Program evaluation can leave you feeling like you don't know if you're coming or going. I do a lot of program evaluation work because it's often so painful for my clients that I'm eager to show how it can be done with ease & even creativity & humour. I was particularly proud to be asked by … [Read more...] about Speaking English kills you (& other ways evaluations can go sideways)
There’s a 6 foot long green snake living in my banana tree
There’s a 6 foot long green snake living in the banana tree in my yard. So said my ‘friend’ Roman the other day while we were out walking the dogs. Trying not to faint, with eyebrows askance, I said ‘Really?’ ‘Sure,’ he says, ‘but don’t worry it’s utterly harmless.’ I was pretty sure he was … [Read more...] about There’s a 6 foot long green snake living in my banana tree
No better way to learn about your own cultural training & development roots than to immerse yourself in another
Have you entered the cultural training & development contest yet and grabbed a chance of winning a free Life Lenses® assessment? No? What are you waiting for - deadline is June 15th. As I mentioned in a previous post watching out for too-near hippos by night and too-curious monkeys by day, … [Read more...] about No better way to learn about your own cultural training & development roots than to immerse yourself in another
Where's your off switch?
When I was doing some training for the United Nations in East Africa a while back, some friends and I got together one night at a house to watch a movie and make cookies. The cookie dough never made it to the oven (a destination few cookie dough batches in my world meet) and the movie was … [Read more...] about Where's your off switch?
Learning about change & the power of music to rock the world from United Nations 'Messenger of Truth' Sara Mitaru©
Imagine being able to write “Messenger of Truth” as a job title on your CV. That’s what the incomparable Sara Mitaru can claim. What exactly is a messenger of truth? The United Nation’s Messengers of Truth (MOT) Project has 3 major objectives: to inform youth living in slums and inner cities … [Read more...] about Learning about change & the power of music to rock the world from United Nations 'Messenger of Truth' Sara Mitaru©
Learning means converting & translating
I was recently in Turkey doing program evaluation training for the United Nations, which meant carrying a variety of ubiquitous plug adapters. I laughed at the above combination of plugs - all feeding into one that would fit the hotel outlet, allowing computer and IPhone to charge. The need to … [Read more...] about Learning means converting & translating
Putting learning technology in the back seat – where it belongs
At its best learning technology should disappear into the background, allowing the learning to shine. At its worst technology is so much in the foreground that nothing else is discernible (enter video conferences where participant faces look like something a Star Wars make-up artist dreamed up … [Read more...] about Putting learning technology in the back seat – where it belongs
Putting fun and evaluation in the same sentence
Evaluation terminology is enough to make you want to hide your head in the nearest toilet. And flush. Program logic models, median, mean, outcomes, indicators, activities, outputs, baseline, denominators, dissemination, focus groups, inductive, deductive and the list goes on (and on and on). Yet, … [Read more...] about Putting fun and evaluation in the same sentence
