The Learners Realm
Virtual Learning Craft for Organisations in the 21st Century
In my late 20s, under the supervision of a great mentor, I let my mind run free. I no longer felt restricted by the Navy as I once did. I saw a whole other life for myself waiting to be realised. One idea that absorbed me came from an article off Nevil's desk. The article was titled "The Story of Human Evolution". It worked on the premise that from the beginning of mankind people survived by being the strongest and the fittest as in the classic Mel Brooks comedy History of the World Part 1 where music was originally discovered by a caveman repeatedly clubbing a fellow caveman's feet to investigate what sounds the victim could make.
The article became most interesting when it discussed the irony that if humankind were to survive in these modern days we would have to adopt the opposite strategies of our early ancestors. The article purported that new theories suggest human dominance has less to do with survival of the fittest and more to do with caring for your fellow human beings and developing a sense of community.
It is said the best inventions are the most basic. So I thought the same about the premise in the article about developing a sense of community. I researched the latest ideas about developing modern community and the coin phrase going round at the time was "social capitalism". Social capitalism worked on the notion you build some of the processes between people that establish trust and goodwill, and networks and norms that create cooperation for mutual benefit.
Being an idealistic young man and a free thinker, I relished the opportunity to expand on this notion by creating a system of cooperation for mutual benefit. One thing that I couldn't shake about the world at that time, was why people did not openly share their expertise or knowledge with other people. I looked at it simply. For instance, I was good at athletics and training. Why was I not involved with budding young athletes at the Navy college so I could pass on what I learnt? Why were social connections so confined by work positions? Why was I not encouraged to talk to people at my work who shared similar hobbies and interests?
Then I realised that the reason I did not communicate with these people was because there were no means to do it. The only way I could relate to other people at work was through my formal work position, which restricted me greatly from knowing what other people at work really liked doing outside of work.
I walked back from work at Creswell with these ideas swimming around in my head. The devil inside was saying, "What you are thinking?! This all sounds good in a utopian world, but what practical solutions or highly creative options are there to implement such ideals in society?"
To me, I saw social capitalism as a way of bartering information, but I kept asking myself, "What sort of network or platform could you build to facilitate the exchange of information between people"? So walking past the eucalypt trees and smelling the pollen from freshly cut grass, I tossed this question about in my head. With great frustration, I tried to find an answer, probably much to the amusement of passersby watching me talking to myself!
Then it hit me like a thunderbolt! I came rushing home from work with ideas filling my head like a thesis being poured into my brain. I realised I needed to build a craft or tool in the form of a community website that people could use to experience the benefits of social capitalism.
So in just a few nanoseconds I opened the door, said hello to my wife, kissed my step daughter Jennifer, and reached for the printer to snatch a piece of paper. I hurriedly scrawled the information from thought to paper realising if I waited any longer I may forget some vital pieces. As I wrote, I was chuckling to myself, reaffirming this was going to be my one-way ticket out of the Navy into successful business life.
I called this venture "The Learners Realm".
So much had been written about social capitalism, but it tended to be just an ideal or an academic philosophy rather than a source for practical real-life purposes. What I was going to develop was an actual tool that would build social strands beyond anything currently available in organisations. The Learners Realm was developed as a community action plan to extend social connections via the Internet by providing people with a platform upon which to inform and teach others about their respective interests. Part of the reason The Learners Realm was created was because I was finding countless web pages which lacked consistent and informative content. The Internet seemed like a place without road signs or unchartered waters.
How did this virtual craft work?
Sara knows Bob because they met face to face in the work environment. Sara may know Bob so well their contact may include non-work-related interests such as hobbies or special interests. However, more often than not conventional contact at work is limited to work-related interests. Most people in organisations are restricted to this social strand of networking. Email has expanded people's capacity to communicate and the Intranet has enabled information to become more accessible, but most of this information is restricted to policy documentation and regulations. Sara's social network is limited despite the information systems network at her fingertips, which unbeknown to most has the potential to bring people a lot closer together.
The Learners Realm works on the premise that organisations seek full commitment from their employees to submit their details (in the form of a learning guide). These details would be arranged according to their work, hobbies and interests.
Because people learn in different ways, I researched extensively to find an effective way to format a leaning guide. Each interest area, from car racing to croquet, architecture to accounting, loosely follows these key-learning areas (but in no particular order):
1. Vision (insight) most of us need some vision to motivate us to move to new ways of working.
2. Stories (experience) some learn best from stories based on experience.
3. Principles (theory) some prefer theoretical approaches.
4. How to (practice) others need practical ideas.
By employees submitting their details according to the "learning guide", each person in the organisation demonstrates they are willing to help other people learn about what they do at their workplace as well as at least one hobby or special interest area. Such motivation would require good old-fashioned community commitment of being righteous, charitable and extending good will. This would be a viable addition to any workplace or organisation given that conventional contact at work is mainly restricted to work-related interests. People would see the "fruits of their labour" in the form of social networking and bartering of information.
The coverage of people's hobbies and personal interests can open up a previously untapped area in organisations. If only people approached their work as they did their hobbies with that innate curiosity! The Learners Realm craft would enable Sara to enter other people's lives in her organisation via the organisation's Intranet. Sara's social network would have much greater potential and her work contacts should increase markedly. Suffice to say Sara would feel more comfortable at work because people would no longer seem so remote and the organisation would respect employees as "people" with interests and expertise beyond work.
In recent years, things have changed and the information age has transformed into what is termed the digital age. My premise worked on the point that organisations have to seek smarter ways of utilising their technology to present information more effectively. The organisation could use the Learners Realm to present a more supportive work community. People always need to find others in the organisation who may know the "short cuts" in their area of expertise. This makes finding necessary information more time efficient and user friendly.
So to demonstrate the usefulness of The Learners Realm concept within organisations, I developed an experimental craft on the Internet in the form of a web community.
I worked hundreds of hours in my own time to set up The Learners Realm not only as an initiative to improve workplace communities but also as a way for me to build a business outside of the walls of the Navy.
How successful was the website? The site operated for about 18 months and averaged 70,000 hits per month. The Learners Realm had 20 community advisors and was widely acknowledged as one of the most reputable adult education virtual communities in Australia.
The Sydney Morning Herald reviewed the website and described it as a "very creditable attempt at creating online community based around the idea of peer education. Its range is best described as eclectic and there's a lot here".
My wife was interviewed on ABC radio about a feature of The Learners Realm. Despite our modest success, it was not enough to achieve a critical mass audience, which could streamline the idea into the community. I saw The Learners Realm as equivalent to the Wright brothers' craft flown in the 1900s, such was my enthusiasm about its potential for success. However, like their plane, I saw it as too risky and unproductive in the beginning for widespread commercial travel. It would require tinkering and upgrading and even then I was expecting results to be slow going.
I formed an important conclusion from this experiment. Commitment required for this venture can only occur with systematic compliance, such as the compliance you see in organisations.
Therefore, I claimed The Learners Realm could be effective, if it were part of a real community or organisation if you like, where there is social and moral obligation to make a commitment and fulfill expectations.
When I built The Learners Realm, I had presumed that people would want to educate people about their niche interests. As I mentioned, I was idealistic about the human species' willingness to foster community development. Overall, what I found is that most people hold their information like playing cards close to their chest. They are reluctant to offload this information because they are unclear or uncertain of what they will receive in return.
More to the point, website users are non-committal whilst browsing.
Go back to top
Virtual Learning Craft for Organisations in the 21st Century
In my late 20s, under the supervision of a great mentor, I let my mind run free. I no longer felt restricted by the Navy as I once did. I saw a whole other life for myself waiting to be realised. One idea that absorbed me came from an article off Nevil's desk. The article was titled "The Story of Human Evolution". It worked on the premise that from the beginning of mankind people survived by being the strongest and the fittest as in the classic Mel Brooks comedy History of the World Part 1 where music was originally discovered by a caveman repeatedly clubbing a fellow caveman's feet to investigate what sounds the victim could make.
The article became most interesting when it discussed the irony that if humankind were to survive in these modern days we would have to adopt the opposite strategies of our early ancestors. The article purported that new theories suggest human dominance has less to do with survival of the fittest and more to do with caring for your fellow human beings and developing a sense of community.
It is said the best inventions are the most basic. So I thought the same about the premise in the article about developing a sense of community. I researched the latest ideas about developing modern community and the coin phrase going round at the time was "social capitalism". Social capitalism worked on the notion you build some of the processes between people that establish trust and goodwill, and networks and norms that create cooperation for mutual benefit.
Being an idealistic young man and a free thinker, I relished the opportunity to expand on this notion by creating a system of cooperation for mutual benefit. One thing that I couldn't shake about the world at that time, was why people did not openly share their expertise or knowledge with other people. I looked at it simply. For instance, I was good at athletics and training. Why was I not involved with budding young athletes at the Navy college so I could pass on what I learnt? Why were social connections so confined by work positions? Why was I not encouraged to talk to people at my work who shared similar hobbies and interests?
Then I realised that the reason I did not communicate with these people was because there were no means to do it. The only way I could relate to other people at work was through my formal work position, which restricted me greatly from knowing what other people at work really liked doing outside of work.
I walked back from work at Creswell with these ideas swimming around in my head. The devil inside was saying, "What you are thinking?! This all sounds good in a utopian world, but what practical solutions or highly creative options are there to implement such ideals in society?"
To me, I saw social capitalism as a way of bartering information, but I kept asking myself, "What sort of network or platform could you build to facilitate the exchange of information between people"? So walking past the eucalypt trees and smelling the pollen from freshly cut grass, I tossed this question about in my head. With great frustration, I tried to find an answer, probably much to the amusement of passersby watching me talking to myself!
Then it hit me like a thunderbolt! I came rushing home from work with ideas filling my head like a thesis being poured into my brain. I realised I needed to build a craft or tool in the form of a community website that people could use to experience the benefits of social capitalism.
So in just a few nanoseconds I opened the door, said hello to my wife, kissed my step daughter Jennifer, and reached for the printer to snatch a piece of paper. I hurriedly scrawled the information from thought to paper realising if I waited any longer I may forget some vital pieces. As I wrote, I was chuckling to myself, reaffirming this was going to be my one-way ticket out of the Navy into successful business life.
I called this venture "The Learners Realm".
So much had been written about social capitalism, but it tended to be just an ideal or an academic philosophy rather than a source for practical real-life purposes. What I was going to develop was an actual tool that would build social strands beyond anything currently available in organisations. The Learners Realm was developed as a community action plan to extend social connections via the Internet by providing people with a platform upon which to inform and teach others about their respective interests. Part of the reason The Learners Realm was created was because I was finding countless web pages which lacked consistent and informative content. The Internet seemed like a place without road signs or unchartered waters.
How did this virtual craft work?
Sara knows Bob because they met face to face in the work environment. Sara may know Bob so well their contact may include non-work-related interests such as hobbies or special interests. However, more often than not conventional contact at work is limited to work-related interests. Most people in organisations are restricted to this social strand of networking. Email has expanded people's capacity to communicate and the Intranet has enabled information to become more accessible, but most of this information is restricted to policy documentation and regulations. Sara's social network is limited despite the information systems network at her fingertips, which unbeknown to most has the potential to bring people a lot closer together.
The Learners Realm works on the premise that organisations seek full commitment from their employees to submit their details (in the form of a learning guide). These details would be arranged according to their work, hobbies and interests.
Because people learn in different ways, I researched extensively to find an effective way to format a leaning guide. Each interest area, from car racing to croquet, architecture to accounting, loosely follows these key-learning areas (but in no particular order):
1. Vision (insight) most of us need some vision to motivate us to move to new ways of working.
2. Stories (experience) some learn best from stories based on experience.
3. Principles (theory) some prefer theoretical approaches.
4. How to (practice) others need practical ideas.
By employees submitting their details according to the "learning guide", each person in the organisation demonstrates they are willing to help other people learn about what they do at their workplace as well as at least one hobby or special interest area. Such motivation would require good old-fashioned community commitment of being righteous, charitable and extending good will. This would be a viable addition to any workplace or organisation given that conventional contact at work is mainly restricted to work-related interests. People would see the "fruits of their labour" in the form of social networking and bartering of information.
The coverage of people's hobbies and personal interests can open up a previously untapped area in organisations. If only people approached their work as they did their hobbies with that innate curiosity! The Learners Realm craft would enable Sara to enter other people's lives in her organisation via the organisation's Intranet. Sara's social network would have much greater potential and her work contacts should increase markedly. Suffice to say Sara would feel more comfortable at work because people would no longer seem so remote and the organisation would respect employees as "people" with interests and expertise beyond work.
In recent years, things have changed and the information age has transformed into what is termed the digital age. My premise worked on the point that organisations have to seek smarter ways of utilising their technology to present information more effectively. The organisation could use the Learners Realm to present a more supportive work community. People always need to find others in the organisation who may know the "short cuts" in their area of expertise. This makes finding necessary information more time efficient and user friendly.
So to demonstrate the usefulness of The Learners Realm concept within organisations, I developed an experimental craft on the Internet in the form of a web community.
I worked hundreds of hours in my own time to set up The Learners Realm not only as an initiative to improve workplace communities but also as a way for me to build a business outside of the walls of the Navy.
How successful was the website? The site operated for about 18 months and averaged 70,000 hits per month. The Learners Realm had 20 community advisors and was widely acknowledged as one of the most reputable adult education virtual communities in Australia.
The Sydney Morning Herald reviewed the website and described it as a "very creditable attempt at creating online community based around the idea of peer education. Its range is best described as eclectic and there's a lot here".
My wife was interviewed on ABC radio about a feature of The Learners Realm. Despite our modest success, it was not enough to achieve a critical mass audience, which could streamline the idea into the community. I saw The Learners Realm as equivalent to the Wright brothers' craft flown in the 1900s, such was my enthusiasm about its potential for success. However, like their plane, I saw it as too risky and unproductive in the beginning for widespread commercial travel. It would require tinkering and upgrading and even then I was expecting results to be slow going.
I formed an important conclusion from this experiment. Commitment required for this venture can only occur with systematic compliance, such as the compliance you see in organisations.
Therefore, I claimed The Learners Realm could be effective, if it were part of a real community or organisation if you like, where there is social and moral obligation to make a commitment and fulfill expectations.
When I built The Learners Realm, I had presumed that people would want to educate people about their niche interests. As I mentioned, I was idealistic about the human species' willingness to foster community development. Overall, what I found is that most people hold their information like playing cards close to their chest. They are reluctant to offload this information because they are unclear or uncertain of what they will receive in return.
More to the point, website users are non-committal whilst browsing.
Go back to top
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