» [T.E.L.L. April Summary] Let the Net Work: Harnessing the power of networks to solve real world problems

The following post was contributed by Amanda Coolidge, RRU.

This month’s T.E.L.L. was led by Clint Lalonde, Manager of Learning Technologies at Royal Roads University. The title of the presentation was “Let the Net Work: Harnessing the power of networks to solve real world problems”.
Clint gave a fascinating talk on the network effect and how the rise of social networks has given us a new ability to create and communicate with large networks of people. He began by describing the classic network example of the telephone. If you have one telephone it isn’t useful, but if you have more than one telephone you have something useful, something to contact another. There is now value placed on connection. However, with all of the connection there is more congestion and lots of information floating around, so the key is to become a conscious participant of WHO you connect with.
The overall theme of Clint’s message is that networks are good; everyone should have one, but use it with intent. To prove his message, Clint provided three different examples of the network effect and how by creating an intentional network questions were answered, theories were solved, and student work was presented to a wider audience. The three stories were absolutely inspiring and truly do reiterate the POWER of the network effect.
Take some time to listen to the recording and review Clint’s slides.