Look no more for a great list of Open Source tools

Wow, Inge de Waard was inspired by Software Freedom Day on 20 September and has posted an incredible list of open source tools that offer great reliability and flexibility. Please look to her posting when you are seeking software for:

• Graphics
• Multimedia
• Supporting software
• Internet
• Office
• Relaxation

Thanks Inge for compiling such an extensive list.

SL Question - How do you start sending staff into Second Life for training?

I certainly haven't got all the Second Life lingo yet, but I'll try to pose my question here anyway. I was looking at a virtual conference in Second Life coming up that had some health care topics involved. Thinking about this I thought neat, I could register and give it a try to see what was covered and how they even do a conference in SL.

I then wondered though, if I wanted to create/send coworkers into SL for a virtual experience how would that be done. I realize it would take some time to get land and create my area (Sim? is that right?), but then what. Would you just tell your people to show up? I'm thinking not. It takes some time to get use to the environment, moving and looking around, inventory, chatting, etc. This is not to mention the billion hours (oh yes I mean billion) spent on creating and changing the appearance of your avatar.

I'm curious to find out how one would get their staff started into SL and how long it takes. Given you've already set up the area. Would you create 5-10 random avatars that staff could use to start with? Would you let them create their own avatars? Anyone interested in responding I'd be grateful. I'm not going there yet, but am quite curious.

Currently sitting in on another online forum. Posting from phone.
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ARRR Matey, Did Ye Know It's Talk Like a Pirate Day

Just incase you haven't heard the new yet. It is indeed talk like a pirate day.

Find tons of booty (treasure) here:

http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=xx-pirate

http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html

http://www.yarr.org.uk/talk/ (even has pirate ring tones...lol)

Pirate News Around the World

Swaggy: a scurvy cur's ship what ye be intendin' to loot!
Keelhaul: a truly vicious punishment where a scurvy dog be tied to a rope and dragged along the barnacle-encrusted bottom of a ship. They not be survivin' this. (ha, why does this make me laugh)

Tried REAL live blogging today - thoughts on CoverItLive

I just tried using CoverItLive for the last online session I just attended through the eLearning Guild. You can see the results here of this blogging session and here for the session just prior to it where I did my normal "note taking" method.

Brent Schlenker passed me along to it earlier today through his blog and well I just had to give it a try it looked so neat.

It is definitely a really neat tool. It was simple to start using and easy to keep using through the session. There were however a couple of things that stuck me as I was using the tool.

I have a bit of a science background to me, in that is was my primary studies through high school and the beginning academic career. There is one thing that taking a lot of science and geography courses do for a student and that is ridiculous note taking. As I was using CoverItLive during the last session, the majority of the session was a demonstration and there weren't really notes to take. Therefore, my live blogging post that you can look at has almost a 30 minute gap and you can tell that as a reader because the tool gives you a time line of published entries. (also a neat feature)

Something else that struck me is that once I start then what....I unfortunately don't have the option of closing my door and concentrating on the online sessions. They occur during my work hours and I need to be available for all the drop-ins that happen (luckily I screen calls and emails though). So with my normal method if I get really distracted or pulled away no one ever knows. I just don't post the notes. If I start this type of live blogging, then anyone who sees I start and suddenly have to stop might wonder.....hmmmm what happened.

I think therefore, it would be more useful if you can concentrate fully and if you can maintain continuity through the time you are using the tool.

Another feature of my normal note taking that I like is that because the text I enter is just like any other post all the text is searchable. If I can't remember the speaker (ie: Tony Karrer), but only remember that he mentioned maps during his presentation and I wrote about it, then "maps" becomes a searchable word as does the presenter.

If you look at my posting trying out CoverItLive I put in one line that says "test post". A search for this didn't come up. Perhaps I am unclear on how to search for it though.

I did think of another great use for it though and will put it forward to someone here (just have to figure out who). What a great way to take minutes during a meeting? I have so many colleagues here at work that hate minute taking, because they have to take the minutes, then go to their office and type them and then edit, etc. etc. This would capture everything that is happening as it happens, would record the main points, and anyone who couldn't make it to the meeting could at least watch and see what was going on. One blog for each committee, each using CoverItLive to capture the notes.

There are additional advance features for a price so perhaps some of my queries are addressed there, but it was definitely fun and easy to use. I suggest trying it at least once.

Wink in a Wiki (eLearning Guild Online Forum)

eLearning 2.0 - an Introduction to the Revolution (eLearning Guild Online Forum)

Presented by: Tony Karrer, Tech Empower, Inc.

NOTE:....check out Brent Schlenker's "Cover It Live" version of this forum.

Various 2.0 tools & use by participants in this session (110+)
Social bookmarking 43% know what it is, but....
RSS Readers 38% don't use one
Blogging - 65% Read Blogs
Wikis - 40% read wikis, 37% using a wiki

Tony shared a great example of his son looking up information on the California Gold rush. Starting with a text book and encyclopedia he found one or 2 paragraphs. Then with an internet search found a wiki entry. Then using that entry was able to find a few more terms to better search for more information. He then found a site with historical maps. Using one particular (electronic version) historical map that had text at the bottom directed specifically to miners at the time of the gold rush, he was able to discover there was a 4th route that miners used to get to California. Using this new information he went back to the wiki and entered in the new information into the wiki page. The next day someone came in and respelled a word and changed some basic formatting, but that piece of information is now still added to the wiki information page.

REMEMBER WHEN....you had to use a card catalogue and micro fiche reader to find information....lol.

Note taking.....helps thinking through the structure of what you are learning and listening to.

However, notes on paper and notes on laptops are quite different.

There are now over a trillion pages that Google is tracking and it is perhaps more important to figure out how to access it then remembering all of it.

How do we handle these challenges?
3000 new books published every day
2.7 trillion emails sent every day
175000 new blogs are created every day

New information doubles every year, 2015 it will double every week.

New information triggers an reaction that is slightly euphoric, but too many interuptions and too much information can make one feel completely overloaded and over whelmed.

We are not adapting to all this information overload very well....
(information retrieval via web - 2002)

Most people today think they are fairly adept at searching and learning.
Over time though if you don't keep up to date you slow down and lose how quickly you can.

Over 50 years old retain better phone numbers, under 30 only 40% because they use different devices to remember.

(ie: perhaps same as spell check, spelling/txting is getting worse)

(ie: ~ = approximately, Google gave up on people using this in their searches [not everyone remembers/knows what it is] and have programmed it into the background to assist in searching)

Remember Linkedin for building your networks and for looking for resources of people that know about the topic you are interested in. Great search features.

Learning and Work are inseparable for knowledge workers.

eLearning 1.0 is very formal
- needs are common
- content is known, understood, stable content,
- hits large audience
- examples - orientation, compliance, skills

eLearning 2.0 is informal, more collaborative, based on the learner
(social media tools help shift this and assist this learning)
- unique needs

Common eLearning 2.0 Scenarios
- alongside formal learning
- blogs used to answer classroom lessons with blogs
- wikis as collaborative learning tools (group projects)
- editable reference materials (wikis)
- product info
- processes
- scenarios
- faqs
- reference guides/glossary
- experience capturing
- new-hire blogs
- lab or project notebooks
- RSS readers - steady content flow inside and outside of organization
Roles of a Learning Professional in and eLearning 2.0 World

Same New
- analyst - Tool integrator/opportunity creator,
- desinger -practice leader,
- skill builder - content creator
- analyst & coach

Check out www.jingproject.com

People driving 2.0 changes
Most eLearning Guild members are reporting to the eLearning Guild that they are are the people in their organizations that understand the benefits of the 2.0 tools and are helping to drive the adoption. (least executive management)

Barriers
27% of EG members reported they can't get view YouTube, 8% can't view LinkedIn, 3% can't view wikipedia, 28% can't view Facebook

36.6% stated that their organizations are not preparing workers on using Web 2.0 approaches

Moderating Blogs
Think about perhaps uing Blog Ambassadors, or volunteers, or self-moderate by users.

TripAdvisor is Donating $1mil to 1 of 5 Global Charities - Please Vote

More Than Footprints Campaign
"TripAdvisor will donate a total of $1 million, allocated evenly among the Charities, as determined by the percentage of total votes that each charity receives during the Promotion Period. Each charity will receive a minimum donation of $50,000. The donation amount for each charity will be announced at http://www.tripadvisor.com/, and all other participating TripAdvisor domains, on or about November 12, 2008. "

Looking for a definition & explanation of the term LMS Roles

We, along with some colleagues implementing the same LMS at different organizations are having difficulty wrapping our heads around the term ROLES. We tried to no avail to get the term dropped or changed to something that makes more sense to our internal educational lingo.

I believe the term Roles is a common LMS term from some discussions I've had with various people, but it is not a common term within our hospital learning environment. I'm curious if someone can share a good definition or explanation that we could share with our learners, educators, and managers.

Our understanding of a Role is "a set of courses (that may include certificate(s) with one/many courses within them as well) that are required to be taken by the staff assigned the role".

Is that true? Is there a better way to explain this terminology? We use the role synonymously with job title and this is perhaps where we need to redesign our thoughts. (previous post)

Organization Structure? We need that?

Once again the LMS haunts me night and day. I should have bought stocks in Advil. Looking back at the implementation process and how poorly it has progressed is very much due to the fact that we do not have an HR system that properly or even semi-adequately has any organizational structure.

Each staff member is only linked by the department budget that pays for them. It is entirely a payroll system and now that we are finally moving forward with the LMS and looking forward to online performance systems and talent management systems; my little "wait did you guys think about...." is rearing its ugly head again and again. We have no system currently that displays which staff report to which manager, manager to director, director to VP. This can be tracked through many different systems, but this is completely impractical for any other usage.

The task has been placed onto the shoulders of one of our IT staff and a person in HR. I'm crossing my fingers very tightly that they can solve this issue quickly and simply as I don't want to have to map how our 2600 employees report.

I Love the World & Discovery Channel

...and I don't care who knows it. If I could lock myself in a room and just watch the Discovery Channel and National Geographic all day, I'd be a happy gal.

My friend jokes that they are my "nerd channels". I just don't care. I love watching them and learning all they offer. I saw this commerical today on Discovery and it just made me smile. I hope it makes you smile a bit too and be as intrigued about the world around you as I hope I am.

Discovering Your Brand

I saw that Christy Tucker was working through Michele Martin’s Web 2.0 Wednesday task to discover what was her personal brand. I loved the word cloud she showed using Wordle so I too gave it a try.

Michele suggests that the top 5 words should give you a picture into what brand you are portraying and to think about if it is truly what you want to concentrate on.

Mine seems to be LMS, Learning, Know, and Training. I know that LMS has been my focus over the last year and is the subject of many of my posts, but it is not because I want to be branded as such. This is just my primary concern currently and therefore the item that I post the most about and look for feedback on from peers.

Can a word cloud truly project your brand? Perhaps, it certainly would reveal the focus of your blog. Cnn's cloud currently looks like this (http://www.cnn.com/)

This wordcloud wouldn't surprise anyone given the current news. I think the use of a cloud definitely can help a blogger to pinpoint the subjects they are posting on, but you will need to discern if you are looking at your current focus or your brand and are you content with either.

Learning Styles a Myth

I saw this on Brent Schlenker's post who got it from Clive Sheppard who got it from Stephen Downes and wanted to place it here purely for my own future reference. Please refer to their posts for more thoughts/comments.



I love that Brent pointed out that the video states the myth exists because we all believe that it does. I was just asked to help a department out here with their training/teaching for adult patients and they wanted to know about learning styles & prinicples. I really think I need to reconsider this one and a whole new approach.

Reflections, Light, How does it work? - A Science Question for Anyone Who Can Answer

At a recent party my God-father, sister, and I were amazed at the questions that his grandson was asking about the world around him. Such as "Why can I see through the window, but not put my hand through it?" Big question for an 11 year old.

My sister then came up with:

When sitting on a train, bus, etc. I can look in the window that I am
sitting directly beside (on an angle) and I can see not (only) the reflection of
what is across the train from me, but I can see a reflection of what/who is
sitting in front of me even if they are several seats ahead. How does this
happen or how can it be explained? A simple version of this is if I hold a
small mirror right beside my right eye and something in my left hand, I can
extend my left almost to arms length and still see the reflection of the item in
the mirror. How does it reflect back when it is so far forward of the mirror?

I've emailed this to Bob McDonald, host of CBC's Quirks & Quarks. I'm hoping I get an answer from him or any one else that cares to answer. Things that keep me up at night.....lol.

Trying to get my LMS vendor to do what I want

So I have a meeting in 10 minutes with my LMS vendor to discuss our next steps in preparing for our pilot and ultimately our launch. However, I just sent them a list of about 20 tweaks I want done to the user end of the system to make it more friendly and easy to use.

I know that if it doesn't make sense from the start, why would the staff want to go back and use it again. Items like date/time/location of a course, I would have thought would have been listed clearly for the learner. Course descriptions should be precise and easy to navigate through. Mini-ads not long paragraphs. Icons for quick reference are in some places, but not used through out. Etc. Etc. Etc.

I got caught up looking at one aspect for the user and then found a billion other things that need changes. Now I need to go back with a fine tooth comb for the administrator, managers, and educators/SMEs.

Ugg!!!! This does end doesn't it?

Naming your LMS - Follow-up

I recently posted a question about the importance of naming your LMS. Coincidentally a day or two previously on the eLearning Guild's forum someone asked the same question.

Here are a few of the comments I received and a few from various Guild members:

• "Do the majority of customers actually care what the site is called or are they there to access their learning and look for resources? Would marketing for the LMS not be just marketing for the LMS regardless of name? After all, its about what you put on the site, the content and the ease of use, not what its called. Whilst a brand is important, does the brand have to be tied to a trendy/cringeworthy acronym?"
• "I think that calling it your "LMS" may not be the best idea. Does the average person (outside HR or training) know the term LMS? Calling it a "Learning Management System" goes a little further. If someone saw a link to the Learning Management System, they would at least know it had something to do with learning. Giving it a more descriptive name like, ABC's Employee University would let employees know that is the place to go for their training needs. I suggest picking a name that will have meaning to your employees and be a place they want to go. "
• "Using "ACME" as the proverbial generic name, customers have used: learnACME, ACME-U, ACME-Achieve, goACME (emphasizing easy access), myACME, and ACMETrack"
• "From working different ones and implementing at different corporations, naming the training environment is usually a good idea. Most general users don't care what LMS stands or it gives them a preconception of it being just another confusion computer system.Some ideas could be (Your Corporate) University(Your Corporation) Training Environment Branding could make it more of a success."

Struggling in a Dept of One

I know after going to the eLearning Guild Annual Gathering last year and chatting with folks I met that there are so many of us that are little departments of only one or if you are lucky two people with in them. I find that I am constantly struggling day-by-day to get accomplished what I need to get done. Especially right now as we are looming closer to a date that we have targeted as launching our LMS. I have had little to no time to prepare even the basics that I need to in order for the pilot piece to take place.

I work within the Organization Development department of our hospital and there are 3 other staff members, but each person has their own area that they look after. There is a director, a manager, a consultant (working on culture implementation), and then there is myself. I'm the only one working on the LMS, elearning, development, implementation, training, demos, etc. I will have some SME's eventually, but it's going to take a while to get there.

I just more and more am feeling the stress of the other office duties creeping in and taking over my time that I would much rather be spending on our corporate elearning development. It's very difficult to express this frustration to management when they too are struggling coping with their work load. We all must pitch in daily to keep the office functioning and our customers feeling attended to properly.

I'm curious how others cope within their departments of one or two and if you have any great tips and tactics for getting by and managing it all.

New Google Chrome - interesting

I'm a big Google fan, but I'm not quite sure about Chrome yet.  I saw tons of Twitter chatter yesterday going on about it, so first thing this morning I had to give it a try.

Yes it has many features I had seen mentioned yesterday, but the very first thing that struck me was where is the toolbar and why couldn't I figure out how where it was located.

After a very few searches I found I wasn't alone in looking for this feature.  Harry McCracken at Technologizer had the same thoughts and explains more of his troublesome experience in trying to install the tool. 

Hopefully this (well used by me and others) feature will be incorporated soon.

Blog Day - (a little late though)

Well I actually got to go away this weekend camping. Yeah!!! One final hurrah of the summer and so thankfully the last long weekend of the summer was full of heat and sun. That's been rare here this year in Ontario.

For Blog Day this year I thought I would find other blogs that match (and surpass) my other blog's focus - Photography. I'm no expert by any means. I just enjoy taking photos.

Here are 5 new blogs I've come across where the photos and the stories are gorgeous, inspiring, and fascinating.

1. Flemming Bo Jensen Photography blog - check out this pic - I wish I had this scenery around me
2. Photo Attorney - photography law....how fascinating. Things to think about when shooting.
3. Art Galleries of Second Life - there are 92 galleries listed here. I'm expecting some are real life photos/art some are second life photos/art
4. Fotohacker - "a one stop shop for all the cool stuff happening in the rapidly changing world of digital photography, and explains how best to take advantage of it."
5. Squashy Frog Photography - I just love the photos here and some of the great tweaks he's done to his photos. I'm not one to do this, but his images could get me into trying it out.

What's in an LMS name?

Still plugging along with my LMS project (last post on topic). I think we are at the point that I'm just going to have to make it work and then at some point in the near future I'll get to say...."I told you so."

My curiosities for today for anyone out there caring to share your experiences is...

Do you have a catchy name in your organization for your LMS? Or Do you just call it your LMS?

Does it matter really? Is it purely you build it and they come to use it or did they want to know what the new "insert catchy name here" was because of the name?

Blog Day 2008 (August 31)

Blog Day 2008 is coming up in two weeks. The purpose of blog day is t o get to know other bloggers around the world. An to participate is very simple. On August 31st all you need to do is create a posting about 5 new bloggers that are preferrably different than your own. That can mean culturally, point-of-view, topic, etc.

See you on Blog Day!

October 15th is Blog Action Day

Blog Action Day this year is October 15th. All you have to do as a blogger to participate is dedicate a post on this one day regarding Poverty.

What Can One Person Do?
"Poverty is not only a pressing issue, it is a complex one. It's easy to think that there isn’t much an individual can do. Fortunately this isn’t the case at all. With activities ranging from advocacy and professional contribution to charity and financing, there is in fact many ways that we can act.

You can find a range of resources about poverty, about what the average person can do as well as dozens of post suggestions and ideas in our Resources section."
Visit the Resources Section." ( - Blog Action Day 2008)

Close to 16,000 sites participated last year. So far 787 sites have registered reaching 2 million + readers. Help us boost that even higher and in turn you'll be helping humanity.

10,000th Visitor!!!!

Wow at some point this morning I've had my 10,000th visitor to my site. I'm so impressed and grateful that I have a few regulars that look at the site and many more that stop by to look around.

I have visitors from all over the world including:

Canada, Austria, US Educational Institutions, Australia, United Kingdom, India, Netherlands, Organizations, Germany, Japan, France, Italy, US Governmental Entities, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand, United States, Belgium, Brazil, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Greece, Mexico, Finland, Denmark, Romania, and Hungary

So a big Welcome to everyone and an even larger THANK YOU!

Implementing eLearning Templates (eLearning Guild Online Forum)

How Implementing E-Learning Templates Enabled Us To Produce More With Less Elsa Glassman & Peter Heald, Sandia National Laboratories

I was able to sit in today on this online forum and here are some of the notes taken during the session.

Challenges when developing courses:

• better design into templates
• one template doesn't always fit every course
• developing them
• creating quality scenarios
• length of modules
• speed up the development process
• increase production of course
• maintain quality
• reduce costs
• provide consistency
• decrease time to produce

What is a template?

• framework for content
• build once & reuse many
• standards
• standard look & fee
• pattern used as a guide
• separates form from content
• frame into which you place content
• structure for specific tasks
• area for holding, sharing and updating information

Perceptions of Templates vs. Reality

**participants polled: disagree that they are boring, agree courses will look the same, neutral on rigidity, agree only certain types of content work

rigid: as flexible as it is designed to be
only for certain types of content: content needs to just fit the format of the template
boring learning: templates can incorporate variety of different elements (flash, captivate, etc)
all look the same: you can change colours, fonts, etc. but the location, format is the only part the same

Pros vs. Cons

• time and effort are max., but not easy customized to different content or applications
• tight integration removes guess work, but takes time to change processes due to interdependencies
• can be very flexible, but increases complexity and decreases benefits
• content goes quickly into templates, but content must be designed for templates

Why use them?

• product design: customer can have a clear idea of what they will get beforehand
• project roles & tasks: predetermines what the roles & tasks will be
• cognitive load & usability: learner knows how to navigate and use course due to consistent look and feel
• data collection: consistent data across all courses

Template type & Goal

MULTIMEDIA DEVELOPER TEMPLATES - minimize time and effort spent on creating courses
COMMUNICATION TEMPLATES - ensure critical information is communicated
INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN TEMPLATES - provide framework for designing content for use in templates
COURSE CREATION SOFTWARE - ensure a consistent development & delivery process
FEEDBACK TEMPLATES - facilitate data analysis and summary

How-to guides were created: - one for instructional designers, one for multimedia developers **available to participants after presentation

Decision Aids (COLT site)
- ie is your content appropriate for online training or classroom training
- pre-made activities (multiple choice, pick and drag, definitions)

After templates
courses took 6 months now only 3 months
2-4 courses a year, now 15-20 courses per year
programmer took several hours to produce a report, now anyone can generate a report in seconds
programming took 180 hours per courses, now takes 60 hours per (typical) course
course cost for program owner $30K-$50K, now $3K - $15k

Advice when creating your own templates

• document your process
• take your time, don't try to standardize the whole process all at once or a full template library
• keep it simple - if the template requires training to use, it's not simple enough
• expect changes - you'll have mistakes and successes, learn from both
• be flexible - allow for variance
• collect pre & post template data to show impact
• there are no guarantees - standardizing does NOT ensure effective content; templates do not ensure good design

Template resources

http://www.horton.com/html.elformsword.aspx

Ray Jimenez - 3-minute eLearning: Rapid Learning and Applications, Amazingly Lower Cost and Faster Speed of Development: Demos, Examples, Template, & Video Vignettes

Patti Shank - The Online Learning Idea Book: 95 Proven Ways to Enhance Technology-Based and Blended Learning.

eLearning on a Shoestring (eLearning Guild Online Forum)

E-learning on a Shoestring: Help for the Chronically Underfunded - Jane Bozarth
bozarthzone.com

I was able to sit in on the eLearning Guild's Online Forums today and here is a collection of notes from this presentation.

For every product I like there are hundreds more out there and the market is getting bigger and bigger all the time.

Converting an existing 2 hour course $25K
New course $65K
LMS cost $200-$1m

Build or buy:

• does it really have to be company specific (ie: fire safety, whmis, etc?)
• everyone thinks there own this is special and unique
• do you have more than 500 users - is it worth the time to create/buy the courses if no one is going to use them

Remember that you should balance the ideas of:

• can you get it out earlier or spend hours on making it elegant
• can you get it good enough or does it have to be perfect
• everything does not have to be visual & auditory & etc, etc
• 0$, student misses the performance objective, but then they want situational
• examples....turns into a $50000 with a 6 month delay - SCOPE CREEP
• don't waste money past what objective you need to meet
  
  * Find the critical 20% of information: regarding making sure SME's only have the info they need included.

Word - webpage template wizard ---find for a 3 page instruction piece
(but writes bad and cluttered code - not great for HTML & Webpage tools)

MS Paint - graphics, designing, editing, creating - FREE (it can help out with what you need on a basic level)

Buy what you need! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk2sPl_Z7Z (The Mona Lesa created with MS Paint)...whewww....what a lot of work.

"Good elearning comes from design rather than the software"

PowerPoint

• pictures with audio can work as well as video with audio
• hyperlink areas of the screen
• large file size can be avoided by converting the ppt to a flash file
• if you are using video and you are showing only someones mouth moving you are wasting your money on the video

75% of learners have..... try to go with what they have

• lots of text
• lots of video
• lots of audio
  (or just a little of each to match your learners' technology)

Nothing is more compelling than putting your learner into real situations of learning.
ie: family struggles, mother trying to feed a family, trying to get your first job, etc
-if you can get your learner to go and try other scenarios (all the scenarios) you've created something very compelling.

Games (ie: CourseBuilder)

• small java program
• scaffolding and feedback (once twice)
  **don't just replicate tests you could do with pencil and paper - then you might as well use a survey tool
  (tool - Hot Potatoes, mix match questions, fill in the blanks, short answer, etc)

Add on, don't renovate

Collaborative Learning Systems http://www.clsllc.com/
each game - $1.80 (only mine, once you download to your own system)
Quia
$99 for education (jeopardy, surveys, homepages, feedback, quizzes, matching, etc)
- launched to 10,000 with no issues (unlimited users)

Web Quests
"student....you're going to research info and create something for our public to learn"
-send them to the pages you want to see

Collaboration

• role plays (discussion boards, emails)
• case studies
• group tasks (discussion boards, emails) (everyone posts their ideas, compile up a consensus answer - everyone participates)
• 23 Things - do all the 23 things and you win a prize (to do list)
• blogs - have your own blogs, get students to discuss a topic live, then post their own answers to the topic on their own blog
• Job aids - with call outs on important areas (can eliminate screens of training

Re-use videos, cliparts, templates

Talking to Management

• research
• what can you do cheaply
• PowerPoint $0
• webpage $0
  (exsiting 2 hour course to transfer to an online courses- 1 month to 6 weeks of time) - but depends on the topic of the course, expertise of designer, SMEs, etc

Tracking and LMS (what do you want it to do)

• how many people are going to access the programs
• did so and so access the program
• did so and so complete the program
• did they start and complete, or not complete
  registrations

Free options for LMS features (like features)

• counters
• email
• paper/pencil
• proctors
• polls and surveys
• quia and web communities (at $99 you get lots of reports and feedback as well)

Jane's Books
Better Than Bullet Points
e-Learning Solutions Shoestring
From Analysis to Evaluation

Why's the blog so busy - testing things out

I'm no HTML wizard, but I can find my way around the code alright. Enough so that I can change up the colours, fonts, etc. as the moment finds me. I often change them just to give my blog a fresh look, but I tend to keep the same layout as I guess I've at least become accustom to its design.

Today I finally figured out how to change the background outside the main blog area from a solid colour to an image I choose. I know this may be very simple for many folks, but for me it was driving nuts trying to get it to work. Now, I too know how simple this change is as well.

I've also changed/added some gadgets down the side to some of the Google tools that are now available. Sorry readers, in an effort to keep my self amused, you;ll continue to see the colours/images on the page change around from time to time.

Stay c o l o u r f u l everyone!

A Pondering about Webcam Use

After catching up on some blog reading and being directed to some different videos out there.....

"Why do people who use webcams spend more time looking at themselves on the computer screen then directly into the camera?"

Just wondering? Thoughts?

Nokia & Spike Lee & You team up to create a new movie

This is a neat idea that I came across tonight. Unfortunately it's into it's 3 part, but there is still time to participate and collaborate if you would like to be a part of Spike Lee's next major film.

You can check out the Nokia Productions website and upload your photos, videos, text, etc all from your phone. Selected items will be used in the making of the upcoming film. Humanity is the overall theme and focuses on the role that music plays throughout the experiences of your life.

So far submissions for Birth and Life have been received and they are now excepting items for the final Act - Death. The deadline for submissions is August 20, 2008.

There is no limit to the number of submissions you can make and you don't have to use a Nokia product to take part in the project. Take a look around you; use your phone or camera; you might become a movie maker that quickly.

How do you keep up with all the new trends/tools?

In speaking with a recently acquired colleague (I think I'm going to start elearning trading cards) we were discussing how difficult for us "experts" (if we can loosely call ourselves that) it is to keep up with all the new web tools, elearning trends, latest software, best techniques, etc.

I know for myself I'm constantly trying to keep up-to-date on what is the latest and greatest, but it is all coming so fast it's hard to keep up with. Recently someone on Twitter I follow mentioned that they were cutting their RSS feeds down to just the ones they "want" to read not "feel they had" to read. Mine constantly is well over 1000 and I to need to follow this strategy.

It also seems to be that it feels as if one or two colleagues have a really good handle on some new trend and I let them run with it, but go to them for advice about it when the time arises instead of learning what I can myself. Not that I'm not completely interested, but finding the time to commit is difficult.

As mentioned above we are typically the "experts" in this field within our organizations. So how do we maintain that level of knowledge when there is so much to know?

I'm curious to know if you are having the same trouble keeping up with everything? If so how are you coping or managing to stay ahead? What are some strategies that you've developed?

Building our case for a new LMS (perhaps)

So I'm still trying to make our current LMS work and function as we need it too for our staff and organization. Considering where we are and where we want to go as a leading health care facility, I'm not convinced we have the best product for the job. I've voiced my concern many, many times and now they seem to be listening. At least for today.

Some may know my struggles in that one day I'm told to get through the summer and see how the system works and then the next day I'm told to research other products and see if there is something that would more suit our needs. I'm pretty sure that what we have we could make due with and get by for a year, but in the long run is that really going to be of any benefit.

So, after yet another demonstration yesterday, I'm now back to taking my checklist against the 4 products I've seen in the last while and determining how well our current tool makes out against the other tools.

This is taking far far too long. What a learning process!!??!!

Instructional Design and an Aging Workforce

Further to a previous post.

As instructional designers we need to consider that we are experiencing that a large section of the workforce is an aging population. While “Age is not a disability” – AgelessinAmerica[i]; we still need to be considerate of the material we create and maintain not only accessibility but usability for this important part of our labour market.

When we create learning material we typically strive for a “package” that each of our employees/students will be able to participate fully in and be able to walk away with a new skill or further knowledge. When we do this we use universal design. “Universal design is the principle that guides the process to integrate all elements required to ensure facilities, technology, information, programs, products, and services meet the diverse requirements of today's society. The usability of what we create may be far more important when considering a workforce of Boomers. Usability is determined by user satisfaction, east of learning, ability to remember organizational structure and functionality, user effectiveness, and efficiency.”[ii]

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 53 percent of the U.S. workforce will be 40 years old or older by 2010.[iii] It is also predicted that this percentage will continue if not increase into the coming years. Necessity will force us consider the various accessibility needs that will arise from an aging workforce and how computer use might be affected by these limitations.

Some limitations that may be experience (and this is certainly would not be the case for all in this workforce category) are decreased vision, decreased hearing, and decreased mobility or dexterity. Microsoft has several articles on “Aging Workforce and Accessible Technology”. They cite that in 2001 the U.S. percentage of population 45-54 had incidences of vision disabilities at .6%, hearing at .6% and typing at .6%. Compare this to the aged population of 25-34 where the incidences were only .4%, .3% and .4% respectively.[iv]

Changes in vision as one ages can range from very mild symptoms to quite serious diseases. These changes may include[v]:

• Difficulty reading small print
• Difficulty adjusting from light to dark
• Sensitivity to glare
• Loss of depth perception
• Difficulty seeing contrasts and colour
• Dry eyes
• Teary or watery eyes

Heather Ferguson, President of the Hearing Foundation of Canada states “People are starting to lose their hearing 20 years earlier than in the past.” “A Canadian Hearing Society Awareness survey indicated five years ago that 25 per cent of people with hearing loss are under 40, and 70 per cent are under 60.”[vi]

Presbycusis is the most common form of hearing loss as a person ages. Sound generally seems less clear and lower in volume. Many with prebycusis will experience:[vii]

• The speech from others may seem mumbled or slurred
• High-pitched sounds such as “s” and “th” are difficult to hear and tell apart
• When there is background noise, conversations are more difficult to understand
• Men’s vocal tones are easier to hear than the higher pitches of a woman’s vocal tones
• Certain sounds can seem overly annoying or loud
• Tinnitus (a ringing, roaring, or hissing sound in one or both ears) may also be heard

As one grows older there are various elements that play on the body that can limit ones dexterity. Arthritis is one such common problem that can cause a stiffening of the joints that makes it difficult and sometimes impossible to utilize your hands as you once did. Arthritis not only effects the hands though, it can seriously effect any joint within the body and long periods of immobility Strokes which typically only occur over the age of 65 can cause loss of physical and mental functions and can include motor function disabilities.

It is well known that life long learning is a much desired necessity not only for corporations to succeed but for adults to continue to grow and develop. There is an increasing need that employees be flexible and adaptable and this ability to continually learn helps these individuals not only be able to improve their skills but apply them to various contexts as well.

We need to understand that research has shown “that those over the age of 45 years are often adventurous and keen to do new things in both work and life. They are willing to augment their skills through training, including their capacity and competence in using new technology.”[viii] With this in mind we can take their enthusiasm to learn, use common instructional design practices, and available accessibility technology minimize any awkwardness yet increase the usability of courses we create.

No longer should we only think that audio should be included for those learners who are auditory learners. It should also be included for those who have difficulty reading small print. Similarly the ability to increase font size seems to be a norm, but needs to be added every time to a program. The option to read text instead of hearing it needs to be included for our learners that are not only visual but are perhaps experiencing some hearing loss. More images while wonderful for visual learners will also assist those that are having trouble seeing the small print or hearing the audio that has been inserted.

Microsoft has full set of tips that an aging population can use to increase the usability of computers in general. These items can be included by instructional designers directly into their course material or as tip sheets. The tips are simple items that we as designers sometimes take for granted that our users will know them and apply themselves to their learning environments. Items include[ix]:

• Enlarging fonts, icons, changing screen resolution,
• Using Microsoft Magnifier to open a floating window that enlarges parts of the screen
• Install speech recognition for voice commands instead of typing or using a mouse
• Use SoundSentry to cue visual notifications for sounds
• Use Narrator to read text aloud
• Change the appearance of the mouse so that it is more recognizable on the screen or it’s
• speed is slower, colour is brighter, etc.
• MouseKeys can change control of the mouse to the keyboard
• Use StickyKeys to press keyboard shortcuts one key at a time
• Filter Keys can be used to minimize repeated keystrokes by anyone with mild tremors
• Changing the contrast on the screen can make the text easier to read

What is wonderful for instructional designers is that more and more accessibility functions are being developed daily as we become more socially responsible and aware that everyone needs to have access to information and learning. As more of these technologies become available for people that may have limiting disabilities they can also be included and should be considered to be a normal inclusion into training materials that are created for the aging population. This portion of our workforce may not have disabilities, as such, but they will experience more and more issues with visual, hearing, and dexterity tasks. These technologies can assist us in creating not only accessible but useable learning.

__________________________________________
[i] Hamilton, T., Discovery Through eLearning (2008, June 26). Seeking ID Techniques to Use with an Aging Workforce. Message posted to http://discovery-thru-elearning.blogspot.com/2008/06/seeking-id-techiques-to-use-with-aging.html
[ii] Canadian Heritage, Creating and Managing Digital Content: Tip Sheets – Internet Accessibility, Retrieved July 10, 2008, from website: http://www.chin.gc.ca/English/Digital_Content/Tip_Sheets/Accessibility_CHIN/definition.html
[iii] U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Projected Labor Force Data: Civilian Labor Force, 2006-2016 [Data file].
Retrieved from ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/ep/labor.force/clfa0616.txt
[iv] Microsoft Corporation, Aging Workforce and Accessible Technology: Physiological Changes and Aging, Retrieved July 09, 2008 from website: http://www.microsoft.com/enable/aging/physiological.aspx
[v] Health Canada, Healthy Living: Seniors and Aging – Vision Care, Retrieved July 11, 2008, from website: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/life-vie/seniors-aines_vc-sv-eng.php
[vi] Bio-Medicine, Hearing Loss Becoming an Epidemic in Canada, Retrieved July 16, 2008, from website: http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news/Hearing-Loss-Becoming-an-Epidemic-in-Canada-21234-1/
[vii] National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, Presbycusis, Retrieved July 16, 2008, from website: http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/presbycusis.asp
[viii] Bowman, K & Kearns, P 2007, E-learning for the mature age worker: Final report, Dept of Education, Science and Training, Canberra. Retrieved July 16, 2008 from website: http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/flx/webdav/site/flxsite/shared/Research%20and%20Policy%20Advice/Report_Mature_Aged_Workers.pdf (p. 21)
[ix] Microsoft Corporation, Aging Workforce and Accessible Technology: Physiological Changes and Aging, Retrieved July 09, 2008 from website: http://www.microsoft.com/enable/aging/tips.aspx

Whole Brain Design (Notes from ELG Online Forum)

Whole Brain Design: Engage and Retain your Learners by Ann Herrmann, Herrmann International

(brief notes - I started multitasking and got distracted)

as we give people challenges our brains kick into action solving the challenge before we even realize it

Poll - for participants: What is most important in learning for you?
- 44% Engaging learning and development for individuals, teams and the organization. (red)
- 28% Effective transfer of knowledge and information linked to performance objectives. (blue)

Poll - for participants: What is most important in learning for your org?
- 55% Effective transfer of knowledge and information linked to performance objectives. (blue)
- 31% A structured way for learners to practically develop the competencies they need. (green)

Poll - for participants: What percentage of the brain power is actually used in your org?
- most entered into 10-70%, most of us think 50% or below


Learning is a brain based mental process.
We often know more about our pda's and cell phones more than our own internal computers (brains).

We almost never see another person that looks just like us, why do we assume they will think like us.

We are all unique learners.

Your brain craves patters and searches for them endlessly. - Thomas Czerner, 2001

ie: it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae.

JGF GPFAM JS GQQB - If you block out the bottom half of these letters it will appear to be the word ICE CREAM IS GOOD - our brain fills in the letters we believe the phrase to be

Test for understanding, not existing patterns that they have created.

*Use patterning to your advantage as a foundation for learning, but beware of the learning traps it creates.

B.J. Schone is a Twitter Star!!!

Well if you haven't heard of Twitter yet you should maybe take a look at it. If you use Facebook already, it's an application just like the status updates you enter on Facebook. The term is microblogging. It's a quick 160 character message about what you are doing now.

The messages can be as simple as "I'm eating toast" or pointing others to something they may be interested in quickly "more tickets were just released get yours at www.blahblah".

Once you set yourself up you can follow others that are using the application and friends that are signed in can follow you as well.

B.J. (brown shirt) who got be into using the tool (and yes you can use it in Canada, I've got it on my Bell cell phone - no special blackberry or pda) was just recently at a Tweetup (a meeting of Twitters) and had his picture placed into the article.

Here is the article for more information about Twitter and this particular tweetup.

Where the Hell is Matt? - Video you have to see

If you haven't yet taken a look at Where the Hell is Matt? , please do. His video is simple yet complex, fun, inspirational, and guaranteed to make you smile (MORE THAN ONCE)!!!


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

I love it. Great job Matt Harding

My 300th post is a call for LMS Help

Yippee I'm at my 300th post, but yet again I'm shouting out for some help and of course it's about the LMS. I have the system we are using, and access to a second system that is on my wish list.

I'm having problems loading in classroom based classes. Both systems have features for in class teaching, however neither is meeting our needs. I'm curious to know how others have handled this as I can't believe we are the only organization that operates in such a manner.

We have many, many courses that run over consecutive days or even just over many different days. They also tend to occur in many different rooms around our organization. Neither system seems to be able to accommodate this style.

As an example: Intro to Project Management. Runs 8:30am - 12:30 pm on Wed. July 30 and then again Thurs. July 31 at the same time. In the same room. Students must go to both sessions.

Each LMS that I am trying only has a Start date and End Date for the over all program. One system does allow for recurring days of the event, but they must be the standard (one a week, ever day of the week, every other week, every other specific day of the week). On this system the first day is the start date, the end date needs to be the same date (to capture the 4 hour window of the course) and the recurring can go on for as many days as you need. But the over all screen users would see is cumbersome.

Another example is: Frontline Leaders, runs 8:00am - 4:00pm on this Thursday, 2 Thursdays from that date, then 2 Thursdays from that date, then 3 Thursdays from that, and back to 2 Thursdays from that. (not a consistent pattern). The course is held in the same room for 5 of the sessions but not for the sixth.

Again, neither system seems to allow for room changes, or many modules of a course, various instructors, various times.

I know LMS's are primarily for online learning and these typically are start date - end date, open 24/7 with no physical location to speak of. However, most LMS's I've heard of are "all about thier registration and tracking" and classroom based is usually a part of that.

I've tried on both system to set up the various "days" of the class as individual sessions. These look prettier in the systems, however when I register into the first module as a student....then I can't register into any of the other modules.

Even if this did work.....then ever occurrence of this course would have to be individual in the system course calendar.

i.e. Intro to Proj. Mgt June Mod 1 & Mod 2, then Intro to Proj. Mgt July Mod 1 & Mod 2.

I'm curious to know has no one else in the eLearning World had to deal with this?!? I'm sure you have, so how did you get around this issue of:

• 1 program
• various dates
• various times
• various locations
• (maybe various instructors)

As always I truly appreciate any feedback and help I can get. Learning as I go.

Trouble remembering all those "strong" passwords

I came across this handy little Password Chart today. It's a decoder for strong passwords into simple ones. Actually it is kind of the opposite of that.

You enter into a field on the site a phrase or word and a matrix of random letters (Caps and lower case) and numbers appears. You can then use these the matrix to code out your simple password.

If I use the phrase "I can never remember my password" then I get this matrix:

I can then use the chart to take a simple password and convert it to a strong password.

Example: "password" gets converted to "gvaGwtJJimmgSFysb"

I don't even have to use the matrix to match up letters to the new code (p = gva); there is a field on the same page for me to enter in my simple password to convert it to the strong password.

The site can then be accessed where ever I go or I can print out the page and carry the matrix with me. What could be "JNqmgvaREicYcgSF" than that?

The Simple Features of an LMS Should be There, Right???

Warning - this is a rant. As previously mentioned I've been cursed with making our LMS work. One of my first tasks is to populate 10 courses that we will run here at the hospital. 3 hours later I still can't figure out how to get the first one set up. Seems odd right?

Here's some of my issues for Class A that has part 1 & part 2, reoccurring every month

1. Since when does a course only start on the hour?
2. Even though my login has admin privileges I can't do all of the admin tasks.
3. Creating an instructor - logout as self, login as grand-poo-ba of admin, create a user, go into manage a student, manage an instructor, now assign that person the label instructor
4. Cut off date for registering for a course has to be on or after the course start date? Wouldn't you normally want to know how many are registered for your class in advance of the start date. For CBT how would you know how much material to prepare? Better yet, why would you let people register for a class that has already started?
5. A course can have a prerequisite but a session can not
6. Why would they assume a classroom course would run the same as an online course? You have weeks to complete an online course, but a classroom course you (probably) go to once or several times over the course of a period of time

This is going to be a long long long implementation. I wonder if I can get sponsored by JD!!!

Follow-up on "ID Techniques for Aging Workforce"

Thank you very much for your post AgelessAmerica. I certainly meant no offence with my post yesterday and I agree with you that age is definitely not a disability. My organization is looking to comply with the new accessibility laws and regulations that will be mandatory throughout Canada in the next year or so. One of the comments that came out the other day at a meeting was that our mid-career to late-career nurses have more of a fear of using computers. I actually thought that this wasn't really a valid reason not to use or try computers especially as they are an intricate part of everyday life. Even more so as so much equipment and documentation is now electronic in hospitals.

The point was then more clarified in that we need to admit that as we age (and we all hate to admit this) our bodies don't do quite want we want any more. Eyesight does get weaker; in fact both my manager and director ask me to increase the font size on my screen when they need to look at a document. Fingers might not be as fast with arthritis, hearing isn't quite as sharp, and their may be more and more aspects to our lives that Mother-Nature likes to "play with" and tweak.

I was curious if colleagues are thinking about these things as they design learning. I know font size altering seems to be a given on more and more computers, but I think audio is added more for learning styles rather than sight impairment. I was wondering if there are other considerations that people are focusing on as well.

Thank you for your comment it's extremely valid and something we must all remember - Age is not a disability, but perhaps aging can create some barriers.

Seeking ID Techiques to Use with an Aging Workforce

As instructional designers we need to consider the aging workforce population and the accessibility of the material we create.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 53 percent of the U.S. workforce will be 40 years old or older by 2010.[1] It is also predicted that this percentage will continue if not increase into the coming years. Necessity will force us consider the various accessibility needs that will arise from an aging workforce and how computer use might be affected by these disabilities.

One issue however is that the very definition of disability can be confusing and in-depth depending on the model of thought one chooses. The United Nations uses “The term persons with disabilities to apply to all persons with disabilities including those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various attitudinal and environmental barriers, hinders their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.”[2] As we become and more socially conscious society we also become more sensitive to these issues. Keeping this workforce population dynamic in mind, we as instructional designers will need to place our efforts to accommodate these needs.

Another thought that often comes out when speaking about the Boomers generation is that they are afraid to use the computer. If this is indeed a real fact can this fear be used as an accessibility issue? Could we as instructional designers instead focus in on the primary internet uses of users in this age category and use this as a means to entice others in the same range to be less fearful.

I'm curious to hear about any tips, tricks, techniques you may have when considering teaching/educating an aging workforce population. Have you run into "computer fear"? Have you found ways to over come this fear?

[1] U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Projected Labor Force Data: Civilian Labor Force, 2006-2016 [Data file].
Retrieved from ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/ep/labor.force/clfa0616.txt

[2] United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Social Policy and Development (2008). Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved June 22, 2008, from United Nations, EnableWeb site: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/faqs.htm

Make it Work! (LMS must go forward)

Well I really wish right now that I had Tim Gunn over my shoulder mentoring me and telling me his Project Runway catch phrase "Make it Work" over and over. At least then I might feel more keen about it all or at least laugh a bit more.

The LMS project that I have been working on since gosh knows when is now finally picking up speed. I am now at the forefront of the entire intranet/document management/LMS project. Having the other 2 systems up and running now for almost a month has put the LMS onto the top of the list.

Of course we are already having communication issues, but director and I are determined to stop this before it gets out of hand. I have been waiting for the company to call me and they were waiting for me to call them. Another issue is that they have one idea of where we want to start on the project (uploading all our online courses - which we have none yet) and we want to just start tracking employees and their education registrations. Clearly some discussion needs to be had so that we can get more in sync.

I'm not entirely keen on the system we have acquired and I've voiced my opinion about this very clearly. I did however, finally get a clear answer on Tuesday that this is what we have, this is all we are going to have (current budget constraints). If I can pull it off to get the system to function as I wish it would and more importantly that our users (educators and staff) can understand how to use the system then I'm going to look pretty good.

In other words I've been told "Make it Work".

Have you created life yet? Have you SPOREd?

I was excited to see Brent Schlenker share the link to the trial version of SPORE's Creature Creator. I saw SPORE demonstrated, I through one of the TED talks. Since then I have been anxiously waiting to give it a try. I'm intersted to also see what training/education/ and pure fun we colaboratively we come up with together playing this game and networking.

So now I have and I proudly introduce my first creature Phyl. He's just looking for a little love an affection.

Does there really need to be an App for everything?

Okay so I just posted a message about 1001 apps creatively arranged into a mosaic of the world. I just wonder sometimes....as I dive deeper into sites....do you really need a web app for every aspect of your life. Maybe? Maybe not?

I'm going to say that one I found that lets you count your alcohol consumption is a Maybe Not.

I'm sure it works lovely and does exactly as it predicts what it says accomplishes. However, I'm guessing that if you are someone who needs to count your consumption or wants you...after 2 or 3 your not going to want to anymore. Let alone want to go to the computer, sign in, pull up your screen, type in beer number 4 and wait excitedly until you get to put in number 5. Maybe it's just me, but this one seems a little far fetched.

Map of the World 2.0

This is a pretty interactive map of the logos from 1001 different companies offering web 2.0 applications. As you roll your mouse over the various logos they pop-up larger. You can then click these to be taken to the site of the application. There are so many to go through that you can go directly to the company that sponsors the map - AppAppeal. If you go into the main site then all of these "colourful" logos are categorized into the function they will provide for you. Every thing from games, to social-networking, to dating. It's certainly a tool we've seen before, but the delivery catches your eye and the interactivity gets you exploring.

Quick and Simple mLearning Tips (thanks BJ)

I was so happy to find this post by BJ Schone on starting small with mLearning. I used his tips and tricks and in 5 minutes created a quick tool that my management team could use for conducting 30 Day interviews with their staff. BJ has a great point, that your learning does not have to be 45 minute, interactive, "flash"y, and scenario based. Your mLearning can be quick guides, handy tools, brief instructions and other similar content.

What I did here (since I don't have access to throw up pages on the web) was create myself a new Google account. Gave it a "work-like" id. Then used Google Pages to post my content. The first page is a small home page with a link to the quick tool. The quick tool is another page that is purely content copied and pasted from a Word Document. It is literally 5 questions that we have our managers ask our staff after their first 30 days of employment.

That's it. How quick and simple is that. If you go on the web it looks simple but has a colourful background. If you look at it on your phone it is black text on white background. I'm sure with practice and skill I can get it to look nicer, but for 5 minutes of work, I'm satisfied with the results.

Thanks BJ for the great hints.

Manipulating my boss's photo with a free web app

Wow I haven't been here in a while. I just moved into a new house and that has been more time consuming then I ever imagined. The LMS project is still (and I now believe will always be) in the development/implement stage. So what's a girl to do to amuse herself? How about manipulating a few photos of your boss and her husband into something more interesting.

I actually had a real reason for doing this. My Director is retiring in a few weeks and we needed to put out a flyer for the party we will be having for her. Being that I am at work with limiting program options, I googled (still love that this is an adjective) "I need to put a head on a photo". I know silly thing to search for, but it pulled up a great program called FotoFlexer.

After a few tries (once because my computer crashed) I was able to manipulate the 3 photos together in a matter of minutes. I really liked that the option to cut out just a small section of the photo was under the tab option of GEEK. There are the basic photo editing features you would expect and some standard effect features (film grain, sepia, sketch). Under the Decorate tab there is glitter, text, boarders, cards, etc. There are also options to add a few animated items and remove blemishes. Then the geek feature is more of the manipulating, distorting, and cutting of pictures.

It also will work with photos off your computer or from some of your favourite photo sites ie: Flikr, Facebook, Picasa, MySpace. If you are looking for a fairly robust and simple tool to use, including tutorials as you work, then this is a great site to give a look to and try out.

Twitter and Second Life - 2 things I'm still figuring out

Just a quick note on some things I still haven't got the whole point of yet. Twitter - so I'm signed up and I'm following a few people. It took me some time to get connected to updates through my phone. I found out that it was a Canadian thing related to the number I post to for Twitter. Since then I've started getting little messages from this person and that person. Over the last few days several of the "Twitts" or is it "Tweets" have been pointing me to some interesting information. I think to myself this is actually kind of neat.

Today Brent Schlenker threw out a call for others to respond so he could demo it in a presentation. What a great way to collaboratively help someone in 160 characters or less. So I get these messages from my "eLearning Friends" but for my "Personal Friends" they stick to the tried and true Facebook and I mobile into that every day to see what everyone is up to. Both are like the one person you can always go to in the office because they know the gossip on everyone. I'm definitely going to give this a little more time before I turn it off from my phone.

The second thing I keep playing with is Second Life. It really can suck you in dramatically as you search around for the perfect shoes, pants, accessories, and most importantly just the right hair. It seems to me until you figure this part all out then there is little sense wandering around searching for anything else.

I am struggling to find some legitimate learning activities through SL. I was really hoping to sit in on a bunch of different topics, but this appears to be hard to find. Perhaps I am unassociated with the proper schools to participate. The only one I have sat in on was a discussion on NASA related topics, but it was above my knowledge. That and I found the guy with bat wings sitting behind be distracting.

I've tried to find some places where I have visited to see if they are true to life or close to real layouts. This too has proven unsuccessful. I guess this is part of the whole experience any way. It's not suppose to be real it's suppose to be a second life. I have been able to find a place that resembles Rome, another that looks similar to the Duomo in Florence, and Capri was laid out a little the same. If anyone has suggestions for more academic/learning type locations I would love to wander and explore.

Again with this, I haven't quite decided not to "play" anymore as I am having fun walking around in purple, pink, or blue hair and occasionally finding a place to dance. (I know sounds ridiculous).

How many social networks does one need?

Every other day it seems another social network has popped onto the scene that is suppose to be bigger, better, more connected than the last one. True enough many of the features of those coming out are indeed very intriguing. Sure I may try one out and think it's wonderful and far surpasses any that I have previously been using. But....then what?

So now I love this new tool. All my contacts are on the old one. Now I have to somehow convert my 200+ friends to drop the one they are on for the new one. Now I'm a "sales rep" for the new network. Some how I need to now convince all my friends that their old tool, that probably took them ages to get use too, is missing some great new features. Most of my friends aren't too technically inclined. They like using the tools, but haven't got time to be trying out everything to find the best one out there. On another hand, what might be a great set of features for me might be useless for my friend "Joe".

I do seem to find that my "Blogging Friends" tend to move around from tool to tool. There are the early adapters that find the tools, there's bunch of us that read about them on their blogs, then we try them out, start talking about them on our blogs, and then one of us inevitably presents on them at a conference. Finally, the rest of the e-learning community gets on board and someone then decides to write about another new tool they have found and we start all over again. My "Personal Friends" on the other hand...stick with the tools they know, that they have used for quite some time now, and are frankly quite happy with regardless of the silly videos, pictures, and chain messages that fly around.

I now have come to the realization that I am one of many that are trying everything out in the hopes that I can keep up with the latest trend regardless if it only lasts a day.