Continuing Professional Development

Aug 30 2011 Published by under PhD Studies

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As I contemplate my literature review and future research, continuing professional development (CPD) is top of mind. I’m tending to focus on the CPD that pertains to achieving a professional designation and the CPD required to meet requirements such as that for licensing. Some is face-to-face in a traditional class, while other CPD is quite commonly self-study at a distance. My particular interest is in the distance approach where technology is used to foster collaborative learning, as in a personal learning environment (PLE).

Many will continue to prefer opportunities to attend CPD in the physical presence of others. This may be for a variety of factors that include receiving a number of credit hours in a condensed period, and this is made even more appealing with socialization and a nice environment. Despite my extensive background as a distance learner, I took part in a face-to-face setting that I wrote about as Advocis Banff School 2011.Your may be interested in the blog post and photos. Yes, it was an enjoyable experience, but I still continue to research relating to eLearning opportunities.

I should be writing more toward my literature review right now, but I have returned to a book on my bookshelf, of which I have the newly updated edition: The Adult Learner: The Definitive Classic in Adult Education and Human Resource Development. In this book, Knowles, Holton, and Swanson (2011) discuss the application of andragogical principles in adult learning. If I continue on this CPD/PLE path of interest, it is becoming obvious that adult learning is a necessary foundation for the reading in my literature review. A second book that is referenced and in my collection awaiting a return to it, is The Meaning of Adult Education. Lindeman (1961) is a classic (republished from original 1926 edition). It and other writings are going to inform my exploration of this area.

References

Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2011). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Lindeman, E. (1961). The meaning of adult education. Montreal: Harvest House.

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Linkedin group for insurance professionals, informal and self-directed learning

Jun 04 2011 Published by under workplace learning

The idea has been in the back of my mind, and I decided this morning to take action. As you may know, my research interest is informal and self-directed work-based learning. You may also know that I am an independent life and health insurance broker. Obviously, it makes sense to tie the two areas together.

After the training to become licensed, an insurance agent will still have a lot to learn. Some will be formal, perhaps directed toward various professional designations, and a lot will be informal. I want to promote discussion, awareness, and participation in and about many informal and self-directed learning opportunities. It will also involve exploration of personal learning environments, although we might question the label. Creating a Linkedin group seems like a good place to start, so the group is now created and awaiting responses from some contacts whom I’ve invited. The group is not part of a research project.

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Interesting article on Indian business

Apr 24 2011 Published by under workplace learning

I subscribe to the digital edition of Chief Learning Officer magazine, as my research interest is e-learning and learning technologies in informal and self-directed learning. An article caught my attention, “What the West Can Learn from India,” particularly the introductory sentence that specified, “The Indian way of doing business puts a premium on learning…”

While the article talks about more than learning, it makes it clear that many companies are focused on employee learning and development. There is a corresponding focus on performance assessment, an area I do not expect to include in my research direction. Of course, this assessment should go hand-in-hand with research on the effectiveness of the formal training that appears prevalent. I do not see reference to informal and self-directed learning and whether it is acknowledged.

The authors, Peter Cappelli, Harbir Singh, Jitendra Singh, and Michael Useem, professors at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, concluded as follows:

“Not all Indian businesses have this approach, and not all Indian business leaders are saints or sages. And these practices are not unique to India. But the extent and consistency with which Indian businesses pursue them is something quite distinctive from which all business leaders can learn.”

If you are associated with business in India, perhaps you can share some of your experiences that might elaborate on the learning opportunities that exist in such companies.

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Follow the Sun, Learning Futures Festival Online 2011

Mar 08 2011 Published by under online conference

From April 13 to 15, 2011, the Beyond Distance Research Alliance, at the University of Leicester (where I am enrolled in a PhD programme) is co-hosting the 6th annual Learning Futures Festival, Follow the Sun, with the Australian Digital Futures Institute. The early bird registration has been extended to March 25. This conference will run for 48 hours over two full days, with eight hours hosted in each of UK, then USA, then Australia, and then one more cycle through the countries. As I understand it, unless you wish to watch recorded sessions, it will be interesting to plan the participation, sleep, and other activities around the non-stop conference. I’m glad I work and study from home!

Information is available on the website

Poster: Follow the Sun

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Lurking in week 1

Jan 15 2011 Published by under MOOC

This has been a busy week, but I have now completed the readings from the Learning and Knowledge Analytics course (LAK11). I’ve listen to the recordings, except the end of week wrap-up which I haven’t found as of yet. As much as I like to actually join the live sessions, it was not possible this week.

Learning Analytics is something I know little about. In fact, since my research interest appears to be informal work-based learning and getting away from measurement, it may be an area in which I will spend little time. However, I have learned a lot, and my interest has been sparked. I’m sure I need to understand more, as I will continually face those who want to see the ROI and other measurements in work-based learning. New ideas are bound to come to my mind, and I’m not against showing quantitative data.

I found the articles enlightening, and the discussion forum is a definite source of ideas. It is good to see that there is discussion relating to corporate training, not just higher education institutions. I have to confess to lurking this week, and it might continue this way unless I do find I have something to contribute, but this is truly working for me at this point. I hope that does change, as it is the participation that makes a course. However, I believe it is recognized that many taking such courses do not actively ‘speak’ but still learn. That is how I find this week has been for me.

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Virtual World Immersion

May 14 2010 Published by under Vitual Immersive Environments

For the next four months, I am going to be immersed in a virtual world experience. I’ve been a ‘resident’ of Second Life for 3 years, but an opportunity has presented itself to participate in a course that will ensure I develop a deep understanding of the learning and training opportunities available within Second Life and other Virtual Immersive Environments (VIEs). I expect this program to be the precursor to my doctorate studies. Committed to myself to keeping an ‘almost’ daily learning journal, I will share many of these entries within my blog. Thanks to John Jamison (Virtual Bacon in Second Life) for these courses that build from his PhD research.

There are still spots available for Virtual Learning Experience 1 commencing May 24, 2010.

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Microblogging, learning, and reflective writing

Mar 18 2010 Published by under microblogging

This discussion started with an excellent blog post by Yogesh Agarwal on The Upside Learning Solutions Blog, How to Use Microblogging in Workplace Learning. I provided a comment that linked microblogging, reflective writing, and increased informal learning. Yogesh respectfully replied, “Microblogging doesn’t help in reflective learning as content is limited to a small number of characters. It does help get link to some great resources or blogs.”

I also received a request from a Twitter follower, @ShellTerrell (Shelly Terrell), for a guest post on the topic. She kindly published the post, Do We Learn More through Microblogging?

So far, I’ve seen follow up tweets that support microblogging for the learning that does occur, and I’ve received a couple of private messages that specifically address reflective writing. I’m going to watch with interest over the next few days for any further comments.

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