ASTD’s Learning Cirtuits Blog Big Question for January is What are your Challenges, Plans and Predictions for 2009?

Since I haven’t done my New Year’s post yet, I’ll just talk to this question.

Challenges

I’ll talk about the challenges from a personal level. How do I incorporate what I am learning about connected learning into my “day job”? How do I weave more of the connected learning concepts into my graduate studies? How do I move away from straight up developing technical courses into doing more of what I am learning about (designing), especially in a down economy?

I think that latter question is the hardest one for me right now. I do pretty well influencing my peers, or maybe one level up from where I am organizationally. How do I learn how to influence people who can really make the decisions to change things? How do I know when I am pushing to hard and when I need to back off? How do I convince my organization to take a chance on some of the ideas that I have? These are the things that I want to get better at this year.

Plans

I am about half-way through my graduate program. I need 6 more classes and one internship. I think I want to try and finish this year. I am taking 2 classes in the spring, that means I need to do 2 in the summer, and then 2 in the winter plus the internship. I am planning on walking at graduation, so that means I’ll be back home (well Tallahassee, close enough) in December. I can deal with that. 🙂

I plan on continuing to expand my network using this blog and twitter. I plan on continuing the Knowledge Worker Competency series I started at work, helping folks understand how to use these social tools for learning and sharing so when my organization starts using them for training everyone will be comfortable enough with the technology that it won’t be a barrier to instruction.

I haven’t forgotten about using these technologies to assist adults on the autism spectrum. I’d like to do some work on that this year.

I also want a paper published. If that doesn’t happen, I want my organization and my grad school advisor to realize that this blog has a bit of reach too. Why can’t it carry the same weight that getting published carries?

Predictions

I predict my organization will start using social media tools as part of our instructional offering. OK maybe I am really hoping we are able to do this!

Here’s my dire prediction: some organization is going to be hit by a data loss caused by social media. Then everyone will clamp down on all these activities, and we’ll be back to square one. I hope I’m wrong about that one.

I predict that I will lose my 4.0. But not by much.

I’m looking forward to 2009. Lots of things to try, lots of things to learn. Plus hopefully a year from now I’ll have my master’s degree!, and my son will only have 3 semesters till he graduates! 🙂