 Well, hey, this is another wrap-up to the collab talk tweet jam here March 2020 and the topic today was developing strategy for digital literacy And joining me is Tracy Tracy. Hello Christian, thanks. Thanks for staying out Well, it's not that late. I mean I'm getting old It's quarter past seven. So it's not that late yet. Not too bad But I but I know this is so this we were just chatting about so this topic actually came but from Conversations, I know this is your your passion you talk on you present on this topic of digital literacy And we had talked about this. I think it's scheduled this back in late December These two guns I try to plan out the topics if in advance And and so the the results of today we had great interaction Strong turn out. I Was great. I mean it's look it's busy that tweet jam gets busy. Okay, you kind of like start reading something and it just runs So yeah, I definitely I want to take something out like in the middle of it I thought why did I not go right to power or to me to put this into a list for me so that I can work through it slower But anyway, yeah, well a nice thing too about tigraphs their sponsorship Not only did provide the stats, but on the last page of their power BI report is every single tweet Oh, that's brilliant. Yeah, so you can so anybody that wants to go do that and I'll share that have the link and stuff That you know with the description here in the video But anybody that wants to go and read through it their own pace every Thread because it could be overwhelming to some people that aren't used to that Yeah, there's a there's a lot that I just didn't get to commenting on and I mean as you said I'm super passionate about this So I'd love to go see the opinion of my peers, you know and the people that I work with every day as well and I see the conferences because It's been an interesting topic for many years for me and the opinions have definitely changed And I definitely think that this covert thing is pretty more Yeah, and that was one of the questions and we'll come back to that and I will say for anybody that if you missed the live Tweet jams these are a monthly activity. They've been going for since January of 2012 I was thinking yesterday. I think in all those years. I think we've only missed maybe three or four months so it's been very consistent and What's great about Twitter is a platform for this is that anybody could get involved with these and After the fact and I in fact, I saw somebody that retweeted a Comment that I made in a tweet jam like a year ago Okay, and and so I responded to their retweet. This was like yesterday or two days ago And so it's great to see that so you can go out after the fact read through the questions and Respond and tigraph is still for the next 24 hours or so They're still capturing all that data and they apply to the staff That's good to know because I wouldn't find a pouring myself a glass of wine after this and And actually just taking a moment and scrolling through there. I'm just so curious to see what everyone's had to say Yeah, please do so. Well, let's jump in so question number one was how does your organization define digital literacy? And what does it mean to you personally? Are you asking me that yeah, so I'm putting you on the spot as we go through cutting your thoughts and Yeah, that's all good. So so firstly remember that my organization just consists of me and a sheep called brah So so my reference would be the clients that I'm working with that. I am helping with this So the the way that I've approached this for many years because PC literacy used to be something that's very well known and Assumed that everyone is PC literate But for me digital literacy has always been that little bit of extra and how technology has evolved It's added more to that but then and I did share that some way in the future that The eight pillars of digital literacy and I know that me and you are very aligned on those Those are methodologies that we use So the eight pillars is something that I've aligned to which which I suppose is considered soft skills And I think we need to like just boats and have that renamed Yeah, that doesn't make sense anymore No, it doesn't at all But I mean that just that talks about not just the technology because I think PC literacy tends to talk about this the technology side of it where digital literacy I think is more applying that skill with technology and Achieving more so collaboration and creation of content curation of content creativity Etc. So I think the ones that the physical skill. No one is the application of it and being more efficient. I know that so we had So Melissa sassy joining from IBM as well. And so she shared a link To the methodology that she uses. I didn't have a chance to go take a look at it yet, but Yeah, so I mean there are a lot of tools that are out there so for even for organizations that Are beginning to think about this like there are tons of resources that are out there But I would say start with following Tracy follow Melissa Shadeed is another great person mr. Shadeed on Twitter another great person who You know the this this topic is just kind of built into the work that he does Within his community as well. They're in the Baltimore area So it's a great to take a look at Question two was what level of education and training does your organization provide today and what have been the outcomes? So again, you and I are both independence our little businesses One or yours is 1.5 if you include Brahm But he must promise probably brings up the digital literacy of my company By 75% yes, so I mean with the clients that we work with most actively You know, of course, we both have had this past experiences past organizations So what is kind of the norm that you see in organizations for what they provide? I Think first I'll answer this from From customers that I've not dealt with so I definitely don't want to say they don't have anything when I've already started dealing with them Because then they obviously have something in place But my engagement normally with your customers and what I see out in the market is that there isn't much of that that exists They just don't they're not focusing on them on that level of education or literacy It's it's also it's just way up They they kind of start with things like Developing things and SharePoints and deploying teams and it's always been a technical focus So that bottom layer is just always been missing in companies And I think it's because we assume we just assume that all users know and they just don't train them I mean, I've had a CIO tell me that everyone in these companies PC literates And I'll say that I would love to do a case study with them. I want to know how they Measure that how do they know that right skills are and and they say to me that That there's a form that you fill in when you apply for a job at that company. There's a tick box It says you got to be PC literates, and I'm like Yeah, that's like a job to metrics. It's like well, they've logged in this month. They've adopted, you know Yeah, so I don't think so apart from companies that I think look I Consights everyone but a lot of companies that I come across and year of and deal with Is just not focusing on that and they making mistakes because of it, but they're all waking up to it So so a lot of companies that's taken on moving to office 365 or cloud technology You suddenly realize that there's something missing in the magic pudding You know, they they kind of tried it now for two or three years It normally kicks in after two years and they say, you know, we've got consumption But we don't understand what's going wrong, you know, and then that's when I kind of get involved So I don't think it's where it should be, but I definitely think that this This opportunity for improvement that we're finding ourselves in at the moment is going to change that well It needs to have an impact on the culture and first thing I thought of with this question So I've experienced with two companies very experienced this specific issue where we had monthly or quarterly Hours that we were, you know, given as employees for training and to go in and basically like it would go sign up for classes through the the you know employee education program and yet there was a cultural penalty through managers and how it was viewed if you Utilized those resources so they were set aside it was in our Commitments and yet if we use them, it's like why are you wasting time? We got so much going on it was, you know So culturally there, you know, it was looked down upon if you went and utilized those credits No, I mean, I think you're incredibly fortunate to have been in a company where that was even made available But a lot of companies don't have that Companies again all waking up to the growth mindset and saying that people should go for it I think a challenge for that though is is that if you make those things available a lot of people just won't do it So that is where why and I know a lot of people get up to me But that's why I believe that certain levels of training should be compulsory and I just don't take no for a answer Your company sometimes say no no trace. We're not gonna do it like that in a year or late till they'll say Okay, let's revisit that we think we need to do that So so that's a challenge people don't know that they need the training so they won't go for it And that's why campaigns are important But then also if if we look at that if we say what are they providing today and what are the positive outcomes if they do provide it So if I then look at the other side of the coin companies that I have been dealing with where we've built these programs and I Think we just getting like unbelievable office 365 adoption when we fix the basics first and a silly example So how many people they have come to you know, I'm talking like really I've got a lot be careful because they start at the start of the day in a call with me where he called people like me normal people As opposed to developers and I nearly just So Yeah, you're right But so let's take let's let's take people that are not focused on technology Okay, it tends to be a pain to just get involved it So they start using teams of how many of those people complain that they can't find their stuff again We hear it all the time. It's so messy. I can't find my stuff. There's too just too much of it Etc. Etc. So teams gets blamed for it. I mean, I saw one of the tweets someone said something about Digital literacy puts focus on the issues we have with UX and I don't agree with that at all I don't think it's got anything to do with you it's but The thing is imagine that user had gone through basic training where they were taught to search better Then they wouldn't have that problem in teams. So the problem they Experiencing in Microsoft teams has actually got nothing to do with Microsoft teams It's because they don't have the basic skill that a lot of us is over developed over the years I mean most users are still not searching they navigate you well that we're only That's why I passed that I think that's a good segue into question three Which is what do you consider the most effective training mediums and why? Because Think right now Things have changed. Okay, so so there's preferred methods and then there's we're gonna do right now We can do right now until we can do other things. Okay, when I get involved in companies They normally to either save money or to do it faster They'll ask me to rather like go straight in there and rather deliver much bigger groups online training. Okay, so And then record it so people can watch it afterwards and I'm not you wasting your time Someone who's not digitally literate or not efficient or not comfortable with technology does not go and watch a video afterwards They just they do afraid of technology and they don't even know it I mean, this is something that they don't even realize they're afraid of because we have four years put people in little boxes for years So let's say I'm the normal person you the developer, right? So you're the IT person So for years in the company, I'm seen as no, no, I'm not IT. I don't get those things You know, I just I capture invoices or I manage the HR or the payroll or something and no, no I'm not a IT person. So for years, we've put people in boxes like that And sadly for years IT has put people on boxes like that. It made them feel Whatever, okay inadequate so so now those people have this little bolt-in in the background They don't even realize that they resistant towards tech. So now you're giving them tech to train them That doesn't work. So it's like imagine this imagine going to it for luck For therapy, okay, and they they send you a link, you know They send you and your wife or you and your kids or whatever therapy we need they send your link with online video to watch I mean, how much do you think that's gonna work? So so tech therapy is exactly the same to to fix that thing That's broken right in the beginning and I'm talking about the way before I get to office 365 I'm talking about windows and basic productivity. That's therapy for me It's not normal training and there's a there's a way that you've got to deal with people to break down that fear of the Hive of technology and after that I can send them any link to now watch a video I made the comment that I think which becks us up to that about You know when you talk about digital transformation of an organization and whatever that big that overused term means But I look at that as you know, so fundamentally people need to understand it's not about the technology specifically But it is about It's about going in and understanding your role and what the business need is and it's a combination of people process and technology To do more to to be more and and so there's plenty of people that will go in and be like and train up on Whatever the latest features are without ever making the connection with okay now. How do I do more create more? Move this faster Collaborate better. How does this actually change the way that I work and improve the overall business? And so I think more thought needs to be given to that and it needs to be better explained to the technical or non-technical Here's what we're doing. Here's how it changes the culture of the organization our roles and responsibilities the the business processes that we own and Again can be very non-technical, but involve basic things. I mean if you think of even The incremental improvements to the office suite of productivity tools There's so many cool little features there that you know when I do my productivity tips webinars with Tom Duff And people are if we just think of it is this you know, this has been out for a year And it's a cool little thing. I think I'll share this and people are like, oh my gosh That changes my world Wow Even even techies like us say that Christian. That's the difference is that we kind of like think it's only some people that Benefit and it's not right a lot of people are missing things that can really help their lives Yeah, I always say with those productivity tips if I can just change one life That's all I want to do is change one life each month and then measure that so I can you know So question for what do you consider the greatest barrier to user adoption of cloud technologies I've always and I didn't even answer it there, but there's a there's like obviously I mean I've spoken at many conferences about this and done many blog articles and that's a greatest barrier to user adoption I've always said is the PC that stands right in front of the user whether it's connected or not It's got nothing to do with the apps that it connects to or the servers or cloud technologies It's it's that PC that stops everything and their ability to be efficient on that PC because that's the gateway into everything And if there's a blocker on the PC that they use every day Then whatever they reach out to and that's extended more bonds is going to be a challenge So that's one of the things again brings me back to PC literacy and digital literacy PC literacy is the first step and then making it bigger into digital literacy The second thing that luck is an unbelievable frustration from our kids. So mad about this I cannot believe and I hope people watch this and I get mad at me I cannot believe that sea levels certain boardrooms and sign off their fancy little Mont Blanc pens and Millions of budgets for new technology and then they turn around and they don't use it You need to use technology and lead by example. You're just being a manager. We don't need managers We need leaders so people will not adopt technologies if they leaders and their managers don't Don't use that as well and show that it helps them be more efficient So I'm so tired of that of managers are not using the technology I just posted last night an article on getting a sea level Buy-in and it's it's not about, you know, hey sign the check so I could go buy the technology It's about buy into what I'm actually doing this again digital transformation this business process improvement Understand what it is and and agree with me and provide feedback so we can refine this and make it better Don't just sign a dumb a dumb check. I don't want dumb money Just I I want to actually improve how we're doing business Yeah, I would throw into this question about the greatest barrier to user adoption somebody mentioned connectivity and shared of global access to the internet I mean that continues to be I think something for our time of Getting the world connected and making sure that you know, they're they're not having our old 34k modem type experience that it's a Fast connection But I think that that continues to be in some parts of the world a barrier to adoption as well I just want to add something to that because you know what we all want that magic pole That's so it's so easy to grab and so all my network, you know, because it becomes an excuse as well so for those who doesn't know me Tracy is setting impetoria right now in South Africa and The previous so believe it or not tomorrow is eight years since my business is registered So the previous approximately Seven and a half years because it's been about a half a year. Maybe that I've got fiber. So the previous years I had an upload and download average speed of between point five and one and I did webinars and I recorded videos and other teams calls. So So Terrible though and I buffered and it was horrible sometimes, you know, we cut out But but sometimes we've got also except where we are and if we inform users enough of what to do when something doesn't work Well, or how to get over that or hey, did you know? Maybe just switch your audio or your video off because they know the lines a bit better But most users don't even know that so we've got to also be very careful because some of you guys are sharing stats For your darling upload speeds, which are a thousand times faster than the speeds I used to work on So that's how scary it is But it can be done if you inform people well enough and you give them enough information and tools They can work around it. So we've got to be very careful that that doesn't become a thing as well because of that I'm the perfect proof to show you that you can work on some of the worst networks But you do need network you can't go without well and thankfully I mean the technology continues to improve and and the Edge devices and edge services and other things are going to really help improve and that's why you have like, you know huge portions of Africa that where the mobile networks are Faster than any kind of regular plug-in-the-wall internet service And and so the the mobile technologies have gotten so much better as well So question five Do the technologies we use today support or promote digital literacy and what can be improved? So I think that kind of like in the beginning of my little bandwagon that I jumped on for digital literacy I had this Epiphany one day and of course it wasn't that amazing I just didn't realize it before is that that eight pillars that that Infographic that I always share is I took those eight pillars and just to give you an idea quick So it's curation of content collaboration creativity social and something something Communication, etc. I can't remember now. Yeah, and I realized that if I took all the office 365 apps But not just office 365 Microsoft 365 Azure all of those I could take each of those little icons and I could align it to some of those and they also Duplicate it. So in a way, let's take PowerPoint for example PowerPoint helps me be more creative It helps me curate content that helps me create content and these days with co-authoring up and collaborating things on those as well So office 365 definitely became tools that are used to build digital literacy on I do think that the challenge is the one feeds off the other one So without a little bit of digital literacy, you're not gonna adopt office 365 And then office 365 can't help you be better digital literacy. So again, that brings me back to the PC literacy basics I think it's the PC literacy basics is in place Then office 365 brings the level in which it makes me digitally literate if that makes sense. So it definitely does And so question six was how is the importance of digital literacy changing during these unprecedented times? And I know you talked a little bit about it Now I just gonna say that you know, I mean obviously it's forcing a lot of organizations that have been You know culturally Unwilling to to look at this issue. I mean I it's it's funny I was talking last night to somebody who has said like I've been involved with collaboration technology since the late 1990s and I was in the IBM space I worked in the product bicycle management product data management PLM PDM space and Project portfolio management as that wing of collaboration Which is how I found my way into the share point in office 365 was through these PLM PDM and project management Technologies with all of those things All of those companies Refused to let people work from home. It was crazy We're building technology to allow to empower remote workers and yet those companies largely would not let us work from home and And and how how many I mean you hear this constantly or heard prior to the COVID-19 quarantines global quarantine And so this I have to believe when we get through this because we will get through this that it will permanent impact on Those organizations it's because it's not like we just rebound back to where we were The organizations will still have to think about how do we keep the social distancing do we need to have people on site? Do we need to send people to these in person events? Yes, some of that still needs to happen But we're gonna do all of those things more differently. I always think it also about organizations There's so many over the last few years That have slowly moved people To remote because their roles can be done remotely and it then drives down a lot of those operational costs a lot of the facilities costs And so it is a more efficient A more effective way to do business for a lot of companies I am Man a person's always got to be careful when you say in my country because i'm pretty sure it happens everywhere, you know So something i'm very sad for the last couple of weeks. I've seen a lot of companies send people home without pay I've seen companies send people home and take their leaves So even though South africa is on a 21 day like super bad hectic lockdown I can't even go for a walk. I wish I had a dog, which I still couldn't take for a walk other way I have to say that's the upside to this whole thing is that here in the like the humane society And if the like dogs and there's a dog and cat shortage people went in knowing they've been locked in and went and adopted pets Which is really cool. Oh, really? Well, see we're not even allowed to so they have fines out already You're only allowed to go to the shop and buy essentials and come back. We're not even allowed to walk around in our complex So um, but anyway, besides the point is that um companies are sending people home Um, they're taking their leaves. Some of them are reducing their salaries Those people can work from home. The company's culture is just not ready for it So there's a lot of those people who can physically continue working from home because it's not like the company completely stops Um, but they're just not trusting them a lot of companies are not trusting people to work from home And you're right. This is going to have a massive impact on them But uh, but how digital literacy? I mean, this is just an example again. He has a very silly example to think about So here's me. I'm working from home for the first time in my office at work I had a big extra screen, right? So I'd have my um little laptop that I plug in there And uh, I've got my apps that just stays in the right places all the time You know it set that up once excels always there on the big screen and my emails always on a small screen And now I get home and I've got one screen You know that no most people don't even use the alt tab to toggle between screens Most people don't even know they can use a windows arrow to split screens You know frustrating that is for them Because suddenly they think that they limited because they don't have the extra screen because they never had the basics And that's how digital literacy is going to impact this as people are going to be slower Um, because it is different to work remotely. You have to learn, you know, this we've done this for years though So we've learned to work on aeroplanes and I don't know Of our labs, but it's different. So it's going to have a massive impact I agreed it's uh, you know, I both of those things alt tabbing and then the uh, the the windows arrow You know splitting my screen things that I use on a daily basis Like I was salivating over somebody sent a picture of one of those Extra wide like you get three full You know apps open on this extra wide screen. I'm like I need two or three of those Yeah I don't have the extra wide one but the screen that I'm looking at right now is big enough to do Three apps next to each other like a little bit narrower But three and then they I've got a screen that goes to and they have got a computer that I can have a single screen So I can at any time have six screens pretty much But but again people need to learn how to I mean I I walk past people in offices Christian and they'll have the same stuff open on both screens and I'll say why are you doing that? I'm going to take your screen away and give it to the car god Right all right idea makes a tea because what a waste but it is never shown them They've never shown them how to split screens I'm saying it. I don't just need to blame it. I just mean we assume So we've given someone a computer screen on they just plug it in every day and there's big excel and there's small excel That's what happens and it's unfair because uh, we assume and then we laugh at them. We go like For Mary in HR, you know, she doesn't know how to split screens. I'm like, you're right Like any of us got born with that skill, but anyway Well, the final question Tracy So for organization building their digital literacy literacy strategies, what three things should they consider? So I'm training training training But um, so the first thing is is that you need to dedicate dedicate a team for this This whole thing we like where you walk into it and say hey, Peter Can you like just spend 10 minutes a day and make sure that that stuff happens doesn't work like that I mean, you gotta have a dedicated person or team of people that that looks after digital literacy that looks after change management That looks after training and can't be an afterthought anymore. I just I don't understand why it's not being taken serious Um, then everyone should have basic training. I'm sorry. It's compulsory. I don't care I don't give a company. So I get incredible results because I force it Okay, and then you have to document and communicate your digital strategy And that doesn't happen in most of the companies that I get involved in so they've decided to go cloud They've decided to this no one knows they think that's poor Peter in it's new little project because he plays golf with someone who sells Microsoft because that's what anyone thinks They don't understand that the technology supports the company's digital and strategic objectives So so that doesn't get communicated. I think those are those three things are very important Well, two two things that I would add on to that and I know you agree with both these things I think to writing on the back of that of the communication strategy If you the leadership team makes that kind of reporting of that information Because there's data points There's things that you can go and monitor and measure around that activity around adoption and engagement And how many people have completed the training? You can do skills assessments around certain basic things I'm a big fan of of doing kind of the mixed media of certain amount of You know on-demand training in person training Friday Luncheon learns where people are sharing what they've developed and you know built out on their own and And kind of build that level of advocacy and evangelism inside of an organization people are helping each other And you can so measure all those things talk about those make that part of the discussion that the leadership team has The other thing I would throw on that is from the on the technology side is Having a strong change management methodology in place is so critical because this technology is rapidly Evolving innovating new things that are coming out weekly sometimes several times a week We're struggling to keep up sometimes and what is this thing? Are we hear about something months in advance? But don't see it reach our tenant until months later and we've forgotten about it What is this thing and and what do I need to tell my end users and and all those kinds of things so Having that change management methodology just have that again part of your culture Is going to be critical because organizations that are able to adapt Quickly to change are going to have a distinct competitive advantage over those that can't change Absolutely I think I'd like to definitely add some as well there and because I take the change management side so serious I mean it was have you got any idea how many times I've walked into meetings where people say trace so So you can add the fluffy stuff for us Fluffy stuff. Oh my god, I don't get that but anyway, but look at the fluffy stuff now Now everyone wants the fluffy stuff done But um, the productivity score It's not in preview It's an unbelievable tool to help people that are new to this to to kind of see What what the measurements are how people are collaborating and things like that And then also it gives you kind of some actions and some reading mats on how to correct that So I think that's a pretty cool tool and I also think very important to get your facts right There's a big difference between consumption and adoption So watching those dashboards and saying oh 95 percent of my users on one drive That means nothing That's like talking about everyone in the world that has driver's licenses that should not be driving Okay, so please don't make that mistake make very sure that your track can measure the right things and like you said, um, also the methodology is very important, but we've got to be very careful People shouldn't just be change management methodologies. I want those people to be experts on office 365 Those things have become merged for me. It can't be separate roles anymore You can't just be a change management person anymore if you don't understand the technology So that's that's a personal opinion, but I'll stick to it. Right well, and one other thing just made me think too, um, uh, is the um, I'm scrolling down to find it here, uh, if I had it I must be a ways back. Um, but is uh Yeah, it's going and building out a a portal of these resources Microsoft has been so great about creating a lot of these training resources and so to go and actually, uh, create have like, uh, you know, if you have SharePoint If you have an internet in place and building a communication site out with a lot of these assets And I'm a big fan of, you know, in context training and content Uh, you know, so it's relevant to what you're doing where you are within the environment And people are more likely to read through that, you know, when they're we're looking for it Like I was joking. Somebody said, does it anybody read the manuals anymore? And I responded and said I never read the manuals. I go search for youtube tutorials, you know And uh, man, that's the reality is that you need to serve up content that makes the different You know information consumption models and microsoft when you're talking about microsoft technology microsoft is doing a great job at producing content To help support the adoption and training So, um, I think the last one and maybe you can throw a resource in there. Maybe you can just go and look at it Microsoft, I don't know how long ago. Um, they've had a digital literacy course for quite a couple of years And I got quite out there and I see that made some changes to it So that might be again, I haven't gone through it to say that oh, it's hundreds or it will work or it won't work But um, there's an amazing resources out there that can help people And uh, if you go and search for the microsoft The bonnage map ways But it's so that's my that's the learning pathways is the site Yeah, the site collection that you can deploy and then of course you can go and add the adoption resources to that Have you seen that microsoft teams flipbook? I mean that thing is so sexy. I promise that thing is so sexy It's unbelievable I add them as tabs on my teams and things so people There's an unbelievable amount of resources out there. It's just about bringing it all together I think many people and it makes me mad. Okay, many people will sit back and say Why is microsoft not like spoon feeding us with what we need to know? And i'm like look at you Next week you're gonna go out fighting again because you don't have a choice and now you want a choice You know, they're gonna give you the tools you've got to make it work for you But all that starts out there unbelievable resources. So there's tons of it out there Well, tracy really appreciate your time today and and help summarize this It's fun. It's amazing for those that haven't participated in one of the collab talk tweet jams is that So this is just two people sitting and talking about these seven questions We had like 50 people on there Hundreds of tweets that went by we generally We usually have like Two or three million impressions in the one hour sessions that we have Just so yeah, i'm also going to go back through and what other people Comment it on and follow links and things that people shared and reach out for follow-up questions. So Thank you so much for your time today or this evening for you and uh, we'll catch you on the next one Thanks so much christian already enjoyed talk to you later