If you’ve received a Google Wave invite, perhaps you were overwhelmed and confused the first time you logged in like I was. Or maybe you’ve never even heard of Google Wave. Either way, I recently found a great FREE resource to get you up to speed on Google Wave.

Appropriately titled “The Complete Guide to Google Wave,” this online guide describes everything in simple terms. They start with the basics like what Google Wave is and how to sign up, then build up to Wave-specific terminology, possible use cases, and advanced features. I especially liked this video explaining how Wave is different from and improves on email:

Don’t let the prominent “$6 Buy Now” graphic throw you off – that’s for the PDF version download. Not that 6 bucks is a lot, but you can read the whole guide on their site for free; just scroll down and click on the chapters.

I’m still exploring and tinkering with Wave myself, but it has a lot of potential to improve communication and collaboration – for work and play. So get yourself signed up for a free invite and read the free guide while you’re waiting. Then you’ll be ready to wave like a pro when you’re given the green light.

On Saturday, December 5th, 2009 at 10 a.m. ET, the DARPA Network Challenge will launch, literally. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Internet, the DoD research agency is hosting a contest to see how social networking can aid in solving time-sensitive problems with a geographically dispersed team.

To claim the $40,000 prize, you (and presumably some some friends spread across the country) have to be the first to find 10 red weather balloons tethered to the ground. So if you’re in need of $40k (you’ll have to split it with your friends, of course) and weekend plans, check out the official DARPA link above. CNN also has a story about it here: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/12/04/darpa.balloon.challenge/

Good luck!

In a previous post, I asked the question: How can social network environments be used to support competency models that include attitudes and behaviors?

With the variety of social network environments (SNEs) available in today’s Web 2.0 milieu, the possibilities for leveraging them in the support of competency models and training initiatives may be infinite. In this post, I will focus on two or three of the SNEs and may choose to write about some of the others later. That said, I would encourage you to comment to this post about your ideas for these and other SNEs.

Weblogs and Blogging

Weblogs (blogs) are easy to implement but are challenging to leverage in support of competency models and training initiatives. I say “challenging” because blogging requires an individual or small group of knowledge experts to write content and keep it up to date. I think they are a very valuable tool, but when using them to support training initiatives, it is important to:

• Identify potential authors
• Create a writing schedule
• Remind authors when its time to write
• Link relevant courses to the blog
• Encourage readers to comment
• Assign someone to identify comments that need a response from an expert

Wikis

I’ve personally worked with at least 9 different wiki tools. Some of them I’ve simply written inside of, others I’ve implemented for clients or simply for my own understanding of their usefulness. While these tools are a bit more challenging to implement than a blog, I believe they are enormously important for supporting competency models and training initiatives.

I recently read an article, that described how P&G saved $500,000 annually by moving the technical support for a particular internal tool from phone based support to wiki-based support. I think the same can be true in supporting learners in the attainment of competencies.

Wikipedia offers an excellent example of how a wiki can be used to support the acquisition of knowledge. In a business environment, an internal wiki could give users the opportunity to locate content quickly and because any member can edit the content the community can monitor, correct and update the content.

Facebook

When I first logged onto Facebook, I really didn’t get how powerful of a tool this can be. I recall telling coworkers that its not really all that valuable for us. However, now that I’ve been using Facebook for a few months, I find myself on it nearly every day. I actually met some men from the church I attend on Facebook before I met them in person.

One way that Facebook can be used to support competencies and learning is through the groups and pages feature provided. These features allow users to interact about subjects that are important to them. But it also allows them to get to know one another through the information shared on personal pages.

Before Hurricane Katrina destroyed parts of New Orleans, I was an associate professor in Tulane University’s online program. Over the six years I taught in their online program, one of the biggest challenges I faced was encouraging students to collaborate and discuss the content. In a classroom, this happens almost automatically, but in an online course, it has to be fostered. If Facebook would have been available then, I would have used it to drive the discussions for my class. I believe when students know what one another look like and some of their interests, the sense of knowing someone and participating in something with them increases dramatically.

Through some of the Facebook groups I participate in, I have been impressed by how quickly you can find and get to know someone. And how it breaks down some of the barriers to online collaboration.

Conclusion

I’m sure there are more ways to leverage these tools just as there are many other tools available online that can be leveraged. What ideas do you have?

Related Articles
- How Do We Support Competency Models?
- Facilitating Personal Growth Through Training
- Competency Models Drive Success
- Social Software’s Culture Clash

eLearning, Community development, Technology, and Fun — all these impact and work together in changing the exciting landscape of online learning for the next generation. Often, I talk with organizational leaders who look puzzled when I start discussing the unification of these practices. Most take each of the areas above and put them in separate silos. At best, they merge one or two with another, but rarely will they see all four areas working together. In an article I recently read, it was evident that Rob Pardo and the team at Blizzard Entertainment understand this unifying idea.

Community
With more than 6 million subscribers, Blizzard’s World of Warcraft (WoW) has hit on something more than just geeks and gaming. Pardo, himself is part of a subgroup (in WoW terms, a Guild) that communicates regularly outside the game.

“Outside the game we stay in touch using online forums, a wiki, blogs, and a mailing list – plus a group voice chat, which I have connected to my home stereo so I hear the guilds banter while I’m cooking dinner. I have never been this addicted to anything before,” says Pardo.

Keeping It Fun
According to Pardo, there are four basic draws to this online environment: the ability to socialize, an achievement system that gives users an incentive to improve, complex and satisfying strategy that makes playing fun, and an underlying narrative that users want to learn more about. Add to this the ability for the user to customize his/her experience and interface and you have a winning formula for retention and success.

According to Joi Ito, some call online gaming the new golf, but it is more than that…

“…it is millions of people with diverse backgrounds collaborating, socializing, and learning while having fun. It represents the future of real time collaborative teams and leadership in an always-on, diversity-intensive, real-time environment. World of Warcraft is a glimpse into our future.”

As evidenced in this environment, here is a case-study/incubator for NextGen learning paradigms. The disciplines of eLearning, Community development, and Technology under the umbrella of Fun are not separate functional areas. The fact is they all work together in tandem.

The Brunel University School of Sport and Education finished a three year study of the effects and benefits of online games on youth. Their findings? That youth between the ages of 11-18 benefited from online gaming by developing key learning skills. Using the over nine million member RuneScape as their lab, Brunel noted the following:

The study, which took the form of qualitative research into a community of players of the online game RuneScape shows that gaming is far from being a frivolous diversion from homework. The research shows how the online worlds created by the gamers mirror many aspects of material society helping teenage gamers to make the transition from school to work.

Nic Crowe from the Centre for Youth Work Studies in the School of Sport and Education at West London’s Brunel University, goes on to say:

For example, gamers are invited to join ‘Klans’ – highly disciplined co-operatives in which they share a common set of goals, they adopt identities such as merchant or warrior and they divide their time online between work and leisure. Most importantly, skills are learned which are highly valued, with experienced players tailoring their ‘training’ to acquire the ‘desirable’ skills – a clear example of ‘work related learning’.

2 Questions
This is all very intriguing and I have written on the use of MMOG’s as a tool/vehicle for learning (See World of Warcraft – Nexus of NextGen Learning). Yet, I cannot help but wonder two things:

1. Do youth effectively “bridge the gap” between the virtual and real worlds?
2. What is the long-term effect on real-time relationships?

Regarding the first question, Mr. Crowe makes an interesting comment above about “Klan life” compared to “work life”. We as humans, tend to compartmentalize areas and aspects of our physical, emotional, and thought lives. Does the same thing happen in gaming? I wonder. I wonder how many teenagers are actually thinking, “Wow, I can use the same mentality and ‘learning skills’ I use in RuneScape here in my new job.” Does the transition operate on a subliminal level, within the higher brain functions, or is it compartmentalized–never to become a reality?

In regard to the second question, the Brunel Press Release states: “As the average gamer spends as much time on gaming as on homework , study reveals how online gaming is a training ground for work.” Two factors come to mind here: time and anonymity.

Time
It is already a “given” that many teens and twenty-somethings can, and do, spend a lot of time playing games online. While they are building their online relationships and skills, how does that affect their familial and friend relationships? While there is certainly some value in virtual relationships, there is also a longing within us all for ‘physical’ (IRL) relationships. Why then is it that so many desire to extend their online interactions into the real-world? Balance is needed in our online and real life dealings. We must be careful not to neglect our true family and friends for the sake of anonymous fantasy.

Anonymity
Which brings up the issue of faux personalities in the VR world. Once again, this is a “given” for anyone who has spent anytime in online games, forums, etc. Being anonymous gives the perceived feeling of being a person other than who we truly are. Some people I know have several online personas and each one behaves a little bit different. So, which is the real person—the innocent 13 year old little girl, the Amazon Priestess, the cubicle trapped Wall-flower, or the highly successful VP of Marketing? In the real world, all these may be one person. The person cannot (or may not want to) express certain sides of themselves. They feel that, online, they can exude certain behaviors and not suffer the consequences. For some, multiple VR personas can be an emotional outlet, for others it can be something more insidious.

It seems to me there is much more happening in relation to learning and gaming within the VR world as there is within the real world. The Brunel study is only one of many more to come from other schools and institutions. It may be 20/20 hindsight that we all look back on and truly see the benefits and losses of online gaming as it relates to learning and life application. Time will tell — or will it?

Baseline Magazine has a very interesting article about how Proctor and Gamble is using blogs and other social software applications inside their corporation. The article is about 5 pages in length but there is value in reading through the entire article.

According to the article,

Roughly 600 employees author all of P&G’s 300 blogs, which offer personal perspectives on topics of professional interest, such as design, marketing and emerging technology. Many of P&G’s bloggers were engaged in blog-like activities prior to blogging, such as composing and sending regular newsletters or e-mails to employee groups. However, making the case to trade in e-mail for a blog, even these days, is a call for a culture clash.

The culture clash can be powerful at first, but the article shows how it may be worth the effort.  

The article also points out –

But wikis aren’t just for internal collaboration. In late 2006, call-center software maker Angel.com created a wiki for customers and business partners to exchange information about products, including likes and dislikes. Angel.com also posted technical documentation, including troubleshooting tips to which customers contributed, according to Sam Aparicio, the firm’s chief technology officer.

The unanticipated result has been a reduction in formal technical support and a 10 percent jump in productivity for the McLean, Va., company. The boost, Aparicio estimates, is equivalent to an annual saving of $500,000, while the hosted wiki cost less than $10,000 during the same period.

You can read the full article at http://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/Messaging-and-Collaboration/Social-Softwares-Culture-Clash/