Tony Karrer

June 2013 - TD Magazine

In his blog, SoCal CTO, Karrer offers news and insights into the field of learning technologies and e-learning, focusing on startups and midlevel organizations. He also provides weekly updates on topics such as web  development and Minimum Viable Product.

Tony Karrer: SoCal CTO

This month marks the end of an era. After nearly a decade and 500+ posts, we are shuttering the Learning Circuits Blog and posting exclusively on the ASTD Learning Technologies Blog. It has been a tough decision, especially with the LC Blog getting some of its highest traffic ever—thanks to the amazing group of guest bloggers who have contributed their ideas and expertise over the past 10 months.  So, why are closing it down?Well, ASTD’s website redesign in April enabled us to publish blogs through our own Communities of Practice—rather than externally house them. For the past few months, we have been dual posting new content in both places, but that was never intended to be a long-term solution. So this month, we’re making the transition to post new content solely to the ASTD Learning Technologies Blog. It will still be the same great content, just on a different—and more dynamic—platform that is searchable from anywhere on the ASTD website, making it easier for users to find technology-related content.This isn’t the first time ASTD has revamped the LC Blog into a more serviceable offering. Excited about the new communication tool, we actually started our first blog somewhat ambitiously in 2002 as an experiment lead by informal learning guru Jay Cross and Learning Circuits editor Ryann Ellis. After a few years of misfires and restarts, Jay helped us relaunch the blog as we now know it on January 5, 2005, with a post laying down ground rules for a group-generated blog. In short, the rules were, no self-promotional posts, no personal attacks, and keep it brief—all good advice to heed today, no matter the platform.Indeed, over the years, the blog has seen several incarnations and a parade of learning technology thought leaders contributing content, including Clark Aldrich, Karl Kapp, Donald Clark, Dave Lee, Clark Quinn, Clive Shepherd, Harold Jarche, and most notably Tony Karrer, who was at the helm for nearly four years. We thank them and everyone else who shared their ideas, expertise, and dedication to the field. \[And have no fear: For those looking for an older post, the LC Blog will remain live with all its content intact.\]The final post on the LC Blog, Let’s Stop Pretending, is a fitting one. It’s been the most commented on post we’ve had in years. Written by Craig Wiggins, the post is a rally cry to all learning professionals and instructional designers. Thanks for sending us out on a high note, Craig.For August, our guest blogger is the wonderful Mayra Aixa Villar, who will share her insights on mobile learning.

The Blog Evolved

Digital Writing for Learning and Performance— a one-unit courseAre you up-to-date in the field? Do you read professionally? Do you do it often? Do you do it efficiently? Do you know where to look for tasty morsels? Are you contributing yourself?Just a few more questions…. Do you know who Jane Hart is? How about George Siemens? Donald Taylor? Jane Bozarth? How about Tony Karrer and Juana Llorens? They all influence the field through blogs, content aggregation, tweets, and more. For example, Tony Karrer aggregates content, in addition to blogging himself. Juana has launched a lively instructional design online community that is attracting ASTD members and many others too.About two years ago, I noticed three things.I was not favoring my monthly magazines and journals as I once did. Collecting in a pile, they felt old and flabby when I finally got to them.I had this sense of things going on around and about me. Ideas, programs, and even apps were catapulted into the bloodstream of workplace learning and performance and I wasn’t tuning in to them- not in a dependable way. I wanted to weigh in. I was just as interested in the back and forth comments at the end of blog postings as I was in the original post. I started to add comments and enjoy responses to my comments. I was checking my twitter feed, sending out the occasional resource, and monitoring selected streams as eagerly as I followed the stock market and the San Diego Padres.It was time for me to devote real energy to this new way of being a professional.So I did. And I’m better, happier too, because of it. I blog and tweet. I monitor feeds. I participate in online communities. When I add content to the universe, reactions are immediate and often substantial. That old feeling I had about books and articles I’d written… wondering if they were read, appreciated and applied…. most of that concern is gone. I no longer feel as if I am tossing content into the Grand Canyon.Which brings me to a short, online course I will teach this Spring. It is called Digital Writing for Learning and Performance. Here are the five course outcomes:Review online resources associated with workplace learning and development and discover and share a dozen with meaning for you and your work;Make progress in building your own PLN (personal learning network), a set of resources to help you stay up to date in the field;Engage with others, classmates and others beyond our class, who produce content and host communities devoted to workplace learning and performance;Identify and research a topic that matters to you and offers benefits to others in the field of training and development; andCreate and submit content suitable for distribution online, in a resource we agree has the potential to be influential.The class will happen online. We commence on March 4th at 6 PM Pacific, and will meet online many, but not all, Monday evenings for an hour. The class concludes on May 13th.  Net, net, you will read and write and re-write and submit, supported by me, a teaching assistant, and your classmates. The underlying intention of the class is to increase familiarity and comfort with the delicious online resources that surround us.It costs $400 to register for the one-unit course.  You can enroll in the course here.In process is a 15% discount for ASTD members. Are you an international member? If you are, please complete this form so we can forward registration instructions.Interested? If you have any questions please drop them into the comments below. Thanks!