The Big Question: To-learn list

Eek! This month's big question nigh brought on a panic attack. Hand me that brown paper bag, quick!

Facing the imminent prospect of self-employment, I am realising how much I don't know. My to-learn list grows daily until it is so large that I'm not sure how I'm actually going to find the time to do any work that brings in money!

Here goes.

I need to learn (in no particular order):

• how to customise this here blog to reflect the Learning Anorak's branding
• how to create a website so that I can make myself more find-able online
• more about the implementation side of things
• to keep accounts in such a way that I can fill in a tax return (at the moment, I don't have to do that)
• to fill in a tax return
• to market my services
• to invoice clients
• the differences between a limited company and a sole trader, and the respective advantages and benefits of each
• more about systems architecture
• more development skills
• more about LMSes

Can I stop now? I need both hands to hold the paper bag!

This month's big question: PowerPoint

Ah, so this month's big question touches on one of my hot topics: PowerPoint. I have very strong feelings on the subject of PowerPoint, but my current circumstances have sapped me of the energy needed to do this question any real justice. So please pardon me while I cop out and point to "one I made earlier."

Apologies for the apathy.

The Big Question about the big question

Tony Karrer has provided an explanation as to why March's big question has not been forthcoming. Apparently, the LCB (Learning Circuits Blog) site has been wheelclamped by Google as being a spam blog. Interesting. Web 2.0 is (in large part) about conversation. LCB is about conversation. But it appears to have fallen victim to its own success - the volume of traffic in and out has attracted the notice of the Google policebots.

Dave Lee, communicating through the sidebar, jokingly suggests that the big question for March should be "Do you really exist if Google says you don't?"

This is a conspiracy theorist's dream come true. Supposedly, no-one is in control of the web, supposedly it is driven by the world wide community, and yet, in a case of mistaken identity, LCB has been cut off and now has to fight to clear its name and be "released". It's all too "Enemy of the State"

February's big question

The big question for February is "What questions should we be asking". Of course the responses to this will vary widely depending on each individual's field of interest and endeavour. As usual, I will make no pretence at having an objective, global view, but will seek only to speak from my own persepctive.

As a learning designer, I find that the people who requisition learning are often out of touch with the ultimate user audience: namely the learner. In fact, on a current project, I had to explain to one of the client reps what a learner was. This is the person I care most about. I wish the only question ever needed on a learning solutions project was: What will work best for the learner? In the absence of this idyll, I would like to ask:

• How do we bridge the divide between he-who-signs-the-cheques and he-who-will-use-the-resource?
  

How do we overcome the fact that he-who-signs-the-cheques (hwstc) often couldn't care a fig for all this newfangled learning theory stuff: just build me something that I am familiar with, but make sure that it is 100% effective (what do you mean the two things are mutually exclusive?).

I'm sure I'm going to kick myself as I later think of a far more relevant question, but this is where my head is at today.