Category Archives: eLearning 2.0

Free Stock Photography and Illustration for eLearning

February 8, 2013 – 4:34 pm

Designing a cool learning experience in your favorite authoring tool and the built-in images such as PowertPoint (Office) clipart is driving you crazy?

There’s an app for that, I mean, a website (more than that, actually). Here are some that I use or have used in the past:

Stock Exchange: you can download photos for free here, they have quite a vast selection. All you have to do is register and agree to the terms to download images at no cost.

IconFinder: If you’re looking for icons for your courseware and materials, this place has all you need (unless you want to create your own from scratch – good luck).

 

Microsoft Images (Clipart, Illustration and Photos): This website offers a LOT of great images that appear in the Office Clipart Search funtion, the search here is more comprehensive and yields fantastic results. A tip, you can download clipart images in .wmf format, bring them into a Microsoft Office application like Word or PowerPoint and ungroup that image to edit portions of it to create a new image from it! 

 

Note: Everyone, I know there are numerous other services like these, but I find myself coming back to these specific ones more often. Please feel free to add your own suggestions with descriptions in the comments  below and I can incorporate more services onto this post later.

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Optimizing Content for Mobile Devices – Or Why Can’t My Learner Access This Content Anywhere?

January 3, 2013 – 3:13 pm

The question in the title of this post should guide most (if not all) decisions we make when authoring content for our audiences, this doesn’t just apply to Education, but is extremely important as the technological frameworks that permeate it are constantly evolving. In the fields of Marketing and Entertainment, it’s constantly stressed as an emerging trend that a user can start accessing content (e.g. a movie) on a SmartTV and continue where s/he left off on a mobile device, without breaking the flow of the experience.

The same should be true for learning experiences we design. We, designers and developers of learning experiences, should always ask ourselves “why shouldn’t my learner be able to start experiencing this content on one device and continue where s/he left off on another device?”

A couple of years ago, when HTML5 and other technologies offered alternative ways to provide rich content to audiences that were used to the omnipresent Flash technology were a little cumbersome to learn and glitchy to play with. Now, there is n lack of “mobile-friendly-content-spitting” authoring tools that are as friendly as those that previously authored Flash-only content.

Captivate 6+, Articulate Storyline, Articulate Studio ’13 (just to mention the most well-known ones) all offer ways to convert old content and create new content in mobile-friendly frameworks. No excuses. We should at least “investigate” the possibility of offering seamless and/or second screen experiences to our learners, yesterday.

It’s not a choice.

I’m not discussing the creation of native apps and content that take advantage of mobile-platforms unique features like location-awareness, gyroscopes, etc. Nothing ground-breaking and uncomfortable. That’s topic for another discussion. I’m simply emphasizing the need to offer what you currently have restricted to a “desktop experience” in ways that are accessible from any* platform.

Free your learner. Now…

Do you face any challenges when trying to seamlessly offer content anytime, anywhere?

 

* “any” is a dangerous word, perhaps better replaced by “most widespread”

 

A Few Infographics on “Mobile Learning”

Source: interactyx.com via Enzo on Pinterest

Source: mashable.com via Enzo on Pinterest

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Inside the Mind of a Community Manager [INFOGRAPHIC]

December 7, 2012 – 9:38 am

Here’s an infographic illustrating the mentality that not only community managers (those with that official title) but also learning designers, employees, students, EVERYONE in a community need to have. We are ALL community managers and relationship builders.

Investing in relationships, online and offline, is the key activity in this hyperconnected world. Relationships are one of the most important forms of  currency.

We need to have the mindset of every action (again, online and offline) being that of investing more of this currency into our knowledge economy. So, let’s put on the hat of community managers. Take a step toward being a meaningful relationship investor.

It’s now about the “media” in social media. It’s about the social, not matter what media. It’s about relationships that can be fostered through different medium types (media). Don’t get the “media” confused with electronic objects/assets… media as in means, medium.

Let’s all treasure our communities.

What does that mean to us Learning professionals? Let’s foster discussions in our different social media channels, let’s consolidate groups, let’s share best practices for creating communities and better utilizing the relationships we have across the board.

Let’s make it easy for people to communicate openly, let’s clean up, let’s facilitate, mediate, instigate…

</rant>

 

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Edutaining Airline Safety Videos

November 14, 2012 – 3:47 pm

Dying on a plane crash is one of my nightmares. I am afraid of flying on commercial aircrafts, it’s tense. So, why not catch my attention in that sweaty-palm moment with a fun little video about air travel safety? I’m already tense enough to be bored by the traditional video segments.

Here’s to the airlines that like to break tradition and provide more engaging educational videos to their passengers:

 

 

 

 

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Learn Anything in Real Courses – For Free Or For a Fee

October 12, 2012 – 10:41 am

I’m always looking at/for new ways to learn things or for a flexible way to learn things my way. One thing I am always looking out for is informal learning opportunities, be it in the form of a Youtube video, a Pin on Pinterest, talking to a friend on Facebook/Twitter/Linkedin (the big 3), finding a useful document on Scribd.com, the list goes on.

Also very interesting, however, is the rise of curated and organized “class” experiences on the Web that are open to anyone (it seems some of my not-so-crazy predictions for 2012 were correct after all). You may know from this post that I have a bit of a disappointed attitude (to put it politely) with universities claiming they have “open content” out there for anyone to take, when all they do is put up a lecture in formats like podcast, PowerPoint files or videos. Top-down approach at its best with no participation. It’s a step in the right direction but not the “best” way (disclaimer: what’s “best” for me might not be “best” for you, take this comment with a grain or two of salt).

That’s why I get really excited when I see opportunities to learn “with/from” others and share what I know as well in “class” experiences on the Web.

I recently took a Gamification course on Coursera, delivered by Prof. Werbach from the University of Pennsylvania. The class was setup as a series of short asynchronous video lectures, interactive quizzes, and peer-reviewed written assignments. A university-level course with a lot of interaction with peers and the professor, open, free of charge.

There are many opportunities for professional development out there these days, and not all of them mean “I’m sitting alone at home watching a boring lecture on Youtube” (no offense – those have their place too).

As forward thinking individuals and companies, let’s take advantage of these opportunities and learn, spread knowledge. Let’s DELIVER classes and share with the world what we know (a call for myself too). Let’s support employee professional development by encouraging our employees to take full advantage of learning opportunities online and offline.

Recently, Laura, a colleague put it in her professional development plan to take a course to improve specific skills. The company fully supported her in doing so. This is the type of forward thinking organizations need to have nowadays, in the 2020 Workplace!

Here are a few of the 1000s of places where you can learn something in a structured course, online, for a fee or for free… openly. Go learn something new today!

Coursera: Instructor-led and peer-reviewed University courses available for free, providing certificates of completion! Watch videos, participate in discussions, submit written assignments, respond to quizzes. According to the Coursera team: “We hope to give everyone access to the world-class education that has so far been available only to a select few. We want to empower people with education that will improve their lives, the lives of their families, and the communities they live in.”

Udemy: Curated and instructor-led courses online. Some are free others are not (but well worth paying for)!

General Assembly : “A global network of campuses for individuals seeking opportunity and education in technology, business, and design.”

Class Central: A curated list of several free online courses offered by universities on various platforms.

Udacity: Video lectures for free accompanied by problems/questions and answers, and exams. Udacity also offers certificates of completion!

SkillShare: A catalog of hybrid and local classes offered by experienced instructors.

CodeCademy: A gamified and fun way to learn code and programming with friends online!

 

More similar sites here. Explore, learn, teach, have fun!

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Reusable and Shareable Learning Objects

March 14, 2012 – 8:56 am

When we normally think of reusable learning objects we think of reusing them in other traditional learning settings, be it a chapter of a student manual or a video used in a different e-learning course (yes, e-learning is traditional, isn’t it?).
When we think of modular, reusable learning objects we have to think of them as not just reusable in a traditional sense, but imagine them as shareable learning objects. Media elements to be spread in different social media sites by us (designers/developers) and learners themselves. For instance, when creating a job aid about a process or concept, make it attractive, publish it on different social media sites like Pinterest (the new fad now) so others can also share it. Or perhaps you design a video that can not only be used in a course, but also shared via YouTube. Those are simple examples, but we have to think of learning as a continuum, not just self-contained experiences.
Don’t just design self-contained experiences, design pieces of a whole that can also function separately. Pieces that can be reused, shared in different social networks.
Don’t just design learning media, design potentially social media.

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The Case for App Stores

January 30, 2012 – 12:44 pm

Apple has changed the way consumers expect to get access to applications, especially mobile applications, with the creation of its iOS App Store and then the Mac App Store. There are several advantages for the use of app stores that might outweigh its most apparent disadvantage: the possibility of creating walled gardens which allow customers to only purchase and update their applications via the app store. This also maximizes the possibility of censorship, as has been the case for various developers that tried to sell applications that were questionably suspended or rejected by Apple. However, if implemented well, and provided the right access rights to developers and consumers, the concept of an app store has several advantages, of which I’ll highlight a few:

  • Centralized Application Access: Let’s face it, people like comfort. They like to be able to find the things they want (in this case mobile and/or desktop applications) easily and quickly. The app store becomes then a one stop shop for customer needs. Take this to an individual company’s level and you have a central location for application delivery that you can point customers to and have them find just the application they need from your portfolio.
  • Centralized Updates: With centralized access comes “push” updates. The goal here is also to make it easy and quick for customers to have the latest version of a company’s applications (and/or developer applications that work with a company’s services or devices). This also ensure compatibility amongst customers’ applications and server side services, as well as compatibility between different customers’ applications in case of apps using for collaboration. The concept of an app store ensures everyone has access to the latest version of your content anytime.
  • Centralized Security Control: Since the enterprise has at least some control over the applications and other content that is distributed through its app store, it can more safely guard the security, policies, and access to apps and content. Isn’t this just what most companies complain about when users ask them “why can’t we use this or that device at work?”

Notice that I purposely repeat the word “centralized” as it’s key to the concept of app stores, and denotes its main advantage over a discentralized distribution of applications.

SalesForce AppExchange

SalesForce, for instance, has its own application marketplace called AppExchange where users can access cloud business applications centrally. One interesting thing about SalesForce’s app store is that it allows third party  developers to publish applications there and make them available to existing SalesForce customers. Also, it allows customers to post a custom app development request and Force.com developers can access the job posting on the AppExchange Developer Marketplace, the customer can choose the developer that best fits the requirements for the job based on rating and skills. Of course, the customer will also rate the developer after the work is done as well, so the community can make sure they only choose the best developers, and so developers drive for best results every time.

Cisco’s AppHQ Cius

Cisco created its own app store called AppHQ for their business-oriented Android App, the Cius. AppHQ lets companies create their own customized app stores with differentiated licensing and distribution control of content and apps as well as a custom storefront. From their AppHQ information page, once can find the following highlights:

  • Easy Application Discovery and Search
  • Enterprise Wide Application Purchase and Distribution
  • Application Bulk Purchases
  • License Management
  • User and Group Management
  • Application Evaluation, and Life Cycle Management
  • Private Branding and Customization
  • Internal Application Hosting Mechanism
  • Application Usage and Reporting
  • Rating and Reviews Management

Some examples of custom app stores and related services

If you’re interested in starting your own company’s custom app store, here are some services that could be worth investigating further:

As a side note, Apple offers app volume purchasing for companies that want to purchase and distribute applications for their employees via they B2B service.

If you’re interested in finding out more about custom app stores, their advantages and disadvantages, and use cases, start by reading “Private app stores: does your company need its own?” by Jon Brodkin (2011) on Ars Technica.

Does your company or institution need its own app store for your (and third party developer) apps and contents such as applications and ebooks?

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iBooks Author for Mac

January 19, 2012 – 2:41 pm

Apple changes the publishing business once again. Sure there are other formats and authoring tools which are supported in iBooks, but this is different: an application that fits tightly in the Apple ecosystem, and as is normally the case with Apple products, simple.

Apple unveiled this new tool in their Apple Education event in NYC. Here are some highlights and features:

Integration with other Apple products and workflow

Template gallery

Drag-and-drop editing

Embedding and customization of elements such as galleries

Support for JavaScript

Support for HTML5

iPad simulator/preview

Accessibility support

Support for widgets

Apple says on their website:

Available free on the Mac App store, iBooks Author is an amazing new app that allows anyone to create beautiful Multi-Touch textbooks — and just about any other kind of book — for iPad. With galleries, video, interactive diagrams, 3D objects, and more, these books bring content to life in ways the printed page never could.

Did I say it is free of charge on the Mac App Store?

This application should facilitate the process for creating custom interactive eBooks that play well, natively, in Apple (and perhaps other) devices. Now all one needs is creativity…

One of the sources: The Official Apple Website, and TheNextWeb.

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5 Not so Crazy Predictions for Education in 2012

December 22, 2011 – 9:38 pm

It”s not not uncommon for geeks to do some wishful thinking a line any mortal hoping their tech dreams will come true in the new year to come.

Id like to make some predictions for 2012 as well. Just a few humble predictions and observations.

1. Education everywhere

And by everywhere I don’t mean the whole any device anytime anywhere hype. I mean, everyone in every part of the world (except cultures that don’t accept technology and our views of Education of course) will have access to quality Education and educational technology. We will see more initiatives such as EducateNCare, which encourages professionals to provide some of their knowledge and time to tutors children in developing countries online. With initiatives such as this, others will see the need to equip this on the other end of the connection, the local students and teachers. We’ll be even more aware of the need to capacitate professionals in their own native countries.

2. Open educational content will actually be OPEN

Many institutions offer open courseware and content for anyone to access. What we will see is more open source content out there, not just open access content, but content that can be reshaped, and shared forward with other educators and learners via a license such as Creative Commons.

3. Learning on smart TVs
With all these smart devices proliferating, Education should take more advantage of them and be, well, smart Education. eLearning is made mostly with the old desktop metaphor in mind. But thing about all kids of fantastic learning experiences we could have of we designed for different smart devices. I’m not talking just about mobile devices with gyroscopes, location awareness, multitouch interfaces, I mean even (smart) connected TVs. If even the good ol’ tube is changing; why cant we innovate in how we do education in it as well?

4. Micro-location learning and information

We’re all familiar with the concept of GPS devices or mobile map applications taking you from point A to point B with guided turn-by-turn directions and pop-up traffic/trip conditions and events warnings. However, these technologies are normally only for outdoors navigation. You’re lost inside a building. This is a problem that Google has taken on now with their new solution Google Maps indoors feature, which offers guidance inside buildings such as airports.  However, in 2012 we’ll see the rise of microlocation-based learning, which can provide guidance within buildings and institutions indoors. Imagine the educational uses of such mobile applications: exploring the workplace, accurately connecting with others inside of buildings to share information and perhaps serendipitously  meet up for lunch (yes, learning is about forging relationships with others with whom we share or not interests), on-demand information about machines as a learner walks by it. Better yet,  as the learner walks by that very same machine, s/he will  be prompted by an alert on their location-aware device that there is something wrong with it and that it needs repair, not only that, but the alert will show what exactly is wrong with it and give the user an option to follow an interactive strep-by-step repair “tour”. On the job support, information, and true task-based learning about specific concepts, tools, processes as the learner actually does it.

5. Education institutions will allow more social media

With the advent of better content aggregation and curation techniques, Education institutions will appreciate more of the educational applications of social media and feel safer in letting students access social media resources to learn. Youtube has recently released it’s Youtube EDU which allows educators and schools to allow access (mostly) to content they approve on their channel by using technologies such as filters. Students will be given access to a variety of social media services in school as these services start to offer options for content access based on some of the issues faced by schools, issues such as inappropriate or distracting content.

6. [Bonus Prediction] Motion-based learning gets popular and affordable

As devices like the XBox Kinect and Playstation Move start to become more popular, we should see more affordable motion-based learning experiences in the field. Moreover, we should see precise motion training and job aids coupled with Augmented Reality HUDs as employees try to solve real-life problems in the workplace.

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Second Screen Learning?

December 15, 2011 – 9:05 am

A phenomenon that can be classified as anything from multitasking to plain distraction is getting more popular as smartphones get smarter and tablet computers more ubiquitous: the use of the “second screen“.

It is common now to have at least one person (if not everyone) in the living room watching as movie on TV while, at the same time, checking what their friends are saying on Facebook, Twitter, or simply researching the lead role’s biography on Wikipedia. Whatever they are doing on the little screen, it seems that nowadays the big screen is not enough. People crave more. People want to connect with others and with information outside what they see on the big screen. Often, at least in my family, it is an interaction around the content of the TV, tagging it in Into_Now, and telling their friends on Facebook that they’re watching it and following up on comments about the same post.

ReadWriteWeb reports that 86% of people using their mobile device do so while watching TV. Of those, 33% use mobile apps, 37% browse non-related content, 40% are social networking, while 60% are texting with friends and family. It’s the rise of social TV which so far comprises mostly of static content (TV) coupled with dynamic, social activities (social networking, Web browsing, mobile apps, check-ins into shows and movies).

Disney offers an iPad / PC application called Second Screen which live syncs with the Blu-Ray movie on the TV and provides different content that supplements the movie: games, flipbooks, photo galleries with sketches, trivia about the movie, etc.

How would this second screen experience affect Education? What if, instead of banning smartphones and tablets, teachers in K12 encouraged synchronous exploration of concepts “synced” with what the teacher is discussing?What if in corporate Education, we saw complimentary interactions and information that gave students a better understanding of what the instructor is explaining or even interact with other students in a backchannel discussion around the topics in class?

Many already use in conferences, for instance, Twitter streams as a means to have a backchannel discussions in different sessions. Can we to go beyond that, explore other forms of “second screen experiences” at events, in the classroom, outside the classroom?

How can we combat some of the potential negative aspects of the second screen in the classroom, like distraction, lack of concentration? Can we produce second screen experiences that are channeled. guided and enhances attention rather than distract the learners? How can we employ this concept in online learning environments (being them synchronous live virtual classrooms or self-paces asynchronous experiences)?

Many questions, exciting exploration.

Food for thought: here’s a blogger’s take on how second screen experiences could be used not only in entertainment but also in politics, for instance.

 

Perhaps second screen experiences in Education will be a trend in 2012, with more an more mobile devices in consumers’ hands.

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