Monthly Archives: July 2012

Olympic Gold: why do we love a loser?

Whilst everyone loves to see a record breaking performance that scoops Gold, or a plucky effort to secure a Bronze medal, it seems like a peculiarly English pastime to save the biggest cheers for the valiant loser who crosses the … Continue reading

Posted in Achievement, Competition, Education, Failure, Fear, Game, Learning | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Naming the thing: the importance of sharing understanding and checking it

It was a metallic ping that caught my attention: loud and clear, slightly worrying. I pulled over, but it took me a few minutes to spot the problem. Herman was built in 1964, a vintage Land Rover built in the … Continue reading

Posted in Clarity, Communication, E-Learning, Knowledge, Language, Learning, Learning Design | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Curiosity: Why there is more to a great cup of tea than meets the eye

I do like a nice cup of tea: PG Tips for the morning and maybe Earl Grey for afternoon tea. This may come as a surprise to regular readers as the blog is largely powered by coffee, but tea holds … Continue reading

Posted in Curiosity, Experience, Knowledge, Learning | Tagged , , , , | 19 Comments

Cultural differences in social learning spaces: exploring difference

A world without barriers: that’s what the internet brings us. We are networked in every aspect of our lives and come together in social learning spaces for work, for pleasure and for no good reason at all. We are addicted … Continue reading

Posted in Challenge, Collaboration, Community, Culture, Difference, Diversity, Edgelands, Engagement, Identity, Inclusivity, Learning, Social Learning | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Making connections in learning: joining the dots

It’s about four inches long and cost £30, enough money that i don’t want to have to buy another one, but i can’t find it anywhere. In white, with an iPad connector on one end and an HDMI socket the … Continue reading

Posted in Connections, Leadership, Learning | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Learning to be spontaneous: a methodology for creative entrepreneurs

There’s a gap between conception and reality that is often hard to bridge: great ideas are fine, but when push comes to shove they usually require hard work to make anything happen from them. There’s no two ways about it, … Continue reading

Posted in Agile, Business Case, Collaboration, Community, Ideas | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Social learning: musical communities on the move

I spent the weekend at a festival with a few musical friends: plenty of time to catch up with everyone in the first patch of sunshine for weeks. One of the nice things about going to festivals is that you … Continue reading

Posted in Community, Continuity, Edgelands, Familiarity, Group Dynamics, Identity, Inclusivity, Learning, Social Learning | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Words about Learning: Toast

Small can be beautiful. You don’t need to expend a huge amount of effort or time to get something right. Take this post. I’ve put the toast under the grill and i need to have it finished by the time … Continue reading

Posted in Learning, Time, Words About Learning | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Devolved responsibility for learning: a modern approach?

Who is responsible for your learning in an organisation? I ask the question as we increasingly see the devolution of authority and responsibility, from large, long term, structured programmes through to self serve, performance supporting, ‘just in time’ interventions. It’s … Continue reading

Posted in Authority, Learning, Management, Performance, Responsibility, Supervision, Support | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Social Learning: the purpose of community

We come together for many reasons: to build things, to fight for things we believe in, to share things and to learn. The by product of coming together is that we form communities, be they collections of houses and post … Continue reading

Posted in Community, Education, Environment, Identity, Partnership, School, Social Learning | Tagged , | 3 Comments