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HTML5 Demos from Apple

June 5, 2010 in Development | No comments

If you’re interested in learning more about what HTML5 can do, you should definitely check out the demos Apple just released. (I shared some demos in my article on HTML5 and elearning but these are… let’s say… better curated than most collections.)

Now, Apple did choose to put up a browser sniffer directing you to download Safari if you don’t happen to be using Safari when you visit. I personally think Safari’s worth using for the anti-aliasing alone, but if you just want a casual glance, go to the developer section instead… The demos are easier to get to and most of them work just fine on Firefox.

And authoring tool vendors, please visit the developer section for the code. I would love for someone to make it easy for me to make really pretty HTML stuff. Just sayin’.

3 AM Update: I have no idea why I’m up this late, but I went back to the demos and the site has changed; now there are browser sniffers on each demo in the developer section, in addition to the one blocking the main section. And in all cases, they don’t just warn you that the demos won’t work… they prevent you from seeing the demos unless you’re using Safari. Way to show that HTML5 is a web standard, Apple.

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Beyond the Hype: Understanding HTML5 and its Potential for e-Learning and mLearning

May 31, 2010 in Articles | No comments

Learning Solutions Magazine just published an article I wrote on HTML5’s potential for elearning/mlearning.

Enjoy! And here’s the permalink (requires free subscription to the magazine).

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What I’m Missing at Learning Solutions, Part 3

March 26, 2010 in Just For Fun | No comments

Okay, so I did my chapter Board meeting last night and then #lrnchat and then watched some TED talks (more on that later) instead of posting about the final day of #LS2010. But scrolling through the sessions, only feeling like minimal reading, it’s clear to me which session I would be in if I were in Orlando instead of at my desk right now:

New Skills for Instructional Designers – Not only does the content sound great, I know the quality of these presenters’ ideas from their blogs and other online presence, and I’m interested in what they have to say.

I’ll catch up on the backchannel later…  Have safe travels home, everyone!

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What I’m Missing at Learning Solutions, Part 2

March 24, 2010 in Just For Fun | No comments

Jealous! (Did you know that orange was the color symbolizing jealousy in Shakespeare's day?)

I enjoyed peeking in to the #ls2010 backchannel today! And I realized that yesterday I didn’t even mention anything that wasn’t a concurrent session… lots of stuff going on in the ID Zone sounded really cool, too, but I’m way too tired from my week to make this post any bigger than it’s already shaping up to be. I’m kind of glad I didn’t have to decide what to actually go to. Here are my picks for tomorrow…

The Top 10 Must-Do’s for Developing Successful e-Learning Programs – Having spent the last 3 years building an elearning initiative from the ground up, I have to wonder what I missed. There must be something.

Giving Voice to Your e-Learning - Okay, selfish choice. Since I do a little voiceover work on the side, mainly for elearning, I might figure out a few things about how to market my services in this session. :D

Designing Continuous Learning: Leveraging the Power of a Learning Continuum – Again with the movement away from learning “events”…

McGyver e-Learning: Creating e-Learning with Open-source and Common Tools – Even if you weren’t a proponent of open-source tech (which I am, don’t get me wrong), who could resist something called “McGyver e-Learning”?

The Evolving LMS/LCMS:  Their Role in the World of Learning 2.0 and Social Learning – While I’ve heard of several LMS/LCMSs that support social learning, the ones I have the most experience with definitely don’t fall into that category. It would be nice to get more education there.

Rapid Deployment Leveraging Social Networks and Google Wave – Or maybe it would be better to see some concrete tools and examples along the same lines…

Case Study: Converting a Live Workshp to e-Learning – This just sounds good. Lots of us grapple with converting ILT to elearning and the decisions that must be made in that design process; I’m always interested to see how others do it.

Visual Design Essentials: Practical Techniques for Designing Better Online Courses – I had to reread this description before I “got it” that when the writer says “design” he means “visual design”, and that made me chafe a little (that confusion being something that bosses and clients often fall victim to, as well). Having said that, visual design is important and it’s always something I’m up for learning more about… particularly when it relates directly to what I do.

“Don’t Make Me Think”: Creating Effective e-Learning with User Testing – I reread Steve Krug’s book recently because I hope to step up some of our user testing at work; this session would be relevant. And I like that they’re recognizing how relevant web design/development is to elearning design/development…

New Applications for Mobile Games and Simulations – mLearning has never been a huge interest for me, but I’m currently doing some research on HTML5 and therefore wish I could peek into just about every mlearning session I hear about…

When Worlds Collide: Social Media and the Learning Organization – Again, interested in how social media and collaborative tools can affect learning.

Don’t be shy! Tell me what I missed… even if it’s not listed above.

Edit: I have to say (as if there are people out there who are going to get offended) — there are a few sessions that sound really cool, but I might have caught the same speaker doing what sounds like a similar topic at prior conferences. So I pretty much didn’t list those here. No offense! And from the tweets coming in about Michael Allen’s session, I might be wrong about that anyway. Again, wish I were there…

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What I’m Missing at Learning Solutions, Part 1

March 24, 2010 in Just For Fun | No comments

Jealous!

Looking ahead to the conferences happening this summer, the one I’m probably most sorry to be missing is Learning Solutions Conference and Expo 2010.

But just because I can’t go doesn’t mean I can’t window-shop! So, completely ignoring my word count, here are the sessions I would be trying to decide between if I were in Orlando today:

Using Web Analytics to Track the Use of Formal and Informal Learning – Lots of us try to avoid our LMSs, but then we don’t get good tracking on how many customers we’re serving. Analytics could bridge that gap and I do use Google Analytics for websites I manage… but I don’t know a lot about using it inside a company’s intranet, which it seems like you would have to do.

The Role of Standards in Supporting Innovation in e-Learning – This might be a little basic for me, but I’m really interested in the work that LETSI is doing.

Creating Game-like Engagement without a Game Designer’s Budget – I’m a big believer that it’s the creativity behind the game — and the understanding of what makes a game good — that makes it exciting… not the multimedia. It sounds like this session is aimed at the right ideas.

Assessing e-Learning Results: Fundamentals, Myths, and Special Opportunities – I like that Will Thalheimer focuses on research-based solutions, so I tend to be interested in pretty much anything he has to say.

Project Management for Rapid e-Learning Projects – Project management has always been a challenge for me… not so much because I’m bad at it (hopefully), but more because I’d like to be better so that I could spend less time doing it.

Improving Systems Training by Adding Informal Learning – See comments on Will Thalheimer’s session above.

Distributed Learning: Rethinking Design to Encourage Advanced Performance – I’ve spent a lot of effort over the last year trying to change from designing learning “events” to designing solutions that meet learners’ needs over time. Interested in what Clark Quinn has to say on the topic… his perspective is usually a very interesting one.

Creating Media Like a Pro: Tips and Tricks for Audio and Video Development – And as much as I like to contemplate theory and learning strategy, I’m part of a very small shop and that is just getting its feet wet in video development. Some nitty-gritty tips would be good, and I always pick up good stuff from Diane Elkins’s presentations.

Advanced e-Learning Technology Architecture: Moving Beyond Course Delivery – Again, just interested in how technology supports — and limits — learning delivery.

Creating Value in e-Learning Design through Effective Instructional Feedback – I also usually learn a lot from Allen Interactions’ classes and sessions, though this one might not be much that’s new after taking both of their Elearning Instructional Design classes from ASTD.

On the upside, I guess I don’t actually have to decide between these, since I won’t be there. Did you pick any of these? How were they?

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Is Your Life Just One Big RPG?

March 1, 2010 in Big Picture | 2 comments

My husband sent this video to me this week: a recording of Carnegie Mellon professor, author, and former Imagineer Jesse Schell talking about the future, game design, Facebook, and lots more at DICE 2010. There are several ID implications here, but one that speaks to me most initially is about motivation.

As a trainer, I often fell for the idea that if I was giving out prizes, trainees would only value them if they were “valuable”. But in fact, mere measurement does change behavior, and the oddest things can motivate us: achievements in WoW (most of which give nothing), virtual prizes (like clipart of a car that I saw one webinar presenter give out this past week), or simply seeing a full row of green checkmarks because we got 100% on a quiz.

There’s lots of stuff to discuss here. Watch. Tell me what you think.

(Alternately, view in parts on YouTube…)

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The Wish Book, All Grown Up

October 22, 2009 in Tools | No comments

chemistrysetWhen I was little, the day the Sears Wish Book arrived at our house was one of the best of the year. Second only to Christmas, even… My sister and I would eagerly page through the book for weeks, picking out what we were going to ask Santa for.

It’s with somewhat less anticipation that I make my yearly requests for new software, but the shopping researching is still fun.

I know I’m not going to get everything I ask for (particularly not the Deluxe Chemistry Set), and yes, it will all be tied to the company’s business needs blah ROI blah etc increasing productivity blah etc. But having said that, I’m wondering…

What was on your software wish list this year?

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It’s Official: I’m Not Going to be a Flash Developer When I Grow Up

August 21, 2009 in Development | No comments

I’m baaack!

My summer semester ended yesterday and it inspired the title of this post. I did a credible job (I hope), but studying Flash coding further has reinforced my belief that if you’re going to use advanced tools, you’re so much better off with an expert developer. After all, you wouldn’t want someone who only dabbles in ID to design the course, would you? (Please say no.)

Honestly, I think I have the brainpower to do the coding, I find a certain amount enjoyable, and I think it’s very beneficial for the designer to understand the basics of the development work. But…

1) I’m never going to be as efficient as a dedicated Flash developer, and…

2) Coding all my own designs might make me lazy about their level of interactivity. And that would be bad.

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ILT vs. E-Learning… How Much Do Instructional Design Skills Translate?

August 5, 2009 in Design | 8 comments

I have a friend who is looking for an instructional design job. Up to this point in her career, she has only designed instructor-led training, but she feels that her skills and experience will translate directly to e-learning.

I don’t entirely agree, but since more of my experience is in designing e-learning, I don’t feel like I’m the biggest expert on the differences in what we do.

So I’m asking for your help… what do you think?

I understand that this question is full of gray areas, but please pick a side that you agree with more… and if you’re inclined, I’d love for you to leave a comment to explain why! For the purposes of this poll, assume that no e-learning development skills are being considered; just design skills.

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Learning Agents Part 1: Why Learning Agents?

June 22, 2009 in Design | No comments

It seems like I’m seeing more and more courses with learning agents these days, so all this week, I’ll share some examples and thoughts.learningagent1

Learning agents are characters that reside on the screen and deliver course material, much the way an instructor would in instructor-led training.

They can bring life and energy to a dry, boring topic. They can provide an authoritative look and feel when the audience or material calls for it. Or they can provide a “touchstone” and make the course more personal for learners who otherwise may not enjoy computer-based training.

Have you ever taken or created a course with a learning agent? What was the agent’s purpose? Did using it achieve the goal?

Stay tuned: Learning Agents, Done Well

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Maybe if They Changed the Design Template…

June 18, 2009 in Design | No comments

Read: http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/06/study-powerpoint-animations-are-comprehension-killers.ars

First response: Hunh. I’ve taught people to create build-in animations to simplify presentations and increase retention. I’ve created e-learning following the same principles.

stepthreeprofit

Not the presentation used in the study, one hopes

Second response: Why? I enjoy it more when content is presented gradually, but maybe all-at-once presentation forces more “constructivist” activity, causing greater comprehension and retention…? Is this one more thing to file under “learners like it more when they can be lazy, but they learn better when they’re challenged”?

Third response: I’d like to see the presentations used, and I’d like to see more trials with different variables. Not because I question the results, but because it really flies in the face of our “knowledge”.

Fourth response: Considering the number of questions on the assessment (nine), the difference between the two results is not huge. I’m just surprised it wasn’t strongly in favor of build-ins.

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