Continuous Learning & Development

We all know by now that loosing weight not just starts with a diet but needs be accompanied by exercise.

Advice 1: Pedometer
David Heber one of the nutrition experts that I follow recommends to use a pedometer to count the movement and calculate the energy consumption. Now you can turn in your iPhone into a pedometer.
In the App Store for the iPhone there are 4 Pedometer applications listed:
- Pedometer from Luminant Software for USD 4.99
- Distance Meter from Future Apps INc. for USD 2.99
- Steps from Edovia Inc. for USD 1.99
- Stride from Dramatic Technologies for USD 1.99

If you have used one of those applications already please leave a comment. I will start using these applications and therefore cannot share any experience with these tools yet. In the coming weeks I will be updating this part of my post.

Advice 2: Work Out in a Fitness Studio
I found a very interesting advice on how the iPhone will support your work out. Read more in the post:
The iPhone-Powered Handheld Workout Reference.

Advice 3:
I follow a mix of the meditarian, chinese (5 Elements) and color diet. The color diet was created by David Heber. In Google Docs I set up a permanent shopping list for my family. The list was built on the shopping list that I found in the book: “What Color is Your Diet ? by David Heber, page 126 ff.  When we go shopping we use the iPhone to open our permanent shopping list in Google Docs.  We use Google to better collaborate in our family. I have written about it in my post: My New Work-Life Balance with iGoogle.

Advice 4: Calory Usage tracking
In the App Store you will a tool to track your calory consumption. This is a good way to start your diet
with an analysis of your daily calory intake.
- CaloryGuard from BlueBamboo.de Falko Buttler for USD 3.99
I have no personal experience with this tool yet. In the coming weeks I will be continuously updating this post as learn more and more about these tools.

Advice 5: Weight Tracker
There are two tools that you can install on your iPhone to track your weight to record your weight.
- Weight Tracker from the Foundation HealthCare Net which is free
- FatWatch from Benjamin Ragheb for USD 9.99
I have not used any of the tools yet. Please me a comment if you had used this tools in the past. Thank you.

Advice 6: Weight-Charter
Another Application for your iPhone in the App Store: It is a diet and exercise program.
- Weight-Charter from e-Agent for USD 4.99
Again I have not used myself yet. In the next weeks I will be updating this post.

Advice 7: CalorieCheck
This is an application in the App Store which gives you detailed nutritional information for over seven thousand foods.
- CalorieCheck from John Moffett for USD 0.99

I have written about the top most iGoogle gadgets in a previous post (March, 20, 2008). Now I want to see if the wisdom of the crowd has changed since the economy has taken a dive.

Number 10: (igoogle.com)
New: Wikipedia (1,862,838 users) lost users and down from 8. Users: 1 619 271
BBC News (1 330 522 users) not in the top ten despite an increase of users. Now at: 1 439 107.
Number 10: (Switzerland)
New: Google Mail (22 371 users)
Neue Zuericher Zeitung (NZZ) (17 631) moved up to 8.

Number 9: (igoogle.com)
New: Google News (2,297,464 users) with less users (1 730 273) down from 7.
New York Times (NYT) (1 520 525 users) lost the spot in the top ten. Number of Users decreased to 1 181 752.
Number 9: (Switzerland)
New: Google News Schweiz (22 763)
Blick-online News (18 470 users) out of the top ten with 11 810 users.

Number 8: (igoogle.com)
New: Quotes of the day (2,452,622 users) now with 1 752 946 users down from 6.
Wikipedia (1,862,838 users) moved to 10.
Number 8: (Switzerland)
New: Neue Zuericher Zeitung (NZZ) (17 631) up from 10 with 30 901 users.
Wikipedia Suche (22′619 users) dropped out of the top ten. Now with only 6 690 users.
(Biggest looser)

Number 7: (igoogle.com)
New: Google Calendar (2 677 073 users)
Google News (2,297,464 users) now at 9.
Number 7: (Switzerland)
Date & Time (27′062 users) gained users: 38 760

Number 6: (igoogle.com)
New: Official YouTube Gadget (4,397,481 users) with 9 840 054 users down from five.
Quotes of the day (2,452,622 users) now at 8.
Number 6: (Switzerland)
New: Alle Zisch-Sport-News (60′009 users) down from five with less users: 42 215
20 Minuten | Front (29′255 users) not anymore in the top ten. Number of users dropped to 18 097.

Number 5: (igoogle.com)
New: Movies (4,686,898 users) down from 4 but with 10 119 330 (biggest relative gain of the top ten gadgets)
Official YouTube Gadget (4,397,481 users) now at number 6.
Number 5: (Switzerland)
New: news.ch/trends with 49 961 users.
Alle Zisch-Sport-News (60′009 users) moved to 6.

Number 4: (igoogle.com)
New: wikiHow - How to of the day (7,597,367 users) now with 11 876 948 users down from three.
Movies (4,686,898 users) now in fifth place.
Number 4: (Switzerland)
New: Beobachter 05|08 (77′038 users) down from 2 to 51 330 users.
swissinfo - News Frontseite (72′038 users) now in second spot.

Number 3: (igoogle.com)
New: CNN.com (7,698,511 users) now has 11 974 543 users.
wikiHow - How to of the day (7,597,367 users) at 4.
Number 3: (Switzerland)
New: PCtipp-News (84′514 users) lost users. Now at 56 825.
news.ch/trends at number 5.

Number 2: (igoogle.com)
New: Date & Time (9,294,244 users) has 12 872 637 users.
CNN.com (7,698,511 users) now in third spot.
Number 2: (Switzerland)
New: Swissinfo (72′038 users) moved up from rank 4 while users decreased to 69 654.
Beobachter 05|08 (77′038 users) moved to 4.

Number 1: (igoogle.com)
New: Weather (14 953 508 users)
Date & Time (9,294,244 users) now at Second spot.
Number 1: (Switzerland)
Wetter (95 404)
PCtipp-News (84′514 users) now in third place.

Weather made it to the top in both countries. Now that people are selling SUVs and bying bicycles instead or walking or using public transport instead of the car, weather forecast is the must have gadget, right ? .
Movies and Videos were the biggest gainers in the US. The interest in News from New York Times, BBC and Google News dropped. Or have the New York Times Readers switched to Twitter ? (Leave me a comment please). Only CNN was able to attract more users. Why ? And new in the top ten is the iGoogle gadget - Google Calendar and Weather. A decrease in users saw the gadget Quote of the Day . 
The Gadgets ranking from 2-6 stayed in the same order as last time but gained a lot of new users.

Swiss people are less interested in PC News these days- PC News dropped from top spot to third place . Are they all switching to the new iPhone or did they have to sell their computer to pay the mortgage ? Please leave a comment.
New in the top ten is weather, Google Mail and Google News Schweiz in Switzerland.

When it comes to the usage of iGoogle Gadget than we have a different situation in the US versus Switzerland. The number of users of the top ten iGoogle gadgets have increased in the US since March 20th from 43 138 472 million to 79 416 583 million. In Switzerland the number of users just went up from 458 597 to 480 184.  Any Swiss reading this article please let me know why you are not so fond of iGoogle gadgets ? Or have you convereted to the US gadgets ?

Somehow I am attracted by the wisdom of the crowds. Those crowds are more intelligent than the indivudual in the crowd. So what better way to find out what smart Gadgets should be in your igoogle pages is than to have a look at the most used gadgets on iGoogle. Well I could not do this without a comparision between igoogle.com and Switzerland (igoogle.ch)

Number 10: (igoogle.com)
BBC News (1 330 522 users)
Number 10: (Switzerland)
Neue Zuericher Zeitung (NZZ) (17 631)
My comparison comment: Both are serious news sources

Number 9: (igoogle.com)
New York Times (NYT) (1 520 525 users)
Number 9: (Switzerland)
Blick-online News (18 470 users)
My comparison comment: Again at igoogle.com another serious news source. Now here in Switzerland it is the colorful daily news with some bikini pictures in it or so.

Number 8: (igoogle.com)
Wikipedia (1,862,838 users)
Number 8: (Switzerland)
Wikipedia Suche (22′619 users)
My comparison comment: Surprise, surprise for both the same encyclopedia in their local language.

Number 7: (igoogle.com)
Google News (2,297,464 users)
Number 7: (Switzerland)
Date & Time (27′062 users)
My comparison comment: Google news versus showing the date and time. But wait and look at the next numbers.

Number 6: (igoogle.com)
Quotes of the day (2,452,622 users)
Number 6: (Switzerland)
20 Minuten | Front (29′255 users)
My comparison comment: Making a smart quote of the day versus having some broad short general news from this free news magazine that you also get for free on the train stations in Switzerland.

Number 5: (igoogle.com)
Official YouTube Gadget (4,397,481 users)
Number 5: (Switzerland)
Alle Zisch-Sport-News (60′009 users)
My comparison comment: YouTube videos versus Sport news.

Number 4: (igoogle.com)
Movies (4,686,898 users)
Number 4: (Switzerland)
swissinfo - News Frontseite (72′038 users)
My comparison comment: Where to find movies playing near versus news about Switzerland.

Number 3: (igoogle.com)
wikiHow - How to of the day (7,597,367 users)
Number 3: (Switzerland)
news.ch/trends
My comparison comment: How to do things versus what are the latest trends in technology such as eGadgets.

Number 2: (igoogle.com)
CNN.com (7,698,511 users)
Number 2: (Switzerland)
Beobachter 05|08 (77′038 users)
My comparison comment:  The well known CNN news channel versus a consumer advice magazine (something like a how to).

Number 1: (igoogle.com)
Date & Time (9,294,244 users)
Number 1: (Switzerland)
PCtipp-News (84′514 users)
My comparison comment: Date & Time is a must versus PC news.

Overall comment: Date & Time for igoogle.com users is top priority. It seems like users have difficulties in remembering what date it is today. This gadget is a must. Also a existing time displays on computers, telephones and watches are not enough. There needs to be a time display in the iGoogle site as well. The date & time gadget made it also to the 7th place in Switzerland. Can we conclude that time is of a lesser importance in Switzerland. Maybe I should try this one and just pick someone from Switzerland randomly from the telephone book and call him to ask the question what time and date is it. The same should I do for English speaking world, probably I would choose the USA and see who cannot answer me this question. What do you think ?

Another surprising finding is that the PC News are top in Switzerland. It looks like the users of igoogle.ch are dying to get PC News. Before they worry about the world or the economy or anything else, the PC comes first. There must be so much change around PC technologies that they are utter worried they would miss it. Maybe I should try this and just call and ask what is the latest igoogle gadget that was released. Maybe the swiss would win for example over the USA user ?

Anything around Movies and Videos is definetely something special to the igoogle.com users. To know instantly what movie is playing near me is a must. And not to forget to be able to talk about the top videos on YouTube.

Both user communities seem to be into pragmatism. They all want to know how to do things. How to fill in my tax form, how can I save taxes, make more money, find the best schools, fix my house, fix my car, and so and so on. How to is a big thing.

And the national news. What is probable the CNN to the igoogle.com users that is the swissinfo to the Swiss. So here the users know where their focus is. In Switzerland the swiss news just comes after the PC news and the technology news trend. Once they know what is latest in technology, they want to know what their nation is doing.

What other conclusion could you draw out of this top ten list ? Just leave a comment if you like.

Work: I am looking after the development of a few thousand leaders and employees with a very diversified cultural background stretching over 14 hours time zone.  Life: I have two little kids and my wife is working as a system engineer.

Over the past years I have aquired many new skills and best practices to be more effective. I use speed-reading, speed writing, speed leading and also the process from David Allen - Getting things done - The Art of Stress-Free Productivity and Six Sigma.


And now I am starting to use the latest powers of Web 2.0 to get one more step ahead in designing the ultimate work-life balance.
It was last Sunday when I came about iGoogle. And there it was the ultimate environment to get my whole life and work organized in an instant.
So what has changed since then ?
I have setup two iGoogle accounts - one is for work and the other one for life.

Whenever I am at work I go to my iGoogle work account. There I have a number of gadgets that do some fancy stuff for me. I get the latest leadership quote of the day, the stock price of the company I work for, the latest news through Google Reader about my employer, all the news about Management, Leadership, Talent Management, Employee Development, Career Development and Human Resources and the weather forecast. I have also added Google Bookmarks and the be Twittered Gadget where I see the latest twitter for example from New York Times.
What is the result of this iGoogle for work ? Well, it takes me just 5 minutes and I have the latest update on my company and on my profession.
What other gadgets should I add ? Please leave your suggestions in the comment section below. Thank you.

Twice a day I will log into my iGoogle for Life.  There I can leave a note for my wife or vice versa, see where it is raining or snowing (radar) right now, the receipe of the day or I can search for one, the latest discount offers, another to do list, the snow report of our favourite ski resort, time table search for the public transport, what is on teli tonight, what are the latest movies released, send a free sms, MSN Messenger, News (Menshealth, automotor, etc.), Telephone Book search, Route Search, Translator and search on eBay.
What other gadgets should I add ? Please leave your suggestions in the comment section below. Thank you.

New: Doing Business in Second Life (A Virtual World)
How people make a real living in a virtual environment ? These are one of these emerging jobs that did not exist just a couple of years ago.

1) Web 2.0 in HCM
What it will do for Human Resources HR function ?

2) My prediction for 2008 - groupware is so cool
Why 2008 will be the year of web based groupware ?

3) Personal Learning Environments
What is are personal Learning Environments and what are their benefits ?

4) All about conferencing
What conference tools are around and what are their costs, etc ?

5) Personal Learning Environment for language learning
What does a Personal Learning Environment for language learning looks like ?
Fanatastic, this is just what I was looking for. This shows the state of the art in learning, wow . It also lists a very interesting free collaborative environment for language learning called MyHappyPlanet.

6) Jobs and Careers in Social and Collaborative Learning
What are the future or emerging jobs in careers in social and collaborative learning ?

7) How to become  a professional blogger ?
This is a great post on professional development. I find this a very good description of how someone transitioned over years into professional blogging. A must read in my opinion.

The Ten Most Marketable Web Development Skills ?
What are the current marketable technical skills for a web developper ? This post was published in December 2007. For each technical skill the author listed links to relevant learning resources. Excellent!

9)e-Learning Reloaded: Top 50 Web 2.0 Tools for Info Junkies, Researchers & Students
How to collect all your notes, lists, links, etc. online for free ? How to get 1GB free storage space ? How to create free mindmaps and flowcharts collaboratively ? And many more interesting helpers….

10) How Tom Peters is using a wiki to collect real life management stories ?
Another example on how to collect collabaretively knowledge continuously for your
development.
You want to know about the management guru Tom Peters, check out his Blog.

11) 1000 True Fans
What does it take to build a sustainable living online ? Article by Kevin Kelly, founder executive editor of Wired News.
How this would translate into a winning strategy in making a living through teaching online is explored by Brian clark in his article: A 20-Step Process For Finding Your 1,000 True Fans.

Using collaborative activities is one of my favourite tools to make training more engaging and lasting experience.

I found a fantastic example of doing an evaluation of your synchronous training (classroom or virtual) in this post from Elliot Masie.
503 - Oprah e-Learning? Search and Your LMS :
“2. Tips for Trainers: Re-Design the Class Activity: Here is a different way to do an end-of-the-class evaluation. Instead of a smile sheet, ask your learners to, in small groups, re-design the program.  Give them 10 minutes and ask them to do a rapid re-design of the Sequence, Scope and Activities in the class.  You will be pleasantly surprised at the great ideas and rich data that this will yield.”

By engaging the learners at the end of the training this way you can be sure that they retain more from your class than just filling in an evaluation form.

Prior to any of my trainings I like use a short survey to increase the attention level of the participants. An option I use is to ask the major questions that will be addressed during my training and how relevant these questions are for the target group (rate 1 = irrelevant to 5= very relevant). A free survey tool is Kwik Online Surveys. My benefit is that I can better prepare the training for the target group.

One of the best ways to learn is to teach it to others. Therefore I will be listing some free tools to use to teach virtually. This list is not complete. I will do some maintainance over the next couple of weeks as I am going to test the tools before listing them here.
It is up to you what tools you finally use to teach to others. I like to make teaching a rather engaging and action oriented process. There are a number of tools to support this:

1) Scheduling tools:
To schedule a synchronous activity such as a Webinar I like to use Doodle. This tool allows you to poll your audiences’ prefered date for a synchronous event.

2) Sensibilisation: (Pre Event or Post Event Activities)
I like to sensibilize my audience especially when I have some key slides for them.
Just the other day I polled one of my audiences after delivering an online presentation via Netmeeting with a free tool called: Kwiksurvey. During my presentation I had introduced a list of factors having an influence on successful leadership career development. In the poll I let the audience rate each factor’s influence. After a week I shared the results with them.
Another way to use the tool is to poll your audience before delivering a presentation or a training. I usually have one main question for each slide I am going to use in this kind of events. By letting the audience rate the importance of each question before I get a good glimpse on which will be the key questions and therefore the key slides for them.

Welcome to Edublogs.org. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

1. Effective Tool For Self-Reflection
Your Learnign Journal is an effective to tool to support your self-reflection as you go through your learning process. Writing down your thoughts, ideas and open questions about your study topic is an effective way of self-reflection.

2. Good way to explore new aquired knowledge
By formalizing your learning experience you encourage yourself to explore the new aquired knowledge.

3. Powerful Engagement
Your learning journal is an opportunity to engage others in your learning process.
Your teacher, mentor, coach or peers can engage in your learning and find out about your level of understanding of the topic.

4. Contionuous Feedback
Readers of your journal can give you feedback at anytime from anywhere. Readers can point you to new sources, ideas or thoughts. They could also challenge your self-reflection

5. Collaboration
Sharing your learning experience can help you to connect to others on the same learning journey. Collaboration with others can be also a powerful motivational tool to stay focused on your learning path.

6. Building Selfesteem
Self-reflection is a good way to build your self-esteem. Receiving feedback and accepting it is most vital for any team or community you are going to work in or with. Also by giving feedback to other learning journals in a way that will be appreciated by the receiver you build necessary skills to motiviate, influence and guide others.

7. Construct your knowledge by organizing your collected content
With Your Learning Journal you can collect and structure your learning as you go.
It is a good place to store helpful resources and structure them according to your need. Everything about your learning topic is in one place and organized for you in the way you would categorize this topic. This way you continuously construct your knowledge and fill the blank areas as you go.

Reference:
Cole, Jason: Using Moodle,O’Reilly Media, Inc., 2005
Further interesting blogs related to this post:
Tipps on blogging with students
Ten ways to use your edublog to teach

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!