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By Dan Pontefract, 01/04/2010 5:21 PM

Having unplugged for the better part of three weeks, it donned on me that I’m personally or at least mentally stuck. (although not in a negative way really)

I have such deep passion for three very unique pieces of the education spectrum that I’m wondering if others are in the same boat. If so, what are you doing to satisfy both your curiosity and wish to make a difference in the three arenas?

My career started out in the K-12 space as both a teacher and a learning technology futurist/implementer. Recently, my 6, 4 and 2 year old clan have given me reason to contemplate the K-12 arena again in a very serious way in terms of helping this space shift towards a more collaborative ‘2.0’ model. (not to mention my beloved is Director of a local private school)

I then ventured into higher education at a public institution for 5 years, running a ‘high tech’ education department for the young and seasoned alike. During this tenure, I also completed an MBA at a different higher education institution. You could say that both experiences were eye-opening experiences due to the creativity, latitude and initiative I was allowed to drive and learn from. Now, in hindsight, I look back at it with fond memories and a yearning to help other higher education institutions move towards the ‘2.0’ world. (not to mention coveting that final degree, the PhD)

For the past eight years or so, I’ve been in the corporate sector running corporate universities, whether for employees specifically or a combination of employees, partners and customers. Switching to the ‘dark side’ (ie. from public institutions to for-profit companies) has also been rewarding, and has afforded me not only innumerable learning opportunities, but latitude to drive many of my formal, informal and social learning theories into practice for the masses.

These days, however, I find my mind, research and reach for new contacts wandering between the three unique spaces effortlessly and without care really. There is obvious linkage between K-12, Higher Education and the Corporate world, but how do I satisfy the urge to be all things to all audiences?

Can I really make a difference in all three at the same time?

Any thoughts out there? (and Happy New Year)

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By Dan Pontefract, 08/30/2009 4:56 PM

If you haven’t heard of Marshall McLuhan, well you’re simply missing out on one of Canada’s most innovative minds.

Derrick de Kerckhove, Director of the McLuhan Program of Culture and Technology at the University of Toronto since 1983 wrote McLuhan for Managers in 2003. Shamefully, I didn’t know about the book until this year, courtesy of Jon Husband.

In the book, Derrick (and co-author Mark Federman) introduce the Laws of Media through a tetrad:

• Extend (what does the artefact enhance or intensify or make possible or accelerate)
• Obsolesce (what is pushed aside by the new organ)
• Retrieve (what older, previously obsolesced ground is brought back and inheres in the new form)
• Reverse (what is the reversal potential of the new form)

Harold Jarche has written about the tetrads and applied it to commons-based peer production. I’m sure there are others out there as well.

As I unplugged for almost 4 weeks during the summer, I began mentally noodling what the tetrads may look like in terms of a Learning 2.0 philosophy. I define Learning 2.0 in a corporate learning setting as follows:

• Philosophy – shifting from training is an event, to learning is continuous, connected & collaborative. (simply put – moving from solely formal classroom and eLearning, to formal, informal and social learning concepts)
• Alignment – being less fixated on a centralized training function, and more on a federated (hub and spoke if you will) talent and collaboration holistic entity

Thoughts?

Comments (1)

By Dan Pontefract, 07/05/2009 9:48 PM

I believe the traditional corporate university, or that of the old-fashioned Learning & Development Team, will morph itself into becoming a ‘Collaboration and Learning’ office of some sort in the not so distant future.

That is, the way in which an organization operates in terms of formal, informal and social learning, connection, exchange, collaboration, and ‘tech’ applications/offerings will see hybrid or hub and spoke partnerships between those that currently own the collaboration technologies with those that own formal and informal learning.

To prepare for the inevitable, there will be the necessary change requirement to update roles in the organization. (combined or not)

I’ve been following with interest the recent and not-so-recent musings concerning this concept via Harold Jarche, Michael Hanley, Dave Wilkins and Jay Cross (here too for another from Jay Cross).

Through past experience, and future leaning, here is my take on the future roles, their skill and description:

A couple of caveats:

• Collaboration & Learning Office does not necessarily have to merge w/IT – partnership is fine
• Formal learning roles don’t disappear overnight – in fact, these roles become hybrid roles over time with those mentioned above
• It’s a work in progress – nothing is set in stone – roles/titles, etc. may change through more thinking, opinion & analysis