Category Archives: Clarity

On the second day of Christmas Learning: speed

Posted on December 10, 2013 by julianstodd

In the spirit of the season, i’m dedicating the last twelve days of writing to a series of reflections on key trends and features of learning in the Social Age. Today: speed. I hope Santa has an asbestos beard, because … Continue reading →

Posted in Agile, Clarity, Learning, Stories, Storytelling | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The human face of learning

Posted on May 29, 2013 by julianstodd

I had lunch with an old friend today. She works in a call centre and was explaining how their systems work: when you start work in the morning, you log in. If you are on time, everything is fine. Today, … Continue reading →

Posted in Authority, Challenge, Clarity, Collaboration, Effectiveness, Feedback, Learning, Learning Design | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Privacy Jigsaw: can you keep a secret?

Posted on May 8, 2013 by julianstodd

I am active online: i participate in many social spaces and learning communities. I maintain a number of personal and professional personas, but across them all i tend towards caution when it comes to sensitive data. I tend to trust … Continue reading →

Posted in Accessibility, Agile, Authority, Clarity, Collaboration, Community, Consumption, Culture, Disclosure, Forbidden, Freedom, Integrity, Learning Culture, Legacy, Mistakes, Ownership, Privacy, Social Learning, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Do your stories face inwards or out? Thinking about our messages in learning design

Posted on March 5, 2013 by julianstodd

There’s a problem with organisational learning: sometimes it faces inwards when it should face out. ‘Facing in‘ is when we tell stories that have meaning just to us. ‘Facing out‘ is when we tell stories that have meaning to others. … Continue reading →

Posted in Accessibility, Barriers to Learning, Clarity, Communication, Context, Effectiveness, Engagement, Everyday Reality, Learning, Learning Design, Meaning, Stories, Storytelling, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Choose your words carefully: semantic stretch and why not to be super cool

Posted on February 11, 2013 by julianstodd

Big data is the big thing: finding meaning in the chaos, teasing out the truth, so i was particularly interested in a project that discussed an analysis of how our use of certain words has evolved over time and how … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Change, Clarity, Communication, Conversation, Effectiveness, Everyday Reality, Grammar, Language, Meaning, Research, Semantics, Writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Narrative and dialogue in learning: structure and content

Posted on October 2, 2012 by julianstodd

Yesterday i completed the first draft of my new book, ‘mindset for mobile learning’. I’d seen the finish line coming for some time, because the very first thing i did when i started it was to map out the whole … Continue reading →

Posted in Book, Clarity, Creative, Dialogue, Mobile Learning, Narrative, Stories, Storytelling, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

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

Posted on July 30, 2012 by julianstodd

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

What you want, when you want it: structuring information in the right way

Posted on June 19, 2012 by julianstodd

I’m reading a great book at the moment, ‘Made to stick’ by Chip and Dan Heath. It’s about ideas, about why some ideas take hold and others just come unstuck. I like the conversational style, the wealth of examples and … Continue reading →

Posted in 'Just in time' learning, Clarity, Coaching, Effectiveness, Information, Instructional Design, Learning, Learning Design, Performance, Social Learning, Support | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Imagery in e-learning: is a picture really worth a thousand words, and are they the right ones?

Posted on June 12, 2012 by julianstodd

We’re working on a kind of storybook project this week, using photos to create montages of action, with speech bubbles and text panels. It’s a neat and simple presentation style, but it does mean you have to think quite carefully … Continue reading →

Posted in Aesthetics, Art, Clarity, Creative, Drawing, Engagement, Graphic Design, Learning, Stories, Storytelling | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

What is reality? Understanding how history is constructed and the value of difference.

Posted on May 31, 2012 by julianstodd

As i was driving this morning there was a fascinating programme on the radio about Troy. From the perspective of the mythology, the archaeology and documented history, they sought to build a consensus opinion of where the city actually was … Continue reading →

Posted in Age, Archaeology, Authority, Clarity, Complexity, Education, Experience, Fact, Fiction, History, Time | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments