Great Offer

A Speed Reading training session for a genuinely massive reduction of 55%. When? 13th October between 10am and 1pm. Speed reading works. It’s not a gimmick. We love that we have DOUBLED the reading speed of nearly every person who has taken the course and learned our method. We think that’s a fantastic achievement. So if you have lots of paperwork (who doesn't?) – or maybe you’re on a course and have to read a lot of books – then this is for you. info@structuredlearning.com if you’d like to take part.

A little more understanding...?

Did you know that it’s Learning Disability Week? No—neither did I until now. And it’s nearly over…

I’m very sorry to have missed most of this. As someone who works in Learning and has a physical disability then this is exactly the sort of campaign that’s dear to my heart. As it should be for all learning professionals of course.

You can read more about it here http://www.mencap.org.uk/campaigns/learning-disability-week —and then maybe take the time to tell others about this issue.

I’m fortunate in that I’ve never experienced hate crime as a result of my disability. (Though I regularly encounter intolerance, harsh words and a lack of understanding from others about my condition which, at times, is deeply depressing for me.) But hate crime is something else – these case studies make difficult reading: http://www.mencap.org.uk/node/11664

As with so much in life, a little patience and acceptance of others is the key to building a productive and meaningful society. To get to this point we simply need to build our awareness of other peoples’ lives by reading, questioning, listening and observing. Or learning as I like to call it.

DNR

Mortality. Mine. Yours. How often do we really consider that we’re going to die? Recently, three people I love have been diagnosed with potentially life-threatening illnesses so it’s a subject that’s been on my mind somewhat.

There’s a great radio campaign on at the moment encouraging people to say what they want – funeral / legacies / music and so on before they die. The idea is that you don’t leave the people who love you floundering over what you would want, so you tell them now.

I made a will many years ago—and recently topped this up with a living will—to ensure as best I can that no ‘faith’ or religion tries to hijack ‘my’ proceedings. Most of us will want to know that we will receive a ‘send-off’ which is commensurate with our beliefs or, as in my case, lack of them.

The important thing is to recognise that death—mine, yours—really can happen at any moment. This is not being morbid nor is it depressing. It’s simply about really caring for those we leave behind, who will have enough to do sorting out our affairs and, one trusts, grieving for us.

The last thing we need to inflict on those we love is to make them decide what we might have wanted—if only we’d said. We need to learn to speak up about the things that really matter to those who really matter to us.

BBC - Ethics - Euthanasia: DNR - Do Not Resuscitate

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Death/Preparation/DG_10029429

What's real in training?

Another birthday yesterday. You would think, after so many, that the thrill would have long gone. And yet. There’s something truly joyful about opening presents and cards, especially when there’s other people sharing the fun with you as each gift is revealed and each card’s picture considered and (hand-written) message read.

egifts and ecards are great of course, and I’d be the first to say how much I appreciated the good wishes of my Facebook friends yesterday. But nothing beats the thrill of tearing open pretty wrapping paper and bulky envelopes to find out what’s inside. (My brash present opening ‘technique’ means I’ve never been able to save the paper and string for ‘another day’.)

Maybe there’s a clue here to the reason why elearning really hasn’t taken over from face to face training in the way it was once predicted. Perhaps it’s because we human beings need to experience something for ourselves to truly understand it. And a real experience involves all our senses—not only our eyes and ears, but smell, touch and taste. Which, as yet, a computer just can’t do.

A gadget too far...

Last Sunday I did a longish bike ride – one of those known as a ‘sportive’. Which is a sort of race in that you get timed over the course using a personal timing chip handily attached to your person. Very clever. Except we didn't get timed because the technology wasn't working, so we had to revert to an old-fashioned watch and time ourselves.

It’s been that sort of a week for technology. My laptop’s network card gave up the ghost and then I managed to delete my outlook calendar on the replacement... not a bright idea.

I’m a real gadget fan – but this week, even I might admit that maybe we rely on technology too much. She says as she uploads her blog...

Spring into action

It’s Spring – traditionally a time for new beginnings. And how wonderful to see branches gently fluffing green and the cherry trees bursting with pink and white blooms. This is the perfect time to make changes in your life – and in the last couple of weeks I’ve been spring cleaning mine. Two situations were becoming untenable, riddled with politics, scheming and general unpleasantness. Both were social rather than business and neither were serving their original real purpose for me (fun and enjoyment) anymore. In fact, they were becoming a chore and a dreaded one at that. So I’ve ‘sacked’ them both… and it feels great.

Are you putting up with something because it’s a habit or–even worse–out of a misplaced sense of duty? What would happen if you changed that? Trust me–take a step to stop it now. Whatever it is, if you’re just ‘putting up with it’ then it’s time to move forward.

Information Overload?

Did you know that if email was a country, its 1.6 billion users would make it the largest in the world. Bigger than China, or the population of the USA and the EU combined. A stonking 247 billion emails are sent each day and at least 80% of these are considered to be spam by their recipients. And one more astonishing stat – apparently phishing is successful with 5% of internet users - http://www.antiphishing.org/index.html

Clearly email and the internet are massive in our lives. So why is it that so many seem unable to manage this resource well? We’re constantly gob-smacked (Northern English expression) at the number of emails we receive with unhelpful subject lines, rambling messages and far too many emoticons. We’re also stunned at those who don’t understand how to file their information for later, easy retrieval.

Last week I met several, highly intelligent young people who don’t understand their email programmes and find it hard to use a word processor. This is the Information Age – and it’s been here for at least 30 years. It’s not new technology. It’s everyday – and it’s time we all learned to use it well.

Our Information Overload programme can help. Contact me - clare@structuredlearning.com - if you'd like details.