Workplace Learning Today by Brandon Hall Research

Use ‘United Breaks Guitars’ for Training?

Tom Werner — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:00:39 +0000

Canadian musician Dave Carroll had his guitar broken on a United flight.

United wouldn’t pay for the damage, so Carroll wrote a song about it and made a video.

Then what happened? United has apologized and asked if it can use the video in employee training. (TW)

“United Breaks Guitars” a Smash Hit on YouTube | 8 July 2009

A Discussion Space The Doesn’t Require Registration

Richard Nantel — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:00:34 +0000

There are many sites on the Web that allow multiple people to collaborate on a document. Google Docs is one well-known example. Nearly all such sites require each user to open an account; at times a long and annoying process that will lead to marketing e-mails down the road.

ReSubj is different. Collaborators do not require an account to share their thoughts. All that’s required is for the person initiating the project to invite others by e-mail. Recipients of the e-mail then have access to a Web-based inbox that contains all contributions to the project. (RN)

A Simple Discussion Space Accessible With Browser Or Email | Smashing Apps | AN Jay | 6 July 2009

LinkedIn Resources

Janet Clarey — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:00:10 +0000

Here’s a great one-stop resource for all things LinkedIn from Tony Karrer. Thanks Tony! (JC)

LinkedIn Guide for Knowledge Workers eLearning Technology Tony Karrer 6 July 2009

Best Leadership Blogs

Gary Woodill — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:00:10 +0000

If leadership is one of your areas of interest, the Ken Eikenberry Group is conducting their “3rd annual Best Leadership Blog on the Web” competition. The short list of blogs to vote on are:

Leading Blog by Michael McKinney

Great Leadership by Dan McCarthy

Seth Godin’s Blog by Seth Godin

Jon Gordon’s Blog by Jon Gordon

Leadership is a Verb by John Bishop

All Things Workplace by Steve Roesle

Work Matters by Bob Sutton

Leader Talk by Becky Robinson

Next Level Blog by Scott Eblin

Leadership At Work by John Baldoni

The winning blog will be announced on Aug. 3, 2009. (Via Stephen Gill)

Cast Your Vote | Kevin Eikenberry Group Blog | July 2009

Coming to a Website Near You: Better Ads

Gary Woodill — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:01:23 +0000

The print media business is dying, but publishers who have tried to move to the web have not found a lucrative income stream from online ads. The problem, writes Cliff Kuang in Fast Company, is that online ads are so awful, and have so little effect. Basically, companies simply transferred their model for advertising from the printed page and billboards, to mini-billboards on a web page. Now, Spongecell, a startup ad company, has produced interactive ads that improve response rates by 70%. Maybe Spongecell can be hired to improve the instructional design of boring online learning materials…. (GW)

Print Media is Dying | Fast Company | Cliff Kuang | 8 July 2009

Carry a Media Player on a Flash Thumb Drive or iPod

Richard Nantel — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:00:34 +0000

The New York Times today covered a story from GIGAOM that was originally from Lifehacker (I’m continuing this viral contagion) about a self-contained media player that can fit on a flash memory thumb drive, your iPod, or a CD-ROM. The VLC Portable media player takes up only 37 MBs of space, which means it will fit on even the smallest flash memory drives.

From a learning perspective, this means you can play any media file on any computer you might use without having to install codecs and do all those other frustrating things. If you’re a nomadic learner, this free software may be right for you. (RN)

Carry VLC in Your Pocket to Enjoy Portable Media on Any PC | The New York Times | Kevin Tofel | 8 July 2009

Fun Videos About Information Overload

Tom Werner — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:00:04 +0000

L. Gordon Crovitz in the Wall Street Journal says that we haven’t yet learned how to filter endless information:

Our era in the information age is a transition period of learning how to navigate information abundance.

Getting our heads around information abundance will mean becoming more discerning about what information is worth our time and what kinds of tasks require real focus.

In the meantime, here’s a fun video from Xerox about information overload:

And here’s a fun one showing how Air New Zealand gets multitasking passengers to pay attention to safety announcements:

(TW)

25 Incredible TED Talks for Educators

Gary Woodill — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:00:36 +0000

I invariably find the various TED Talks videos both inspiring and a learning experience. So, it is a special treat to have a list of 25 of the best TED videos for educators to go through. The talks range from creativity experts to Michelle Obama speaking to a girls school in the UK. Enjoy! (GW)

25 Incredible TED Talks for Educators | Learn-gasm | 7 July 2009

Unusual Uses of Twitter

Gary Woodill — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:00:30 +0000

A recent article on Twitter in the online version of the Wall Street Journal has the usual quotes from the founders on where the company is going, and a history of where it has come from, but what caught my eye were several unusual uses of Twitter, including:

Regional emergency preparedness organizations are looking at Twitter as a way to reach millions of people during a disaster.
NASA is using it to regularly update interested parties about the status of space shuttle flights.
A journalist solicited help from fellow Twitterers to get himself out of an Egyptian jail.
A restaurant manager sends tweets to regular customers when a table is open.
A bakery tweets when warm cookies come out of the oven.

Do you have any unusual applications of Twitter? Please add them to the comments below. (GW)

The Twitter Revolution | Wall Street Journal | Michael Malone | 18 April 2009

Managing Meetings in Second Life

Tom Werner — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:00:27 +0000

Nicely-done free guidebook for setting up and managing meetings in Second Life.

The advice is clear and honest.

(For example, the authors point out that Second Life’s voice system can be a problem and suggest using Skype for voice.)

The bottom line: your attendees need to be able to navigate around Second Life, or else you need good assistants to guide them, and you need to focus on all the meeting details (just like with any other type of meeting). (TW)

Managing Meetings in Second Life