Books Not Recommended by Members of #lrnchat
Last Thursday, #lrnchat’s topic was “book talk” and question five was great fun. The question posed was “What are book titles you hope never to see?” Here is a list of just some of the responses. They are not just very amusing, they are also a great reflection on so much of what we should avoid, or at least rethink, in our industry.
Dave_Ferguson: “I Can Haz Smarts: Lolcats Guyd to Learnin Stylz”
JaneBozarth: “More Levels for Evaluation by Autopsy”
sillym0nkey: Rapid Oganizational Change
kelly_smith01: I’m OK, You’re my SME?
trchandler: “Mandated Learning Made Easy”
billcush: ADDIE for Dummies
Quinnovator: “Adapting Learning: Learning Styles, Generational Differences, and Brain-Based Learning”
susannahrl: How to outsource all eLearning design and development in 3 easy steps
Quinnovator: “Content and a Quiz: your guide to meaningful change”
moehlert: @lrnchat Compliance Training for Fun and Profit
sillym0nkey: how to bring back ppt lectures to the classroom
trchandler: “How to Squeeze More Bullet Points into your Presentations”
Quinnovator: “The LMS: your complete learning solution”
mpetersell: “101 versions of jeopardy for learning”
odguru: How to keep them guessing: Butchering the socratic method to make people feel dumb
Dave_Ferguson: Management Secrets of Donald Rumsfeld (a new musical)
kasey428: The Audio Book of Advanced Calculus
minutebio: “Incorporating Informal Learning into Your LMS”
jsuzcampos: Speak When Spoken To: Your Guide to Lively Classroom Discussion
mbr1online: Death by PowerPoint: A Manual
Dave_Ferguson Are you not a fan of lateral thinking or is it interpretive dance that annoys you?
Quinnovator: “Investing in Organizational Learning: The Cost Center Approach”
Dave_Ferguson: Take It to the River: How Hammurabi the CEO Dealt with Naysayers and Nitpickers.
TriciaRansom: The Complete Guide to Standard Clip Art
Dave_Ferguson: “How to Rail against Social Media while Maintaining Eight Twitter IDs, or, Easy Self-RTs”
kasey428: Improve the Classroom Experience: Adding Motion to Your PowerPoints!
Quinnovator: “Social Schmocial: Why Formal Is the only Real Learning”
NYChase: The Client is Always Right.
sillym0nkey: How to use smile sheets effectively
TriciaRansom: More Time in Training = More Learning
mbr1online: Idiot’s Guide to Organizing Your Files and Catching Up on Email while Watching Webinars.
trchandler: “Class Evaluation Questions that Guarantee a Raise”
minutebio: ”Google Wave and How it Will Change Learning”
Want to see the books that ARE recommended? See the book list from the early #lrnchat and the full transcripts can be found on the #lrnchat page.
An important note: If you have not participated in #lrnchat (online chat via Twitter), you are really missing a great experience. It is great fun and a chance to interact, learn and share with many great instructional designers. They have both an early and a late version every Thursday. The schedule and helpful information on participating is available on the #lrnchat blog. See you next Thursday!
My e-Learning Don’ts
Here is a list I compiled of things I think should NOT be done when designing e-learning courses. I believe the following are counter to adult learning theory, sound e-learning design and they just down-right irk me. They are not in any particular order.
Don’t:
- Turn off navigation until a screen’s audio is done. Not only do most people read quicker than narration and may choose to move on, it is just plain wrong to deny learners user control.
- Have audio without close caption or at least equivalent content on screen. This is not just a 508 compliance (accessibility) issue, it is also possible that some computers won’t have audio capabilities. For example, this was the case at a bank I worked for where tellers did not have sound on their PCs.
- Force navigation. You know those courses that you can only go in a linear direction using the dreaded next button and they don’t even give you access to a menu, ugh! Didn’t I mention user control earlier?
- Neglect to include orientation. Let me know if I am on page 1 of 10 or 1 of 100. However, if you have page 1 of 100 written anywhere in your course you have even bigger issues to resolve.
- Call a course interactive when all it has is a bunch of pop-ups. There is more to creating an interactive course than adding pop-ups and rollovers. Here is a good resource if you are looking for ideas on how to make your course more interactive - Schone’s “Engaging Interactions for eLearning.”
- Make courses that look like it’s PowerPoint. I know PowerPoint is sometimes used as an authorig tool, but at least use it to create engaging, interactive courses that do not resemble PowerPoint slide decks that you just uploaded to Captivate or Articulate. Need tips on bringing PowerPoint to life? Try the Rapid eLearning blog.
- Leave out feedback for review and assessment questions. Providing feedback is a chance to correct misconceptions, reinforce learning, etc.
- List objectives like they are written in your course design plan. Of course it is good to include objectives, but write them in a way that is more conversational and spark interest.
- Use graphics that have absolutely nothing to do with the learning at hand. See the eLearning Coach for some tips on using graphics.
- Make a course mandatory if it absolutely does not have to be mandatory. Let the learners learn for learning sake.
If you have additional e-learning don’ts, please share them in the comments section.
Make a Quiz on the Cloud (ProProfs Quiz Maker)
There is a new addition to the Free Cloud Apps page, it’s ProProfs Quiz Maker. Quiz Maker is a quick and easy way to build a quiz that is hosted on the cloud. No software needed, it is completely web-based. You can easily post a link to your quiz from a blog or web page. It also has the functionality to tweet a link or add to Facebook or MySpace. Proprofs was gracious enough to give me a complimentary account (full disclosure) to test drive it. Here is a link to a simple quiz I made to test some of the features and so you can see some of what it does - Take my Rhode Island History quiz.
Although you can embed the quiz in blogs and sites, it uses iFrames, which does not play nice with my WordPress blog, otherwise I would have done so here. I was told they are working on a new widget with additional customizations for embedding the quizzes, which is expected later this week. However, it is very easy to post a link to your quizzes (like above) or share via social media.
Here is what I like about Quiz Maker:
- It is extremely user-friendly.
- It is on the Cloud, so users have access anywhere, whether taking a quiz or building one.
- You can add images, video, and links to each question.
- You can add feedback.
- They offer a free version.
- You can track participation, including each user’s answers and quiz stats. I was impressed with how easy it was to view participants’ answers and overall quiz stats. I wish most learning management systems (LMS) made this same task so easy. FYI: Tracking is not included with the free account.
- According to a representative from ProProfs they are currently working on SCORM compatibility, so integration with an LMS is on the horizon.
What I wish it had:
- If you update/edit a quiz the stats are reset to zero. So, once you have a quiz made, make sure it is the absolute final version.
- More question types. They have multiple choice, fill in the blank and essays, but it would be great if they had some more interactive options like hot spots, drag and drop or matching, etc. Hopefully they will expand the question types in the future.
- I am splitting hairs, but I would like to see the fill in the blank allow the blank to be placed anywhere in the sentence. Unless I missed something, it appears the blank could only be placed at the end of a sentence.
- I would have liked to be able to also add graphics, video and links to the feedback.
Regarding the free version, you cannot add the creator’s name to the certificate and it is only an ad free trial for seven days, then ads will be posted. Also the tracking and stats features are not included in the free account after seven days. You can view the comparisons of pricing plans here, including what you do and don’t get with the free account. FYI: They do have a very reasonably priced plan for educational users.
All in all, if you are looking to create and share simple quizzes with the benefits of doing so on the Cloud, it is worth your time. I will emphasize the word “simple” because if you are looking for more interactive question types (e.g. hot spots, drag and drop, graded sims, etc.), you will probably need to utilize more robust e-learning authoring tools to do so.
If you are interested in taking Quiz Maker for a spin, here is the link again - ProProfs Quiz Maker.
Looking for THE SCORM Resource?
Yesterday I attended a SCORM webinar provided by Advance Distributed Learning (ADL). If you do not know the ADL, they are a part of the U.S. Department of Defense and are the producers of SCORM. At the conclusion of the webinar they gave a tour of some of the available resources on their site. These include SCORM documentation, past webinar slides, and content examples, including the files from a Flash example. which you will find listed as “Plug-In Technologies Content Example.” They also provide a test suite. FYI: All of the above are free to download.
If you are working with SCORM on any level, ADLnet.gov is a great “go-to” resource. For additional SCORM resources, I have collected more at http://delicious.com/MinuteBio/scorm
Do you have any great SCORM resources? Please share in the comments section, thanks.
Development Tools I Would Learn If I Were You - June’s Big Question
June’s Big Question over at the Learning Circuits blog is regarding tools one should “…learn today in order to be a valuable eLearning professional in 2015.”
So you know my perspective, since my start in e-learning I have always been both a designer and developer. Although my degree is in instructional design I have worked in corporate training departments where I am responsible for both. This is not unusual in corporate environments, especially among small to mid-size companies. In my instructional design graduate program, UMBC, I took several courses that focused on development, but they really only scratched the surface. They provided just enough to make us dangerous with HTML, Flash, Photoshop and Authorware. Most of which gave me a good baseline for further developing my e-learning development skills. No, I do not use Authorware now, but it is hard to predict what will be an essential tool 10 years down the road. Five years is tough to predict too, but I will attempt it anyway.
A pertinent point is that you can learn any number of development tools, but when you get to a new position your employer may have tools already available that they prefer you use or they may have you determine what tools to use. I have experienced both situations. One thing you can count on, if they already have an LMS you are stuck with it unless they already had plans to change the LMS and you are the sucker, I mean expert, who is to select and implement a new one.
So back to the big question, I would recommend the following types of tools, and examples where appropriate, that you should “…learn today in order to be a valuable eLearning professional in 2015.”
Social/informal learning: Microblogging (e.g. Yammer or Twitter), blogs, social bookmarking (e.g. Delicious), virtual worlds (e.g. Second Life).
Games: We are already seeing more and more games in e-learning and I think that will increase even more in the next five years. For me, I use Flash to develop games, but whether it is Flash or other game development tools get to know how to use them.
Learning Management System (LMS): I would get familiar with the features of an LMS, how they function, how companies’ use them and where they are going. I believe they will still be very present in corporate training in 2015, but will integrate more informal learning tools along with mobile learning, virtual worlds and alternative reality games (ARG).
SCORM: Learn at least the basics of SCORM including how to make basic edits to a SCORM manifest. Because the LMS will still be present in corporate training, like it or not, SCORM will still be very needed in 2015.
Graphics editing: There is a good chance you will need to create and/or edit graphics for your courses (e.g. Photoshop or Fireworks). If you are lucky enough to have a graphic artist on staff, it is still good to know the basics and be able to “speak their language.”
e-Learning web-based training (WBT) development tool: This will most likely be your “go to” tool for developing asynchronous online courses and/or assessments (OutStart Trainer, Articulate, ToolBook, etc., etc., etc.,). Keep in mind some may be DHTML output, others create Flash SWFs. By 2015, I am sure many will create HTML5 files too.
Flash: Yes, Flash is still very much alive and well in e-learning and because it is so embedded in our industry and there is nothing at this time that can provide the rich interactive elements that it provides, I do not see it being “dead” in our field anytime soon. The fact is HTML5 is not there yet and if it ever does get there it will probably be more than 5 years before it is at the level of quality and ease of development that Flash currently provides. However, see my comments under HTML/HTML5.
HTML/HTML5: Learning HTML will come in very handy, especially if your WBT tool creates DHTML files, which you may need to edit at times. As far as HTML5, it is not officially released yet nor is at a point where it can be used to create the level of interactive content you should expect in e-learning courses. However, years from now it may be much more practical and creating HTML5 content will probably be best done via Adobe Dreamweaver. So, learn Dreamweaver now and as HTML5 emerges keep up to date with how to use Dreamweaver to create HTML5 content.
Here are few resources for learning more about e-learning tools and how to developing your skills in using them:
- eLearningLearning, which aggregates many useful e-learning blogs including many discussions on development tools.
- Social bookmarks is always a great way to find useful resources. Here are some of my bookmarks - development_tools, cloud, games, flash_tutorial, SCORM, HTML, HTML5.
- Learning Tools Zone (C4LPT) has a very expansive list of learning tools.
- Once you determine the tools you want to use, search out the application’s development center and blogs that focus on the tool. For example, the Captivate blog or their development center, Articulate’s Rapid eLearning Blog and Word of Mouth Blog, etc.
- Try the tools that interest you. Many tools have trial periods or are free. Give them a try along with any tutorials available.
- The best resource is talk to people in the field who are developing e-learning. Ask them about the tools they use, how they use each, their recommendations on getting started with the tools and what they think with be valuable to you in 2015.
Adobe Flash on Your Google TV
I have talked in the past about Adobe Flash coming to TV and the potential impact on e-Learning (Adobe Flash on TV and Adobe Flash on TV - Update). Now Google has announced Google TV and it WILL have Flash (Flash Player 10.1). They even have a page regarding designing websites for TV that provides some guidance on designing Flash for Google TV. The SDK is expected in several months and Google TV devices will go on sale this fall according to their FAQs.
A Few Practical Tips on Storyboarding
When I peruse my blog stats it always amazes me that my storyboarding posts are some of the most visited and my storyboard template has been downloaded far more than expected. I guess the practical things are the most valuable. Since there is such interest in storyboarding I thought I would follow-up and offer a few more practical tips on creating and using storyboards.
- Determine who you are making storyboards for. Are they for:
- your client and/or Subject Matter Expert (SME),
- developers you are handing the project off to,
- your own use, or
- a combination of the aforementioned.
This will determine how detailed they should be, the technical information you need to include, and how “rough” they can be. For example, storyboards that are for my sole use are sketched out in pencil and the notes are to a level of detail that suits my own needs. If for a developer, obviously I would add far more technical detail and content, for a SME it would focus more on the content and I may leave out technical specifications, etc. - Put storyboards up on a wall. This is the best way to get the feel for the course’s flow and how well it is, or is not, designed. Keeping them on the wall is also a constant reminder of the project, keeping you looking at it, and will call out to your coworkers to take a look and provide feedback.
- Play with the storyboards. I write mine in pencil just for that reason. Once you read them over there will be many improvements that jump out at you. Make the changes and see how they work on the storyboards.
- Don’t feel you have to stick to the storyboards. Sometimes what works on paper just does not translate well on the Internet. Also, at times the technology, resources, or time just does not allow exactly what is written on the storyboards to happen. We often discover this during the development phase. Note: Whatever sacrifices you make do not make them at the cost of learning.
- Include good notes on navigation and orientation. Even properly arranged on the wall, a non-linear course’s storyboards can become confusing without good notes on which link/button goes to which screen or event.
- Storyboards never do the final product justice. They are only representations and cannot fully capture the rich interactivity of the course. Be patient with them and remind anyone involved with the storyboards that they are an initial design and they will get an even better feel for the final product when it comes to life in the coming online drafts.
If you have additional storyboarding tips, please share them in the comments section. Thanks!
Here are past storyboard posts:
Storyboard Templates and Resources
It Came From Hollywood - Storyboarding
Need a Storyboard? Heres a Place to Get Them
To Storyboard or Not to Storyboard
May’s Big Question
Learning Circuits’ Big Question for May is “So what can, should, or will, we offer the digital generation by 2015?”
Five years is not very far into future, but in terms of technology things can change immensely in that amount of time. Just think of how learning technology has changed in the past five years. Off the top of my head here are a few things I think we will be offering in 2015.
- We are already seeing the impact of social media and informal learning, but we will see it blend immensely with both classroom and e-learning. Asynchronous e-learning will incorporate social media into courses allowing for more collaborative learning and formative evaluation by the course designer. As for the classroom, we already see a “back channel,” but it will be more prevalent and more accepted, even encouraged, by facilitators. More access and advances in smart phones, tablets and smart boards will help blend e-learning, social media and classroom training.
- The cloud has also grown, but I see in five years much more robust development tools on the cloud. There are already great cloud tools out there, but I think we will see more e-learning development tools at the level of Flash, Captivate, Articulate, OutStart Trainer, etc. on the cloud. Much of which will be courtesy of open source projects. Among the many benefits, it will increase mobility on the developer’s end. We designers/developers won’t be limited to working only on the computer in which we loaded our Flash CS10.
- Adobe Flash will be alive and well. HTML5’s full release is two years away. We probably will see it replace Flash for video/audio support, but it will fall short in its quality and level of interactivity and animation. HTML5 development tools will not provide the ease of creating rich Internet applications… at least not after only three years in. We will see Flash be the preferred medium of e-learning developers and a favored output (SWFs) of other e-learning dev tools. Upside Learning Blog has a good post on HTML5 and e-learning development that is a worthwhile read on this subject.
- We will offer even more edu-games. Again Flash will still be preferred as HTML5 just won’t be there yet.
- On the design end, the industry will focus much more on offering truly engaging, instructionally sound courses and our audience will demand it. Hopefully page turners will be extinct by 2015.
Sign-offs for e-Learning Courses
When creating e-learning courses I ask stakeholders to sign-off on the final product. This is only after the review process is complete. Very often the stakeholders are also the subject matter experts for the course. Either way, I find that a sign-off provides confidence for me and my team that the course meets the approval and needs of the stakeholder, the content is accurate, and that we have a commitment from the stakeholders/SMEs for future reviews.
Here is what I include in a typical sign-off form. Granted, this may change depending on the project and any addendum requested by the stakeholder/SME. I keep it as simple and succinct as possible. The following points are included in the agreement.
- That the design and content for the course provides accurate information and complies with the organization’s current policies and procedures.
- To conduct future reviews on a specific scheduled basis to verify its accuracy.
- To inform the course designer(s) of any future content, policy and procedure changes that affect the on-line learning program.
- The course will not be released on the learning management system (LMS) or Intranet without the completion of this form/agreement.
Please keep in mind, I am referring to a sign-off for courses created for internal use. A sign-off for an external client would be approached with greater detail.
Are there additional things you include in a sign-off? Please feel free to share in the comments section.
e-Learning and Games in Healthcare
After six years in banking, I have recently returned to the healthcare industry. Thankfully, e-learning is prevalent in healthcare and very receptive to the use of games. Games are a fantastic way to challenge learners and keep them engaged and interacting with the content at hand.
Like many in e-learning, I am responsible for both design and development along with playing the role of graphic artist too. This is what I refer to as my “one-man workshop.” I think some in our field who are also a one-man, or woman, workshop may shy away from the use of games in e-learning because of the level of resources and time required to produce a game. Yes, we do see some great games out there that required large teams of designers, developers, graphic artists, etc., but that does not mean we can not create e-learning games too. For me it is more of a matter of scale and taking advantage of the resources that are available.
I have been able to produce what I call mini-games, which I incorporate into courses and occasionally use as small stand alone games. In order to be able to produce games, I keep them small and not too complex. This reduces both design and development time. I also rely on some great resources that help make the seemingly impossible Flash development possible. Here they are:
- ActionScript for Fun and Games by Gary Rosenzweig - The last edition is from the days of Flash MX, but it is still a great resource when it comes to developing games that can be tweaked into e-learning games. Gary also has more updated resources online at www.garyrosenzweig.com.
- Flashkit game tutorials - They not only have a good collection of game tutorials, but also provide the source files which help immensely in dissecting and learning the ActionScript.
Back to healthcare, here are a few articles on use of games and e-learning in healthcare I would like to share:
- The Rise of Gaming in Healthcare
- Serious Games Futuring Medical Training in France
- Healthcare Industry Embraces Online Training
Here are also few examples of courses in healthcare/health sciences, including a few games (in bold), that I dug out of the Free e-Learning page:
- Blood Typing- NobelPrize.org
- Cardio-Pulmonary Resucitation (CPR) - e-Mersion
- Deep Brain Stimulation - Edheads.org
- Escape From Diab - NIH
- Interactive Health Tutorials - MedicinePlus
- How Your Brain Understands What Your Ear Hears - NIH
- Learn.Genetics ™ - Genetic Science Learning Center
- The Human Genome
- Nanoswarm: Invasion From Inner Space - NIH
- Playnormous Health Games (K-12)
- SnacktownSmackdown - Kaiser Permanente (K-12)
It is very exciting to be part of an industry that sees such value of games in education and training. FYI: There is also a conference next month (May 25-27) on the role of games in healthcare - Games for Health Conference. I won’t be able to attend, but it looks great.
