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LearningWIRE - Issue 8
1 May 1998
A FREE electronic newsletter for net enabled people
engaged in training, learning, coaching and staff development.
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk
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Copyright (C) 1998 Sift plc. All rights reserved.
May be reproduced in any medium for non-commercial purposes as
long as attribution is given.
In this issue
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- From the Editor
- Site review: Pikeperry
- Review: 'Learning by Heart'
- Tim's Top Tips: Have a chat with Tony Blair
- A surf through Penbo's learning log
- About Sift
- How to Subscribe
From the Editor
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Since Easter, there has been a flood of material produced around
Adult Learners Week (16-22 May) and the new permanent Learning
Direct freephone helpline for people wanting to access information
and advice on eduction, training and employment. Information
about ALW is available at
http://www.niace.org.uk
and the Learning Direct number is 0800 100 900.
I've also received information about a major conference on
'Lifelong Learning in the Information Society' to be held on 26
May at Glenrothes, Fife. Further information from:
Http://www.fife.ac.uk
or send an email to llis@fife.ac.uk
Also in this issue are reviews of a site for trainers with some
useful and unusual links and contacts, and a thoughtful
contributed review about developing the emotional side of school
students. There is some interesting work going on to develop the
emotional side of organisations and LearningWIRE may pursue this
avenue in future issues if readers are interested.
As always, feedback, news items and contributed features are
always welcome for inclusion in forthcoming issues.
Tim Pickles,
Editor, LearningWIRE and TrainingZONE
tpickles@sift.co.uk
Site review: Pikeperry
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Thanks for Roger Greenaway rogg@globalnet.co.uk for pointing me
towards this small site which is run by a management development
company based in Gloucester trading under the name Pike, Perry and
Greensmith. The site aims to provide information on services,
products and links for those interested in human resource
development and personal development. You can find the main site at
http://www.pikeperry.co.uk
The site is divided into four categories covering personal
development, management development, business and community
development. Each of these pages comprises an index menu of
topics, most of which simply lead you to external sites with
specific content. The Personal Development page can lead you to
the Findhorn community, and to links on astrology, for example.
The Management Development page is particularly strong on its
links to a wide range of personality testing materials, but far
less comprehensive in other areas.
The site owners are keen to develop other links and invite users
to contact them with suggestions for related material. There is
actually little new material on the site, but the owners have done
a good job in digging out some interesting links that would take
many days to find using traditional search facilities.
I suspect the site is more of an information 'hobby' than a
serious professional business. The design is based on simple text
pages laid out as bullet menus, with only the main logo as a
graphic. It's worth looking at for its interesting links, but the
low number of visitors (around 2,500 in two years) suggests the
site is not being actively promoted.
Overall ratings on a 1* to 5* scoring:
- Content **
- Design **
Review: 'Learning by Heart' by Kevin McCarthy, Gulbenkian Foundation
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[Contributed by Penny Sharland penny@framework.org.uk]
In the early part of this century I guess 'Learning by Heart: the
role of emotional education in raising school achievement ' would
have been referred to as a pamphlet. It is indeed rather like
those pamphlets that helped shape ideas and form attitudes on key
issues of the day. This booklet, initiated and funded by the
Gulbenkian Foundation is a mere 11 pages long. Yet it sets out the
argument for why we should be trying to educate school kids at an
emotional level as well as at an intellectual level. It argues
that this is both urgent and crucial to the well being of society
in the 21st century. By doing this now we will:
- make what we do in schools more meaningful to kids and
communities - help to raise academic standards
- make sense of the government's recent ideas on promoting
values in schools - reach kids in way that schools are just not doing now
Those of you that have been fascinated by Daniel Goleman's ideas
[in 'Emotional Intelligence' Cox and Wyman, 1996] about Emotional
Intelligence may see some of the same threads in 'Learning by
Heart'. In fact Goleman does argue for just these developments
towards the end of his ground breaking book when he says that our
sense of meaning and purpose is derived as much from feeling as
from understanding. That makes lots of sense when we're talking
about how we learn doesn't it?
It's clear that emotionally developed young people are more
motivated and have a greater sense of well being, they are better
equipped to deal with difference, they are higher achievers, and
employers want them. 'Learning by Heart' suggests that developing
kids emotionally is not as difficult or as dangerous as it sounds.
It's down to a good school ethos and 'atmosphere', using methods
that engage feelings and explore values, spending time on
relationships, making links across subjects that have common
skills and developing specialist skills in schools to champion
these approaches.
'Learning by Heart' makes a heartfelt plea - that the Government's
thinking about what schools should be doing in the next millennium
must include explicit plans to develop the 'emotional literacy' of
their students.
All our kids need an education that will give them:
- a strong self of self
- empathetic awareness of others
- a sound set of values and a sense of morality
- tolerance and a welcome of difference
- a sense of meaning and purpose to their lives.
Who couldn't agree with that?
'Learning by Heart' is written for the Gulbenkian Foundation by
Kevin McCarthy from Remembering Education and a team of other
interested professionals. Comments to and copies from Kevin at
remember@mcmail.com
http://www.remember.mcmail.com
Tim's Top Tips: Have a chat with Tony Blair
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A new 10 Downing Street web site has been launched featuring
discussion forums on events in the news. On 29 April, there was
a live interview with Tony Blair - which is either a gimmick,
or a good demonstration of this government's commitment to new
technology.
http://www.number-10.gov.uk/index.html
A surf through Penbo's learning log
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Tuesday: Series of brisk e-mails back and forth with co-
facilitator from the University today. [He likes to insist that
he's billed as University Lecturer but it's really a Polytechnic
and before that a technical college,and he only does extra mural
stuff.] You should see his website - it's like a Busby Berkeley
musical - all clever patterns and no story! E-mail to self - must
update CV to include words 'Now co-facilitating exciting new
module with distinguished University Professor.'
About Sift
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Sift plc is a leading developer of online communities. Based in
Bristol, Sift has developed AccountingWEB for professionals in the
accountancy profession. At the 1997 Online Information Exhibition
at Olympia, Sift were voted European Information Product of the
Year (and also runner up as Internet Product of 1997). You can
visit this site at https://www.accountingweb.co.uk
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Editor: Tim Pickles tpickles@sift.co.uk
Sift plc., 33 Corn Street, Bristol BS1 1HT
Tel:+44 (0)117 930 8881 Fax:+44 (0)117 930 8887
http://www.sift.co.uk
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Tim Pickles ***** Designing professional toolkits
https://www.trainingzone.co.uk ***** The learning community
