(cartoon via Rob Speekenbrink ) I get involved in lots of discussions whether Twitter - is learning (or nonsense). People are sceptical on what you can learn through 140 characters. Often I answer that you definitely learn through twittering because you can link through to blogposts, articles etc. Basically defending the 140 characters. Probably the main difference is in the theory about learning that people hold. Is learning what you do in school or in a training or is it something we do continuously? For people who are not active on Twitter this may be quite invisible. Back to Twitter. MORE >>

Brain learning is currently a hot topic in the Netherlands amongst learning professionals. read the book Brein@work van Ria van Dinteren en Nina Lazeron. They interviewed various scientists and are translating new insights from brain science into practical consequences for organising effective learning situations. An example: sleep is very important for processing new information and new stimuli. I'm working a lot with sociale media and communities of practice. Both are means to make learning processes stronger and more effective. I'm convinced you can win a lot by starting online for instance. MORE >>

What is Yammer? Yammer is booming, especially in the Nederland within Europe. Many companies have started their Yammer groups for rapid internal exchange. If you don't know Yammer: Yammer is kind of Twitter (micro-blogging) service which can be used within organisation, so it is not public like on Twitter. The messages can be slightly longer than on Twitter and it is easier to reply (looks a lot like Facebook). Someone from KLM told me for instance he was looking for someone who could explain their wiki system to him. Without Yammer it would have been difficult to find this person. Read Dutch? MORE >>

Photo: participants in our workhshop on online facilitation In many situations non-ICT specialists want to organise some online conversations and are looking for a good online space. discussion forum functionality is key for this purpose, other things are nice to have but often blur the decision about the forum to choose. Situation 1 : You're looking for an online platform for your sailing club or for your family to prepare for the yearly family reunion. You make an easy choice and open a ning or groupsite. Situation 2: Now at work. Possibility 1. What is it? It's free. It's easy to set up. MORE >>

After the holidays I have been bumping into the same issue with different clients: "Which platform you choose for a online part of a learning trajectory as trainer/facilitator? It is already clear that you want to combine online learning with face-to-face meetings, you need a private online platform and there is also a budget for it. With the enormous amount of social media tools it is much easier for a trainer/facilitator to make his/her own choice of tools fitting the learning activities rather than trying to fit your learning activities into a predetermined platform. Can you use videos? MORE >>