After looking over Jane Hart's latest blog the lesson I take away is that while I may be in school learning new things to help me in my career, I have to be the facilitator to my own personal education. There are many tools out there to help me stay current with technology advancements as well as networking with others. In this new social technology age their are so may resources available to help us learn from others as well as contribute what we ourselves have discovered. It is easier then ever for us to learn from one another and I see it happen everyday.
A simple example is the wiki... now I love wikis and am using them all over the place. Once I learned what a wiki was and how easy they are to use, I taught others. I have shown colleuges at work and set them up for my students so they can commuicate while on clinical rotations at area hospitals. I was taught a skill and have since passed that skill on to others... that is how it should work really.
As we aquire new skills either through networking with others or a great new computer program that allows you to easily share files we need to be open to imparting this knowledge to others. This allows us to not only be life long students but teachers as well. How cool is that? You learn something really useful and almost as quick as pushing a button you can teach it to others. That is what Jane Hart's blog does, allows a place for learning new skills and passing on knowledge that you have gained. I plan to not only use social technology to keep on top of what is going on in the world of teaching and technology but to also helps others along the way. The possibilities are endless!
I am commited to being a life long learner and teacher, kind of like the circle of life in the Lion King minus the babboon and evil uncle.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Give it to Mikey, he'll try anything
So Here Comes Everybody made me think of Mikey, you know from those old Life cereal commercials. Do you remember them? Well there are two boys that do not want to try the Life cereal, it is new and different and they are apprehensive... so what do they do? They get this kid named Mikey to try it because he will "try anything". Mikey does indeed try the cereal and guess what? He likes it! This makes the other two willing to try it as well.
I wonder where those three boys are now...are the two apprehensive boys still afraid to try new things? Is Mikey traveling the world in search of the next big thing? Who knows but one of the main messages of this book to me is that we all need to be more like Mikey, we need to try new things and see what is out there. We need to reach past the boundaries that we know in order to achieve our highest goals and ambitions. Would Sasha have gotten her phone back if Evan hadn't gone to the masses? Would Blitzkrieg have worked if the Germans didn't have the radios? Would they have lost that day? Would Wikipedia be the giant resource it has become today if someone had not realized Nupedia would never have gotten off the ground?
These are some questions that are raised in this book. What do I take away from it you ask? Well there are so many different little lessons but the constant theme is that the world is constantly changing, now more than ever. One of the most impacted areas is the way we communicate and learn information from others. It seems there is a shift to more social integration into our personal, work and educational lives and this book expands on that. With the click of a button I can tell people that I am tired and bored just as easily as another person can describe their experience in surviving a coup in their country or a catastrophic earthquake.
When loved ones went missing in the terrible Indian Ocean Tsunami a few years back they used the internet to post pictures of those missing. This would not have been possible twenty years ago. It helped people to get into contact much faster and families were able to find the survivors as well as confirm the dead.
This book along with this class have helped me to realize that we must explore the possibilities of the world around us and be willing to listen to what others have to teach us. I have learned I am capable of this movement into the new social mainstream Shirky talks about. I may even contribute to a Wikipedia page as he did. I need to be a Mikey in my own learning experience, willing to try and brave enough to know sometimes I will fail.
I wonder where those three boys are now...are the two apprehensive boys still afraid to try new things? Is Mikey traveling the world in search of the next big thing? Who knows but one of the main messages of this book to me is that we all need to be more like Mikey, we need to try new things and see what is out there. We need to reach past the boundaries that we know in order to achieve our highest goals and ambitions. Would Sasha have gotten her phone back if Evan hadn't gone to the masses? Would Blitzkrieg have worked if the Germans didn't have the radios? Would they have lost that day? Would Wikipedia be the giant resource it has become today if someone had not realized Nupedia would never have gotten off the ground?
These are some questions that are raised in this book. What do I take away from it you ask? Well there are so many different little lessons but the constant theme is that the world is constantly changing, now more than ever. One of the most impacted areas is the way we communicate and learn information from others. It seems there is a shift to more social integration into our personal, work and educational lives and this book expands on that. With the click of a button I can tell people that I am tired and bored just as easily as another person can describe their experience in surviving a coup in their country or a catastrophic earthquake.
When loved ones went missing in the terrible Indian Ocean Tsunami a few years back they used the internet to post pictures of those missing. This would not have been possible twenty years ago. It helped people to get into contact much faster and families were able to find the survivors as well as confirm the dead.
This book along with this class have helped me to realize that we must explore the possibilities of the world around us and be willing to listen to what others have to teach us. I have learned I am capable of this movement into the new social mainstream Shirky talks about. I may even contribute to a Wikipedia page as he did. I need to be a Mikey in my own learning experience, willing to try and brave enough to know sometimes I will fail.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Sometimes we need a little mess....
In the organizational model everything is done by a central organization, all aspects of the work and thought processes go through the same avenue. This has some plusses as everything is managed and problems can be easily determined but I think it makes work harder for those involved as most everything falls to them. This is the way my client operates, they are an organization and try to handle all aspects of growing the group and education the public amongst the 12 or so of them. This has lead to a lot of stress and burn out since they have temporarily disbanded. Why has this happened? They are overwhelmed with all the other responsibilities they have on their plate and were not reaching their target audience. They were not able to grow into a larger group as many that were interested were not able to come to meetings or work within their structure.
This is where the network centric approach could be helpful. If they could find a following and pass some of the tasks on to others it would take some of the pressure off of them. As I mentioned previously with more people comes new ideas that might help spread the word about the shortage of clinical laboratory scientists which would benefit the cause. The group could grow as people would be able to work on tasks as they see fit and when they have time rather than dealing with the current constaints.
I think the reason this hasn't happened yet is two fold, the first is their fear of technology they do not understand and have no desire to learn and the other is reliquishing control, many in our field are control freaks. They have to let go a bit and trust in others, not an easy task I realize but nessecary to their survival.
If this group is going to survive and flourish they have to let go a bit and allow others to take peices of the puzzle.
We all have to be willing to change and grow, learning from mistakes what hasn't worked and being open to new ways of doing things.
I am undergoing major change in my own life, is it scary? Absolutely but I know that I have to move forward and let go of what hasn't worked for me and hope that things will fall into place... we all have to give into the fear and go forward at some point to see real change occur.....
This is where the network centric approach could be helpful. If they could find a following and pass some of the tasks on to others it would take some of the pressure off of them. As I mentioned previously with more people comes new ideas that might help spread the word about the shortage of clinical laboratory scientists which would benefit the cause. The group could grow as people would be able to work on tasks as they see fit and when they have time rather than dealing with the current constaints.
I think the reason this hasn't happened yet is two fold, the first is their fear of technology they do not understand and have no desire to learn and the other is reliquishing control, many in our field are control freaks. They have to let go a bit and trust in others, not an easy task I realize but nessecary to their survival.
If this group is going to survive and flourish they have to let go a bit and allow others to take peices of the puzzle.
We all have to be willing to change and grow, learning from mistakes what hasn't worked and being open to new ways of doing things.
I am undergoing major change in my own life, is it scary? Absolutely but I know that I have to move forward and let go of what hasn't worked for me and hope that things will fall into place... we all have to give into the fear and go forward at some point to see real change occur.....
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Cause knowledge is power!
So as I have mentioned in previous entries my client is very old school in their way of thinking and doing things. So how does this relate to this weeks issues of knowledge and effectiveness? It speaks volumes about their failures in the world we live in today.
Let's start with knowledge. Currently they are very organizational which keeps knowledge of our problems and efforts constrained, we are having trouble getting the word out about the needs and shortages in our profession. Laboratory medicine is like this as a whole really... most are introverts that like to keep to themselves. This doesn't help our cause, we need to step out of the box, open the door to the world and welcome new ideas and new ways of thinking. The group has tossed around many ideas but there is only so much a group of about 15 people can come up with. We need to welcome the ideas and expertise of others and join forces with the world beyond the realm of the lab. Think about it... whenever nurses have a shortage the public knows about it. Why is this? Because they take their plight to the people and make the public aware of how this dilemma will affect them personally. We need to do the same thing! Without qualified lab personnel diabetics can't be monitored correctly, cancer patients won't get blood products as needed to get through chemo treatments, heart attacks will be undiagnosed and infections will be mistreated. I know this but does the average Joe? Do any of you know that 70% of all medical decisions made by a Doctor are based on results they get from the lab? Well you should and it is our job to make sure that you do!
This lack of knowledge also greatly inhibits our effectiveness. The great thing about a more network centric group is that people can come and go as needed.... some might think this is a bad idea but it is actually a strength! You see as we need specific tasks or ideas people can come in and help make it happen then leave, this keeps them from getting burned out with being part of the cause. Not everyone can commit themselves to a cause 365 days a year, myself included. This way people can serve a purpose and get back to their lives and come back when needed again. Plus with people coming and going new ideas will always be present, new ways of doing things and new viewpoints to tackle our problems.
Like wikipedia, we are stronger in numbers! While only a few will do a majority of the work, the other 20% is highly important and allows us to reach a greater audience including local government and the general public. We need both to make a difference.
The success of my client is only as great as their biggest failure. They are currently in a holding pattern and frustrated by the failure of their past efforts... it is time to take what we have learned and move forward! It is all about opening the door!
Let's start with knowledge. Currently they are very organizational which keeps knowledge of our problems and efforts constrained, we are having trouble getting the word out about the needs and shortages in our profession. Laboratory medicine is like this as a whole really... most are introverts that like to keep to themselves. This doesn't help our cause, we need to step out of the box, open the door to the world and welcome new ideas and new ways of thinking. The group has tossed around many ideas but there is only so much a group of about 15 people can come up with. We need to welcome the ideas and expertise of others and join forces with the world beyond the realm of the lab. Think about it... whenever nurses have a shortage the public knows about it. Why is this? Because they take their plight to the people and make the public aware of how this dilemma will affect them personally. We need to do the same thing! Without qualified lab personnel diabetics can't be monitored correctly, cancer patients won't get blood products as needed to get through chemo treatments, heart attacks will be undiagnosed and infections will be mistreated. I know this but does the average Joe? Do any of you know that 70% of all medical decisions made by a Doctor are based on results they get from the lab? Well you should and it is our job to make sure that you do!
This lack of knowledge also greatly inhibits our effectiveness. The great thing about a more network centric group is that people can come and go as needed.... some might think this is a bad idea but it is actually a strength! You see as we need specific tasks or ideas people can come in and help make it happen then leave, this keeps them from getting burned out with being part of the cause. Not everyone can commit themselves to a cause 365 days a year, myself included. This way people can serve a purpose and get back to their lives and come back when needed again. Plus with people coming and going new ideas will always be present, new ways of doing things and new viewpoints to tackle our problems.
Like wikipedia, we are stronger in numbers! While only a few will do a majority of the work, the other 20% is highly important and allows us to reach a greater audience including local government and the general public. We need both to make a difference.
The success of my client is only as great as their biggest failure. They are currently in a holding pattern and frustrated by the failure of their past efforts... it is time to take what we have learned and move forward! It is all about opening the door!
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