Category Archives: Spaces

Can we keep social spaces social in a networked world?

Some moves in France this week to legislate that employees turn off their smartphones and work email at 6pm. It’s a move intended to give protection from the creeping erosion of the divide between social and formal spaces: the urge … Continue reading

Posted in Privacy, Social Capital, Spaces | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Creating an environment for #learning: collaboration and community

As i sat writing this morning, an elderly gentleman came to the table and asked me if he could lay out the International papers without disturbing me. I’m in the Icebreaker cafe, by the Amstel, one of my favourite writing … Continue reading

Posted in Choreography, Coffee, Collaboration, Community, Community of Practice, Conversation, Culture, Environment, Formal Spaces, Group Dynamics, Informal Spaces, Learning, Learning Culture, Personal Learning Network, Reflection, Sharing, Social Learning, Spaces | Tagged , , , , , , , | 34 Comments

Command and control, share or narrate? Dilemmas of the Social Age

I’m preparing slides for my workshop tomorrow and settled on this one, encapsulating the dilemmas of the Social Age: do the pressures of command and control trump the need to share and narrate? It’s really about inward and outward pressures … Continue reading

Posted in Agile, Authority, Challenge, Change, Community, Control, Creative, Culture, Engagement, Formal Learning Spaces, Informal Learning Spaces, Knowledge, Learning, Narrative, Privacy, Relationship, Sharing, Social Learning, Social Media, Trust | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Social learning for complex tasks: performance support is simple

I was uploading yesterday’s blog post on the train, when Hans leant over and said “why aren’t you using this function to add the links“, in a way that implied i was missing a trick, that implied that my way … Continue reading

Posted in 'Just in time' learning, Adaptability, Agile, Apps, Change, Collaboration, Communication, Community, Culture, Discovery, Disturbance, Effectiveness, Everyday Reality, Informal Learning Spaces, Knowledge, Learning, Learning Journey, Learning Technology, Meaning, Mobile Learning, Performance, Personal Learning Network, Social Learning, Support | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

A structure for scaffolded social learning: bubbles and gateways

I’m developing some practical models for implementing social learning in organisations, trying to give ann idea of structures and methodologies that can be used. I’ve written previously about approaches to moderation and the ways that we can co-create meaning in … Continue reading

Posted in Agile, Authority, Blended Learning, Challenge, Collaboration, Conversation, Curation, Dialogue, E-Learning, Formal Learning Spaces, Formal Spaces, Informal Learning Spaces, Informal Spaces, Journalism, Knowledge, Learning, Learning Design, Learning Journey, Legacy, Meaning, Moderator, Narrative, Scaffolding, Social Learning, Stories, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 18 Comments

Informal technology: social learning

Those who know me well are familiar with my tendency to anthropomorphise technology, to assign it with traits and personality: my car has a name and distinctly mischievous identity. Some technology is ‘friendly‘, whilst other is far more formal. Even … Continue reading

Posted in Accessibility, Collaboration, Community, Conformity, Connections, Control, Creative, Facebook, Formal Learning Spaces, Informal Learning Spaces, Informal Spaces, Social Learning, Social Networking, Spaces, Yammer | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Popup learning: emergent communities and dynamic engagement

It’s not just books that popup these days: in empty shop units across the country we see art galleries, cafes and even theatres popping up, bringing life to empty units and then moving on as their season ends. Popup culture … Continue reading

Posted in Collaboration, Communication, Community, Engagement, Environment, Formal Learning Spaces, Formal Spaces, Informal Learning Spaces, Informal Spaces, Learning Technology, Ownership, Social Learning, Spaces | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Out of Eden: creating learning spaces

In the driving rain, the Eden Project in Cornwall is a trying experience. Situated in an old china clay quarry, the site contains several giant ‘biomes’ (hi tech greenhouses) as well as sweeping landscaped outdoor spaces. Being sunk below ground … Continue reading

Posted in Creative, Edgelands, Environment, Experience, Formal Spaces, Informal Learning Spaces, Information, Learning, Stories | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Exploring social learning environments: what can we take with us that is familiar?

A weekend of sunshine has reminded me of one of the crucial differences between the real world and the virtual: the weather. Whilst we build relationships and friendships in both real and social contexts, whilst we manage challenges and reflect … Continue reading

Posted in Challenge, Clarity, Collaboration, Community, Formal Spaces, Informal Spaces, Learning, Online Spaces, Reflection, Social Learning, Spaces | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Relationships in learning: for support, for challenge, for friendship.

Whilst driving yesterday, i was thinking about the nature of relationships. Some of the people in the car i knew well, one i had never met before. With those people who i knew, there was a dialogue based on understanding … Continue reading

Posted in Challenge, Collaboration, Community, Design, Formal Learning Spaces, Informal Learning Spaces, Learning, Networking, Social Learning, Social Networking, Spaces | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments