help me to 'sell my work'. Part of it is to overcome other people's objections, whether it be a certain tool, method or process. It comes down to methods skilled sales people use. I have learned two of these recently:

Initial Benefit Statement (IBS): Internal and external customer's are interested in their benefit to your solution. Start a conversation or meeting with "Today I would like to show you how to provide training to the organization in less time and with less hassle!" The benefits for the customer or your colleague are clear and he he will surely become interested in what you have to offer.
What's in it for me? (WIFM): This is probably one of the most frequently asked question these days. Even though people might act polite and interested on the surface, what they really want to know, is what benefits your solution has to them.

Now, take some time to chill:

When a young salesman met his untimely end, he was informed that he had a choice about where he would spend his eternity: Heaven or Hell. He was allowed to visit both places, and then make his decision afterwards. "I'll see Heaven first," said the salesman, and an angel led through the gates on a private tour. Inside it was very peaceful and serene, and all the people there were playing harps and eating grapes. "Can I see Hell now?" he asked. The angel pointed him to the elevator, and he went down to the Basement where he was greeted by one of Satan's loyal followers. The salesman was led through a tour of what appeared to be the best night clubs he'd ever seen. People were partying loudly, and having a 'Hell of a time'. When the tour ended, he was sent back up where the angel asked him if he had reached a final decision. "Yes, I have," he replied. "As great as Heaven looks and all, I have to admit that Hell was more of my kind of place. I've decided to spend my eternity down there." The salesman was sent to hell, where he was immediately thrown into a cave and was chained to a wall, and he was subjected to various tortures. "When I came down here for the tour," he yelled with anger and pain, "I was shown a whole bunch of bars and parties and other great stuff! What happened?!" The devil replied, "Oh, that! That was just the Sales Demo."

The Fisherman and His Wife - Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

2008-10-07T15:10:00.000+02:00

Once upon a time there were a fisherman and his wife who lived together in a filthy shack near the sea. Every day the fisherman went out fishing, and he fished, and he fished. Once he was sitting there fishing and looking into the clear water, and he sat, and he sat. Then his hook went to the bottom, deep down, and when he pulled it out, he had caught a large flounder.

Then the flounder said to him, "Listen, fisherman, I beg you to let me live. I am not an ordinary flounder, but an enchanted prince. How will it help you to kill me? I would not taste good to you. Put me back into the water, and let me swim."

"Well," said the man, "there's no need to say more. I can certainly let a fish swim away who knows how to talk."

With that he put it back into the clear water, and the flounder disappeared to the bottom, leaving a long trail of blood behind him.

Then the fisherman got up and went home to his wife in the filthy shack.

"Husband," said the woman, "didn't you catch anything today?"

"No," said the man. "I caught a flounder, but he told me that he was an enchanted prince, so I let him swim away."

"Didn't you ask for anything first?" said the woman.

"No," said the man. "What should I have asked for?"

"Oh," said the woman. "It is terrible living in this shack. It stinks and is filthy. You should have asked for a little cottage for us. Go back and call him. Tell him that we want to have a little cottage. He will surely give it to us."

"Oh," said the man. "Why should I go back there?"

"Look," said the woman, "you did catch him, and then you let him swim away. He will surely do this for us. Go right now."

The man did not want to go, but neither did he want to oppose his wife, so he went back to the sea.

When he arrived there it was no longer clear, but yellow and green. He stood there and said:

Mandje! Mandje! Timpe Te!

Flounder, flounder, in the sea!

My wife, my wife Ilsebill,

Wants not, wants not, what I will

The flounder swam up and said, "What does she want then?"

"Oh," said the man, "I did catch you, and now my wife says that I really should have asked for something. She doesn't want to live in a filthy shack any longer. She would like to have a cottage."

"Go home," said the flounder. "She already has it."

The man went home, and his wife was standing in the door of a cottage, and she said to him, "Come in. See, now isn't this much better?"

There was a little front yard, and a beautiful little parlor, and a bedroom where their bed was standing, and a kitchen, and a dining room. Everything was beautifully furnished and supplied with tin and brass utensils, just as it should be. And outside there was a little yard with chickens and ducks and a garden with vegetables and fruit.

"Look," said the woman. "Isn't this nice?"

"Yes," said the man. "This is quite enough. We can live here very well."

"We will think about that," said the woman.

Then they ate something and went to bed.

Everything went well for a week or two, and then the woman said, "Listen, husband. This cottage is too small. The yard and the garden are too little. The flounder could have given us a larger house. I would like to live in a large stone palace. Go back to the flounder and tell him to give us a palace."

"Oh, wife," said the man, "the cottage is good enough. Why would we want to live in a palace?"

"I know why," said the woman. "Now you just go. The flounder can do that."

"Now, wife, the flounder has just given us the cottage. I don't want to go back so soon. It may make the flounder angry."

"Just go," said the woman. "He can do it, and he won't mind doing it. Just go."

The man's heart was heavy, and he did not want to go. He said to himself, "This is not right," but he went anyway.

When he arrived at the sea the water was purple and dark blue and gray and dense, and no longer green and yellow. He stood there and said:

Mandje! Mandje! Timpe Te!

Flounder, flounder, in the sea!

My wife, my wife Ilsebill,

Wants not, wants not, what I will

"What does she want then?" said the flounder.

"Oh," said the man sadly, "my wife wants to live in a stone palace."

"Go home. She's already standing before the door," said the flounder.

Then the man went his way, thinking he was going home, but when he arrived, standing there was a large stone palace. His wife was standing on the stairway, about to enter.

Taking him by the hand, she said, "Come inside."

He went inside with her. Inside the palace there was a large front hallway with a marble floor. Numerous servants opened up the large doors for them. The walls were all white and covered with beautiful tapestry. In the rooms there were chairs and tables of pure gold. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceilings. The rooms and chambers all had carpets. Food and the very best wine overloaded the tables until they almost collapsed. Outside the house there was a large courtyard with the very best carriages and stalls for horses and cows. Furthermore there was a magnificent garden with the most beautiful flowers and fine fruit trees and a pleasure forest a good half mile long, with elk and deer and hares and everything that anyone could possibly want.

"Now," said the woman, "isn't this nice?"

"Oh, yes" said the man. "This is quite enough. We can live in this beautiful palace and be satisfied."

"We'll think about it," said the woman. "Let's sleep on it." And with that they went to bed.

The next morning the woman woke up first. It was just daylight, and from her bed she could see the magnificent landscape before her. Her husband was just starting to stir when she poked him in the side with her elbow and said, "Husband, get up and look out the window. Look, couldn't we be king over all this land?"

"Oh, wife," said the man, "why would we want to be king? I don't want to be king."

"Well," said the woman, "even if you don't want to be king, I want to be king."

"Oh, wife," said the man, "why do you want to be king? I don't want to tell him that."

"Why not?" said the woman, "Go there immediately. I must be king."

So the man, saddened because his wife wanted to be king, went back.

"This is not right, not right at all," thought the man. He did not want to go, but he went anyway.

When he arrived at the sea it was dark gray, and the water heaved up from below and had a foul smell. He stood there and said:

Mandje! Mandje! Timpe Te!

Flounder, flounder, in the sea!

My wife, my wife Ilsebill,

Wants not, wants not, what I will

"What does she want then," said the flounder.

"Oh," said the man, "she wants to be king."

"Go home. She is already king," said the flounder.

Then the man went home, and when he arrived there, the palace had become much larger, with a tall tower and magnificent decorations. Sentries stood outside the door, and there were so many soldiers, and drums, and trumpets. When he went inside everything was of pure marble and gold with velvet covers and large golden tassels. Then the doors to the great hall opened up, and there was the entire court. His wife was sitting on a high throne of gold and diamonds. She was wearing a large golden crown, and in her hand was a scepter of pure gold and precious stones. On either side of her there stood a line of maids-in-waiting, each one a head shorter than the other.

"Oh, wife, are you now king?"

"Yes," she said, "now I am king."

He stood and looked at her, and after thus looking at her for a while he said, "Wife, it is very nice that you are king. Now we don't have to wish for anything else."

"No, husband," she said, becoming restless. "Time is on my hands. I cannot stand it any longer. Go to the flounder. I am king, but now I must become emperor."

"Oh, wife" said the man, "Why do you want to become emperor?"

"Husband," she said, "go to the flounder. I want to be emperor."

"Oh, wife," said the man, "he cannot make you emperor. I cannot tell the flounder to do that. There is only one emperor in the realm. The flounder cannot make you emperor. He cannot do that."

"What!" said the woman. "I am king, and you are my husband. Are you going? Go there immediately. If he can make me king then he can make me emperor. I want to be and have to be emperor. Go there immediately."

So he had to go. As he went on his way the frightened man thought to himself, "This is not going to end well. To ask to be emperor is shameful. The flounder is going to get tired of this."

With that he arrived at the sea. The water was all black and dense and boiling up from within. A strong wind blew over him that curdled the water. He stood there and said:

Mandje! Mandje! Timpe Te!

Flounder, flounder, in the sea!

My wife, my wife Ilsebill,

Wants not, wants not, what I will

"What does she want then?" said the flounder.

"Oh, flounder," he said, "my wife wants to become emperor."

"Go home," said the flounder. "She is already emperor."

Then the man went home, and when he arrived there, the entire palace was made of polished marble with alabaster statues and golden decoration. Soldiers were marching outside the gate, blowing trumpets and beating tympani and drums. Inside the house, barons and counts and dukes were walking around like servants. They opened the doors for him, which were made of pure gold. He went inside where his wife was sitting on a throne made of one piece of gold a good two miles high, and she was wearing a large golden crown that was three yards high, all set with diamonds and carbuncles. In the one hand she had a scepter, and in the other the imperial orb. Bodyguards were standing in two rows at her sides: each one smaller than the other, beginning with the largest giant and ending with the littlest dwarf, who was no larger than my little finger. Many princes and dukes were standing in front of her.

The man went and stood among them and said, "Wife, are you emperor now?"

"Yes," she said, "I am emperor."

He stood and looked at her, and after thus looking at her for a while, he said, "Wife, it is very nice that you are emperor."

"Husband," she said. "Why are you standing there? Now that I am emperor, and I want to become pope."

"Oh, wife!" said the man. "What do you not want? There is only one pope in all Christendom. He cannot make you pope."

"Husband," she said, "I want to become pope. Go there immediately. I must become pope this very day."

"No, wife," he said, "I cannot tell him that. It will come to no good. That is too much. The flounder cannot make you pope."

"Husband, what nonsense!" said the woman. "If he can make me emperor, then he can make me pope as well. Go there immediately. I am emperor, and you are my husband. Are you going?"

Then the frightened man went. He felt sick all over, and his knees and legs were shaking, and the wind was blowing over the land, and clouds flew by as the darkness of evening fell. Leaves blew from the trees, and the water roared and boiled as it crashed onto the shore. In the distance he could see ships, shooting distress signals as they tossed and turned on the waves. There was a little blue in the middle of the sky, but on all sides it had turned red, as in a terrible lightning storm. Full of despair he stood there and said:

Mandje! Mandje! Timpe Te!

Flounder, flounder, in the sea!

My wife, my wife Ilsebill,

Wants not, wants not, what I will

"What does she want then?" said the flounder.

"Oh," said the man, "she wants to become pope."

"Go home," said the flounder. "She is already pope."

Then he went home, and when he arrived there, there was a large church surrounded by nothing but palaces. He forced his way through the crowd. Inside everything was illuminated with thousands and thousands of lights, and his wife was clothed in pure gold and sitting on a much higher throne. She was wearing three large golden crowns. She was surrounded with church-like splendor, and at her sides there were two banks of candles. The largest was as thick and as tall as the largest tower, down to the smallest kitchen candle. And all the emperors and kings were kneeling before her kissing her slipper.

"Wife," said the man, giving her a good look, "are you pope now?"

"Yes," she said, "I am pope."

Then he stood there looking at her, and it was as if he were looking into the bright sun. After he had looked at her for a while he said, "Wife, It is good that you are pope!"

She stood there as stiff as a tree, neither stirring nor moving.

Then he said, "Wife, be satisfied now that you are pope. There is nothing else that you can become."

"I have to think about that," said the woman.

Then they both went to bed, but she was not satisfied. Her desires would not let her sleep. She kept thinking what she wanted to become next.

The man slept well and soundly, for he had run about a lot during the day, but the woman could not sleep at all, but tossed and turned from one side to the other all night long, always thinking about what she could become, but she could not think of anything.

Then the sun was about to rise, and when she saw the early light of dawn she sat up in bed and watched through the window as the sun came up.

"Aha," she thought. "Could not I cause the sun and the moon to rise?"

"Husband," she said, poking him in the ribs with her elbow, "wake up and go back to the flounder. I want to become like God."

The man, who was still mostly asleep, was so startled that he fell out of bed. He thought that he had misunderstood her, so, rubbing his eyes, he said, "Wife, what did you say?"

"Husband," she said, "I cannot stand it when I see the sun and the moon rising, and I cannot cause them to do so. I will not have a single hour of peace until I myself can cause them to rise."

She looked at him so gruesomely that he shuddered.

"Go there immediately. I want to become like God."

"Oh, wife," said the man, falling on his knees before her, "the flounder cannot do that. He can make you emperor and pope, but I beg you, be satisfied and remain pope."

Anger fell over her. Her hair flew wildly about her head. Tearing open her bodice she kicked him with her foot and shouted, "I cannot stand it! I cannot stand it any longer! Go there immediately!"

He put on his trousers and ran off like a madman.

Outside such a storm was raging that he could hardly stand on his feet. Houses and trees were blowing over. The mountains were shaking, and boulders were rolling from the cliffs into the sea. The sky was as black as pitch. There was thunder and lightning. In the sea there were great black waves as high as church towers and mountains, all capped with crowns of white foam.

Mandje! Mandje! Timpe Te!

Flounder, flounder, in the sea!

My wife, my wife Ilsebill,

Wants not, wants not, what I will

"What does she want then?" said the flounder.

"Oh," he said, "she wants to become like God."

"Go home. She is sitting in her filthy shack again."

And they are sitting there even today.

Source: Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Von dem Fischer un syner Fru, Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children's and Household Tales -- Grimms' Fairy Tales), final edition (Berlin, 1857), no. 19.

9 Best practices to create engaging e-learning modules

2008-10-07T14:55:00.003+02:00

These are some tips I have gathered for you:

Define a learning Goal & learning objectives

Learning goal: e.g., “Learner’s will gain a greater appreciation for BrainLAB equipment”
Learning objectives (understandable, challenging, achievable, measureable): e.g., “Given a list of 20 equipment components, the learner must be able to recall and correctly list the names of at least 15”

Understand your audience

Do some research on your audience: age, job-role, experience, nationality
How diverse is the group? Does the group have specific learning preferences?
What is the learners’ motivation and attitude towards this training/ the presenter/ the division?
Focus on your topic: don’t waste your learners’ time

Create a good script

Always write a script or storyboard - even if you have a lot of experience
Write a transcript. Use the PowerPoint ‘Notes’ functionality

Make your slides interesting

Engage the recipient’s eyes and ears: with images, animations, sounds, music, interactive flashmovies to bring your content to life
Use plenty of examples and analogies - from your own experience
Don’t just read the text - explain it
Read the presentation to yourself and someone else and know the material you are presenting
Make sure your layout is clear, simple and comprehendible
Use rhetorical questions that you answer on the next slide
Online Course: no longer than 15 minutes (additional information via: ‘For more info, see…’)

Finish strong

Try to answer the questions the audience might have
Suggest ways to practice the material
Summarize what has been learned

Understand your authoring tool

Use a good microphone in a quiet environment to add audio
Speak calm and articulated
For best results, use the following files: .png, .swf
Test your content in different envorionments (e.g., platforms)

Text guidelines

Avoid long sentences
Reduce the written content to a minimum: No more than 4 bulletpoints, 6 words in a row, 6 lines of text
Be sure the text contrasts with the background
Fancy fonts, abbrev. and words in CAPITALS are hard to read
Check spelling and grammar
Avoid the words ‘You’ and ‘I’
Use gender neutral terms
Follow guidelines established in your company's BrandBook
Explain technical jargon

Image guidelines

Use full-screen images to make your point
Explain your image
Use recent, high quality pictures (.emf, .png)

General

Incorporate your company's values (e.g., fun, integrity, innovation)
Be honest, be positive
Focus on content and time-to-market, not on details
Evaluate your training: has it resulted in any measurable benefits?
Developing test questions will take longer than you might expect (plan 2-3 weeks)

Articulate Studio '09 released

2008-10-07T13:47:00.004+02:00

I have been working with Articulate products for more than a year now. In my company I am responsible for e-learning tools & processes and I have supported the creation of approx. 60 projects by different divions. Have I mentioned that I didn't know much about e-learning before? This wouldn't have been possible without Articulate's easy to use products (including the Rapid e-learning blog). The recently released new version ('09) has brought a lot of enhancements that make the tools even better (usability & functionality). If you are looking for a great rapid e-learning tool that converts PowerPoint to incredible Flash output, check out Articulate's products!

5 e-learning trends

2008-10-07T13:28:00.002+02:00

I participated in an intersting seminar last week. These top 5 e-learning trends were mentioned:

Rapid learning: 72% of all training events are time critical. That means tools that allow for easy creation of content will become more important.
Blended learning: Instead of having either instructor-led courses OR computer based training OR online meetings it should be obvioius that using the right tool for the right job is what we need.
Collaborative Development: Team work using collaborative environments enables Subject Matter Experts to profit from pre-defined processes, templates, and workflows. E-learning modules can be recycled, and easily be updated or translated.
Learning on demand: Communities and personal learning space will become more important in the future where people receive the information they seek just in time. Companies need to provide the infrastructure and processes to support this demand.
Enterprise wide use: E-learning will no longer be the creation of another isolated course module. But an enterprise wide content strategy will determine which contents will be published.

Learning vs. knowing

2008-09-11T20:36:00.004+02:00

A german saying is: "Du musst nicht alles wissen, du musst nur wissen, wo es steht." You don't need to know everything, but you must know where to find it. Now, imagine there was a place where you could find all answers to all your questions (e.g., the internet). If you had unlimited access to this resource wouldn't that mean that you don't need to know anything? Have a look at Neo below (The Matrix). He simply plugs in to an online lesson about KungFu (and, in another scene a helicopter) - and 'knows'! This is really impressive but I would like to go even further and raise a question: is learning really as important as we think? Or would it be enough to know when we need to know?

Large Hadron Collider

2008-09-11T20:18:00.002+02:00

Yesterday mankind started one of the biggest (and most expensive) scientific experiments. A massive tunnel that is about 27km long and reeaaally cold. It is meant to prove the existence of the Higgs field which might give us an insight into the creation of the world. I found this funny rap of one of the workers at CERN. Now this is web2.0: yesterday I was one of 150.000 people who have watched it on youtube.com - the counter is at 2.500.000 today!