Tip:Don't Over Using Characters in Your Courses

I've been using Articulate's Storyline for sometime now and was just previewing a course in which I used one of the Illustrated Characters.  I realized, when going through it, that I had changed her facial expression so many times that she started to look a bit manic.

Tip:  These (or any) characters are great to use, but remember if you are expressing to the learner one component of information, try to minimize the changes to poses and facial expressions unless a dramatic change in the "story" is needed. 

You don't want the person's arms up, down, up and smile, frown, angry all in 3 slides.  There are times when it is warranted to drastically change the poses/expressions, but try to keep the character looking as natural as possible.  This goes for the illustrated and photographic characters.

Not so good:

Better:

Comments regarding this post can also be found in the E-Learning Heroes Community Forum.

What Makes Great eLearning?

I sat in and participated last night in the weekly #lrnchat through Twitter. If you haven't yet joined in to listen (read) and talk (write) in a #lrnchat session, you really should join us. Some extremely brilliant minds in the field of elearning (and I use that loosely as it includes social media, sims/games, teaching K-12 and beyond, etc) get together each week 8:30pm (EST) and chat over three questions posed by a moderator.

Question 2 asked to the group last night had to do with "What makes great elearning?" The brainstorm that followed was extremely interesting. I tried to capture the thoughts expressed into a mindmap (list version)(map version). I hope I have done the group justice in the way I grouped their ideas together in the map below. Please feel free to send me comments to add/adjust the image.

If you'd like to see the transcript from last night's chat or for any further information on the series of chats please look to the #Lrnchat Blog.

Guild Looking for Tips for Getting Started With eLearning

Oh how great will this installment be from the eLearning Guild. They are currently compliling a list of the best tips for getting started with elearning. I know we all have some, so please share your thoughts. This will be invaluable to those newly entering this "world" and I have found that the rest of us can always benefit from tips we didn't think of before approaching our next project.

"Most eLearning Guild members work in organizations that have been engaged in e-Learning for some time. In some cases for many years. But there are many organizations out there that are just getting started with e-Learning. Let’s help those organizations get started – and avoid the pit-falls and costly mistakes we made – by giving them our top tips for getting started with e-Learning. To submit your tips, click HERE. " - The eLearning Guild: eLearning Insider

E-Learning by Design, Not by Default (eLearning Guild Online Forum)

E-Learning by Design, Not by Default: An Overview for Setting your e-Learning Strategy - Clark Quinn, Ph.D. Quinnovation (blog)

Today the eLearning Guild began hosting another set of online forums. The opening session was by Clark Quinn of Quinnovation. I enjoy making notes in this "live blogging" manner so that I can refer back to them and I can share them a bit as a review of the presentations.

Clark's presentation was a great start to September's series of online forums. It was an extremely informative session for all levels of users of elearning design and development. He was wonderful at making sure all attendees' questions were addressed. I look forward to catching any presentations he may give in the future.

"We can no longer just learn everything we need at the beginning and hope that it will carry us through the rest of our career lives."

Problems group was facing with elearning:
multilinquistists
distance
resources
time
money
changing regulations
more simulations
competing with small organizations
internationalization
workers coming in with less skills then desired
retiring expertise
motivating learners
growing number of students
access for all learners

Is eLearning a solution or a distraction?
easy to try, but never the be all and end all of every thing

What do participants think eLearning is?
self paced, online
blogs, wikis, rss, courses, websites,
integration of technology into the learning/training process
web based
delivered over the internet/intranet

split between any learning over an electronic means and specifically training/course based

Elearning Myths
is a panacea
will go away soon
is about the technology
is about content
will replace training
is difficult and/or expensive (not with web 2.0 applications)
cheaper (no, used to sell it, but not cheaper - goal is to execute better for the same money)
only for the new generation (no)
if you build it, they will come
if you build it, they will learn (must lead to meaningful change and learning that works, is applied)

"It's not about learning it's about doing. Doing things better and more effectively."

Empowering the organization through information systems.

Trying to achieve:
Integration. Innovation. Execution. Efficiency. Effectiveness. Performance Support. Community.

Strategy:
Step 0:
Tech - hosted or web based conferences
Benefits - broad reach, low downtime, single investment into system
Costs - you tend to get low quality, increased maintenance

Step 1: Improved Instructional Design
Tech - LMS - for tracking, are we getting the ROI we expect (LMS tend to have all the money put into system and non left for content)
Benefits - getting learning that will motivate and involve learners
Costs - improve capabilities, gets over used, is very novice based

Step 2: Performance focus
Tech - portals of resources (policies, procedures, other info)
Benefits - better performance, supports more then novices
Costs - redundant development, hard to search/use (many different ways to search for info by all users)

Step 3: eCommunity
Tech - blogs, wikis, discussion boards, yellow pages
Benefits- supports top performers, captures hidden knowledge (experts can talk, share new knowledge, brainstorm, one level of education supports another)
Costs - needs support, hard to catalyze

Step 4: Greater integration
Tech - CMS (material from others), xml/dita (semantics and tags added to info)
Benefits - decrease overlap, efficiency, silos eliminated between user groups
Costs - organization tends to become coordinated

Step 5: Broader Distribution can be supported by step 4 - making learning mobile
Tech - devices (mobile, cell phones, pdas, etc), media tools
Benefits - trading bandwidth for convenience, listen while driving, learn while waiting, don't need large amounts of paper to take learning with you, Context sensitive - ie: fedex scanning a pkg before handing over,
Cost - redundancy can occur (low bandwidth, higher bandwidth), conversion costs for media

"if you're not measuring it, why use it" don't assume it's perfect from the beginning

Step 6: Performance Ecosystems - Suites of resources so that everyone can work to their best, single place to go for what you need
Tech - competency, content (description), roles (who you are and what you can have access to, or tasks you might handle)
Benefits - unified approach to everyone's efforts
Costs - linking systems throughout and organization as well as the organization

Words people were wondering definitions for:
web 2.0
SMS
ERP
LMS - learning management systems
CMS - content management systems
ILT - Instructor Based Training
WBT - Web based training
CBT - Classroom based training

Participants were 53% at level 0 and 30% level 1, a couple at level 2, 3 and 5

Essential eLearning Elements
-organizational implementation
-some project management to focus, keep scope, find resources, keep schedule
-enlightened Instructional Design
-performance focus (think of supporting full performance not just course content)
-flexibility (adapt to users, new technology)
-technology savvy (know what it is good for, get what you need but don't go overboard)
-good partners/advice (find people who can support your efforts)

Learning
1) present....apply...practice...reflect...present...appy...practice...reflect
2) reference framework...examples...space practice...job aids...communicaiton...reference framework...examples...space practice...job aid....communication

-spacing practice out will promote retention and understanding of material
-reference examples can become job aids that learners can take to the real application
-included self reflection tests for learners to decided if they are ready to move on

"You're not about training/learning, you're abut empowering performance."
"You're not about computers or web, you're about all technology."

Next steps:
-identify your needs as an ID and organization
-assess your readiness
-recruit needed capability
-scan for opportunities
-choose your priorities
-plan your implementation
-execute

How does one use Facebook for learning?

My new e-friend Cammy, suggested to me that she wanted to find a way to use Facebook as a learning tool. Since then I have been thinking about her idea and wondering just how does one use Facebook for learning. So far for me and my friends it has only been, just as intended (I think), for fun. We share photos, news, messages, and miscellaneous nonsense. Mostly nonsense. As for learning from one another on it, so far I've learned several things perhaps I shouldn't post on there and embarrassing photos of you will surface periodically.

I'm sure there could be some seriousness to the network. You certainly can create groups that truly are driven by a purpose and I belong to a couple. I've also come up with the idea that it could possibly be used for online class work by having students connect with one another and using it as an "offline" discussion area for class/group work. When that element of interaction is missing from an online many facilitators try to find a way to compensate for that with discussion boards within the learning platform. I have always found these to be very dry and I lose interest in my fellow classmates quickly. A Facebook network may be a way to get the class to interact more continuously in a fun manner outside of the elearning platform.

I'm open to any other ideas and suggestions for utilizing this particular social network tool.

Do the Australians Have IT!

I was working on my last assignment this week for my current course and every time I searched for information on various topics (course work: limiting multimedia, facilitating communication, student time management, healthy online communities, student increased responsibilities, variety adds appeal, fostering critical thinking, and learning from peers) I kept coming across really great and useful information from all sorts of Australian links.

My curiosity was not piqued wondering why Australia, why do they have so much to share. So I started digging around to see what I could find out.

Australia started printed distance education at a secondary level in 1909 and a primary level in 1914. By 1931 1.5% of all elementary school children we being schooled by correspondence. 6% (17,000 people) of national enrollment in higher education in 1975 was by distance education. "1982 saw that distance education was the fastest growing sector in higher education, with total enrollment of 334,000" (Stacey, 2005, p. 225).

Electronic interaction began in 1951 by the use of two way radios. Teachers would use them as a way to bring interaction to children enrolled in their correspondence courses. Later they continued to expand using audio and video recorders and created a network that combined speaker phones and computers linked together. This connection was called the telematic network.

The Australian government posts that "the IDC estimates that Australia's corporate elearning sector has the largest revenue in the Asia-Pacific (outside Japan) earning over $60 billion 2005-2006.

On Monday, June 18th the Minister of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts announced "That the Australian Government will ensure 99 per cent of the population has access to fast affordable broadband by June 2009...and provide speeds of 12 megabits per second."

Australia Connected is a comprehensive and complete broadband solution for Australia that involves:

• A new national high speed wholesale network : The awarding of a $600 million competitive grant will deliver a mix of fibre optic, ADSL2+ and wireless broadband platforms to rural and regional areas. This rollout has been boosted with an additional $358 million in funding to ensure coverage to 99 per cent of the population;
• A new commercial fibre optic network : Facilitating a fibre network build in cities and larger regional centres via a competitive bids process and subsequent enabling legislation;
• Australian Broadband Guarantee : A safety net that ensures Australians living in the most remote or difficult to reach areas (the remaining one per cent) are entitled to a broadband subsidy of $2750 per household;
• Creation of BroadbandNow: A new one-stop consumer help centre with telephone and web information to assist consumers understand the technology options available to them and provide ready information about how to get connected; and the
• Preservation of the $2 billion Communications Fund : To ensure the funds are protected in perpetuity by legislation for the benefit of regional and rural Australians and to provide for an income stream for future upgrades.

All sounds pretty good to me, but here's some links to some other commentaries on the announcement:

Full Duplex by David Braue Australia Connected ... a political football?

iTWire, Alex Zaharov-Reutt reporting: Australia Connected’ sounds pretty good – now what?

And if you can get your hands on a copy of The Quarterly Review of Distance Education, Volume 6(3), 2005, pp. 253-259 you can read Elizabeth Stacey's Deakin University, Australia) "The History of Distance Education in Australia".

Just started a new online course

I just started another online course. This one in entitled "Facilitating Online Learning". I'm a little surprised to tell you the truth regarding the layout of this entire course. It is being completely presented in a manner I have never seen before through 10 other courses on various platforms. I'm most surprised or taken back by the fact that a course that is about facilitating online courses begins by having the students look through a 103 page study guide.

I'm open to trying to figure this all out, but from my recent studies and information I have collected at a recent conference this almost seems backwards from what is normally expected of online courses. By this I mean that information is normally broken out into several components so that you can quickly get to the info at any given time instead of having to flip through a large document. I am curious to ask why you choose the format that you have instead of individual accessible sections.

Please understand this is not a critique (not on day one) but more so trying to gain knowledge as to the methodology. As I stated this is the first time a course has been presented this way to me and it seems more of a paper based course instead of online info. I have a feeling I'm "reading" too much into all this as the ideas on online collaboration and discussion does represent the new trend in elearning.
I'm curious if anyone else in the class is surprised by the format/layout/documents or if I am the only one that feels a little out of place? It seems completely oxymoronic to teach a course about online facilitating by teaching it with a book.

We'll see what the teacher and students think. I may have put a target on my forehead day one. May be a little harder to get that A+ in this class.