Learning, Technology & Change

Most of the learning technology world is a buzz with Tin Can or Experience API. It's been very prominent at all learning conferences I've seen. However within the broader community of instructional designers and content developers it's still quite fuzzy. So here's my attempt at Tin Can in a nutshell. A little context: The issue I and many other learning practitioners have with the modern day LMS is its self-centeredness, not navel-gazing but the LMS doesn't care about the real world. In the current paradigm, measurable learning doesn't happen unless it is within the confines of the LMS. If it wasn't an assessment, simulation, presentation, video - it doesn't count. The reason for that, is because of SCORM Tin Can is meant to be the next evolution of SCORM. The ability to report, track and manage a user's progress. what makes this unique is its robustness and simplicity. Subject Action Object. Shaun wrote a blog post. That's a single call. Wha...

LinkedIN is doing an interesting series within their Influencers news section with  How I Hire . A bunch of executives tell tales of how they unearth top performers, weed through the BS, and throw people off script to get beneath the surface. Recent LI superstar Sallie Krawchuk recently wrote a piece on how she hires  You can't build a team with all Point Guards . As a basketball fan I was immediately drawn in. Her main point is that we often seek good leaders and team-first guys. As a leader and a ball player lacking in height, I've always love the point position. Your goal is to put others in a position to succeed. A great PG to keep them all together, and play the right style at the right time. In truth, all winning teams actually require role players, or specialists. Perhaps even some selfish folks. What struck a chord with me, is that a good point guard, like a good leader must understand the strengths and weaknesses of the team and adapt his or her style. Case in poi...

Maybe the internet isn't forever after all. New services are popping up to enable you to privately share messages with a select few, and to even have them self-destruct at a given time/interval. Some high-profile people with a penchant for sending pics (looking at you Carlos Danger) should Love this. In the era of domestic surveillance and the realization that most tech companies are complicit is this the silver bullet? Maybe not. Just because it's deleted from public consumption, how long does it take the site's respective crawlers to get it? Accessible and deleted are two different things.  How will FB and Twitter feel about being used less as a publisher and more as a temporary broadcast medium. You might think that's what they were... you would be wrong. The ability to broadcast and store your thoughts, ideas and drunken outbursts for future consumption is a part of their value proposition. Are their respective graphs as valuable without storing everything? If...

One month ago we cut cable - so far so good.  I took this as a personal challenge to make this process as smooth and positive as possible. It still is a change, but with a little prep work it has gone really well so far. Recap: We (a family of 5) cut our Cable TV provider, upped our ISP package and replaced our homephone line with a free VOIP alternative. We also employ a DIY antenna. For a full description of the setup see here . Kids are definitely watching less TV. There are less occasions where the TV sits on as background noise. Those moments of respite where we need to occupy the kids were my biggest concern. More on that later. I'm using subscriptions for TVO's the Agenda and the Big Think so I have something interesting to watch if I was bored. I'm most proud of the fact that we no longer live in the continuous "breaking news" death grip of CP24. I don't need live coverage of the Royal Baby's baptism or first bowel movement. In reality Netflix is...

Droning on and on about cutting the cord some friends who are also feeling squeezed by robellus asked me for details. Maybe it was just to shut me up but i'm going to spell it out anyhow. Basically I swapped my ISP, switched to a no monthly fee VOIP service, cut my cable TV subscribed to netflix and installed an OTA antenna. My main goals were cost savings, and to move off traditional media services. Cable companies are the next record companies the internet age is crushing large clumsy institutions. ISP I switched my ISP to Start.ca a great company out of London ON. They have fantastic customer service in the few times I've called them. I've had no outtages beyond blackouts. $50/mth for 20+mbps down 2mbps up. I'm watching multiple netflix streams without issue. Home Phone I replaced my homephone with a free voip service from Freephoneline.ca. They have a bunch of options, one where you rent an ATA device from there for $5 a month and they provide customer servi...

As Wind, Mobilicity and Public look for exit strategies, the Canadian public will be left with fewer choices and really have no one to blame but themselves. Rogers, Telus and Bell did their job by aggressively retaining customers matching prices - for now. Knowing full well that if they are able to reduce the customers going to the new providers in the short-term once they bleed their initial capital they can get back to their oligopoly. Many called and threatened to go with Wind's great all in packages but in the face of making a change - balked. Perhaps they matched the features or even went a bit cheaper for a year, provided a contract was signed. Our short-sighted thinking  gets us every time. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/technology-video/video-is-the-dream-of-four-strong-wireless-competitors-dead/article11518408/

There was a great article in Macleans last week on how medical sensors are close to being sold to consumers. I have a few hypochondriac friends who will be all over this. Beyond that this could have huge implications for our current healthcare system. So much time and cost is put into minor diagnoses with people clogging up clinics and emergency rooms, convinced they have ebola. This could make a huge difference in wait times and unnecessary diagnoses. Imagine being able to check if the bug you have is bacterial and viral. Will people still want to go to the Dr? Most of the time folks simply want piece of mind. The hospital ER is the best place to rule everything out, but most are willing to clog up a walk-in or their family doctor's office. If you could plug in your smartphone read the throat swab yourself, wouldn't you take that convenience? "So many great apps who's got time to make friends"-Macklemore Being able to get more data on your health throughout...