There is something fascinating going on at Boise State University and specifically the Department of Educational Technology. Let me introduce you to 3D GameLab, arguably an actual example demonstrating the evolution of today’s antiquated learning management system. The brainchild of Lisa Dawley and Chris Haskell, 3D GameLab is an online game-based learning environment facilitated by what are known as quests. What are quests, you ask? Quests are individual learning components such as short videos, diagrams, activities, text, audio, etc., that (when combined together) can make up the learning requirements of a traditional class. Students, however, have choice in what quests they want to gobble up. Imagine students having a say in what aspects of a topic like cellular biology or World War II history they are interested in that can make
learning Archive
Víctor García-Morales, Francisco Lloréns-Montes and Antonio Verdú-Jover published a paper in the British Journal of Management (December, 2008, Vol. 19 Issue 4) entitled, “The Effects of Transformational Leadership on Organizational Performance through Knowledge and Innovation”. In it they set out to prove the following hypotheses: Transformational leadership will be positively associated with knowledge slack (prior knowledge), absorptive capacity, tacitness, organizational learning and innovation. Knowledge slack will be positively associated with absorptive capacity. Absorptive capacity will be positively associated with tacitness. Tacitness will be positively associated with organizational learning. Organizational learning will be positively associated with innovation. Tacitness, organizational learning and innovation will be positively associated with performance. Size will be positively associated with strategic variables that affect organizational performance. In summary and at its core,
Yes, I do believe badging has a place inside the enterprise. If you’re not familiar with badging as a concept, you would be wise to visit the fantastic HASTAC community entitled “Badges for Lifelong Learning” for a primer and then further your understanding with information provided by Mozilla’s Open Badges; one of the pioneers in the fledgling badging field. How can badges play an effective role inside an organization? 1) Credibility When an employee is able to demonstrate levels of knowledge, experience or acumen to others in the organization via badges, they are instantly gaining credibility with their peers. Employees might not otherwise know that someone has a certain intellect, however, badges can provide this and in return, a level of credibility is gained in
Whether you work for a private family-owned business, a publicly traded corporation or in the kindergarten-to-higher-education continuum somewhere, you’re going to have to define learning – whether it’s for your employees, colleagues or students. So let’s examine the “so what” learning definition – meaning why learning is present in organizations. As 2012 creeps along, the so-what of learning remains undefined for many employees and organizations, which is causing a disservice. If learning departments aren’t defining this, learning will remain thought of as training, and training will forever continue to be associated with a classroom- or e-learning-only modality. Worse, splinter groups will form, their own definitions of learning will surface and, tragically, learning fiefdoms will become the norm. As a consequence, definitions will be everywhere and