The new learning style, I give you the Technist, born from B.YO.D.......D !

Just like my Nike's

I have this pair of trainers, I've owned them almost 8 years now. They are not your standard type of trainers, they were retro when I bought them, they were not to everyone's taste and most certainly don't conform...................which played a huge part in the purchase.

They were / are the comfiest shoes I have ever worn and hence the reason I still wear them. I have bought several pairs since and they have found their way home with me but nothing has come close to that pair. So I guess you understand their importance to me but for one thing.

I have one mate who still to this day refers to them as clown shoes !

Now I am sure any of you are hanging on to every word of this weeks post wondering if the message is around finding something that fits and wearing it with pride, eh....be comfy with what you choose Learning Dude or have you ever learned the ways of the circus but alas there is no such line of development I have considered for circus skills although it has given me an idea :-)

You see the thing about the shoes is their comfort and feel is important to me. They're my clown shoes, I bought them because they didn't conform and because I don't.........unless Mrs Learning Dude tells me to.

I have made many a purchase like this, none more than with tech. When people were gearing up to buy a Sony Playstation I was buying an Atari Jaguar (well it did have Tempest) When people were buying a Commodore Amiga I was buying an Atari ST and when they were opting for iPod's I bought an Archos 5.

Back then the choice was limited to one or two parties competing with each other for supremacy. Now however there is so much choice you can expect people to have a number of gadgets in their pockets and bags all across the globe.

Stop what you are doing and look around, how many can you see? I have four scattered in front of me just now. Each running different versions of Android and Windows.

Three of these will travel to the office with me tomorrow and each is capable of running varied content. Now, I don't think I am (that) unique and  recognise that there is an opportunity to engage with people like never before. You see it's like the shoes, if they are comfy you will happily walk miles in them, throw in your choice of music player and that pair of headphones that provide maximum sound with minimum fuss and everything is good.......and don't you just love the power you feel when you run your finger over your touch screen device.  By contrast, if you pop on my headphones, grab the clunk and chunky feeling of that old Archos and slip into my clown shoes and how far will you walk?

You see we all like the things that are the most comfortable and that we chose for particular reasons. I would also like to advocate this from a learning perspective. If Kolb, Honey, Mumford and Gregorc etc had been a little bit more forward thinking then perhaps the "Technist" may have been a welcomed addition to the much disputed learning style family. I am a Technist (occasionally non conforming) and up until the point people start reading this weeks post perhaps the only one.

The "Technist" likes to take information on through the medium of the gadget. Sit them in a soulless class and watch them fade away. Sit them in a class and review the content on their phone or tablet and they start to engage. Provide them pre and post course material accessed through the very same gadgets and they will probably start sending flowers. Invite them into the room and interact through their gadgets, gizmo's and various formats and there is a danger they may wish to move in with you.

When building content today you have to think of the Technist and make multi format versions of what you do. Don't Apple in isolation without considering the Jelly Beans. Let them choose the content to match the Tech. The format they chose will be as comfortable to them as the shoes they wear (but not as comfy as my clown shoes) With comfort comes confidence and confidence builds support and engagement . Bring your own Device is dead, long live Bring Your Own Development Device B.Y.O.D........D :-)



That Learning Dude on Twitter @LearningXDude