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Beta Learning...
08/26/07 , 12:15:33 am | Catalogado en Education, Education & Society
I was reading today this post by Jay Cross, in which he says Auf Wiedersehen! to ADDIE. Then later, while I was eating, I remembered something Ulf-Daniel Ehlers said last week in our international seminar, about how Google (and most Web applications, both 1.0 and 2.0) are perpetual betas.
Now, this means clearly that there is not a "delivery version" of these applications. Instead, they are being upgraded and delivered in a continuous way. Um, I won't talk here about the impact this has (and will have) on the software development industry, because of the huge financial resources this kind of approach needs. Clearly, it is a different business model.
Anyway, what came to my mind was the idea that ADDIE is exactly a "version oriented" methodology. The basic diagram (in which are based several of the instructional design approaches) suggests that you analyze, design, develop, implement, evaluate and then go back to the drawing board.
But, as Jay suggests, what if we think of learning (and education and instructional design, now that we are at it) as "Perpetual beta" things? It makes sense to think in a flexible, informal, just in time way about learning, right?
That has a lot to do with some of the things Stephen said in his video (reviewed before) about keeping a registry of the learning we acquire/develop/build. Only when this kind of registry exists, we will be able to upgrade it and to discover the way our mind evolves as we learn...
So, from now on maybe it would make sense to introduce myself as "Diego Leal, Learner*". May God deliver us from becoming learners that end up with a "production version for release" (Uh, formal education degrees, anyone?) Now that would be a funny idea for a post...
*Beta!!
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2 comments
Did you see Mel Gibson's Braveheart? His tormentors are cutting off body parts in front of a large, cheering crowd. "FREEDOM!" he shouts.
That's what perpetual beta is all about. Nothing's definitive. You decide what's enough. Life is risky: beta. It's flow. It's contextual. It's your judgment call.
Do it. You're free. We're all in this together, progressing because we believe we can divert the flow to benefit the future.
FREEDOM!
You don't need to sign in as Diego, Learner, you just need to think that way.
Nancy and I were talking just before we left Colombia. When either of us looks as opportunities, a deciding factor is "Am I going to learn anything from this?" We duck the sterile gigs.
Beta! The earth can always use improvement. Nothing's set in stone. We are FREE to change things for the better.
Buena suerte.
jay
PS
Let's keep the flame burning from this conference. Tell everyone to put their photos on FlickR with the tag elearningcolombia
"We are FREE to change things for the better". Yes, we are. And it's up to us to decide that we are going to learn from any experience in our life. That all we live has to do with us. If we don't do this, we're just observers of our own life.
So, I join you on this FREEDOM! call.
FREEDOM!
Last night I was thinking that if we intend to think of ourselves as learners, the things we do in life should be considered as learning. So I learn 8 to 6 every weekday at work, and keep learning at home, while watching a movie, cooking, or doing anything else.
So, ok, I won´'t sign as "Diego, Learner". "Diego" is enough. :D
Last year we started to burn a flame that this last week got very stronger. For me, it won't stop. I'll try and do my best to keep it burning.
Thank you for your comment!
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