A learning project to write better, faster, and clearer

Photo by andyp_uk

Writing is easy - it's writing well that is difficult. At the end of a recent workshop on blogging, the final discussions showed that participants were still seeking resources to continue to improve and to address the concern, 'How do I get started writing"? As usual, the wise answer was "the best way to become a better writer is to write a lot" and "just start writing - it will get easier with time". Although this is standard advice from many successful writers it didn't seem to be enough to bolster the fragile confidence of the participants about to leave the shelter of the workshop's supportive environment.

Stephen King, in his book On Writing uses the concept of a toolbox to provide more specific advice. Roy Peter Clark, is another author who refers to the writing techniques he shares as tools. Roy is vice-president and senior scholar of the Poynter Institute school for journalists. He is described as "a writer who teaches and a teacher who writes". Roy believes writers need tools, not rules and he generously shares his workbench of fifty specific writing tools in book or online format.

Here's the learning project - try out each of the fifty tools and add the ones you find useful to your own workbench. Because each of the fifty are complete "micro-lessons" you can consume them as snacks or multi-course meals. They are concise. The format of each starts with a clear description of one specific tip illustrated by several examples and followed by a learning activity to build your skill at recognizing and using the technique.

The tools are available in several formats - articles on the web, downloadable podcasts (click on the link to Roy's Writing Tools), or an inexpensive paperback, Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer. You can choose the format the fits with your preferred learning style (as described in my previous post What's your learning style - Visual, Auditory or Kinesthetic?)

Whether you are a professional writer, an occasional freelancer or someone who just needs to handle emails, write presentations and fill out forms, wouldn't it be helpful to be able to create clear prose consistently with less effort? I hope you invest some time and give this learning project a try. I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions too.

...writing is thinking on paper in which both writer and reader are witnesses to

meaning-in-the-making, a meaning that the writer creates and the reader

attempts to re-create.

V.A. Howard and J.H. Barton, Thinking on Paper

If you like to learn by doing, Tinkering School is the place for you

I recently came upon an inspiring presentation given by Gever Tully at a 2009 Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) conference. He spoke about a program he created called the Tinkering School. Tinkering School is a summer learning program that enables children to learn through exploring and using tools and materials they would not ordinarily be allowed to access.

He describes the school as "a program that helps kids build the things they think of" and in Gever Tully's own words, here's how a typical session plays out:

When the kids arrive they've confronted with lots of stuff, wood and nails and rope and wheels, and lots of tools, real tools. It's a six-day immersive experience for the kids ... Our goal is to ensure that they leave with a better sense of how to make things than when they arrived, and the deep internal realization that you can figure things out by fooling around.

The results are truly amazing. View this four-minute video to see the school in action, including successful projects such as a strong bridge built from old grocery bags and a roller coaster built by seven-year olds.

Adult learners can take lessons from these kids about productive ways to learn. Examples include taking a break when they hit a barrier and then returning to tackle the problem with new insight. They also laughed often because of their "ease with the idea that every step in a project is a step closer to sweet success or gleeful calamity".

If there was a version for adults, imagine the fun to be had and the creative learning that would occur. Or would adults have the same experience? Once we leave childhood we sometimes forget the valuable role playfulness brings to learning – as author Eric Hoffer said, "It is the child in man that is the source of his uniqueness and creativeness, and the playground is the optimal milieu for the unfolding of his capacities and talents" (from Brainy Quotes).

What can we learn from word clouds?

Word Cloud of this post created with Wordle

Reflecting on how I could ensure my writing stayed aligned to my blog's scope, I recently learned how easy and helpful it was to create a word cloud out of my posts. The word cloud proved to be a useful way to verify if the actual language I used was a match with my intended theme and title. This article will show you how to create word clouds and how they can be used to increase your understanding and communicating skills.

What is a word cloud? A word cloud is a colourful graphic created from the actual words in text or a URL that you input. The frequency of each word determines the size used in the graphic. You are able to select from a wide range of fonts, colour schemes and layout orientations to customize your cloud. Here's an example of the word cloud I created based on a previous post, What's your learning style - Visual, Auditory or Kinesthetic? using the instructions found at www.wordle.net.

Word Cloud created using Wordle

How I used this word cloud - I used this graphic version of my writing to self-critique my post. First off, it was obvious from the sizing of the word information that it was the most frequent. This surprised me a little since the focus of my post was learning styles and learners. I went back to the text of the article to review each use of the word information and see if a synonym such as facts could be appropriately substituted.

Another quick test was to review the size of terms that were intended to be equivalent, such as the four learning style terms. If they were not shown as similar sizes in the word cloud I went back to the text to ensure I had provided balanced details about each.

This doesn't provide a rigorous edit, but I appreciated seeing the written text from a different perspective. It gave me some ideas for improving future writing and was quick, easy and fun. I plan to use this technique before I publish future posts. Give it a try.

How you can create a word cloud - Go to www.wordle.net, view the samples and read the terms of use. This is free to use and you can print, save, and use your creation under a Creative Commons License.

Using the Create page, paste your selected text to submit it. Or you can enter a URL to base your word cloud on an entire blog or web site. The amount of written text influences the time it takes for the word cloud to be created so I suggest that you start with a small article for your first one.

Once your word cloud is created, experiment with fonts, colours and orientation. The FAQ pages will provide extra details to help you save or print your creation.

Examples of using word clouds to increase understanding, to communicate better, or for fun:

• A history scholar uses a word cloud when planning his dissertation in order to refine his thesis.
• A political observer creates word clouds based on the speeches by three mayoralty candidates as a way to understand and compare their positions.
• Publishers of children's books share tips about using word clouds in the writing process.
• A writer compiles lists of words with planned repetition to create a word cloud for advertising messages. You could use the same approach to create visuals for presentations.
• A textile crafter blogs about how she transferred a word cloud to fabric as art.

Consider word clouds next time you are facing writer's block, trying to clarify your draft when it has weak themes, or are stalled in trying to understand a long piece of written text. Whether you take a break by studying nature's clouds or you create word clouds, these just might provide the creative jolt you need.

Photo by D. Reichardt

What's your learning style - Visual, Auditory or Kinesthetic?

Illustration by Frits Ahlefeldt-Laurvig

Photo by: HikingArtist.com

We all use a variety of senses when processing information. Our personal set of preferences and strengths make up our individual learning style. Researchers have identified a number of learning style models that help us understand and leverage our own unique style in order to learn more effectively. Also, by recognizing situations where we receive information presented in a way that doesn't match our preferred style we can compensate with strategies to help ourselves overcome the differences.

While there are many learning style models, here are three that focus on how people interact with information as they learn. The main differences are briefly described to give you a sense of the big picture.

1. The Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic Modalities model (VAK for short) by Barbe-Swassing identifies how we receive and remember information. This post contains details about this model.
2. The Global/Holistic - Analytic/Sequential model by Hermann Witkin identifies how we process and communicate information. This will be addressed in a future post.
3. The Mind Styles model by Anthony Gregorc recognizes how the mind perceives and understands information. This will also be detailed in a future post.

Understanding the VAK model - There are four categories within this model. Keep in mind that the categories are intended to depict preferences - everyone uses each mode to some degree.

Visual (linguistic) learners prefer to receive information through reading and written tasks. They remember best what is written and prefer to write down directions rather than only hearing them.

Visual (spatial) learners prefer charts, drawings and videos to written language. They can easily visualize places and faces and rarely get lost in new surroundings.

Auditory learners prefer to receive information by listening to verbal instructions and they memorize by hearing information and saying it. They may silently mouth the words when reading.

Kinesthetic/Tactile learners learn best by touching objects and moving. They need to put some sort of action to the learning or it won't stick. They may doodle or highlight when listening to lectures. Physical props or activities help them memorize.

Determining your learning style - Although you may have a good idea of your preference as you read the descriptions there are a number of self-assessment tools that you can use. For example, Franklynn Chemin of George Brown College provides one that includes the assessment quiz, detailed explanations and information on how to lead with your strengths. Brad James at University of South Dakota provides one that calculates the results online.

In addition to understanding your own learning style, awareness of other people's preferred style can help you communicate more effectively by adapting to accommodate their learning style. The Swassing Barbe Checklist of Observable Modality Strength Characteristics is useful for understanding the style of others as well as your own.

Compensating when 'their' style is not 'your' style - Once you know your learning style there will still be situations in workplaces and classrooms where the person or media providing the information doesn't use your preferred mode. There are numerous ideas tailored to each style that you can try out and refine available from homeworktips.com:

For Visual learners

For Auditory learners

For Kinesthetic learners

Remember, the VAK model addresses how we receive and remember information. Here are some additional Techniques to Enhance Your Memory.

About the Live and Learn Blog

Why the name Live and Learn? As I was growing up, one of the phrases that adults used whenever things turned out differently than they planned was, "Well, you live and learn". I suppose this was a positive way to bring closure to any minor failures that happened from time to time. To me it was also a reminder of how much we all learn as we go about our daily living. This is probably why I love information, books, sites, blogs and discussions that provide how-to tips or background information for my current interests, challenges or projects.

Photo by shoothead

Whether you are a novice or pro, you can always pick up some new techniques by reading, watching, or discussing relevant information. Curiosity and communication are the jet fuel of learning. So Live and Learn is a blog about communication skills and self-learning that occurs in our daily life - assuming we choose to make it happen.

Who is this blog for? It is aimed at readers who appreciate learning through finding and applying information, by reflecting, and following their curiosity. The goal is to share information related to self-learning, literacy, and communication skills.

What types of posts will be found here? Some posts will highlight reports on literacy in Canada; others will provide tips for building skills to use in the workplace or home. Here are some theoretical example that will give you an idea of the content areas:

• Try this new approach to improve your slide presentations - less is more!
• How you can use the results of recent Canadian literacy surveys
• How blogging can improve your self-learning skills
• How listening is the key to successful negotiations
• How "taking a leap" helped these folks land some amazing life changes

This listing is intended to give you a general idea. Of course the site will evolve based on current trends and posted comments.

I hope you'll join in as we "live and learn".