Even though I have a low track record for the geography portion of Pub Quiz Night and I barely squeaked by with a B average in my Geography minor I still love myself a good map. I also love getting my social network on. I just found Google Insights, a new tool to see what the world is searching for. Check out this cool maps showing social networking site popularity by country. I’m just using 2008 data and I’m making the assumption high search rates is correlated with high usage rates.
Orkut
Wanted to take this time to give a shoutout to Lee and Chrstine from Technology Dojo.
“A traditional dojo is a school for training in various arts of self-defense (such as Aikido or Karate). We created a Technology Dojo to train successful entrepreneurs and professionals in various arts of defense against wasted time and energy. Our philosophy is based on the ancient principles of simplicity, flexibility and maximization of strength.”
I spoke at the dojo last night about how to use gmail for simplicity and flexibility. I really enjoyed speaking to a small intimate group and was impressed with the format of the dojo. It starts with some networking and schmoozing, people talk about their current email situation, I gave my presentation and then we had a group discussion on what each person took away from the talk. I like the self reflection portion of the night, it makes the “how to do it” part a lot more meaningful.
I would definitely recommend attending one of the dojo meet-ups or workshops. Lee is a Wordpress master and has some of his classes published here online.
They say all great empires will eventually fall, The Romans, The Greeks, China, The Gallactic Empire, and today marks the end of the reign of the Wiki Queen. I am officially relinquishing my Wiki crown and stepping down from the throne. I had a good 18 months of staying on the forefront of all things educationally wiki. However, as my interests have expanded, others have have moved up through the ranks and asserted themselves as more knowledgeable regarding wikis. I should have seen the signs, the speaking engagement invites declined, the wiki email questions lost their luster, and the handle “wikiqueen” on IRC no longer garnered the respect that it once did.
With this news come the statement that I will officially be shutting down the EduWikiTorial site. I’ve been neglecting my baby for months and I find the information is no longer current or accurate.
I would now like to take the time to endorse the following wiki sites
I’d also like to officially renounce any comments I’ve made supporting Media Wiki as a tool for middle and high school teachers. The interface is just too difficult to use and the non-wysiwyg language is confusing. There are some great free sites out there like PBwiki and Wetpaint that do a great job of making simple and effective interfaces.
So my friend Matt is a bastion of knowledge of all things that have ever been published online regarding web 2.0, design, tech news, and fun icons. There is no UI question that he cannot answer without at least three relevant links. How is this possible, you may ask? The answer is that Matt keeps an exhaustive list of various RSS feeds on his public netvibes page. Thank you Matt for making it public!
“In times of change the learners will inherit the earth, while the knowers will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”
- Eric Hoffer
Check out Elliot Masie from the “Masie Centers” report on the recent three hour Starbucks training session. Every single Starbucks was closed for three hours earlier this week to train every employee on the art of making the coffee. Talk about nightmare logistics of scheduling all those people and decided on the best time! The training started with an inspirational video, the managers were given a training outline, talked about favorite customers, importance of making good drinks and then they had breakout sessions on milk steaming. The other breakout session was about how to create espresso shots and how to make a connection with the customer.
So what about transfer and reinforcement? Apparently there will be a makeup session for those that missed it but what about continuous learning?
Here is the presentation I shared today at the EBISA (East Bay Independent Schools Association) annual conference.
Perhaps I have a softspot for front desk training from my years at the Cliffs Resort in sunny Shell Beach. However, I was really captivated by this example that Silke Flesicher(Adobe) shared at the Adobe Learning Summit. The piece presents different scenarios and the user can choose how they want to respond to the customer service scenario. For each behavior choice, a short video plays so the user can see the result. I think this is a great way to keep the learner engaged and is portable since it’s online. Really great piece!
Nice synopsis of some of the most inspirational women in the blogosphere.
Go ladies, get your blog on!
