Found in Translation… Communication between Techs and non-Techs

I found this post on how to speak to more technically savvy individuals to get what you want.  But I think communication between the more technically adept and those who are less is  a two way street.  I should preface this by saying… I am not a pure “Techie.” I sort of can figure out what is being said because I try to understand basic terminology and understand the context in which it is being used.

I still need to find a better way of describing these two groups that doesn’t sound like a division between ‘haves’ and ‘have nots.’  So for now I will say Techies and Non-Techies. It’s the best I can do right now… I’m not much of a wordsmith or a linguist .

Here’s the abbreviated version of the tips for working with Techies:

1. Know what you want.
2. Put things in writing.
3. Be clear on jargon.
4. Continually check the context.
5. Come clean about being confused.

Here’s my version of the list from the tech side’s point of view:

1. Establish their goals and needs. Help re-translate and provide examples of things that already exist if possible –> For example: have a browser open and be able to link to or find existing solutions or examples for what they’re looking for.
2. Document what they want. At the end of every meeting capture clear statements that describe what they are asking for. Make sure that they agree to the content and directives explained in these statements.  Also, leave yourself open to explaining things off-line or separately for those who don’t want to admit that they don’t know what you’re talking about.
3. Define vocabulary or terms that may be unfamiliar whenever possible. Take some time to gauge whether or not they understand the terms being used, but don’t be condescending. In fact, preface initial meetings by saying, “Please feel comfortable about asking us to explain technical terms or items we are sharing if you don’t know what they are or are unclear about them…”
4. Make sure they understand what can be done and can’t be done in the context or environment you’re working with or building for them.
5. Look for signs that the audience may be confused about what you’re talking about. As you’re providing explanation, periodically do a check for understanding.

I have little patience with any sort of divisive talk that gets people away from accomplishing needed tasks.  For me the important thing is getting a well-defined set of goals accomplished in the work that needs to be done.

Miyamoto Mushashi’s Rules for Work and Living

 

Miyamoto Mushashi

 

 

 

1. Think of what is right and true
2. Practice and cultivate the science
3. Become acquanted with the arts
4. Know the principles of the crafts
5. Understand the harm and the benefit to everything
6. Learn to see everything accurately
7. Become aware of what is not obvious
8. Be careful even in small matters
9. Do not do anything useless

I was on the train the other day and I started re-reading The Book of Five Rings. The nine rules that Mushashi notes are the key to learning military science seem to apply to all endeavors as well… including living. In a way I think most of the problems we face in both life and work stem from the fact that we don’t follow such a set of rules (not necessarily his).  That day, I spent time reflecting on two of my favorite rules.

My first favorite of the rules is ” Become aware of what is not obvious.” Though, you must have a good objective eye and awareness. I don’t think we train enough children and young people today to really wait and notice things. Think about it, we’re all walking around with headsets in our ears listening to our music or podcasts and living in our own encapsulated bubbles.  During my morning walk the other day, I purposely left my headsets at home. I wanted to hear what was going on around me, notice more. Besides there’s part of me that feels that when you’re wearing the sets, you’re a bit vulnerable because you are not really paying attention to what’s going on around you. 

Many of us at work operate in such encapsulation. Sometimes we work in a dysfunctional workplace so we remind ourselves to focus only on ‘our part.’  At the very least, we miss opportunities to function better in our roles, at the very most we don’t see the causes for the dysfunction or how possible solutions for fixing it.  In the cases of some companies or workplaces this the growing dysfunction can lead to financial ruin or bankruptcy. If my experience in life so far has taught me anything, it’s the value of  understanding how the details fit into the larger picture. However, sometimes seeing this picture and using it means you have to do a lot of work.

Still, I can see Mushashi’s rules, like any set of rules,  being misapplied or perverted in the sense that certain individuals can become paranoid and nitpicky when it comes to rules such as “Be careful in even small matters.” There are some people, including myself, who tend to overthink things given enough time on their hands. Perhaps that’s where applying a Zen philosophy towards living comes in. Again, it’s about achieving a certain balance, and observing some unwritten rules of nature. This often stumps us here in the West because we almost always need to have everything explicitly stated for us unless we’re operating on blind faith.

Understand the harm and the benefit to everything. This is so important to me, to understand both the good and the bad sides to the things that enter or influence my life. For example,  why is the Internet great? It puts a wealth of knowledge at my fingertips. Why is it bad? There is so much information I can easily get overwhelemed or side-tracked and I require a greater amount of focus to get my work or even thinking done.  

Still, asking these questions to probe both the ‘good and bad’ of things has served me well throughout my life as long as I can use the information to make decisions well. Plus, there is a part of me that questions blind adherance to anything. Last night at dinner my brother (and husband) spent a bit of time dissing things like twitter and social networking. In their discussion I heard messages like:

• It’s a waste of time
• It might be good at first, but once everyone does it, it all becomes noise
• Why do I care what other people think?

I had to jump in on their piss parade and say, you cannot really make judgements about things until you truly try them. And I suggested that trying Twitter meant more than just loggin in and checking it out for an hour. It means participating in larger conversations or joining groups or communities or doing several searches for keywords and information.  I did acknowledge that this particular social media has become inundated with marketers and advertisers which make it harder to separate the wheat from the chaff, but that there are tools and aps that help you do that. Moreover, I noted that the limitation of expressing yourself in less than 140 character might have an appeal to many people who seek to express their experiences and states of mind succinctly.

So there is a good and a bad to everything. You simply have to take more than a second look.

Epiphany, but too late? Maybe.

Okay so I will confess, I had a job interview the other day and one of the tasks was to create a short training example centered around a learning objective. I actually really enjoy tasks like this so strangely enough the interview process was more fun than something to be feared.

I developed a storyboard for a fairly simple training presentation with an audio sample followed by a reflective activity using guided questions and a worksheet. I was working with the material already presented to me, so having such a short period of time, I decided to leverage what I had.

Now that I think of it, I could have presented the training in a number of different ways, including a Comic Strip or a “Choose Your Own Adventure” type interactive scenario.  The whole experience reminded me that I am reflective. I can come to a situation with a number of ideas and even make a decision on one, but then I will ruminate later on how to do it differently or better. I guess I need to build this reflective time into my project time lines, and actually I think I do this automatically by inserting a ‘draft period’ into everything I do.

Probability Illustrated

Currently, I’m working on a rapid e-Learning solution for teaching probability. I was able to quickly use PowerPoint and some clipart to put both the storyboard and the template for the interactivity. I use the animation features in both PowerPoint and Captivate to create the effects and interactive features for the piece. I’d like to spend more time explaining my process for this, but I will save that for a future post.

I created two presentations:

• Probability and Dependent Events
• Probability and Independent Events

Actually, the text of both of the presentations comes almost directly from text written by the Subject Matter Expert who intended to have it read online as one would read a print document. Somehow, it didn’t seem engaging enough to me so I went about creating these visual multimedia presentations. Unfortunately I can’t share the finished product up here, but I can share the images of the storyboards.  Both presentations are included in the gallery below.

Slide 3

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Slide 3

Slide 5

Slide 6

Applying Eastern Philosophy to Online Learning

Wu Wei

A few months ago, I attended this virtual presentation at the 2009 TCC conference that really got me thinking: The Tao of Online Facilitation. I’ve linked my notes from this talk.

I can’t seem to escape the idea that good teaching online requires the online facilitator to be more of a guide rather than a spewer of knowledge.  Much of what the presenter, Scot Robinson, shared falls in line with the idea that Online Learning is most beneficial when it applies constructivist learning practices.  Students can be guided to drawing conclusions or applying knowledge effectively through both hands-on and scenario-based learning activities as well as well-crafted questions (posed by the facilitator or teacher). This all reminds me of this adage I heard once: “Telling is not knowing.”

In his presentation Robinson made the point that facilitators are responsible for directing the flow of energy during an online training. Through their questions, they can help generate meaningful conversations that reinforce and promote extended learning.  They can also engage students in online participation in knowledge building via wikis and blogs. They can design creative activities and applications of these technologies to promote learning via collaboration.

Robinson also cautions we Westerners to ease back on the “active” or “dynamic” approach to doing things.  As he said “Westerners are tuned into action…” and it’s hard for us not to act when we see a opportunity or problem. Instead, the savvy online educator should practice Wu-wei or “actionless action.”  Following the line of thinking that encourages the teacher to contribute to the flow of energy in a learning activity, the teacher must observe the flow and “go with it.”

Bruce Lee put it well when he said… “Be water my friend.”

In my mind, I’ve started developing pictures of the Tao of Online Facilitation looks like vs. what it doesn’t look like:

Frustrated online facilitator: Is very upset that the students are not participating and adding information in the wiki according to her plans.  Keeps on directing students back to the original line of inquiry on the wiki. Sometimes panics when things are not going her way.

Sensei online facilitator: Sees that the students are going in a new direction with their wiki resource posts. Watches and observes the exchange of knowledge before providing feedback. Encourages discussion and collaboration, but still gently nudges the group back on track if they get too far off the mark.

Anyone who teaches online can be taught the behaviors that epitomize the Tao of online facilitation.  For myself, I realize that have some very western impulses when it comes to learning and teaching.  I noticed this when I was teaching a sock-knitting class a few weeks ago.  I had to fight the impulse to pick up one very vociferous and frustrated student’s work and help her work it out. I stopped myself because I knew this would be counter-productive for her learning, and after listening to her complain about a previous class she took where the instructor did the work for her, I wanted to help her understand that she could be successful. I stopped for a while and observed her. I noticed from her words and body language that she seemed a very self-conscious about failing in class. I suggested that she meet with me for an hour session outside of class. I was able to get her started using larger yarn and needles. In the end she was the only student to finish the socks during the class. Now, I’m aware of the fact that I had an advantage over online facilitators who cannot read their students’ body language, but I believe that the online facilitator can use a student’s online behavior to diagnose some possible problems with learning. Also, there are questions an online facilitator can ask or observations they can make to better analyze the student’s success or failure to learn.

Practicing the Tao of Facilitation means training online instructors to break old habits and engage in different ways to “perceive” learning.  You can train people up to a point, but if they don’t buy into the philosophy it will not work.  I’ve seen a few  good ideas and e-Learning projects die because the e-Learning development team didn’t adequately prepare the facilitators or trainers adequately. They didn’t coach them to ‘direct the flow of learning’ or even understand what this ‘flow looks like.’ They used that “If we build it they will come” logic rather than looking long term by providing a plan for assessing whether or not the learning endeavor was a success with measurable results from both teachers and students.

Big Question: What Should Learning Professionals Know Today?

Here’s the Learning Circuits Question for July:

In a Learning 2.0 world, where learning and performance solutions take on a wider variety of forms and where churn happens at a much more rapid pace, what new skills and knowledge are required for learning professionals?

Here’s my list of four things I think are most important:

1. Valuing and working with company and organization leaders to build a “Culture of Learning” or “Learning Organization” via Peter Senge’s Model. Forget being able to launch the next best thing in social networking or Learning 2.0. If this is not a huge part of your company or organization’s mission and culture. You may find an uphill battle in introducing change. In my experience companies who work without a “Culture of Learning” often end up making reactionary moves  instead of ones built around a vision, achievable goals and a realistic plan. They hire reactionary managers and staff, and at the very worst the company devolves into an environment where ‘fires’ are contantly fought and nothing new is really developed.  How can any group or individual really inspire real change in learning let alone innovate in these types of environments?
2. Understanding possible flows of learning using social media. The Internet has made us incredibly social and increasingly connected with each other. The problem with this is that there are so many avenues for learning and it may be difficult to assess learning that comes as a result of social learning.
3. Applying constructivism & collaboration to learning online/offline as much as possible. I think developing both collaborative and constructivist activies is going to be necessary for higher-level educators, many of whom are still bent on the traditional methods of teaching via lecture, and for people who develop training for higher education.  The Internet, Web 2.0, Learning 2.0 foster constructivist (websearches, social tagging, forums) and collaborative learning activities (wikis, online discussion) through the media available online. These are the types of activities that not only engage learners, often they reinforce the knowledge and skills so that they’re more likely to be applied effectively in the future. Plus, I’m sorry folks. Learning doesn’t have to be boring and passive like it used to be in the past.
4. Accepting that you can’t learn everything “2.0.” It’s too easy to be overwhelmed by the rapid rate of development of tools in Learning 2.0. I think being able to develop a strong set of learning goals and objectives for yourself, your company, or your group is a good place to start. Say you need to market your courses better online, then you probably should start looking at how to effectively use social networking sites like Twitter & Facebook. You probably should also read books like the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell as a primer.

Are the Argentine Ants Phase I?

I’m not sure if you remember that movie from the 70’s Phase IV.  I didn’t discover it until a few years ago, and I found that it was my answer to Sominex. The soothing introduction explaining the genesis of colonies of super-ants with a melancholy 70’s scifi synth in the background always put me to sleep. It took me several weeks and finally watching it in the afternoon while I did my laundry to actually finish the movie.  I just found out that Mystery Science Theater 3000 featured Phase IV. You can view some of the movie MST3K style on YouTube.

The recent news about the colony of Argentine ants that have supposedly colonized the entire planet (thanks to our help) immediately brought the premise of this movie to mind. Though I’m not thouroughly convinced the Argentine Ants are going to take over the planet or herald an alien invasion. I do wonder what this ‘world colonization’ implies other than we human beings through our messy lifestyle attract ants where ever we go.  I have many questions.  What sort of impact does this invasive species have on other native ants or other native species? What more can we learn from these ants that will tell us about ourselves? Does it mean all those million bottles of Terro sold only made the ant colonies stronger and more resistant? Why does it both freak us out and fascinate us that something so tiny could have such a universal and unified force?

Why Cracker Jack Virtual Teams Matter During Emergencies

Don't turn your back on it

Earlier, I posted on what the Ideal Virtual Team looks like, but lately I’ve been thinking that virtual teams will become more and more important to the workplace.  In my last job I worked for a group that had an “Emergency work plan.”  This Plan required all employees to state how they could connect to work if an extended emergency took place  that made access to the workplace impossible. We were also assigned VPN access or Virtual Private Network access to insure that we could log in to work from home.

Over the past few years, I’ve realized that having such a plan is imperative to business and since the outbreak of the Swine Flu or H1N1 earlier this year, I’ve been considering how important it is to be able to work virtually if possible. Companies that have virtual tools available and who have trained (and selected) employees who can work effectively virtually will find it easier to keep business going as usual than the companies that require constant face to face contact with their employees.

An effective Emergency Work Plan might answer the following questions (this is just a start):

1. How will my employees connect?
   • What sort of VPN do we have in place?
   • Are my employees adequately trained to access it?
   • Have they used it recently?
2. Will they have the tools they need to work from home? (Laptop, or virtual workspace accessible from their own computers, necessary basic software, office tools, etc.)
3. Are they capable of working effectively from home?
   • Do they know how to participate effectively in virtual meetings or other collaborative activities?
   • Have we trained or modeled these behaviors effectively?
4. How am I communicating and implementing this plan?
   • First line managers?
   • Do we have a website or hub for information on the program including FAQ’s?
5. Are my managers trained to assess whether employees can work effectively virtually?
   • Are the expectations for effective virtual work clearly stated or shared with all employees who work virtually?
   • Do they track the completions of their projects and quality of their work?
   • Did they hire people who can work effectively both in an outside of the physical workspace?

I’m sure that after asking these questions and doing what’s necessary to prepare adequately, smart leaders and managers will get feedback from their employees to see if the emergency plan worked effectively. That is if they ever had to deal with an emergency.

I wonder how many companies have developed contingency plans to deal with the Pandemic.  I know to some that it may seem like a morbid thought, but in some ways I’d rather have morbid thoughts that keep me alive and working than glossing over problems and ignoring them.  Also, I wonder if companies can get energy conservation credits for having employees telecommute.

Examples of Emergency/Virtual Work Plans:

• Virginia Social Services Virtual Work Document
• Article on running a “Virtual Command Center.”
• Canadian Center for OHS’s definition and description for an Emergency Plan

Meaningful Conversations on Twitter

Click to view original posting

This is a very interesting assessment of the exchange that goes on in Social Media like Twitter. I can see the incremental increase in relevance. I’ve been really learning about the value of Twitter over the past few weeks.  The author, Rajesh Setty, notes that exchange on Twitter doesn’t really extend past the third level in this chart. This is engagement with others, not the engagement between oneself and the actual information you may find on Twitter. From this perspective, at least for me, Twitter actually does have a great deal of “Immediate and Future Relevance.”

I’m finding that Twitter not only connects me with more information relevant to my interests and my job, it also is helping me connect and learn about others through their blogs. I get an introduction to these folks via Twitter that I would never get from just a search for a different topic. Also, sometimes people’s skill with what I call the “Twit Wit” actually draws me to learn more about them and their blog. There is a certain “speedy Zen” about Twitter that I”m finding increasingly appealing. Even though Twitter is a bit limited when it comes to sharing and exchange, it’s a great doorway into the worlds of it’s many participants.

How do you find and implement a new Learning Management System (LMS)?

http://www.slideshare.net/natknit/pls-lms-search-quest

I’ve been trying to think of some of the projects I most enjoyed over the past few years. I know Christy posted this already in her blog, but I’d thought I’d share our journey to selecting a new Learning Management System with all of you.   This was quite a journey we took to find a new Learning Management system. I have to say it’s been one of the projects I’ve been most proud to work on during my entire career. I learned much more about working effectively with a virtual team on this project than during my seven years at a technology development company.  Of all the highlights of this journey I’m most proud of the work we did to provide a usability test and develop a comprehensive training package that prepared our users for the transition from our old LMS to Sakai.  Overall, we’re very happy with Sakai and our contract with rSmart to house and maintain our LMS (not our content).  As we noted in the presentation we reviewed and tested several LMSs and even several vendors before we found one that met our needs.  For me this was a lesson in the value of thorough planning rather than making snap and uneducated decisions about choosing any type of system or vendor.

A fun note, we used ToonDoo to create slides around a narrative about our story, and we told our story to the slides. Christy even opened our preso by playing the Star Trek theme. Fun times!