BusinessCasualBlog.com: eLearning

May 03, 2010

Section 1.2 - The Evolution of Early Social Networks

This is an excerpt from Section 1.2 of the videoBook I published for JaraUniversity. It's based on the Social Media Field Guide For Real Estate Professionals, which I co-wrote last year.

Courtesy: JaraUniversity.com and MindBridj.com

The video above actually follows on the heels of Section 1.1 - Social Web's Connectivity Revolution, which I posted back in November. In Section 1.2 above I pick up where I left off and continue with a whirlwind of some of the major players in "Web 2.0" (and how's that different from "Web 1.0," anyway?) as the transition in the social web was switching from broadcast type media to social media.

Of course, in some of the downstream videos (coming later?), I drill down closer to some of the tools, platforms and efficiency behaviors that have emerged as "best practices" (which seems to be a continuously moving target, huh?) that we and others in this space have found to be really helpful.

If you don't want to wait for the slow unveil, by the way, then it'll help you to know that I'm making the entire videoBook series available for free on our new new-media training and support site at JaraUniversity.com. Click here. Register for free. And let me know your thoughts about additional topics you'd like to see on the site.

If you liked this, or any of the articles on this site, please subscribe!
If your organization can use help transforming live training for the web,
learn more about what I do at MindBridj.

Posted by mel on May 03, 2010 in eLearning, Real Estate Professionals, Social networks, Training, videobook, Web videos | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 27, 2010

A new partnership in social media training for real estate professionals

If you've been following this blog for at least a couple of months, then you're already aware of my having launched MindBridj.com early last month. The idea I had for MindBridj was to set it up as an online video-based training site to augment the information in a book I co-wrote last year about social media for those who are relatively new to it. (The book, itself, was written for real estate professionals, but it could just as well apply to professionals in other industries.)

No sooner did I roll out with MindBridj.com than did other interesting opportunities begin lining up. (Life is a little funny that way.)

Well, since the MindBridj launch, I'm pleased to announce having since expanded, yet again, the people I can potentially reach with the information I developed for MindBridj. Early this month, I began laying the foundation for a partnership with a leading real estate trainer in Orange County Southern California. (Update: Changed to SoCal b/c I was just reminded that he does a lot of seminars in the Inland Empire, as well). My good friend, Jacob Swodeck, also a pretty well-followed real estate trainer and Short Sale expert in Orange County SoCal, wanted to expand his own services to help student/customers from his live workshops (also in the real estate space) leverage social media for their respective businesses. It seemed a natural fit.

So, for the past 4 to 6 weeks, I've been somewhat sequestered while we worked out details of building out a new site that merged elements of MindBridj with another venture Jacob founded early this year, formerly called LetsJara. The result is JaraUniversity.com.

Jara-U is still in its early launch stage but we've already begun taking both free registrations and paid subscriptions. You can get an overview in the short video above (also on the JaraUniversity.com home page), but the gist of Jara-U's offerings will initially include:

Full access to all chapters of the videoBook version (i.e., "vBook Online") of my book
Full access to a perpetually growing online library of social media skills training videos (i.e., "Success Library")
Full access to online coaching discussion forums
Audio seminars with business professionals who are making successful use of social media in their businesses today
Downloadable video files of all Success Library modules (MP4 format; playable on PCs, Macs, iPhone/iPods)
Downloadable audio files of all audio seminars (playable on MP3 players, iPhones, iPods)
Full text transcripts for all seminars
"Action steps" following each seminar to guide members on next steps to follow for implementing the tips discussed in the audio seminars

What Does This Mean For My Existing Subscribers on MindBridj.com??

It means that you are likely (again) getting a free upgrade to an online campus with even more features than what I currently have on MindBridj. (I'll lay out details in an email I'll be sending later today to all existing MindBridj.com members.)

A Shameless Request

But, if you're not currently a member, I'd appreciate you taking a looksee and consider registering under the FREE plan. THEN--and only if you see value in it for some of your friends--I'd love it if you saw fit to let your friends know via your own social and live networks. But, if you do pass it along, let me know. I think I can talk the bosses into a discount. ;) It's okay, I know people.

If you liked this, or any of the articles on this site, please subscribe!
If your organization can use help transforming live training for the web,
learn more about what I do at MindBridj.

Posted by mel on April 27, 2010 in eLearning, Real Estate Professionals, Social networks, Training, videobook, Web videos | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

December 28, 2009

The 3 Rs of social media engagement - a model for corporate policy training

As I was preparing for a social media round table I'm facilitating next week, I came across Telstra's eLearning program for social media. It's not really a "how to" manual for using social media platforms. Rather, it's designed to inform its employees about the company's guidelines for social media engagement.

Those guidelines are rooted in: Representation, Responsibility and Respect.

It's worth a look. (Click the image below.) Especially if you're in the business of training and learning. I thought the interface and layout were quite engaging--especially their use of an avatar named "Lilly".

I've typically been fairly lukewarm--and sometimes downright cool--to the use of avatars in eLearning programs. (I've seen one too many examples of avatars that did nothing more than simply recite text that could just as well have been left for the user to read.) However, Telstra's use of Lilly to punctuate key concepts of the program was effective as a reinforcement tool. I think it was a solid "Level 2" on Bloom's hierarchy for cognition, and should be effective in distributing Knowledge and Comprehension across Telstra's workforce.

But, don't take my word for it. In a bold move, and in line with the culture of openness and sharing inherent in social media, Telstra has made their entire course available online. Click the image above... check it out.

It's worth a looksee and, I think, serves as a compelling model for the rest of us.

If you liked this, or any of the articles on this site, please subscribe!
Are you a fellow "Tweep"? Follow me on Twitter (@melaclaro)
Or, connect with me on LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/melaclaro.
Got friends? Forward this post or save it to any of the bookmarking sites below.

Posted by mel on December 28, 2009 in eLearning, Social networks, Training | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

December 07, 2009

BusinessCasualBlog.com's Top 10 Articles for 2009.

(courtesy wstera2 via creative commons-attrib-nc-sharealike)

Yesterday I listed the top 5 "aha" moments I had about Learning in 2009. At the end of the article I also posted BusinessCasualBlog's Top 5 most read articles for 2009.

But, yesterday's "most read" list was based on the tally by a niche community of Learning professionals at eLearningLearning.com. If, on the other hand, I look at a tally using Google analytics, a different list comes up. The differences aren't surprising and are mainly due to one method tallying clicks to my posts from visitors to the eLearningLearning web site. While, Google analytics on the other hand tallies clicks via visitors on my site, as well as those who arrive via keyword searches on Google's search engine.)

The Business Casual"Best Of" list according to Google:

#1. Favorite 10 Tools For Creating Learning.
#2. Two activities to maximize networking opportunities at your next meetup.
#3. Google Wave's Rosie-new possibilities for online collaboration across languages.
#4. How to share a link to a specific timecode in YouTube video.
#5. Where to get pre-keyed (green screen) video for your web video or online project.
#6. Meeting icebreaker-How to get a group to acknowledge differences in perceptions.
#7. Recommended Facebook Privacy Settings For Kids?
#8. (Part 2) - A four-level framework for evaluating social network ROI.
#9. An eight-step process using Post-it notes to gain meeting consensus.
#10. The Change Curve On Death and Dying.

Insight - We Love Lists.

Though interesting, I can't say there were any real surprises here. Conventional wisdom for blogging says that visitors prefer reading articles with some kind of list. ("Favorite 10 tools..."; "2 activities to maximize...(something)"; "An 8-step process..."; and so on. As a matter of fact, this post will probably generate some views because it, too, is a type of list..."The top 10 articles at BusinessCasualBlog.com...".)

Insight - We Love "How Tos".

The other thing conventional wisdom says that blog visitors like to read is some kind of a tutorial or procedural "how to". I had quite a few of those this year with my posts about meeting facilitation techniques. As a matter of fact, so popular were these this year that a review of visits by keyword shows that many folks are finding my blog through search engines using the words "networking activities". Since this seems to be an area of need for my readers, I'll make it a point to scrub memories and project notes from the good 'ol days as a management consultant with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). Don't be surprised if you see me make an e-book or two available for download. (Will that be helpful? Let me know.)

Other popular keywords were, interestingly, "business casual blog". That tells me there's some name recognition I'm enjoying for my blog since folks seem to search for it for it by name. Others: "meeting icebreakers"; "rosie"; "google wave".

Suggestion - Implement Analytics for Your Blog in 2010.

Some of you with whom I've spoken about blogging might be a little amazed about the insight I'm able to glean from the underlying analytics. There's nothing sinister here (it doesn't go down to the person-level of detail, for example). All the analytics are at a fairly generic level using metrics such as: number of page views, number of unique visitors, visitor sources by keyword, visitor sources by site referrals, etc., etc. You're right, it is pretty amazing. Those are just a few of the metrics you can track.

My point, though, is that if you're thinking about starting a blog in 2010, strongly consider adding Google Analytics to your blog. It's another form of monitoring the conversation, which I've written about before and which I reserved a chapter for in the book Stefan and I wrote this year.

Based on the insights I gathered, I'll be focusing more on providing meeting facilitation tips and "how to" type posts and tutorials in 2010. Let me know if you'd like me to add a tutorial for how to add Google Analytics to your blog or web site.

As always, thanks for visiting. And, in case nobody has said so yet, let me be among the first to wish you happy holiday and a joyous Christmas season. :)

Posted by mel on December 07, 2009 in eLearning, Facilitation Tools, Lists, Meeting facilitation | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

November 10, 2009

Video in eLearning ain't what it used to be... it's better!

My friend Jenise Cook over at Ridge View Media turned me on to this interview between Gabe Anderson on Articulate's Word of Mouth blog and Mark Dorosz of Knowledge Screen. The interview spotlighted Mark's use of video in eLearning.

I wanted to turn you on to it, as well, for its insight to the relative ease these days of incorporating video in our online training solutions. Now, I don't want to give the impression that "have camera will travel," and your video will seamlessly complement your instructional design. Nah, I think most instructional/video designers will say there's a little more to it. But, once said, I think most of us would also say that it isn't a skill that can't be honed (sorry for the double-negative, there) in a lot less time than it used to "back in the day."

When done right, video provides the missing link between the passion of a classroom instructor and the scalability of self-paced elearning. People sharing their ideas on camera is the norm...A polished video script combined with a well-rehearsed presenter can add a new level of personal engagement and credibility to elearning that we just can’t achieve with Flash animations.

~Mark Dorosz

You can read the transcript of the interview on Articulate's blog here. Meanwhile, I've included a sample of Mark's production below, showing his use of Articulate Presenter 2009 as the rapid eLearning development platform.

Have you used Articulate's Presenter package? Care to share your experiences about video embedding in elearning? Please share in the comments below.

Posted by mel on November 10, 2009 in eLearning, Film, Technology, Web videos | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

November 01, 2009

Nice Finds From the Week of October 25 to 31, 2009

Here's my list of "nice finds" from last week.

o Google Social Search. From Google Labs, this is an experimental feature that allows you to refine your search results to filter relevant public content from those in your social circle.

o Pandora sharing and gifting integration. Last week TechCrunch reported on Pandora's move to open its music box up a bit more to social sharing. Now, you can not only listen to music according to what it learns about your musical preferences across 400 distinct musical characteristics, but now you can also share some of those results with friends and social connections.

o eLearningLearning. I've had my blog networked through eLearningLearning since Tony Karrer first published the widget for fellow bloggers a year ago (next week). I was reminded again just last week about what a great resource it is for Learning Professionals when I used it to research some topics in eLearning and Social Media.

o Grieving chimps. And, my picture of the week has got to be this one snapped by National Geographic's Monica Szczupider that reminds us, once again, that humans are not alone in experiencing complex emotions.

Have you got any "nice finds" you'd care to share? Please post 'em in the comments below.

Related post:
Nice finds from Oct 18-24, 2009 (First in the series.)

Posted by mel on November 01, 2009 in eLearning, Faces, Lists, Nice Finds | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

October 25, 2009

5 Nice Finds From the Week of Oct 18 to 24, 2009 - Presentation Support Tools

Here are some nice "finds" I came across last week that I've added to my list of productivity tools. Then I had a thought: rather than keep 'em to myself, why not share them with you? (No brainer.) Here you go.

o FontCapture. Create your own custom fonts in your own handwriting. (Kudos: Tom Kuhlman, Rapid E-Learning Blog.)

o How to snap an iPhone screenshot. (Kudos: @TawnyPress for the find. Daniel Nations for the post.)

o And then there's this set of tools from Olivia Mitchell (Speaking about Presenting blog) for those who want to embrace Twitter to be a part of your presentation. I included the three that resonated with me the most. But Olivia includes seven others in her post. In case you're interested, click-through to the link I included above for the full list.

Keynote Tweet. (For Mac users to use a simple Applescript to automatically send tweets from Apple Keynote during a presentation.)

SlideSix Presenter Desktop (beta). (Kudos, too, to Todd Sharp on his blog at cfsilence.com.) This is a tool that Todd is creating. It allows users of SlideSix online presentations to show a Twitter Monitor window to the presenter that will allow her to see what discussions are going on in Twitterdom related to some keyword or hashtag, say.

PowerPoint Twitter Tools (beta). (Kudos, also, to Timo Elliott over at the SAPWeb2.0 blog.) This is a set of tools that Timo created to allow presenters using PowerPoint for Windows to see and react to tweets in real-time.

I haven't worked through all the tools yet, so if you've tried any of them and have some opinion--good or bad--please drop a comment below.

For my part, I'll update this post if I discover something, well, icky about any of them. In the meantime, let me know in the comments below if you found this post helpful.

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Posted by mel on October 25, 2009 in Business and Management, eLearning, Facilitation Tools, Meeting facilitation, Social networks, Technology, Training | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

October 20, 2009

A peek into the world of video editing for live broadcast.

Those of you who cut and produce video content, whether you do it as a hobby, for training, eLearning or broadcast productions, then you know how involved the workflow can be.

What from ingesting video, loading it up in the timeline, editing, splicing related media, color-correcting, audio overlays and especially, especially rendering out the final production. It can be quite involved. Depending on your efficiency and technology, it can also be quite time intensive.

I think I work pretty fast when I cut video. (My preferred non-linear editor? Final Cut Pro.) But, I've always been amazed at the guys and gals who do this stuff for live broadcast TV.

Quite often, they're putting clips in the timeline for editing even as the video streams in via a satellite feed. I understand it's not uncommon for these pros to begin working on the feed at 5 p.m. for a playout at 6 p.m. That's nuts! Also, very impressive.

The video link below of Apple's interview with Peter Wiggins is worth a look. Peter is a Pro video editor who has worked in live broadcast environments for the Tour de France, among other gigs.

For those of you who use Final Cut Pro, or cut video, you'll find some nice little tips and tricks.

Posted by mel on October 20, 2009 in eLearning, Film, Technology, Training, Web videos, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

October 13, 2009

Screencast recording technique - the microphone does matter.

I read Tom Kuhlmann's post today about "How to Create Screencasts You Can Be Proud Of." It's definitely worth a read. But, one of the more compelling highlights for me was a real-live comparison/contrast between the use of a cheapy headset microphone vs. a slight investment bump for a desktop microphone. And, we're not talking about a huge bump, either.

For example, take a listen to the following: the difference between this audio quality and this better audio quality is the difference of about $30 vs. only about $70. Can you tell difference? Just kinda shows the power of a side-by-side comparison.

I typically use a desktop mic for my screencasts. But, I'd be the first to admit that the audio quality still isn't quite at the place I'd like for them to be. I'm upgrading (again) today.

-----

** Update: I just plunked down about $75 for this condenser microphone. I'll write a review in a week or so after it arrives and I've had a chance to test drive it.

Posted by mel on October 13, 2009 in eLearning, Technology, Tools and Gadgets, Training | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

June 07, 2009

My blog radar.

Each day, I try to make it a habit to accompany my morning coffee with a read of the various blogs I follow through RSS. When I come across articles that pique my interest, intrigue me, or challenge my thinking in some way, I save them under various keyword tags on my social bookmarking account for later reference. For example, case studies, presentations, social-networks will all come in handy for a presentation I'm preparing.

In addition to the links above, I listed below a few of the articles in the last week that made it on my radar.

If you end up browsing through some of these, you'll get a feel for the kinds of articles that make it on my radar. And, with that information in hand, if you have related articles you know about that you think I'd appreciate, I'd love to hear about them.

Share and share alike, that's fair, isn't it?