Downloaded free version of Articulate

Downloading Articulate’s software, Engage, was very easy and I was shocked at how easy it was to use. In a matter of a few minutes I had created a Five Step Process course with sound recorded on each page, a test script on one Page, and had loaded a video that I had created for another project. Pros: this software is very simple and easy to use to create professional E-learning programs. The variety of styling choices makes it easy to tailor the look to the needs of the participants. The ability to incorporate media with a few mouse clicks, make it easy to share media for various applications. The options to publish made it simple to use and flexible to send to my desired location or format. Engage is a very interesting tool and I can see why customers enjoy its features. Cons is the cost, which make it an investment for either school districts, or businesses that have other forms of e-learning software and staff on hand that build courses.

Up until now, I have used Jing Pro for my screencasting, and have enjoyed the ease of the software, and the fact I can send it directly to YouTube or Twitter. The limitations I found is that I have been creating PowerPoint slideshows as my templates, and used that as a foundation to deliver the material. Engage offers a program that looks like other e-learning programs I have seen, but is simple enough that I could create the courses very quickly. It would allow me to create my own courses not using a design professional, and could save money in the long run. This was a great resource, and one that I will enjoy the free trial to explore as many applications as I can to understand why the program would be worth the cost.

What other methods have you used to create self studies or e-learning programs? If you use, Articulate, what features have you enjoyed the most? How does it compare to the competition? Is it worth cost?

Regards,
Brooke

WebQuests as a Learning Tool

Webquest.org was a new site and I was not familiar with the information it contained. Conceptually, it makes sense, but as the Web has evolved it would not be the platform I would choose for hosting a Webquest. This site was created in 1995 and designed to “make it easier to create great WebQuests without having to master a web editor, QuestGarden was created by Bernie Dodge.” If I was hosting a Webquest, I could create the document in Google Docs and it would easily be accessible for my students. Another option would be to have the students create their own blog and record their findings, or frame a wiki so they could record as an individual or collaborate as a team. All of these options are free solutions, that do not require I master a web editor, and currently offer an easy web link.
If you choose to use the WebQuest the pros are that the cost is low, $20 for a two year subscription. Templates are already created for quick, simple topics if a teacher is short on time and resources. Cons are it was difficult to search, and I was not able to find topics in the search function, it reverted to bringing up books to purchase. After reviewing several Webquests on the site, they were very one-dimensional. Did not see any use of video, just photos or characters. Many of the links were no longer functioning or active, which makes the site appears out-of-date. I also did find a link that gave tips and red flags for Webquests, which was helpful to review in any platform you choose.

A WebQuest can be a valuable training tool. It engages the participant to research, analyze and create their own interpretation and evaluation of the information or topic. Any student can Google and find a few sources, but responsible teachers also will instruct how to review a source for validity and continue to train students on effective uses for technology in research.


References:
Dodge, B. (2007). Creating webquests. http://webquest.org/index-create.php

Dodge, B. (1999). Selecting a webquest project. http://webquest.sdsu.edu/project-selection.html

Dodge, B. (2010). Questgarden. http://questgarden.com/

March, T. (2006). The 7 red flags: warning signs when sifting webquests. http://www.bestwebquests.com/tips/red_flags.asp

Internet Radio as a Learning Tool

How internet radio different than podcasting? Internet radio “streams” and is available on demand, but does not save as one unit on the listeners device. Podcasts, on the other hand, are a recorded audio that can be downloaded, accessed or stored as one unit. Internet radio reaches many users, while a podcasts reaches one user at a time (paul@octalkradio.net,2010). I found an informative Slideshare presentation that was very helpful, specifically pages 11 and 12; the reference link is http://www.slideshare.net/octalkradio/internet-radio-vs-podcasting-3874769

As I commute an hour each way to work and I enjoy listening to books on cd in my car to help pass the time. Certainly, I could use my mobile device or I-tunes to listen and learn from books, lectures, or other information while I commute or perform other tasks to learn. I-tunes currently offers selections of courses available to download to support learning. This application I was familiar with in the format of podcasting, but not using internet radio.

There are several education sites that offer resources and Educator Streaming Radio network http://www.bamradionetwork.com/ or the Educator Podcast network http://www.epnweb.org/ which may give new ideas for applications.
I see that internet radio offers educational tools, just another way to reach the students where they are.


Have you used Internet radio as a learning tool? If so, what did you do and how did it work?

Voki Practice

Practicing embedding code into my blog & wiki

Wanted to learn how to embed videos into my blog, wiki and website. Was able to successful use the embed code into this blog and into my wiki to enrich the learning. For this blog just had to click on the Edit HTML tab and paste the embed code from the video. For the wiki just had to click on the Edit tab, click insert and click YouTube, and click insert embed code. Click back to View on wiki tabs, and it works.



This is going to be great!
Brooke

Quick Time Software Decipher Definitions, Use in Training

Have you worked with Quick Time?

Quick Time Virtual Reality is software that I had only heard about, but was not familiar with. As I researched it became apparent that there were words that I was not familiar with, and before I could understand more about VR tools, I needed to head to Wikipedia and a dictionary to help decipher.

Terms: “fisheye image” “Stitch perspective” “Convert equirectangular” “Visualizations of polyhedra” “Sprites” . Fisheye perspective is an extremely wide angle lens to produce hemispherical images. Stitch perspective is an inexpensive way to produce panoramic images. Converting equirectangular to cubic is the process of converting a fisheye image into panoscan. Panoscan is a camera used with special fisheye lenses to capture competency spherical images used in computer based virtual reality. Sprites are two-dimensional pre-rendered figures. Polyhedra is basically a complex shape, if you click the link below regarding polyhedra you will be amazed at their complexity.
Understanding the terminology, along with reviewing the links below it became clear how Quick Time is a valuable training tool. My laptop is already equipped with the Quick Time software and I was able to access some of the features. The breadth of features is available if you upgrade to Quick Time Pro. Apple has a free manual to download to help understand the features of Quick Time and how to use. It will be exciting to practice using Quick Time to apply to my training needs.

Some links to help decipher the VR terminology:

http://www.worldserver.com/turk/quicktimevr/QTVRlinks.html
http://www.apple.com/support/quicktime/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisheye_lens
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panoscan
http://wiki.panotools.org/Equirectangular
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_uniform_polyhedra

How have you used VR tools for education? Can you share any links?

Brooke

Topic - Learning Objective Template

Creating a Complete Topic or Learning Objective can be challenging to stay focused and keep the learning simple for the participants. Topic Activities can be simple or complex but teach one learning objective. They will include an absorb, do, and connect activity followed with an assessment to be effective. At our organization, we needed access to simple activities or worksheets that Field Trainers could access to reinforce knowledge over a variety of topics. If an employee was not understanding one specific topic, having quick and simple pre-made solutions would help. A template I created for a new Ten Minute Review program has been very effective to build a series of activities that can be accessed via a company intranet. Field Trainers can have the new hire complete the topic online, or if there is no computer available, they can easily print the documents on 2 pages, front and back, to make it easy for the employee to complete by hand. Each Topic includes one page of information (absorb), the next page will include an activity (do) to reinforce knowledge. Matching, fill in the blank or memory game work well on this page. Page 3 has several rhetorical questions which can be reviewed individually, or performed as a role play with the trainer (connect). Last, the trainer can request that a quiz be completed to reinforce the knowledge. These items will be available by topic so that only those topics that need to be supported or trained will be required to print.

What simple activity designs have you created that have worked?

Brooke