The Passion to Blog

I love to blog.

I love to share my thoughts, ideas, feelings, tips and tricks with others – and I love to do it in writing.

I love to write. I enjoy it and hope that some of my readers enjoy it too.

Because of my passion for blogging, education and technology, I often come across items of interest that I believe would be great to share with others.

Last spring I purchased a book called Blog Schmog by Robert (Bob) Bly, a copy writer I enjoy reading when I have the time. His book is and excellent foray into the realm of blogging from a corporate perspective…do we really need a blog? In reading much of his stuff…I often wonder if he's so down on blogs, why does he have one, but I love his style and he really does have many thought-provoking things to say about all things writing, not just "blogging."

On another note: I'm going to try something new.

I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

• The best blogging techniques.
• How to get traffic to your blog.
• How to turn your blog into money.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.

Follow the Leader

I have great admiration and respect for my friend and colleague Don Spencer who has a wonderful Blog that I highly recommend.

Because of a visit to his blog, I felt a little like I just MUST keep up with the Joneses…in this case Don.

He uses a tool called Snap Shots to put little pop up windows of screen shots associated with links he puts into his blogs. I thought this was just so cool – I had to do it to.

Here is an excerpt from the Snap Shots site that on what they are and how they work.

Remember – this is only a cool tool I thought might be handy to give my readers an idea of what a site looks like before deciding to follow my links. You may choose to use Snap Shots or not – below are the very user friendly instructions on working with Snap Shots on my site and any other site that uses this neat little tool.

Introducing Snap Shots from Snap.com

I just installed a nice little tool on this site called Snap Shots that enhances links with visual previews of the destination site, interactive excerpts of Wikipedia articles, MySpace profiles, IMDb profiles and Amazon products, display inline videos, RSS, MP3s, photos, stock charts and more.

Sometimes Snap Shots bring you the information you need, without your having to leave the site, while other times it lets you "look ahead," before deciding if you want to follow a link or not.

Should you decide this is not for you, just click the Options icon in the upper right corner of the Snap Shot and opt-out.

Study Groups Do Work!

I know that I wrote about the WWITPRO study groups previously, but I wanted to let you know that getting together, getting focused and sharing with others really can work to help successfully pass Microsoft certification exams.

I heard from Steve P., one of the participants of the MCDST study group that not only did he pass the first 70-271 exam last fall after the study group finished, but he also just passed the 70-272 exam.

Here is an excerpt from his email:

"A little preparation which included the excellent study group experience and all members of the group can do it. (pass)"

Steve also asked that I pass along a link to some excellent preparation materials from the Microsoft website.

He suggests taking the FREE Clinic 2263: Exam Preparation for the MCDST Certification and highly recommends the second shot offer that allows you some insurance just in case you don't successfully pass the first time.

Congratulations Steve! You are now a MCDST! I'm glad you participated and look forward to hearing how everyone else made out!

Movin' on Over

Those that visit will notice that I am starting to merge over the information from my Smarttechconsulting.com/blog site - with the closing of that chapter in my life, I wanted to retain the blogs and posts, and have them all in one location.

For ease of use I also decided to Close down my tipsfromatechchick blog...so I'll merge those over as well.

Enjoy catching up and discovering new things with me as I continue my journey of cramming as much education and information into my little brain!

Cheers all!

Here a Blog, There a Blog

I’ve been blogging for a number of years now, on various topics, for various reasons. I’ve used a number of different blog-ware and I have to admit that while I’ve been very happily using Microsoft Office Word 2007 since the Beta release, the one feature I didn’t use until just last week was the Blog feature.
When I instructed the Micro Applications Computer Business Applications (MACBA) certificate course at Conestoga College, the one thing I added to the introduction to technology and Internet sections was the ability to learn how to blog. We talked about what blogs were, how blogs have helped and hindered people and how businesses can use blogs to support and grow their customer base. Then all the students in my class started to blog. I had them blog every day even if there wasn't anything for them to say. (some loved it, others - not so much, but it's ok. It was a new experience and they all jumped right in!)
Last fall was the first inception of the new Office 2007 into our curriculum and I was very excited to be able to show the fantastic tools Office now allows. One feature I didn’t have enough time to discuss was the ability to use Microsoft Office Word 2007 to create blog entries with the Blog template and to have the entry uploaded automatically to the blog of your choosing!
Imagine how pleased I was that when I tried this feature, not only did I save myself time (I usually type my entries in Word and then paste them into Blogger), but everything was so easy! I didn’t even have to log in to Blogger to do any copy and paste.
So I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out what I can write about (since I type 102 words a minute) to fill a couple hours of my day – I figured why not write about something that really made me happy, saved me time and allows me the ease of use of tools I am already familiar with.
So how does it work?
I created a “blog” entry using the Blog template. The first time I accessed this template, I was prompted to fill in some details about my blog location, user name and password. I’m A-OK with putting that information into my system so I have no second thoughts about the security.
Once I entered in my details, I typed up my entry, choose Publish from the Blog Post Tab, Blog ribbon and I got a funky little information bar that told me the item had been posted to my blog and listed the time and date as well!
In just a few minutes I had my entry done, proofed and posted – and it only took the click of a button! I’m so glad this is so easy to use, yet one more reason I LOVE Microsoft Office 2007!!! Why doesn’t everyone just go out and get a copy?
If you are a student, and you have a valid email address to your institution such as your college or university, you can actually purchase Office 2007 Ultimate edition (which kicks major butt if I do say so myself!!!) for less then $100 Canadian. Check it out at http://www.theultimatesteal.ca/. This link takes you to a site that lets you, as a student, purchase the ULTIMATE –that means EVERYTHING in the Office suite including GROOVE – I SOOOO want to use Groove in a corporate environment! Check it out – you won’t be disappointed!

Exit Interviews and Training

Did you ever think that there could possibly be a co-relation between a client exit interview and training?

I can remember the last job I left that had an exit interview. The big question they asked was, why are you leaving…and all I could say was that when an employee knows more than their manager, does the manager's work and gets less than half the pay, it's time to move on and find employment with a company that values employees and recognizes the value those employees bring to the table. It only took two other employees and three weeks for the company to realize they were losing good workers because of one bad one.

Do we ask our clients the same thing when they decide to leave us to go to the competition? Good companies, companies that really value their clients will ask on a regular basis, what have we done right and what needs improvement.

Just like in sales, as trainers we can't get stuck in a rut and make assumptions that the material we are coving suits our client's needs. Does the training I'm developing meet the goal the company set when they made the decision to hire a corporate trainer? To find out I use an exit interview. In my case, the exit interview is the after class evaluation form. You know that silly form we take for granted when we ask all class participants to jot down their opinions on if we were prepared, if we were knowledgeable, if the room was too hot or too cold and if the class participants were bored to tears or do they really, truly, believe that the material covered in the session is going to help them do their job better.

Most times, I don't take much notice of the general responses unless there is one that was especially positive or negative. I do try to focus on the grouping of questions around the employee's perception of how the training session will help them do their job. If someone indicates, the material covered will not help with their job then I have to find out why. (If there are especially negative comments I ALWAYS address them – even if I don't want to. Never leave the negative comments untouched. You may find that the comment was made because the employee was grumpy, sick, tired, dealing with challenging personal issues, worried about work etc. and that it really isn't a reflection of you or your training.)

When I follow up after an evaluation I ask some tough questions.

Why did the employee:

1. Feel that the session won't help them
   
2. Choose this session – what research did they do into the course content
   
3. Waste their time coming to a session that wasn't for them
   
4. Take the spot away from someone else who would have benefited from the training
   
5. Waste company money to be in the training session
   

Speaking with the individuals who fill out the form helps me understand if my marketing materials need to be changed, if a different message needs to be included in the course offerings to the staff. In some cases it is just that we need to let the managers know who the training is designed for and when managers understand that each session is customized to a group within the organization, they better understand the need for their staff to attend the correct session thereby ensuring the employees receive instruction appropriate to their position and that they learn something they need to know.

Sometimes as trainers we are just lucky and the people attending our sessions REALLY want to be there (not often – but when that happens it sure makes our job all the more worthwhile doesn't it?).

So – exit interviews aren't just for those employees moving on to bigger and better things, or clients leaving for the competition. They are also a key factor in improving our own material and performance and getting the company a great return on the training investment.

SBS Study Group Success

Congatulations to those who have passed the 70-282 exam as a result of the study group run by the WWITPRO IT Pro user group!

Our latest success is Peter Piluk, incoming President of WWITPRO. Peter passed his exam in January.

Congatulations Peter and good luck in your new position with WWITPRO.

Interesting Observations in eLearning Reading

I mentioned in a previous post I am reading a book called Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe.

An interesting item that I will quote here is the concept that most teachers think more about the process of teaching when preparing lessons then about the process of learning.

Wiggins states: "Too many teachers focus on the teaching and not the learning. They spend most of their time thinking, first, about what they will do, what material they will use, and what they will ask students to do rather than first considering what the learner will need in order to accomplish the learning goals."

I admit to having been one of "those" teachers, especially with the last course I taught at the local community college. We only had a short period of time in which to provide instruction and cover the material for various computer software applications, which did not leave any time to actually THINK about learning goals, let alone to adopt the course around the learning goals.

Wiggins goes on in this brief intro to discuss the following: "Answering the "why?" and "so what?" questions that older students always ask (or want to), and doing so in concrete terms as the focus of curriculum planning, is thus the essence of understanding by design."

This calls to mind one of the students in the aforementioned course. I have great admiration for this woman because she always wanted to know the "why" and "how come" of what we were learning. It not only challenged me to try to anticipate and address her questions before she even asked, but made me think about the material in a whole different way.

Now that I'm beginning to see the difference, I'm going to continue reading, learning, absorbing and discussing…. An no, I'm still not an expert!

What Makes an Expert - Expert?

I was listening to the “afternoon guy” on my local all news radio station one day back in October 2007.

He had a guest speaker on his show (can’t remember his name but he’s written a whole bunch of books on a whole bunch of topics) and the guest speaker was trying to encourage reading.

One thing he said during the interview was “read 5 books on a subject and you become an expert”. I thought that was quite amazing...as I’ve read WAY more than 5 books on technology and I’m no expert. I’ve read hundreds of mystery books, but I’m no mystery expert, and I’ve read tons of books on Italian cooking (and my lasagne still needs work)....but his comment really made me think.

I believe it could be possible to become a self-proclaimed expert after reading 5 books about a subject, however, I firmly believe the books have to be the “RIGHT” kind of books. Not just any book will do. And let’s not forgot the need to be able to apply what you read in a real-world environment...aka experience.

I also believe it to be important to read books that tackle the same topic but from many different viewpoints. As an example, let’s say you want to become an expert on giving presentations. Reading one book is not going to make you an expert. For that matter, reading FIVE books is not going to make you an expert.... ensuring that the five books you do read to become an expert on giving presentations tackles presentations from different avenues, the experience giving presentations, failing, learning from your mistakes, correcting those mistakes and trying again just might get you close to the expert status the speaker was discussing.

For example: read a book on PowerPoint (or any other presentation software). It won’t make you an expert with PowerPoint, but it will point you in the direction of understanding how PowerPoint or other presentation software assists a presenter or public speaker.

Another excellent book choice might be a book covering the “how to be” aspect...such as one of my personal favourites and a book I found to be very helpful in assisting me on my journey through public speaking, a book entitled “How to become a Motivational Speaker”. Do you see how different being a motivational speaker is to being a public speaker for a local charity, or giving sales presentations? No? Well then, read a book. While most presentations are designed to spur on action, such as a sales person giving a spiel about their latest and greatest product, or a local celebrity speaking about a charity near and dear to their heart, being a motivational speaker requires much more than just a name and the ability to be comfortable selling something to an audience. Give that some thought and perhaps you will understand what I mean.

Next you may want to cover the speech aspect – you’ve covered the software (tools) and background (sales/motivation) now is a great time to look at how to structure your “talk”. There are so many excellent books out there on how to write a speech or how to speak in public, that choosing one or two should not be a hard choice. That’s three...

How about reading about the design of a presentation? Not just the “this is PowerPoint and this is how you use it” but a book that actually discusses how the design of a visual presentation stimulates viewers so that you can get the best results with the least effort.

Now on to topic 5: Maybe you suffer from the fear of speaking in public because (like most people) you don’t want to look like an idiot when the wrong words come out – so you look at the library or your local Chpaters/Indigo store and while you sip on that Venti-skinny-half-calf-caramel latte, you find a few good resources for dealing with public speaking jitters and pick one.

Don’t sweat it! Take a deep breath, imagine the audience wearing polka-dot pajamas and don’t forget to apply every SINGLE tip those books you read provided for you. No Stress!

...are you feeling like an expert yet?

I didn’t think so – to be honest, neither am I, even having read ALL of those books and many more on presentations it all boils down to how well I am able to apply what I learned in the books to my real-life super secret identity as a public speaker. After years of practice writing, preparing and presenting, I am a public speaker – but do I consider myself to be an expert? Absolutely not. Why? Because I believe I still need more practice, more opportunity to learn and grow and develop skills that will allow me to be the very best presenter possible.

Look at it this way......I want to be an expert race car driver, but reading the
history of NASCAR, a bunch of bios on drivers and manuals about how a race car
works is not going to make ME an expert out on the oval.

That, my friends, requires EXPERIENCE – and I’m afraid you can’t learn that in a book.

Going back to my point about reading books from different viewpoints: reading 5 books on a topic that all focus on one viewpoint or opinion and not reading opposing books is not going to make you an expert, it is going to make you opinionated without the ability to see the big picture and argue your opinion in an educated way. What do I mean? Well if you read only books on how to create a presentation for a sales environment, and don’t read books about writing presentations, giving presentations to other audiences, or dealing with difficult public speaking situations, then all you will know how to do is create a sales presentation that someone else will give and most likely get credit for. If you want to be an expert on that, you still need to be able to argue for or against design principles, which you will learn in books and in practice using the software to design the presentations. I think it's called being well-rounded. And that aides in the professional persona we portray to those around us.

Now I'm off to attempt to apply this five book theory to Instructional Design.

I’ve started on my first two books – Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe and Mastering the Instructional Design Process by Rothwell and Kazanas. I will keep you posted on my progress toward my goal of being an “Expert”.

PowerPoint Me in the Right Direction

Recently I've had a few changes occur in my professional life. The most major was making the choice to leave behind a wonderful position at Conestoga College, and take on a new challenge as the E-Learning Trainer (read that as – we need someone to administer and design web based learning modules, plus since you know Office you can train our staff) for a major transportation company.

We had our employee conference not that long ago, and as a new employee it was very enlightening for me.

For one thing I got to meet all the key players in the company, and for another, I got to spend a weekend with some really fun people getting to know my work colleagues.

I have to admit how surprised I was to find that the company has not standardized the following:

• Servers
  
• Desktop and laptop operating systems (we have everything from Win 98 to Vista)
  
• Office Applications (again – everything from Office 98 to Office 2007 – which I practically demanded and was glad they acquiesced to my request – Does that sound piratty? Arrrr)
  

Many key staff members gave presentations on some of our new initiatives, going green, sales, service, training etc. And I admit to being just a little concerned when the presentations were missing key corporate branding opportunities.

What is a corporate brand you ask?

A corporate brand is the "theme" used in every day communications – everything from trucks and labels to letterhead, using a logo and a colour scheme to reinforce the company name. I'm sure that almost everyone knows the Nike logo because it is everywhere – it is consistent and it never changes (except the size and maybe colour depending what it is on). My point is, every presentation given missed the opportunity to enforce pride in our company by using a customized PowerPoint template for the presentations.

One presentation was orange, another blue with so much text I thought I was reading a book in the ocean, and yet another was green.

Lacking the standardized colour scheme and templates was something I think the company should have addressed prior to this meeting. But to my amazement, I WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT NOTICED!

Now, being new, that's one thing, but as a trainer I am a born observer. I have to be able to observe, read and respond before someone even knows they have a question formed in their brain. My observation skills were working overtime, and I actually left one presentation with a headache.

So upon returning to the office the following Monday, I called upon my trusty Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 and I created the same template in both the new POTX format and the old POT format so that all employees, regardless of their Microsoft Office version, could use these templates to go forth and take over the world!

Ok – not quite…but one day….

Las Vegas, We Have Lift Off

The good news - let me see if I can sing it loud.... LLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I received the approval for the Lectora User conference in Vegas - and am getting ready to pass all my information on to someone else to do the registering and paying and flight booking etc. etc.

This is very exciting and I am really looking forward to the learning opportunity and most important, the networking with other users.

Many of us may never have considered the value in networking at conferences like this because we may actually be in competition for jobs, clients, or just to keep one up on Jones over there...but me, I see this as a real opportunity to make some solid contacts of both designers and trainers already using a product so that if/when I get stuck and need help, I will have built a foundation upon which to call.

That's right - networking at this conference should net me contacts all over North America. I see it as a huge pool swimming with opportunity and I'm going fishing!

Look for me if you go!

She's Electric - I mean Lectora

Today I was introduced to the software I will use to create web based learning modules.

It's Lectora by Trivantis.

I've only had a little look and done just a little more research online, but overall it seems like this will be a fairly easy to use web based course creation tool and I'm really looking forward to what it has to offer from both the design and usability scopes.

As well it will be great to finally discover what learning management system we're going to use and how to administer it, but really Jac...slow down. Take it one step at a time. Stop rushing, things will come.

As my good friend Colleen tells me, I should really adopt Slow Movement. I perused Carl Honore's blog and was smiling at the article about email where he discusses how some companies are banning the use of email during personal time....now if only I could get my mind to shut off as easily as my Blackberry....

But I digress...

I am really looking foward to working with Lectora. One thing that really peaked my interst about it was the fact that they have a user conference coming up in April and the conference could include THREE days of training and the two days of the conference.

I requested to go (already - I know I've hardly been here 48 hours and already I'm asking to go to a conference) and hope to hear some positive news soon. For now....I'm back to see what Lectora is going to offer me and the learners here at my company.

Tough Decisions

It's not often we are faced with really tough decisions, although many of us like to think that we do it on a daily basis.

I've had to face some really REALLY tough decisions the last two months.

The hardest decision I ever made was the decision to give up a private business I've worked hard at and been successful with for 7 years, to return to the corporate world.

The next hardest decision - seriously, has been the decision I made to step down as President of the Waterloo-Wellington IT Professionals user group.

And the last really hard decision I've made lately is one to move out of the region I've lived all my life and move to the GTA.

Many of you know that my spouse was recently disagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, and it's been a tough year for us, and with all the medical appointments and other things, sometimes we have to put our loved ones first - and for a change, I put my family before my love of my IT community.

Giving my notice to the executive members of WWITPRO was a tear jerking moment for me.

But - while I say it was the hardest decision, it really was hard, it was easy just too because I know I will always choose to put my family first....I just didn't want to feel forced to actually DO the resigning.

I am certain that WWITPRO will continue to thrive in our very high-tech community. And I wish much success to the incoming President, Peter Piluk.

Something Old - Something New

Isn't that the familiar saying - you know the one used for brides?

I feel a little like a bride today. All the mixed emotions playing tricks on your mind...most brides can relate with feelings like: am I good enough? will we be happy? will this last? When will the honeymoon begin - then again, when will it end?

Those are many of the same questions I've asked myself today since I started my new job at 9 this morning.

Am I good enough to do this job? Did they choose the right person? Will they regret their decision?

• Will we be happy? Will they be happy with me, will I be happy working here?
• Will this last? Will it last long enough for me to collect my first paycheck - or last years of seeming bliss?
• When will the honeymoon begin? I know I've been here only one day, but I wonder, where is that euphoria I'm supposed to feel about starting a new position - especially one that I really REALLY wanted (like this one)?
• Once the honeymoon starts, when will it end? Will I become dissatisfied, or find that e-learning really isn't what I wanted it to be?

I was certainly feeling insecure as I rode up in the elevator, but as I was taken from department to department and introduced to all the staff, managers and partners, it became clear that they really want me here. They (all the staff) are looking forward to having a trainer on staff and they are anxious to be able to learn new things (HOOORAY!).

Now I'm feeling optimistic about my role here and I'm anxious to leave my mark!

Just to celebrate, I wore:

• something old --- dress pants
• something new --- sexy new black shoes
• something borrowed--- my daughters lipgloss (though technically I didn't ASK and I don't plan to give it back)
• something blue --- my new blue blouse which looks stunning with my dress pants and sexy black shoes

May this be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

Just Because....

I was a trainer - doesn't mean I am an Instructional Designer. I have flaws, and this is one of them.



Over the last 12 years I've been instructing for major companies, government agencies, and retraining people who have been injured and need to be placed in new jobs.

In the not too distant past I created course curriculum for my clients and provided instruction on that material. When I didn't have time or the expertise I purchased manuals from one of two suppliers...and the materials happened to be the same manuals used by the local college for their one-day professional development workshops.

I expect I have a lot to learn about the psychology and science behind learning in order to make me the best I can be at my job.

It's time to buckle down - and now that I've admitted I lack some skills I feel may be required to do my new job, I'm off to upgrade and better myself!

I LOVE EDUCATION!

What the New Year Holds

Aahh - as the slurs of Hpe Nw Flear (also known as "Happy New Year") begin to slip away from my memory banks, looking back brings a sudden tear of joy mixed with apprehension to my eye as one chapter in my life closes and another opens.

It's an exciting beginning, 2008 is, after a seemingly disastrous 2007, I seem to be getting back to the point that I am now able to grow again and learn instead of "just" helping other people learn.

That's right! I'm transitioning from being a trainer to a role that will challenge me as I learn all about Instructional Design for adult e-learners. (Although some of my time will still be spent in front of a truly appreciative audience while I expound the virtues of various Microsoft Office productivity tools - thank goodness at least, that I know how to do that....)

While I embrace this new challenge, I realize I have my work cut out for me. Not only do I have to learn the ways of the company I am working for, but I also need to learn new software so that I can eventually publish e-learning courses, AND I have to work on building my skills in instructional design and technical writing.

My hope is that what I learn along the way I will be able to share through this new forum.

I'm looking forward to successfully completing my first few weeks at my new position and wish i could run through the open door into the sunshine and rainbows that I perceive to be on the other side.

Why Do I Format Last?

Someone was watching me work the other day. I was preparing a Word document of instructions on completing a form. It wasn't a very challenging form, but there were many different features that needed to be discussed in depth with some hints and short-cuts that also needed to be addressed.

The format of the actual document was paragraphs, with some bulleted lists and a numbered list.

I could tell by the toe tapping that they had something they wanted to say every time I hit the enter key to add an item to my list of instructions. You see, I was ensuring that all of the content was in the document before I formatted it and it was driving the person crazy.

After I was all finished the text portion, which took me almost no time at all because I do type very quickly, I then was able to use predefined Styles I had created from another document and apply a consistent look and feel to the document. Did I mention that it was VERY quick to apply the styles? In total it took me 8 minutes to enter the text (7.5 minutes) and apply formatting (.5 of a minute).

When I finished the document and saved it, I sent the attachment to the people who needed it, including the person watching over my shoulder…. It took a couple of minutes before she asked me the big question.

Why don't you format as you type?

That, my friend, is very simple to answer.

When I get a question like that, in class or in the workplace, even at home, I always ask people what is the most important thing IN the document. (notice I don't say "about" the document)

Of course the most important things IN the document are my words.

Picture this: it is 2 pm on Friday afternoon. You are asked by your boss to create a document that pulls in 30 comparison figures for a client into a Word doc and you have to have it ready in ten minutes when the client shows up. If it takes you ten minutes to get the data and enter it into the doc, then you are all good – you have the important meat and potatoes that your boss needs for the meeting. He didn't specify he needed it all pretty.

If however you take your time entering in the data and formatting it at the same time, you may find that you get lost, take too much time trying to make something look good that when the ten minutes is up all you have are the first 5 of 30 numbers your boss needed. (Jac shrugs her shoulders) pretty is great, but the data is what is really important.

In reality all you've done is make yourself look silly and worse, made your boss look bad – and we NEVER want to make our boss look bad. EVER.

It isn't that I am unable to format as I type. I know all my keyboard shortcuts, and could format as I type without taking my hand off the keyboard. For me, it's a personal preference, the habit of ensuring the important pieces are down…then I can use AutoFormat features (Office 95-2003) or the great new preview features of 2007 to make the document look the way I think they should be – quickly – as long as I have the time.

I LOVE my Mouse

I do – really – I LOVE my mouse.

It isn't the "Eeek" kind of mouse, running across the floor being chased by Sylvester, it's a beautiful round grey mouse that fits perfectly in the palm of my hand.

(Picture courtesy of the following website: Microsoft.com (click here to access the direct link)

I used it extensively when I was training at the College…mainly because it was a wonderful tool that had everything I needed and allowed me the flexibility to move around the classroom and use the laser pointer, the PowerPoint tools and well – overall it was just wonderful!

I highly recommend this mouse, which retails for just over $100.00. I am in the midst of getting another one for my job, instead of using the Presenter Mouse I own, and forgetting to bring it back and forth I am getting one for the new training room I'm getting!

Can you sense my excitement???

Goal Setting Time Again

Every year my husband has to create his goals for the year to come.

He doesn't get a raise based on it.

He doesn't get evaluated (not really anyway) on it.

He doesn't even have to follow up during the year on it…. At least not as long as he puts in new and unique goals from the year before.

I always know when it is time for him to set his goals, because he huffs and puffs his way to his computer, he huffs and puffs as he tries to find the file, and he huffs and puffs when he realizes how FEW of the past goals he actually achieved.

Then, when he's done huffing and puffing and questioning why he didn't get these things accomplished and he's finished moping and feeling sorry for himself he turns on the hockey game and has a nap.

And he wonders why he didn't meet his goals.

To me, the question is always the same, why are you setting goals if you have no intention of meeting them?

His answer: "Because my boss wants them".

A couple of years ago I had a fantastic calendar. I only found it one year, and I really wanted another one – the calendar was a goal setting calendar – and every month there were some prompts for you to fill in goals based on the monthly theme. Some months there were personal goals, health goals, family goals – and of course business goals. I loved this tool. It had little flower stickers for you to put on the calendar when you met a goal and it really helped to get me organized.

Top that off with the ability to let me see where I was wasting my time, and it really helped me cut out some of the tasks I didn't really need to do or maybe didn't need to put on the calendar. (I also had a chance to see that I didn't spend nearly enough time on ME.)

Here are some simple tips to assist in Setting and Achieving Goals

• Create simple goals that have a probable end. Open ended goals that have no end are very difficult to achieve. For example: improve my driving…does that mean parallel parking, not following too closely, not driving too quickly…
  If we create a more manageable and measurable goal it is easier to meet and stroke off the list.
  
  • Practice parallel parking twice a week for three weeks þ and be able to parallel park my car on the first attempt.
    

    My mom always said practice makes perfect. If I practice the task I won't get rust and I will improve. It is now measurable as well because we specify ONE attempt (not the ten like on Canada's Worst Driver).
    

• Keep your goals in sight. If, like my husband, you make a list of goals and then don't follow up on them you will never achieve them. Although they are in the very back recesses of his mind, he doesn't visit them more than once per year.
  
  • Place your goals on a sheet of paper (sticky notes work too) and keep them on your bulletin board or in your day timer. Keeping the goals in view helps you see what you wanted to achieve so that you are able to analyze why you are or are not achieving them.
    
• Create 3 lists for goals…Short Term, Middle Term and Long Term. Short term goals are things that you would like to achieve in the next 3 months. Middle term goals are goals that can be achieved in the next 6-9 months and long term goals are those that may take up to or over a year to accomplish.
  
• Measure your success. Put happy faces, stickers or other items on the goals you have met. Seeing your successes in small manageable chunks makes it much easier to finish tasks that may have been on your list for quite some time.
  
• Revisit your goals on a regular basis. Your life changes all the time. You make decisions that affect other things in your life. If you get a new job doing something in a completely different field, then the goal to learn the new software at work isn't required anymore so take it off your list.
  
  • Edit the list of goals to ensure they are still appropriate for you. You may want to change the way your success is measured, you might want to add or delete goals.
    
• Don't be discouraged if a goal you think is a short term goal takes longer to achieve. If goals were easy to attain we wouldn't need them. Some goals may take longer to achieve then others…try to be OK with that!
  

The more you see the goals, and work with them the more attention you pay to getting those goals off your list of things to do!

Microsoft Sponsors 2 more Study Groups!

I am pleased to announce that Microsoft Canada has provided study materials for two more study groups - both for Windows 2003 server.

Once the dates and locations for study groups have been arranged details will be available at the WWITPRO website.