You would have had to been under a rock these last few weeks if you haven’t seen the total loss and devastation of our bush caused by fires. It’s still hard to believe and come to terms with what happened – and is still happening – in our lovely country and I’m at a loss […]
The Expertise Economy – Book Club
Started the Expertise Economy by @kellylpalmer today with big thanks to @srjf for pointing me out to it. It’s my Christmas reading. So far, so good! pic.twitter.com/oRG8yRNDSy — Helen Blunden #AlwaysBeLearning????? (@ActivateLearn) December 24, 2019 The following are my responses to Simon Fogg’s (@srjf) book club questions for The Expertise Economy by David Blake and […]
2019 The Year I Found the Cursed Breadfruit
Everyone knows I’m obsessed with the story of William Bligh and the Mutiny on the Bounty. I’ve written about it countless times in this blog as it reignited a curiosity and love of learning of maritime history. Imagine my surprise this year when I finally came upon the breadfruit tree in Hawaii. I even tried […]
Modern Workplace at Microsoft Ignite & Thoughts about Social Learning
There was a lot happening at Microsoft Ignite when I was there early in November in Orlando and to date, remains one of the best technology conferences I’ve ever been to – for sheer size and scale but mainly, for the mind blowing applications of modern workplace programs and the realisation that the way of […]
Reflections on the Train Journey
I’ve downloaded the WordPress app on my phone and I’m going to have a go at “mobile blogging”. Collecting random thoughts in draft blog posts so that I can set aside time to pull them together into a cohesive piece a bit later on. What’s been on my mind lately is the plethora of articles […]
The Case For Social Networks
By now if you haven’t seen Sasha Baron Cohen’s speech about Facebook being the greatest propaganda machine in history, do yourself a favour and watch it. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about social networks and this week, in particular, being International Work Out Loud Week, lots of reflection was all about how somehow, in […]
Wrap Up from International Work Out Loud Week
Well another end to International Work Out Loud Week this year. Technically, it doesn’t (shouldn’t) end here – working out loud can happen anytime, anywhere however, having a dedicated time every year can do a lot for promoting the practice to people and organisations who want to build some more transparent practices into their work […]
Create Your Learning Playlist
This month I had the wonderful opportunity to be selected by Microsoft to be one of ten community reporters from around the world to cover various stories and do interviews with people at Microsoft Ignite, the largest technology conference in the world that was held in Orlando Florida. As part of the opportunity, they included […]
We Wrote a Book!
This year has been the best for experiences where I have had massive realisations and moments of learning and reflection where some home truths have come to roost, I must say. Everything from dealing with work, travel, family, sickness, knowing true friends and dealing with grief however it’s been one of the best years I’ve […]
Reflections of Being a Community Reporter at Microsoft Ignite
I have just returned from one of the best and unforgettable experiences of my life. This year, I was privileged and honoured to have been selected as one of ten global roaming reporters for Microsoft’s largest technology conference, Microsoft Ignite which was held in Orlando Florida. I heard that over 29 000 people attended the […]
Getting Ready for Microsoft Ignite
There’s 9 days until Microsoft Ignite, Microsoft’s largest technology conference and I’m excited to say the least albeit a tad nervous too. I would never have guessed that I would have been going to a Microsoft conference in the United States no less but I’m ridiculously happy that I am. The lead up to the […]
What I’ve Been Learning About This Week – Using a Hand Held Microphone
Okay this week, it’s all been about learning how to use the hand held microphone. I’m going to be a Roving Reporter for Microsoft Ignite, a technology conference in Orlando on 4-8 November and along with my other 9 global reporters, we’ve been getting some hints about how to interview people on camera. I’m no […]
What We Can Learn from The Joker
Well if you haven’t seen this movie yet, what are you waiting for? Last night, my husband and I who love to go to the movies regularly watched this one and I was in awe. My husband is a huge Batman fan and keen collector of comic books, graphic novels and the movies. There isn’t […]
Working Through My Process of A Presentation
For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been mulling over what I’m going to talk about at LearnTec2020 which will be hosted in Karlsruhe in Germany next year on 28-30 January. I was kindly invited to speak at this conference by Jane Hart whose work I have followed, shared and respected for many years now. […]
Bits and Bobs of Different Projects I’m Working On
It feels as if it’s been ages since I last wrote in my blog. Every time I come into it, the same thing happens. I apologise for the delays between posting. Then I say how it’s always been at the back of my mind. Well, it has. I thought I’d quickly jot down some things […]
What I’m Doing to Prepare for Microsoft Ignite
It’s been a while since the last post and I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t worry about writing on my blog. I always do. I have it at the back of my mind that whatever it is that I’m learning, I should be writing about my reflections. What happens usually is that […]
Lessons in Social Media Life
Recently, someone asked on Twitter whether there was any real value in keeping their LinkedIn profile and it started a conversation. You can read the threaded conversation here. A few people weighed into the conversation and who provided their own recommendations of what to do based on their own experiences of the social media platform. […]
Submitting for Community Reporter at Microsoft Ignite
It’s been a while since my last post and in all honesty, I’m not going to lie about it. I simply haven’t made any time to sit down and pull together some thoughts about my work or learning to blog about it. I’ve been too wrapped up in my own personal life and focused on […]
Humans Connected But Alone
via GIPHY Recently I’ve been watching a series on ABCiView called Humans. It’s a show created in the UK about a recent future where robots (they call them ‘synths’) are used for various manual labour situations in the home or work. Seeing these situations played out on the television screen makes me mind race with […]
Image versus Substance
Last week Sukhinder Pabial (@sukhpabial) shared an observation on Twitter which has been one that I have often thought about. Make sure you go into the tweet and read the thread because it proposes alternative views around our different ways of how we present ourselves online. It got me thinking that I had similar questions […]