April 2008 – Page 8 – Silence and Voice

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2008-04-07

Just parked between a Porsche and a Lamborghini. Am I the only one feeling the hurting economy? #
@SarahStewart ts Yes, that is interesting. What do you make of it? #
Doing laundry. Want to be able to start the week off clean. #
@howardgr I saw the Fast Company ad for their social media area; while it sounds good, often those sites are mainly ad spaces. How is it? #
@aidanhenry What’s on tap for this week? #
New security began in our building this morning. Ids now open the electronic turnstiles. Crowd downstairs trying to figure out how to us … #
At the eye doctor and they want me to pay additional money for a refraction test. Smells like a money making scheme for me. #
@Currie Very much! I achieved Inbox = Zero this morning with my personal email; first time. Keeping up with work. University account next. #
Eyes being dilated. Still able to Tweet. #

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2008-04-06

Reading Dan P. McAdams’ book The Stories We Live By while drinking coffee by the fire and listening to music from the Pilgrimage to Santiago #
@Currie Congrats with Inbox = Zero. Hard to get to and difficult to maintain. Like losing weight. #
Does anybody use the new FastCompany.com member home page? #
Does anybody use the new FastCompany.com member home page? #

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2008-04-05

Enjoyed a dress rehearsal of Candide this afternoon at NYC Opera. #
Waiting for scrambled eggs and bacon. Yumm. #
About to listen to Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmelites. #
Had to get a special food for one of the dogs who has an upset stomach. #

Jeffrey’s Twitter Updates for 2008-04-04

@BronSt It was a wonderful evening! The best for your remaining time here. Let me know the next time you will be back. #
Half day today at work. Took the afternoon off for some culture. #
Half day today at work. Took the afternoon off for some culture. #
Just started to use SocialThing! Interesting site, though still in rugged beta. Thank you @ChrisRicca for the invite. #

What I Hope to Improve as a Learning Professional

I really like the ASTD Learning Circuits Big Question this month, which is “What would you like to do better as a Learning Professional?”

This hearkens me back to a blog post I wrote yesterday, Whose Objectives Are They, Anyway? I want have better conversations, discussions, buy-in, and agreement of learning objectives between learner and instructional designer / trainer / instructor within higher education.

The current system of instructional designer designing objectives based on a needs analysis that often does not acknowledge direct input from the learners does not respect the experiences and freedom of an adult population. While I follow the ADDIE process in everything I do, as a higher education instructor I create the objectives based on university expectations and often give them to the students without their input and buy-in. Common for higher education, but unaccaptable for adult education that seeks to acknowledge the active role of the learner in the learning process.

So, what do I hope to improve? Collaborative agreement on learning objectives within higher education.