A Nostalgic Flashback
I got my first computer when I was in primary school.  It was an Amiga 500 – a veritable revolution for those of us used to the Commodore 64.  The operating system was based on windows logic and you could control the pointer on the screen with a mouse – amazing!

Mine interest in computers only grew from there.  I subscribed to various magazines, including a Swedish computer magazine, called “Dator”.  I read about new games and hardware, in depth.  Through “Dator”, I came in contact with another computer enthusiast.  He was my age and lived in Argentina.  We became pen pals and sent lists of the games we had to each other.  Then, we crossed off names on the list and sent each other diskettes of the games we wanted copied.  I knew it was illegal, but you’ll forgive me if I blame that offence on my youth.

In “Dator”, I read articles about a world-wide network called a Bulletin board system.  I had recently seen the film,“WarGames”, where a teenage boy hacks into NORAD.  The hacker connects his telephone to his computer and is suddenly able to access the entire world.  I dreamed of what it would be like to get a phone like that one day.  I dreamed of communicating with the entire world from my bedroom.  Maybe someday I could even send games to my Argentinean friend over the telephone?

At the same time, I also dreamed of becoming a professional skateboarder like Tony Hawk; I dreamed of becoming a pop star, as cool as Joey Tempest in Europe; and I dreamed of going steady with Christin Marie, in class 6B at Grålum School, Sarpsborg (a dream I shared with every other boy in my class, by the way).  I was reaching for the stars, with both feet planted firmly on the ground.  I knew that I wouldn’t be able to fulfil all my dreams, but still let myself dream.

“The sky’s the limit”
I got my first real PC when I started high school.  It had Windows 95, ISDN internet access, external speakers, and a printer.  It was perfect for schoolwork – and also gave me access to information from around the world – all from my own room!

I had a buddy named Tor Jørgen.  He was a few years older than me and studied at Østfold University College and had made his own web page.  I was extremely impressed.  On his web page, he told who he was, what he studied, and he even had pictures of himself.  “The sky’s the limit,” I thought to myself.  Now everything is possible!

Suddenly Everyone was Online
I started at NTNU in 1996, in the Faculty of Marine Technology.  Each student got his or her own e-mail address, but I didn’t realise how significant that was.  Why should I send e-mail to people I could just as easily call on the phone?  We used an e-mail program called PINE.  I soon came to love PINE.  Suddenly, everyone was online, and every student had a homepage.  On our web pages, we presented ourselves as positively as we could.  We published pictures of ourselves hiking in the forest, and we wrote that we sometimes enjoyed a glass of wine among friends.  Our homepages we like camouflaged personal ads or billboards.  We wanted to impress, after all.

NTNU Introduces E-learning
After completing my studies, I worked for a year at SINTEF.  I participated in a pilot project that involved implementing e-learning as a strategic learning tool at the university.  It was an exciting time and e-learning was still an undeveloped learning tool.  E-learning still only meant online books, nothing more.  But it was important work.  We tried and failed – and learned.

Where are we now?
It’s 20 years since I sat in my bedroom with my Amiga 500.  It’s more than ten years since I’ve seen Christin Marie, my boyhood crush, Europe’s Joey Tempest has cut his curls, and WarGames has become a cult classic.  A lot has happened in 20 years.  Where are we now?

New York, Summer 2008
In the summer of 2008, I visited New York.  We stayed at the Pod Hotel in Manhattan.  We reserved our room over the Internet, of course, and we were immediately given access to a discussion forum and a network of other people who had also booked rooms.  This is the new way of networking.  The personification of the Internet contributes to discipline.  We conduct ourselves with more decorum online now that we can no longer hide behind a “nickname”.

Of course, at the Pod Hotel, there was a docking station for our iPod, so we could listen to our own music on the hotel room stereo.  In honour of Joey Tempest, I played “The Final Countdown”, by Europe, and reminisced about my early adolescence.  Then we went out and celebrated Independence Day, July 4th.

Give – and You Shall Receive
The Internet has given a totally new dimension to networking and learning.  I participate in an e-learning network, with more than 900 HR and e-learning experts from across the globe.  In this network, I can ask questions – and always get answers.  Many answers.  The members of this network are always willing to share their knowledge and expertise.  That’s how new learning networks work.  Everyone contributes information to the network because you know that you’ll get so much more in return.

The E-learning network has also set up a blog, with the object of developing a forum where people from around the world can contribute their articles about learning.  You can access the blog at: http://www.screensailor.com/.  Don’t hesitate to make contact if you would like a username and password so you can publish your articles.  It is exciting to see where this blog will lead.  Give and you shall receive.

SCREENSAILOR 2008 HR eLearning Research
The E-learning network and The HR network on Linkedin consist of more than 900 experts from around the world, and together, over the course of September 2008, we’re going to conduct an extensive survey.  This survey will provide us with information about the status quo and future trends.  The members of the network will define the questions themselves, and will then have access to the report afterward.

If you would like to participate in the survey, you can contribute suggestions for the questionnaire at http://screensailor.wordpress.com/2008/08/31/screensailor-2008-hr-elearning-research/.  To gain access to the report in its entirety, join The HR network or The E-learning network.

The Jante Law on the Brink of Collapse
Web 2.0 was the final nail in the coffin for the Jante Law.  Our homepages of the 90’s were only the beginning.  Generation Y won’t even understand the substance of the Jante Law.  This new generation of young people is eager to promote itself online, the opposite is abnormal.  You don’t see anyone with photo albums in their living room anymore, but everyone publishes their holiday home movies on YouTube.  Even though I belong to a previous generation, I am no better.  The last time I went fishing with the guys, I used my mobile phone to film our trip and the clips are, of course, now a video on YouTube.  I have published my musical endeavours on Myspace, and I have a profile on FaceBook.  I, and millions of others, use the internet to promote myself and build a network.  The Jante Law is on the brink of collapse.

Reaching for the Stars with Two Feet Planted Firmly on the Ground
When I grew up, I learned that it was important to reach for the stars, but keep your feet planted firmly on the ground.  Many years later, Steen Jensen imparted the same wisdom in his book, Ona Fyr.  The book was a success.  Throughout my career, I have tried to live up to that childhood lesson and I believe that, in times to come, those who manage to grasp and balance this wisdom properly will be successful.

One serious pitfall would be not to take Generation Y into consideration.  Organisations that follow their old fashion work methods, without understanding how Generation Y communicates and interacts online, will quickly run into trouble.  Such organisations will not manage to attract the best minds and will gradually loose their competitive edge (ref. [only in Norwegian] Aftenposten: http://www.aftenposten.no/forbruker/jobbogstudier/jobb/article2598125.ece).

Another pitfall awaits those organisations jumping on the technological bandwagon and new communication techniques – without keeping their feet on the ground.

I believe that the great challenge ahead for e-learning companies will be to reach for the stars, keeping up to date, using web 2.0 technology, finding the most appropriate combinations between open source code and proprietary software, and being innovative and having great visions – while also making money.  With respect to customers, collaboration partners, employees, and owners, making money is crucial.  There shouldn’t be any room for doubt about how secure one’s workplace is – or whether or not suppliers will still be around next year.

The Road Ahead
This article is the first in a series of six articles where I will share my thoughts about the past and the path toward a new way of learning.  I will take a closer look at various methods and tools, and I will use concrete examples to illustrate my points.

Article by: Chul Christian Aamodt

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