I missed this item when it first appeared on ASTD's website.

April 8, 2005

Learning Circuits Blog Evolves

You may have already noticed changes at the Learning Circuits Blog (LCB). Started in April 2002 by Jay Cross, to provide a forum for discussion of topics raised in Learning Circuits, LCB was one of the first "team blogs" on the internet. Its all-star team of contributing authors sounds off on the latest issues in e-learning.

With the explosion in popularity of blogs in 2004, it was time for LCB to evolve. In January, Jay asked Dave Lee to step forward as Blogmeister for the group. Dave has been developing educational materials in almost every media available. He’s been involved with web-based e-learning since 1985, most notably at WebCT during its start-up phase. "Jay has been one of the driving forces behind e-learning in general and specifically in the learning presence in the blogosphere. It's quite a privilege to take over LCB from him. A bit daunting, but a privilege," says Dave.

Learning Circuits Blog has also undergone a face lift and moved it';s hosting over to Blogger. But the real changes are happening behind the scenes. First, LCB will diversify the author team to include more voices from secondary and higher education, corporate learning, and government--civilian and non-civilian. Second, LCB will walk the talk. "There is so much talk about blogs being great educational tools, but there is very little being done," says Dave.

The recruitment of new authors to contribute their perspectives is underway. In addition, Dave has challenged the author team to turn LCB into an exemplar of learning through collaboration--using creative formats for posts, adding in other tools (a subscription mechanism, flash polls, an so forth), and tying in more often to the topics presented in Learning Circuits. John Seeley Brown talks about a cognitive apprenticeship in which collaboration through tools like blogs provides "a sense of linking, lurking, learning, and acting or leading building a community of learners. It's one of the goals of LCB to build an exemplar of community learning," explains Dave.

"The Learning Circuits Blog was one of the first multi-author blogs," notes Jay. "I am hoping Dave, Ryann, and the LC Blogging Team evolve this one-way medium into a two-way, collaborative learning environment. Somebody's got to break new ground, and I can't think of a more worthy group to do it."

If you have questions or are interested in joining the Learning Circuits Blog team, please contact Dave Lee by email at david_c_lee@mac.com. Visit the new Learning Circuits Blog now!

Delegation is grand. Dave Lee has sparked new conversations on the Learning Circuits Blog. About all I do these days is comment on interesting posts. Blogging should be a two-way deal.