LearningStyles Category

Online media in a box (wheel)

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Like many consultants, I like 2 x 2 grids (such as this one) and wheels (for example) to help communicate and explain. Last week I found myself drawn towards, (and drawing), triangles and matrices too.

I have a guilty secret, I am less sure about social media. So, I quite like this wheel as an overview of many popular brands and offers that puts them in perspective…though there are a few not present (TripAdvisor, booking.com and Get-Crtl).

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Venn in Action: The Australian Beer Trick

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This is a blog about healthy eating (and drinking)…both informed by conversations and articles read in Australia earlier this year. Maybe some ideas to SWP (steal with pride)?  You decide.

[Health warning – this might seem a bit surreal after some recent ‘heavy’ topics. But in the words of the film, ‘Notting Hill’, hopefully “Surreal, but nice!”]

One thing I am finding helpful is what I call the 4:3 nutrition rule…not the 2 day a week fasting diet fad. Nor the ‘no booze during the week’ mantra. Rather, thinking of a few things to avoid Monday to Thursday…such as wheat products (bread and beer). Seems to work really well for fine tuning the balance between exercise and ingestion.

One thing that has wheat in it, is beer. I play drums in a band. I like drinking beer when gigging. I drum up quite a thirst – literally, but don’t want too much beer (alcohol and calories that is – the fluid is ok). A leading Australian educationalist shared with me the idea of diluting beer with soda water…a tip I find very useful. See what you (or someone you know who likes beer) makes of what I call The Oz Beer Trick. It works on the basis of the boiling frog analogy – how we don’t really notice subtle changes going on around us. It works with cocktails too – and I think I can use with wine if I am careful.

So what is it and how does it work?

1) Order a pint of soda or sparkling water with your beer (soda water is free in most pubs in the UK).

2) As you drink the beer top up the glass with soda every couple of mouthfuls.

3) The Beer gets progressively weaker, but in a way that you don’t really notice.

4) You end up having what feels like 2 pints of beer, but is in fact one.

5) You get to just over 1% alcohol, but don’t really notice the weaker taste…the impact is still there, it is almost homeopathic.

If you want a bit more on the maths behind this, let me know and I will share a spread sheet!

Ps

And why “Venn in Action”? – two reasons

1) The band and beer angle of the main text

2) And I am in Australia at the moment – and have a band practice next Monday when home – but sans beer (as it is a Monday : ))

Pps

For those who like Venn thinking – you will love this.

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Poised to prepare a prezi?

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Are you interested in learning how to Prezi? Depending on your learning style, this by our colleague David might give you the all pointers you need to have a go….

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Why roofs?

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A few reasons for the recent interest in roofs in these blogs…

1) As we go into 2013, are you running your life at the right speed for you personally?

2) What design and ideas can you get for deciding how much speed or friction you can face, such as this . We have a pack of materials we can share if you want too – let us know.

3) How can you make things smoother, simpler where necessary – applying the ideas of lean as well as personal productivity.

4) What are you keen to protect and preserve in your life? What outside elements are you trying to keep out?

5) In your conversation, does the chat move at the right speed – or too fast or tediously slow? How are you helping or getting in the way of the right speed – with curious questions, clever interjections or bored indifference?

6) Other? Please let us know any other connections you have made to this metaphor.

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A stone roof…

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So, if a slate roof needs a pitch of 33 degrees, a stone roof must have one of 45 degrees or more. The irregularities of the surface increase friction and the risk of leaks into a home at lower angles.

Flat roofs in contrast need a smoothness, slight tilt and large drains to reduce the risk

So, why this interest in roof design…do email if you think you know. More from us next time?

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A slate roof…

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In Manchester, according to the novelist Jeanette Winterson (in “Why be Happy when you can be normal” – a joyous, sad read ) slate roofs on two up two down terraces are built at 33 degrees – to get the optimum balance for steady draining and no external or internal water damage that happens if the gradient is too great and the water cascades down the roof in a torrent too fast for the gutters to handle.

Why the attention to roofs…read on…

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What is a Roof for?

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Roofs are obviously to keep water out, but also to channel the draining water at a measurable pace.  Too fast and it might overflow the guttering causing damage. Too slow and it might seep in.

To be continued…..

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Love to Learn…?

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Last month many of these blogs made a big thing about curiosity. So, you are at first base…you are curious. You want to learn something. You want to improve

What gets you to second base? How do you love to learn…which of these development methods is most ‘you’?

Have you thought about how you like to learn? This model based on Kolb is one of our favourites – and here is a simple quiz to see what your preferences might be.

If you want to think a bit more about your favourite learning style have a look at this on VAK.

And maybe read some of the critiques here on learning styles!!

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Education

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We have been doing a fair bit in education recently.

I like this set of ideas – the handful of characteristics is a useful checklist.

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Curiosity, ta

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I was just talking with a German co-worker. She noted that I can write ‘ta’ at the end of emails. I said it was very English – and she said she noticed it too when studying in Ireland. Her question provoked my curiosity…and it seems the root is Danish.

By the way, leading curiosity is a key management skill in promoting alignment and improvement, we think…want to know more? : )

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