Joyful Jubilant Learning

Twelve Days of Christmas, the Joyful Jubilant Learning way

With all the warmth and spirit that this holiday can bring, the group would like to share this version of the Twelve Days of Christmas with you. May you sing with us now, and join us for a future collaborative effort.

On the first day of Christmas,
my teacher sent to me
A joyful network for learning.

On the second day of Christmas,
my teacher sent to me
Two thoughts inspiring,
And a joyful network for learning.

On the third day of Christmas,
my teacher sent to me
Three blogging tools,
Two thoughts inspiring,
And a joyful network for learning.

On the fourth day of Christmas,
my teacher sent to me
Four annual forums,
Three blogging tools,
Two thoughts inspiring,
And a joyful network for learning.

How do I blog? - Story from a Newbie

How do I blog? That, my friends is a loaded question for me. You see, I am very new to the “blogging” world and like a newborn infant, I think I stumble and grasp at things more than actually move and reach with a purpose. With that said, I can share with you my learning experience so far.

 

I started to blog because my dear friend and mentor strongly suggested that I do. Granted I am a techno-phile/geek at heart and the idea of learning a new technology was intriguing. I first started to explore the same way I like to explore any new city that I visit.  I tried to let myself get lost.  I started with the blogs that my friend had recommended and I followed links to links to links till often times my back button could not find me my way back home.  In those convoluted hour-long journeys, I learned so much about what was out there and I have found hidden gems of sites that I now love.

 

Tip #1 – Don’t be afraid to get lost.  Explore fearlessly and relentlessly. 

 

My first impression of The Big Blogging World (BBW) was one of awe.  Almost mind-numbing awe from the amount of learning and sharing that was out there.  Every where I looked, there was great minds and large hearts that were willing to give to anyone who will read.  It is truly incredible.  Of course, this wonderful view is in part because I started with the Ho’ohana Community and with JJLN. In these two communities, I have found the best teachers and guides.  They have coached, taught and encouraged me through this BBW and have shared their insight with me and have also allowed me to find my own way.  They have inspired me when I felt like quitting and they have saved me when I was lost and overwhelmed.

 

Tip #2 - If you are new and want a positive experience for blogging, find guides that will be kind, protective and nurturing teachers. 

 

 

Since these first few experiences and impressions, I have been blogging for about 3 months.  With the gentle guidance from my great teachers and my own wanderings, I have started to learn how to keep the flow of information controlled.  With so much out there to know and new material being released every day, every hour, my next challenge has been finding a way to control the amount of information I receive and still keep a hand on the pulse of current activity.  My solution so far has been learning how to use Bloglines, and RSS feeders.  Of course, the mundane solution of good habits that keeps me connected with my computer has also been essential.  Right now my habit is to check my sources at least once a day. I spend about 1-4 hours reading, exploring and learning.  Eventually I find the courage to write comments.

 

Tip #3 – Find a way to control the flow of information and keep in contact with the sites you love.

 

 

Ahhhh….. comments!  Now isn’t that a big team player to try and tackle?!  One of my teachers gave me the best advice for comments.  He said to make sure you really have something to say or add to the post.  Don’t fall into the trap of writing comments just to have a comment written.  As I have explored the BBW and have read other comments, I understand what he means.  I struggle with the internal argument of validating the comments I sometimes draft.  I have learned that if you have something to say, say it.  If you don’t have something to say, then read, enjoy and go back to read more later.  The best thing is, say what your thoughts are in a comment and then write about the post in your own post.  The highest compliment I have seen so far are the links that tracks back to someone else’s post.

 

Tip#4 – When it comes to comments, don’t be shy, be thoughtful and remember to link in your own posts your source of inspiration.

 

So far, this is my story and my advice from lessons learned.  I welcome you to share your stories, suggestions or feedback.  Please help me to continue to learn and Mahalo (thank you) for letting me write and reading my story.

 

Toni Howard is a Workplace Aloha Coach for Say Leadership Coaching. She is passionate about bringing nobility to working arts of management and leadership by sharing the principles and practices of Managing with Aloha.

The Age of Humble Curiosity

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality."  - Albert Einstein

Are you like me and you just itch to know more? Are you the one in training classrooms that sits in the front and answer all the questions? If you are, then welcome to my world. If you are part of the group that sit in the back near the door and fakes an emergency call to get out of class, keep reading - there is still hope.

Four Stages of Adult Learning

I am a trainer, and I find it a joy when I get to sit in a good class as a student. Yesterday, I was lucky to be invited to a speech about leadership. In this speech, the speaker reminded me of the 4 stages of adult learning:

1. Unconscious Unknowing – I don’t know what I don’t know because I just don’t know.
2. Conscious Unknowing – I know enough to know what I don’t know.
3. Conscious Knowing – I know what I know.
4. Unconscious Knowing – I know it so well, I forgot I know it, I just do it.

I have used this model time and time again when I train adults for specific job skills. It is a great model and tool for my students to help them put in perspective what they will experience in the training.  It also allows me a graceful way to ask for their humility in learning and their self-forgiveness for not knowing.

I don't know?!

Two things really struck me when I heard this model being presented to me. One was “I don’t know what I don’t know” part. I honestly left that class asking “What do I not know yet?!” How can I learn and pursue knowledge when I don’t know what I don’t know? The second thought that came after was the Unconscious Knowing, how much have I forgotten I know and so have not continued to study?

This second thought stems from my martial arts training. In a typical colored belt system, you start with a white belt to symbolize an empty mind and you end as a master with a black belt to show how much you have learned. The actual end of this cycle is, as the master wears their black cloth belt, it starts to become worn and eventually becomes white again symbolizing the master that must begin to learn again.

Our New Classroom

So I ask you all, what have you stopped learning because you forgot you were a student? How much have you stopped learning because you thought you knew? When I help children with homework, this last question really raises its hand and asks to be seen. I think that is why I am “Aunty Toni” for so many of my friends’ children and their homework because they teach me so much more. But what else can we do? My proposal to myself and all others that are with me in this predicament is to embrace the age of humble curiosity. First, acknowledge that we do not know (easy one for me), then second, take an active role in listening and learning from all that you can. Return to your studies that you have forgotten or try something new and off the wall. If we walk the same paths everyday, we will never find anything new. Listen to what you inner spirit finds inspiring, a.k.a. in-spirit, and pursue it till the topic is exhausted. This is a dawning of a new age of learning and we are the architects. What kind of classroom will we build?

"A sense of curiosity is nature's original school of education."
- Smiley Blanto

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Toni Howard is a Workplace Aloha Coach for Say Leadership Coaching.; She is passionate about bringing nobility to working arts of management and leadership by sharing the principles and practices of Managing with Aloha.  She is also the host and author of a new and upcoming blog site.