Beth Weber over at TechSmith (SnagIt, Camtasia) has announced a screencasting group on Facebook. DevCon eLearning attendees … you should join!
Link to her blog for details, or Create a Facebook account and search on screencasting. (click upon thumbnail for expanded view)
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As promised, here is my report from Devcon – Day 1. This conference has already lived up to my expectations. The event is located at the University of Utah; my lodging is a dorm room which was part of the 2002 Winter Olympics Athletes Village. Thus, in between sessions, or if I need a longer break … it’s just a five minute walk back to my dorm. Although I have a "single", other attendees are in my dorm’s suite. Thus, I’ve already enjoyed some hallway conversations! Over lunch in the campus dining hall, I talked with some eLearning experts from San Diego, and a Utah PhD student doing medical research into the structure of DNA. Although she had nothing to do with our conference, it was a fascinating talk.
I’ll make more information available later, but here is some preliminary information which relates to two great presentations which I attended this morning:
Finally … two photos of the campus!
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My daughter asked me last night: "When are you going to blog about our big news?".
In answer to Karen’s question … now!
This has been a busy week … with a unique (and fun) lunch on Thursday with my future son-in-law. He met with me and Molly (my wife) to ask our permission to marry Karen. Although I expected to say "yes", I still had a large list of serious questions and issues I wanted to discuss! Friday night he popped the question to Karen.
Since this is a "knowledge management" blog, what would you ask a future son-in-law? While I won’t embarrass Matt by listing the specific questions here, I did cover these subjects:
We had some nice discussions. Matt answered first, and then Molly and I gave examples from our 24 year marriage. Click upon the thumb nail image to see the photos and announcement!
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This afternoon I leave for eLearning Devcon in Salt Lake City. My schedule normally only allows me to choose one technical conference each year which does not have a direct relationship to a current work project … so why Devcon? I’ll answer that question in this blog over the next few days, but it meets some of my key requirements:
With those comments … it’s off to the airport. I’ve just downloaded some podcasts from the Burton Group, including a recent interview with IBM Fellow Carol Jones on the topic of Social Software and the Future of Work (all podcasts). If you’re not familiar with the Burton Group, they describe themselves as a "vendor-independent research and advisory services focused on enterprise IT infrastructure technologies. Known for our principle-based architectural approach and technical depth, each of our six highly-focused research services provide practical insights and direction for enterprise technologists and executives."
Most of us, including me, never get to attend seminars at the Aspen Institute. Their seminars pull together some of the world’s leading thought leaders. A recent Aspen Strategy Workshop was held on China. You may download the workshop’s the 169 page book / report without charge.
Here is how the Aspen Institute describes this book:
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"This publication is the outcome of the Aspen Strategy
Group’s summer 2006 workshop, the first session of its kind in which
distinguished Chinese guests joined the ASG membership for an open
exchange of ideas surrounding China’s rise. The publication includes
the revised versions of the 11 papers presented at the meeting as well
as the workshop agenda and ASG Director Kurt Campbell’s scene setter
and concluding observations. Representing a rich range of fields and
perspectives, the authors examine economic and transnational challenges
as well as Chinese soft power, the implications for U.S., regional, and
global security, and the possibilities for cooperation in the critical
years ahead. Contributors include both American as well as Chinese
participants such as Dean of the School of International Studies at
Peking University, Wang Jisi. Their analysis presents varying scenarios
– engagement, coexistence, or heightened tensions in such areas as
trade and military affairs."